California Capitol Hill Bulletin

Transcription

1 THE CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE FOR FEDERAL POLICY RESEARCH 4114 Davis Place, NW, Suite 114, Washington, D.C web: California Capitol Hill Bulletin Volume 22, Bulletin 28 October 29, 2015 To expand communications between Washington and California, the California Institute provides periodic news bulletins regarding current activity on Capitol Hill and other information that directly impacts the state. Bulletins are published weekly during sessions of Congress, and occasionally during other periods. CONGRESS: HOUSE ELECTS REP. PAUL RYAN (WI) AS SPEAKER With 236 votes from Republican House members, Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin became the 54 th Speaker of the House of Representatives. Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (San Francisco) got 184 votes from her Democratic colleagues. Speaker Ryan replaces Rep. John Boehner (OH) who resigned under pressure from a bloc of disgruntled conservative lawmakers. Rep. Kevin McCarthy (Bakersfield) also chose not to seek the Speakership after getting pressure from the same group. He will remain Majority Leader and Rep. Steve Scalise (LA) stays on as Majority Whip. CONTENTS: Congress: House Elects Rep. Paul Ryan (WI) As Speaker Budget: Congress Passes Two Year Budget Social Services: House Agriculture Examines SNAP Program Transportation: House And Senate Pass Short- Term Transportation Extension Agriculture: House Committee Assesses Role Of Data In Farming Social Services: Senate Finance Examines Welfare and Poverty Issues BUDGET: CONGRESS PASSES TWO YEAR BUDGET On October 27, 2015 the House and Senate unveiled a two-year budget agreement that was negotiated by then House Speaker John Boehner (OH), House Minority Leader Nancy Report: Healthcare Report Shows Decline In Uninsured California Children Institute Co-Founder Rep. Don Edwards Dies... 5 Pelosi(San Francisco), Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (KY), and Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (NV). The package includes raising the debt limit into March 2017 and calls for an increase of $80 billion in federal spending over two years, roughly divided between defense and domestic programs. There is also a $32 billion increase for emergency overseas operations by the Pentagon and the State department, bringing the total increase up to $112 billion. Cuts are made in various areas to offset these increases. The agreement includes cuts to crop insurance subsidies and changes for two major entitlement programs. Medicare reimbursements to doctors are cut by two percent. There are also tightened eligibility requirements for Americans enrolled in the Social Security Disability Insurance program. Additional agreements include selling crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and auctioning off spectrum controlled by the government. On October 28th, the House passed the budget agreement with a vote of Senators are expected to also pass the agreement on Monday, November 2 nd.

2 California Capitol Hill Bulletin, October 29, 2015 Page 2 ADVISORY BOARD SUPPORTERS OF THE CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE and The California Institute wishes to express its gratitude to the following donors for their generous support, without which our work would not be possible. BENEFACTORS AT&T Center for California Studies, CSUS Chevron PG&E Corporation Sempra Energy Southern California Edison SPONSORS ALL Management Corporation Assn of California Water Agencies Bay Area Economic Forum California Association of Realtors CA Council Science & Technology California Farm Bureau Federation California Federation of Teachers CA Independent Service Operator California Institute of Technology California School Boards Association CA State Association of Counties Diesel Technology Forum Metropolitan Water District of So. Calif. San Bernardino Valley MWD The Energy Foundation MaryBeth Sullivan Executive Director SOCIAL SERVICES: HOUSE AGRICULTURE EXAMINES SNAP PROGRAM On October 27, 2015 the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Nutrition met for a hearing titled "Past, Present, and Future of SNAP: Breaking the Cycle." Past hearings have focused on how food insecurity affects adults and often leads to poor physical and mental health. This hearing focused on adolescents and kids breaking the poverty cycle. Witnesses included Ron Haskins, Senior Fellow, Economic Studies, Brookings Institution; Eduardo Ochoa, Jr., Medical Doctor, Little Rock, Ark.; Caroline Ratcliffe, Senior Fellow, Urban Institute; and Ruth Riley, former WNBA athlete and Olympic gold medalist, Granger, Ind. Chairwoman Jackie Walorski (IN) opened by stating that SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) tries to help young people break the poverty cycle by exempting formal college savings and income from those under 18 from eligibility calculations. She then questioned its effectiveness, as individuals often have to consider foregoing raises or promotions because the increase in income wouldn't be enough to replace the loss of SNAP and other benefits. Dr. Caroline Ratcliffe testified that roughly 29 million of today's children are expected to live below the poverty level for at least one year before age 18. Dr. Ratcliffe then stated that these children are less likely to reach important milestones "such as graduating from high school, enrolling in and completing college, and maintaining consistent employment, than children who have never been poor." Dr. Ratcliffe also testified to three other factors, in addition to poverty, that affect the future success of children. First of all, she described parents' education attainment at the child's birth as important to the child's academic achievement. Second, she highlighted residential stability as a factor. Children with two or more negative moves are 13 to 15 percent less likely to complete high school by age 20. Finally, neighborhood characteristics play an influential role. Children in advantaged neighborhoods, defined as those with poverty rates near five percent, are 22 percent more likely to complete high school by age 20. Dr. Ratcliffe concluded by suggesting education and training programs, bundled with work supports, like childcare subsidies, as a policy solution. Dr. Ron Haskins emphasized that despite increasing spending the nation has not been able to reduce poverty. He testified that most analysts believe this is due to the dissolution of the two-parent family, little progress in improving the educational achievement of the poor relative to that of the more advantaged, and the decline of work among men. Dr. Haskins offered a comprehensive strategy that would include increasing the share of children growing up in married-couple families, in part by delaying unplanned births; increasing the educational achievement and years of schooling completed among children from poor families; and increasing

3 California Capitol Hill Bulletin, October 29, 2015 Page 3 work rates among the poor. He suggested programs, like the food stamp program, that have work incentives. TRANSPORTATION: HOUSE AND SENATE PASS SHORT-TERM TRANSPORTATION EXTENSION On October 27, 2015 the House convened for legislative business including H.R. 3819, a bill "to provide an extension of Federal-aid highway, highway safety, motor carrier safety, transit, and other programs funded out of the Highway Trust Fund." Representative Bill Shuster (PA) introduced the bill on October 23rd. The bill extends the Highway and Transportation Funding Act of 2014 from October 29, 2015 to November 20, This bill prevents 4,100 Department of Transportation employees from being furloughed. The bill also has language to extend the deadline for railroads to implement positive train control technology to Representative Shuster emphasized that "without an extension railroads will stop shipping important chemicals critical to the manufacturing, agriculture, clean drinking water, and other industrial activities." Last week the Transportation and Infrastructure committee unanimously approved a six-year bill. Representative Shuster stated that this temporary bill allows the House to continue working on the multi year bill. H.R passed the House with bipartisan support by voice vote. The Senate followed suit passing the bill by voice vote on October 28 th. AGRICULTURE: HOUSE COMMITTEE ASSESSES ROLE OF DATA IN FARMING On October 24, 2015 the House Agriculture Committee met for a hearing titled "Big Data and Agriculture: Innovation and Implications." This hearing explored what data means to farms and how it will change the marketplace for agriculture. Witnesses included Mr. Blake Hurst, President, Missouri Farm Bureau, Member of the Board of Directors, American Farm Bureau Federation, Tarkio, MO; Mr. Billy Tiller, Director of Business Development and Co-Founder, Grower Information Services Cooperative, Lubbock, TX; Dr. Mike Stern, President and Chief Operating Officer, The Climate Corporation, San Francisco, CA; Mr. Matt Rushing, Vice President, Product Line, Advanced Technology Solutions, AGCO, Duluth, GA; and Dr. Shannon Ferrell, Associate Professor and Faculty Teaching Fellow, Agricultural Law Department of Agricultural Economics, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK. Chairman Michael Conaway (TX) opened by stating "Big Data has what seems like a boundless potential to improve the efficiency, profitability, and competitiveness of our nation's farmers and ranchers while conserving natural resources and benefitting the environment." He additionally noted concerns like producer privacy and property rights. Mr. Blake Hurst testified to how access to data would replace the value of local knowledge. In the past, farmers have had to rely on experience to understand what works for the land that they are farming. Mr. Hurst testified "the use of an individual farmer's data to design a different program for each square meter in a field spanning hundreds of acres could replace a farmer's decades of experience with satellites and algorithms." He also stated that farmers are concerned about data privacy. Mr. Hurst grouped the Farm Bureau's questions and concerns into four categories: transparency, control, security and value. Transparency involves knowing what information is collected and who else has access to that data. Control questions whether a farmer can delete his or

4 California Capitol Hill Bulletin, October 29, 2015 Page 4 her data from a database or whether a farmer can switch among providers. Security asks who is liable for a data breach. Finally, value includes whether a farmer can get paid for his or her data. Dr. Mike Stern described the work that The Climate Corporation is doing. He testified that the "mission of the Climate Corporation is to help all the world's farmers sustainably increase productivity through the use of digital tools." The Climate Corporation uses publicly and privately available information to help farmers make decisions based on real time and historical data. Dr. Stern ensured that the farmer's data cannot be sold to a third party and that it can be removed from their systems if the farmers choose to no longer do business with them. SOCIAL SERVICES: SENATE FINANCE EXAMINES WELFARE AND POVERTY ISSUES On October 29, 2015, the Senate Finance Committee met for a hearing titled "Welfare and Poverty in America." Witnesses included Dr. Pamela Loprest, Labor Economist and Senior Fellow, Income and Benefits Policy Center, Urban Institute; Aretha J. Jackson, Disabled Veteran and TANF Recipient; Dr. H. Luke Shaefer, Associate Professor, School of Social Work and the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, Ann Arbor, Mich.; and Jon Pierpont, Executive Director, Utah Department of Workforce Services, Salt Lake City, Utah. Chairman Orrin Hatch (UT) opened by stating "today's hearing will attempt to provide some clarity around issues of poverty, the effect it has on children and families in the United States, and the role that federal programs, particularly the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, currently play in mitigating poverty." The Chairman highlighted that while each family may only receive a few hundred dollars a month from TANF, the federal government spent nearly $30 billion dollars on TANF alone in FY The Chairman argued that TANF and other welfare programs are in need of reform. Dr. Pamela Loprest focused her testimony on poor single mother families, the primary focus of the TANF program. First she stated that the TANF program is playing a smaller and smaller role in addressing poverty. Despite TANF caseloads falling by 30% in the past fifteen years, the percentage of families in poverty has grown showing that many eligible families are not receiving benefits. Second, she stated many poor mothers not receiving TANF benefits are also not working due to barriers like low education levels and poor health. Finally, she suggested two solutions. The first is to improve access to the TANF program. The second is to invest in these mothers' skills to improve work opportunities. Dr. Luke Shaefer testified that only a quarter of poor families receive access to aid from TANF and that only 26% of TANF dollars go towards basic assistance. Dr. Shaefer expressed concern that "states take advantage of the significant flexibility allowed by the TANF block grant to divert dollars to other purposes." Mr. Jon Pierpont's testimony described Utah's unique approach to "intergenerational poverty." Utah's legislature adopted the Intergenerational Poverty Mitigation Act requiring the Department of Workforce services to study and evaluate administrative data to understand the challenges and barriers children in poverty face. The Legislature later created an Intergenerational Welfare Reform Commission, responsible for establishing a five and ten year plan to meet the Act's goal. The Commission does not aim to create new programs or services but to outline ways in which current services can be used more effectively. The program shares data and improves coordination across agencies. Mr. Pierpont testified "one example of program alignment is the

5 California Capitol Hill Bulletin, October 29, 2015 Page 5 development of our two-generation demonstration project, Next Generation Kids." The project acknowledges that adults cannot be truly successful when the needs of their children are not met. As a result, the project connects parents to job training and helps them attain their GEDs while their children are enrolled in high-quality preschools and participate in afterschool programs. REPORT: HEALTHCARE REPORT SHOWS DECLINE IN UNINSURED CALIFORNIA CHILDREN According to a report published by Georgetown University's Center for Children and Families, California has experienced the largest decline in the number of uninsured children since the Affordable Care Act took effect. The report shows that nationally six percent of children were uninsured in 2014, with fifty percent of uninsured children living in six states: Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Texas. The report shows that a disproportionate amount of uninsured children live in the South or rural areas, were Hispanic, and were school aged. In California 5.4 percent of children were uninsured in 2014, below the national average. Massachusetts is the state with the lowest percentage, 1.5%, and Alaska is the state with the highest percentage, 11.4%. California experienced the greatest change in the number of uninsured children from 2013 to 2014 with a drop of about 176,000. The report emphasizes that states that expanded Medicaid in 2014 saw greater declines in the number of uninsured children. Medicaid expansion states saw a decline of almost 22% uninsured children while non-expansion states saw less than a 12% decline. INSTITUTE CO-FOUNDER REP. DON EDWARDS DIES The Institute was saddened to learn of the death of one of its co-founders, former Rep. Don Edwards (San Jose). Mr. Edwards died at the age of 100 on October 1, 2015 at his home in Carmel. In the early 1990s, Rep. Edwards joined with other House and Senate Democrats and Republicans to establish the California Institute for Federal Policy Research as an independent, non-partisan organization to educate and inform the California delegation and members of the broader California- Washington community on federal issues of importance to the state. Other founding members included then Senators John Seymour and Alan Cranston, former Reps. Carlos Moorhead and Bill Lowery and former Governor Pete Wilson. Rep. Edwards served in the House from 1963 to 1995, when he retired. During his tenure in the House, he served as Chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Civil and Constitutional Rights. He also led the California Democratic delegation for 13 years.