Policy Updates and Issue News February 2018

In Washington these days, everyone and everything appear to be completely off balance at times.  On any given day and on any given issue, there are several competing forces in play.  The liberal and conservative media report on the same topic from such differing perspectives that it’s hard sometimes to believe they’re talking about the same subject.   Caucuses within political parties play the spoiler as much as competing parties once were.  Every time a bipartisan solution begins to develop, there’s a rush to discredit it no matter how good or bad it is.  Unsubstantiated reporting seems to be rampant and every blogger tries to be an expert.  Social media at times is as important as factual information in forming a large chunk of public opinion. 

Heavy political attention and big campaign dollars are already turning toward midterm elections this fall.  Primary campaigns are underway in many states for Senators and districts for Representatives.  Close to 20 senior House Republicans have announced their retirement, sparking excitement among Democrats about their possibility to recapture the House majority.  Democrats may be unlikely to gain control of the Senate since 26 Democrats and just eight Republicans are up for reelection.   Most incumbent Republican senators continue to be popular back home.  Legislation has been slow to move and will get even slower now.  Unfortunately, the legislative window is closing.  By Memorial Day, any action on bills will be hard to come by.  By Labor Day, campaigning takes over the legislative highway and most legislation goes into neutral.

This is an especially active time for coalitions .The National Grange is an active member of several major coalitions in Washington concerned with health care (Medicare and Medicaid, drug availability, access to care,  , telecommunications (broadband, Lifeline, net neutrality), rural schools, farm bill,  immigration, infrastructure, tax reform and other coalitions on lesser issues.

Two new coalitions are depending upon the Grange to carry the message of rural and small town citizens to Congress, the media and the public.  The Coalition for Paper Options was formed to assure citizens continue to have the option to receive government information, reports and questionnaires via paper if they so choose.  The campaign by federal agencies to quietly force the public to go paperless before they’re ready ignores the fact that over 23 million rural and small town folks lack broadband access.  An op-ed by Burton Eller addressing government agencies forcing citizens to go paperless before they’re ready appeared in Washington’s The Hill Newsletter.  

Connect Americans Now Coalition proposes to use available broadcast spectrum or “TV White Spaces” to deliver broadband to rural areas.  Unassigned spectrum below 700 MHz can carry communications over far greater distances and penetrate walls and other obstacles and supposedly can wave across and around hills and mountains.  The Federal Communications Commission will have to approve reallocation of this unused spectrum.  The only opposition may be the broadcasting industry.

Budget and Farm Bill

The Senate and House Agriculture Committees heaved a huge sigh of relief when the two-year budget deal won approval in Congress.  Contained therein were lynchpin “fixes” for dairy and cotton producers.  Funding offsets for these farm policy revisions will not have to be accounted for in the 2018 Farm Bill baseline, thus removing a huge obstacle from upcoming farm bill negotiations.  The National Grange supported this action in line with policy adopted in Spokane.

Other Provisions included in the budget deal would:  

• Include $2.4 billion in aid to producers hurt by last year’s hurricanes, fires and other natural disasters
• Lift the $125,000 payment cap for producers who sold livestock at a reduced price due to natural disaster
• Remove the $20 million cap on the Emergency Assistance Program for livestock, honey bees and farm-raised fish
• Double acreage eligible for the Tree Assistance Program from 500 to 1,000 acres
• Revive the dollar/gallon tax credit for biodiesel

Ranking minority member of the House Agriculture Committee Colin Peterson (D-MN) is also gathering support for an additional dairy policy change that would allow dairymen to insure margins (difference between milk prices and feed costs) up to $9.50 from the current $8 limit.

We expect committee actions on the 2018 Farm Bill to move right along once they start.  Agriculture is one of the few areas where bipartisanship is still possible.   The big unknown will be scheduling Senate and House floor time earlier rather than later in an election year.

Waivers for Agricultural Haulers

Producers continue asking the Department of Transportation to grant agricultural haulers a waiver and limited exemption from the electronic logging device mandate because of commodity perishability.  .  The exemption excludes the transportation of all agricultural commodities within 150 miles of the source of the commodities.  Further, longer-haul livestock truckers need hours of service waivers in order to rapidly and humanely move animals in challenging conditions.  The National Grange supports these waivers and exemptions.

IPAB

The National Grange was very active in the permanent repeal of the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB) in the recent two year congressional budget package.  IPAB, authorized in the Affordable Care Act, was to be a board of Presidential appointees charged with recommending cuts to Medicare if spending growth reached an arbitrary level.  The HHS Secretary would implement recommendations.  Neither the recommendations nor the actions would be subject to administrative or judicial review. 

Medicare Part D Costs

Betsy Huber wrote Seema Vera, Director of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, supporting the Director’s Request for Information (RFI) on lowering Medicare Part D costs.  A major objective is to drive down patient out-of-pocket costs at pharmacy counters.  CMS hopes to identify ways to increase    accountability for Pharmacy Benefit Managers and make it harder for them to pocket rebates and discounts intended for patients.

Rural Health Care

Congress’ budget deal restored funding for two critical rural health programs.  Community Health Centers were allocated $3.8 billion for 2018 and $4 billion for 2019.  CHCs care for about 27 million patients nationwide.  Congress extended the Children’s Health Insurance Program for another ten years.  CHIP serves as a safety net for about 8.6 million kids nationwide. The National Grange supported these initiatives.

Opioid Help

Congress is moving to take a second crack at opioid legislation as the crisis grows to more than 42,000 deaths per year.  On the House side, Energy and Commerce Chairman Walden (R-OR.) is pushing to have legislation out of the House by Memorial Day.  Senators Portman (R-OH) and Whitehouse (D-R.I.) are crafting legislation in the Senate.  Opioid recovery professionals stress the need to bolster the opioid addiction treatment system with infrastructure, treatment spots, more facilities and treatment professionals.  The National Grange supports these initiatives.

340B Specialty Drugs

National Grange president Betsy joined 23 major patient advocacy groups to thank Senate and House sponsors of legislation to return the 340B specialty drug discount program to its original intent of helping vulnerable patients.  Lack of program oversight and lax regulations have caused greater profits for hospitals and fewer discounts for vulnerable and uninsured patients.  The legislation would require hospitals to disclose how they reinvest 340B revenue to increase charity care for patients.

False Start

The Senate turned to open-ended immigration debate the week of February 12.  Debate ended four days later with no immigration solutions in sight.  The core objective was to see if Senators could somehow agree on a “four pillars” strategy that President Trump and a bipartisan group of lawmakers initially agreed to.  The four pillars consisted of a fix for:

• Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA or “Dreamers”)
• A border security package
• Family-based immigration (“Chain Migration”)
• The diversity lottery (Visas to immigrants from countries with historically low migration levels)

Ag Workers

Agriculture producers are still looking for a fix to the ag workforce crisis.  Ag lobbyists (including the Grange) were hoping  for an immigration package to pass the  Senate so the House could include Goodlatte’s (R-VA) Ag Act creating a new and simpler H-2C two year work permit program for agriculture.  Frankly, any chance now for an ag worker bill to pass Congress in this election year may be slim.

 Complications

While most producers support Goodlatte’s proposed H-2C ag worker bill, the Western Growers (fresh fruit, fresh vegetables, tree nuts) are now opposing it.  The Growers object to the requirement that long-time ag workers must return to their home countries to apply for a new H-2C visa.  This split among Agriculture further dooms chances for ag worker legislation for a while.

Debate on the Hill now moves to infrastructure.  Rural infrastructure needs are a priority for both the Administration and Congress.  President Trump still insists that 25 percent of any infrastructure funding package go to rural areas.  The President and Congress say rural broadband expansion is a priority corner post within rural infrastructure as is rural health care.  Keeping these two priorities at the forefront of the infrastructure agenda for the President and Congress will be a challenge for the Grange.

Lifeline

Lifeline is a government program, funded by the Universal Service Fund, to provide low income, elderly, disabled and disadvantaged citizens with connectivity to the rest of the world.  For most of Lifeline users, service is a nominal landline or wireless monthly plan.  The majority of Lifeline customers get services from wireless resellers. A 2017 GAO report found cases of waste, fraud and abuse by some resellers.  Subsequently, some members of Congress and the Federal Communications Commission are proposing to remove wireless resellers from the market.  Betsy Huber has written the FCC and several legislators on the Hill to say that while the Grange strongly objects to waste, fraud and abuse, there are reputable resellers in the market and let’s not “throw the baby out with the bath water.”

Net Neutrality

Net Neutrality is a tough issue, principally because of its name.  Net Neutrality defines broadband as a communications service that essentially makes it a public utility.  Well, everyone doesn’t need the same service at the same price for the same priorities at the same speed.  FCC Chairman Pai is proposing to classify broadband as an information service not subject to 1930’s telephone monopoly regulations.  The Grange has supported Chairman Pai’s proposal at the FCC and to several members of Congress.  The Grange’s mission is to connect rural and small town America’s schools, libraries, farms, hospitals, clinics, first -responders and entrepreneurial start-ups.  Because of distance and sparse populations, the “pay-for” is not there under the utility –based system like Net Neutrality.  New connectivity technology is evolving fast that can get through buildings, around hills and over mountains over longer distances.  For rural America, it’s all about getting connected, not how fast or how cheaply Snapchat, video games, latest movies or other apps download

Broadband Via “TV White Spaces”?

White spaces refer to unused low frequencies that operate below 700MHz.  This is unassigned spectrum that can be used to deliver broadband access, services, and applications.  This available spectrum is suited for delivering broadband to rural areas because it can travel over great distances, penetrate buildings and leap over hills.  The cost-effectiveness of white space connectivity is appealing.  The National Grange is urging the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to approve the use of unused TV white spaces spectrum for wireless broadband expansion.

Small Cells Are Big for Rural Internet

Small cell wireless transmitters operate 100 times faster than current wireless systems and deliver 5G broadband.  Their antenna are about 3 cubic feet in volume, are unobtrusive, and can be placed on existing poles, buildings and other structures.  They can be placed in existing rights-of-way without much impact.  The National Grange is supporting efforts by the FCC to improve old Federal rules to expedite opening this gateway for rural internet.