Policy Updates and Issue News August 2017

After six months of stalled legislative action, Congress faces some heavy lifts this fall.  When both the House and Senate reconvene September 5, several must-do items cannot be ignored.

 First, Congress has until September 29 to raise the United States debt limit and increase the nation’s borrowing authority to prevent the country from defaulting on its sovereign debt limit.  The debt limit is the total amount of money the United States is authorized to borrow to meet it legal obligations, including Social Security, Medicare, military salaries, interest on the national debt, tax refunds, and other payments.  Congress has always acted when called upon (78 times since 1960) to raise the limit, temporarily extend, or revise the definition of the debt limit.

Next, Congress has until October 1 to adopt a FY’18 federal budget or pass a short term continuing resolution (CR) to continue funding the federal government at FY’17 levels.  It is possible but not likely that all appropriations bills can pass and be signed by the President by September 29 so a CR seems likely.  If neither funding vehicle is adopted on the Hill and signed at the White House, the government will shut down October 1.  A major “elephant in the room” wild card is President Trump’s demand that his proposed southern border wall be funded in the new budget.  A CR would keep the federal government funded at present levels, would not include funding for the wall, and give all parties time to negotiate.

Finally, what happens to a number of other legislative priorities this fall such as tax reform, healthcare, telecommunications, immigration, trade, infrastructure, and farm bill?

Tax Reform

Practically everyone in Washington, including Democrats, Republicans, Senators, Representatives, President Trump, and hordes of economists agree that reforming the tax code for the first time in 31 years should be a top priority.  Practically every one of these groups is advocating that tax reform, done right, will stimulate the economy for many years as it did following the 1986 reforms.  Unfortunately, just how to accomplish this challenge is complex and a consensus will not be easy.  The National Grange will advocate for its members policy which includes lowering the personal and corporate tax rate, eliminating the death tax, and other pro-growth initiatives.   The big unknown is whether Congress will be able to accomplish comprehensive tax reform or just settle for some popular tax cuts. The key may be for Congress to compromise on a package that can muster bipartisan support similar to 1986.  If Congress settles for tax cuts only, the nation’s deficit would likely grow in the short run but could eventually come down as a result of economic growth.

Healthcare

There are no quick, easy or cheap ways to fix, repeal or replace the Affordable Care Act.  In reality, Congress and the White House cannot ignore dealing with several provisions that threaten patient coverage and adequate medical care.  Several states are down to one insurance carrier.  Other states must continue to receive Medicaid subsidies if their low income citizens have any coverage at all.  Will preexisting conditions continue to be covered and, if so, at what price?  Will Members of Congress and their staff be allowed to continue receiving a government contribution toward the purchase of on-exchange health insurance plans?  Will cost-sharing reduction payments come to an end?  Will Medicaid eligibility be tied to some form of work or job training requirement?

In the meantime, an ad hoc bipartisan Problem Solvers group of 23 Democrats and 20 Republicans are working on a comprehensive plan of reforms designed largely to stabilize ObamaCare’s insurance markets.  

Telecommunications

National Grange President Betsy Huber is a member of the Federal Communications Commission’s Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee and serves on two subcommittees charged with developing recommendations for eliminating barriers to the expansion of broadband into rural America.

The National Grange recently filed a comment with the FCC regarding the concept of a free and open internet that would expand access to high-speed internet in underserved areas.  Since a 2015 reclassification of high-speed internet as a utility service, multiple internet providers are curbing plans to expand deployment because of costs and legal uncertainties stemming from the reclassification.  The National Grange is urging Congress to work toward bipartisan legislation that codifies the core principles of net neutrality into law to prevent future regulatory uncertainty from stifling rural broadband expansion.

Immigration

Agriculture continues to struggle with labor shortages month after month especially during harvest season.  Dairy and livestock producers also need longer term employees to train and retain.  The current Labor Department H-2A program is being utilized by farmers and ranchers but they argue the wage rates, paperwork requirements and time delays are too burdensome.   Secretary of Agriculture Perdue has been tasked with developing ag workforce proposals for Congress to consider.  House Judiciary Committee Chairman Goodlatte (R-VA) plans to reintroduce his Ag Act to eliminate some of the requirements of H-2A while providing legal status to existing workers.   His is also the committee of jurisdiction for immigration and the Ag Act. Broad comprehensive immigration reform appears unlikely for the foreseeable future.  The National Grange and the Ag Workforce Coalition will continue to push for a legislative solution for agriculture this year.

Farm Bill

Both the Senate and House agriculture committees have been holding public hearings in Washington and listening sessions around the country.  Both Senate Ag Committee Chairman Roberts (R-KS) and House Ag Committee Chairman Conaway (R-TX) are hopeful a draft farm bill can be ready by year’s end.  The current farm bill expires September 30, 2018. 

Farm bills today are really huge omnibus legislative vehicles going far beyond the original role of setting agriculture policy.  They include agriculture research, crop insurance, commodity programs, conservation efforts, disaster relief, farm loans, foreign market development, nutrition and feeding programs, renewable energy and biofuels, rural development (including grants for infrastructure and telecommunications), specialty crop support and U.S. Forest Service management.  The farm bill is a major legislative vehicle that will definitely move through Congress over the next year.  As such, it could be seen as a possible “Christmas tree” on which to hang all kinds of non-germane amendments. 

Roughly 80% of the cost of a modern farm bill is for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programs (SNAP) better known as food stamps.   The perennial question is why such politically divergent philosophies are tied together in the same piece of legislation.   Farm programs were combined with feeding programs many years age as a practical means of “vote swapping” to preserve each of these initiatives that might not survive a floor vote as a stand-alone measure.

Trade

Despite President Trump’s repeated tweets, the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is moving along quickly, positively, and without animosity according to officials involved in the process.  Negotiators from the U.S., Canada and Mexico have agreed to an accelerated schedule to try to wrap up overhaul of the trade pact by the end of the year.  Agriculture groups in all three countries continue to stress “do no harm” to agriculture trade as negotiators address trade deficits, lost manufacturing jobs and business that have closed or moved because of NAFTA.   The National Grange agrees and is anxious to see progress in jobs creation, manufacturing opportunities and new business development.

All 435 seats in the House of Representatives and a third of those in the Senate will be up for election in 2018.  Democrats see some opportunity to win back their majority in the House and are working hard to enhance their chances.  The Senate will be a tougher climb for Democrats.  The Democrats will be defending 25 incumbent seats while Republicans will only need to hold on to nine.