Both the US House and US Senate are in session this week before beginning a two-week recess. Both chambers are expected to focus on passing their respective fiscal 2016 budget resolutions. The House is also expected to try to pass legislation reforming the Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula, which also includes a two-year extension of the Children’s Health Insurance Program; the Senate will likely hold a vote on the legislation as well.
The House Energy and Commerce, and Ways and Means Committees released a working framework of legislation to replace the Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula before the most recent patch expires on March 31. This is important to NC’s state budget office because the legislation fully funds the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) through September 30, 2017.
Last Tuesday, Senators Roger Wicker (R-MS) and Cory Booker (D-NJ), both members of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, reintroduced bipartisan legislation that would require states to redirect 10 percent of their federal highway allocation as grants for eligible local projects on a competitive basis. Municipalities, metropolitan planning organizations, transit providers, and other entities would develop projects for consideration and compete for funding, and a state-appointed panel of local stakeholders would choose the projects.
The FEMA Disaster Assistance Reform Act of 2015 (HR 1471) was introduced on March 19th by Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management Subcommittee Chairman Lou Barletta (R-PA). The bill would reauthorize FEMA at current funding levels until fiscal 2018 and also reauthorize the Emergency Management Assistance Compact grant program, establish rates to reimburse states and local governments for administrative costs incurred to implement disaster recovery projects and reinstate a three-year statute of limitations on FEMA’s ability to reclaim funds on certain projects previously determined eligible.
