FIRST ISSUE - to be updated periodically 
  
Selected Issues

Airports Charitable Contributions Courts Education Employment/Labor Energy Environment Food Stamps

Funding Health Housing Insurance Interoperable Communications TANF Taxes

TOPIC	PROPOSAL/INITIATIVE	STATUS
Airports
	S.1786. This legislation would use unobligated funds in the Aviation Trust Fund to repair airports in Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas damaged by Hurricanes Katrina or Rita. Airport Improvement Grant funds could be used to repair or replace capital structures and could also be used for emergency operating costs. The state match is waived.	Passed both houses of Congress. Signed into law by the President on October 7, 2005. Awaiting Public Law number.
Charitable Contributions
	H.R. 3768. (See TAXES). This legislation contains provisions that (1) increase deductions for donations of food products and educational books, (2) waive individual income limits for individual cash contributions for tax years ending before December 31, 2005, (3) waive limits governing the percentage of taxable corporate income that can be claimed as a charitable deduction and (4) boost the mileage rate that  can be claimed for personal vehicle expenses linked to charitable work.	Passed both houses of  Congress the week of September 19. Signed into law by the President as P.L. 109-73.
Courts
	H.R. 3650. This legislation allows federal courts that have closed due to hurricane damage to conduct proceedings elsewhere. It allows criminal trials to be conducted outside the state where the crime was committed with the defendant's consent and amends provisions regarding the call for jurors.	Passed by both houses of Congress. Signed into law by the President as P.L. 109- 63.
Education
Elementary and Secondary	U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings announced on September 16, 2005 that public and charter schools enrolling ten or more displaced children would qualify for up to $7,500 per child in direct assistance to cover a broad array of unexpected educational costs. Funding would go directly to the states of Louisiana and Mississippi, but would otherwise be sent to local school districts in other states.  The emergency compensation would also be extended to families to offset the costs of placing displaced children in private schools. Each college or university enrolling a displaced student would receive a $1,000 per student payment.  The Education Secretary granted school districts in the designated disaster areas created by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita a one-year waiver from the No Child Left Behind Act's requirements for raising math and reading test scores. School districts accepting displaced students could file for a similar waiver and demonstrate that the influx of displaced students has affected their ability to meet test score requirements.	The Secretary's $2.6 billion public, charter, private and higher education funding proposal requires the enactment of legislation in order to carry out the announcement's objectives. No legislation has surfaced yet. The Secretary's No Child Left Behind Act waiver is now in effect.
Student Aid	H.R. 3668. Allows the U.S. Department of Education to waive campus-aid repayment requirements for students displaced from their academic institutions by Hurricane Katrina. Waivers would apply to such programs as work-study, TRIO and GEAR-UP. H.R. 3169. Allows the U.S. Department of Education to waive repayment requirements for displaced students who are recipients of Pell Grants. H.R. 2132. Extends, through September 30, 2007,  the waiver authority of the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education regarding higher education student assistance repayment obligations during military operations and national emergencies. H.R. 3863. Allows the U.S. Department of Education to waive financial rules for campus-based student aid programs, including Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants, federal work-study and Perkins loans.	H.R. 3668, H.R. 3169 and H.R. 2132 passed both houses of Congress. The President has signed all three into law as P.L. 109-67, P.L. 109-66 and P.L. 109-78, respectively. H.R. 3863 has been sent to the President.
Employment/Labor
Benefits	S. 1716. This legislation would provide an immediate extension of unemployment benefits for thirteen weeks to individuals in Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi and to evacuees who have exhausted their unemployment benefits. These additional benefits would be fully paid from the Federal Unemployment Trust Fund.	The sponsors of S. 1716, Senators Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) and Max Baucus (D-Montana) failed to secure unanimous consent to have this legislation come straight to the Senate floor. A small number of Republican Senators blocked their effort (see Funding). Negotiations continue to clear this legislation for floor consideration. Its future is uncertain. "NCSL sent a letter of support for S. 1716 on September 22, 2005."  H.R. 3971. Passed both houses of Congress the week of October 3, 2005.
Work Tax Credits	H.R. 3768. (See TAXES) This legislation allows employers to claim up to a $2,400 Work Opportunity Tax credit for hiring Hurricane Katrina survivors. These new eligible workers must have resided in the disaster area and fall into special categories. Employers located in the disaster area who continue to pay wages to employees and whose businesses are inoperable due to Hurricane Katrina can claim a 40 percent tax credit up to $6,000. The wage payment period is August 28, 2005 - December 31, 2005.	Passed by both houses of Congress the week of September 19. Signed into law by the President as P.L. 109-73.
Disabled Workers	H.R. 3864. Allows for the use of vocational rehabilitation funds to be used to pay for training, mentoring and other related employment related activities for individuals with disabilities affected by Hurricane Katrina or Rita. These funds could also be used to enable disable individuals to participate in reconstruction or other disaster assistance activities in the areas in which the individuals resided when the hurricanes occurred	Passed by both houses of Congress. Signed into law by the President as P.L. 109-82.
Temporary Jobs	U.S. Labor Department Secretary Elaine Chao announced a $62.1 million grant to Louisiana for 10,000 temporary recovery and cleanup jobs for dislocated workers.	This announcement was made on September 3, 2005.
Energy
Refineries	H.R. 3893. This legislation would federalize the domestic refinery licensing process and repeal the seven-week old intergovernmental domestic refinery licensing process included in this year's national energy legislation (H.R. 6). H.R. 3893 preempts state authority over domestic refinery licensure. It makes numerous changes to the Clean Air Act's New Source Review program, ozone attainment standards and fuel blends program. It also establishes siting procedures for oil pipeline construction and provides for federal investigations into possible gasoline price gouging. Many of the issues in H.R. 3893 were rejected during the congressional debate on H.R. 6.    The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services distributed $27.3 million of its remaining Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) emergency funds to Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi. S. 1772. This four-title legislation would also modify the domestic refinery licensure process and reduce the number of fuel blends available to states to assist in meeting national ambient air quality standards.	Passed the U.S. House of Representatives on October 7, 2005 on a 212-210 vote. NCSL sent a letter opposing the preemptive domestic refinery licensure provisions and raising concerns about each of the bill's Clean Air Act provisions. NCSL also joined with five other state and local government organizations in joint written opposition (September 21) on the domestic refinery license issues.
Environment
Diesel fuel sulfur requirements	The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency granted 24 states and the District of Columbia a temporary waiver from diesel fuel sulfur requirements due to production and distribution system disruptions.	A second waiver was granted by USEPA that extends the waiver through October 5, 2005.
Summer gas grade	The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency waived federal enforceability of summer grade gasoline requirements mandated under state law for California, Eastern Texas and Phoenix, Arizona
Waivers	S.1711. This legislation would waive a panoply of federal environmental protection statutes and regulations for states designated as disaster areas due to Hurricane Katrina. The waiver would extend for four months with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator authorized to extend the waiver for an indefinite period.	S. 1711 has not come up for Senate Environment and Public Works Committee consideration yet. The committee chairman may move to his refinery licensure legislation, S. 1772  (see ENERGY), before proceeding any further with S. 1711.
Food Stamps
	The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has imposed special rules through November 30, 2005 for Louisiana and Texas and October 31, 2005 for Florida, Mississippi and six Alabama counties that will allow food stores to accept food stamp/EBT benefits from customers in exchange for hot foods. S. 1695.  Provides expanded access to the Food Stamp program to disaster victims and would streamline administrative procedures to aid governments in providing assistance to disaster victims.  The legislation also provides the Department of Agriculture with emergency authority over the child nutrition and WIC programs that is similar to emergency authority provided to the USDA in the Food Stamp program.	Please check http://www.hhs.gov/news for additional information. S. 1695 is still in committee.
Funding
	H.R. 3645. Provides $10.5 billion for emergency hurricane relief. $10 billion is directed to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for immediate relief needs and $500 million goes to the Defense Department (DOD) for deployment of the National Guard. The spending is designated as an "emergency", thereby not requiring spending reduction or tax increase offsets. H.R. 3673. Provides $51.8 billion for emergency hurricane relief. $50 billion is directed to FEMA and $1.4 billion for DOD for the same purposes as in H.R. 3645. $200 million is earmarked for Corps of Engineer storm damage repairs and a similar amount is earmarked for repairs to damages to flood control and hurricane shore protection projects in the Gulf states. The spending is designated as an "emergency", thereby not requiring spending reduction or tax increase offsets. H.R.3768. Provides $6.1 billion for various temporary tax relief provisions. See TAXES, CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTIONS, EMPLOYMENT-LABOR AND HOUSING. This tax expenditure is designated as an "emergency", thereby not requiring spending reduction or tax increase offsets. S. 1716. (See HEALTH-MEDICAID, EMPLOYMENT-LABOR, TANF). Provides $8.9 billion for temporary, emergency modifications to the Medicaid, TANF and unemployment insurance programs. This legislation is designated as "emergency" spending, thereby not requiring spending reduction or tax increase offsets.	H.R. 3645, H.R. 3673 and H.R. 3768 have all passed Congress. The President has signed each of the three bills into law as P.L. 109-61, P.L. 109-62 and P.L. 109-73 respectively. Their swift enactment and estimated future costs regarding hurricane relief stirred some members to stop or slow down spending. This has contributed in part to the stalling of further consideration of S. 1716. The House Republican Study Committee issued a $70 billion package of spending cuts on September 21 to offset September's emergency spending. Two days later, six Republican U.S. Senators issued a list of options that would curb spending by up to $48 billion for FY2006. Both plans called for delay of the implementation of the Part D Medicare senior drug benefit program and elimination of $24 billion in highway projects in recently enacted highway and mass transit reauthorization legislation. Both of these big ticket "offsets" met with resistance from the administration and Republican leaders. It should be noted that the lack of offsets has marked mostly tax cut, supplemental spending and disaster relief legislation this decade.
Health
Vaccines	All children from birth to 18 years of age who are displaced by Hurricane Katrina are eligible to receive free vaccines through the federally-run Vaccines for Children (VFC) program. Children are eligible regardless of whether they are staying at shelters, hotels, or with family and friends and regardless of previous health insurance coverage status. Public-purchased vaccine is available at no charge to enrolled public and private health care providers for eligible children.	HHS Secretary Michael Leavitt announced the availability of free vaccines through the VFC program in early September.  For additional information, please go to http://www.cdc.gov/nip/vfc/  and http://www.bt.cdc.gov/disasters/hurricanes/katrina/vaccrecdisplaced.asp
Health professionals	H.R. 2862. Health professionals who were displaced by Hurricane Katrina would be allowed to provide health-related services under Medicare, SCHIP, and the Indian Health Service programs in states to which they have located.	H.R. 2862 is included in the FY2006 appropriations bill for Commerce, State, Justice, Science. The health professionals language was added to the Senate's version of H.R. 2862. This legislation is in conference committee.
Benefits, coverage	Participants, beneficiaries and health plans in designated disaster areas in Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi will have their time frames for complying with certain provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the Consolidated Omnibus Budge Reconciliation Act (COBRA) frozen for the period August 29, 2005 - January 3, 2006. Also frozen are the time frames for filing health claims and appeals.	This action was taken by the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) in the U.S. Department of Labor and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in order to minimize the possibility of individuals losing benefits because of a failure to comply with certain pre-established time frames. See the September 21, 2005 Federal Register for additional details.
Medicaid	S. 1716. Provides Disaster Relief Medicaid (DRM) for five months beginning August 28, 2005 with a presidential option to extend DRM for an additional five months. Areas of Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi declared disaster areas would receive 100 percent Federal Matching Assistance Percentage (FMAP) through December 31, 2006. None of the 50 states or territories would see a FMAP decrease for 2006. Would provide streamlined access to temporary Medicaid benefits, would provide 100% FMAP for benefits provided through the DRM to any state hosting an evacuee, would cover all populations regardless of categorical, resource or residence eligibility up to 100% of the federal poverty limit and would allow states to provide extended mental health benefits under DRM up to 100% of the federal poverty limit. Would create a disaster relief fund to offset increased Medicaid or uncompensated care costs arising for Medicaid providers, would fully reimburse hospitals in disaster areas, would provide emergency assistance to Medicare beneficiaries and emergency assistance for private coverage. The original cost estimate for S. 1716 is $8.9 billion, not offset by any other spending reductions or revenue increases (see Funding).	The sponsors of S. 1716, Senators Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) and Max Baucus (D-Montana) failed to secure unanimous consent to have this legislation come straight to the Senate floor. A small number of Republican Senators blocked their effort (see Funding). Negotiations continue to clear this legislation for floor consideration. The bill’s sponsors have recently downsized the estimated cost of the legislation to $6 billion by making various modifications.  Its future is uncertain. "NCSL sent a letter of support for S. 1716 on September 22, 2005."
Medicaid	HHS announced that it would grant Medicaid waivers to those states designated with disasters areas and states hosting evacuees. The announcement does not designate a funding source and maintains existing prohibitions on coverage for adults without children who are not elderly and disabled. The HHS waiver would extend for five months and states would be required to obtain approval from HHS for the waiver. The HHS announcement permits states to create an uncompensated care pool but does not indicate how it is to be funded. Each state must negotiate the terms of its waiver with HHS.	Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida and Idaho have been granted waivers. The Congressional Research Service has written that the Secretary of HHS lacks legal authority to make states "whole" through the waiver process and also lacks other authority to fully implement the announced waiver process. There is no cost estimate for the HHS waiver and no guidance on how to avoid the "budget neutrality" constraints of the waiver process.
Housing
	The U.S. Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service jointly announced that they would waive low-income housing tax credit rules that currently prohibit owners of low-income housing from providing housing to victims of Hurricane Katrina who do not qualify as low-income, Waived are rules governing income limitation and non-transient requirements for low-income housing projects located anywhere in the United States. The U.S. Department of Agriculture extended its rural development single-family home loan program to non-rural areas along the Gulf Coast to help families affected by Hurricane Katrina. The Secretaries of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Housing and Urban Development jointly announced that residents of areas hit by Hurricane Katrina who opt against living in trailers or other free government housing would be offered assistance of up to $785 per month  to cover housing costs. Funding for this effort would come from the $62.3 billion in emergency funds approved by Congress (see Funding) H.R. 3894. This legislation would waive various limitations on the Section 8 rent voucher program and would prevent HUD from canceling contracts with government subsidized apartment buildings damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. The legislation also calls on federal agencies to compile an inventory of federal property that might be used for emergency housing or for construction sits for temporary housing. H.R. 3895. This legislation allows the Secretary of Agriculture to convert section 521 rental assistance into rural housing vouchers and housing voucher assistance for six months and waives rural area requirements. This authority would extend to families or individuals residing in areas affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita whose residence has become inhabitable or inaccessible. H.R. 3896. This legislation would suspend, for fiscal years 2005-2008, the existing 15 percent cap on the use of Community Development Block Grant funds that may be used for “public services.” This suspension applies to areas affected directly by Hurricanes Katrina or Rita or is an area the Secretary of HUD determines is affected economically by the hurricanes, including economic effects created by the presence of evacuees.	The Treasury-IRS announcement was made on September 2 and the joint Homeland Security-HUD announcement followed on September 23. The rural development home loan program offer was part of a September 15 press announcement on a variety of emergency assistance matters.                     H.R. 3894, H.R. 3895 and H.R. 3896 passed the U.S. House of Representatives the week of October 3, 2005.
Waivers	The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has issued several waivers to the Community Development Block Grant, HOME, emergency shelter grant and other programs that will provide options for rent standards, trim waiting periods, expedite provision of resources and temporarily lift ceilings on funds that can be used for public expenditures.	Please go to www.hud.gov/offices/cpd for additional details
Insurance
	H.R. 3669. This legislation increases the borrowing authority of the Federal Emergency Management Agency from $1.5 billion to $3.5 billion to pay for anticipated National Flood Insurance Program claims expected from damages inflicted by Hurricane Katrina. The increased borrowing authority extends to September 30, 2008 and could be increased further due to both Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.	Passed both houses of Congress unanimously. Signed by the President as P.L. 109-65.
Interoperable Communications
	S. 1725, H.R. 1323. These bills authorize five-year funding for public safety grants in order to improve and modernize systems through which public safety officials and first responders communicate.	S. 1725 passed out of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on September 22, It authorizes $400 million for public safety grants for FY2006 rising incrementally to $1 billion by FY2010. Appropriators have handily beaten back other amendments seeking to enhance interoperable communications, including a recent attempt by Michigan Senator Deborah Stabenow who unsuccessfully sought to add $5 billion to H.R. 2862, the FY2006 appropriations for Commerce, State, Justice, Science. H.R. 1323 was referred to committee in March 2005.
TANF
	H.R. 3672. This legislation temporarily waives TANF's work requirements and time limits for families displaced by Hurricane Katrina. States will be reimbursed for H.R. 3672 passed both houses of Congress. The President it into law as P.L. 109-68.  NCSL assisted congressional staff in developing this legislation.	H.R. 3672 passed both houses of Congress. The President signed it into law as P.L. 109-68.  NCSL assisted congressional staff in developing this legislation. The sponsors of S. 1716, Senators Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) and Max Baucus (D-Montana) failed to secure unanimous consent to have this legislation come straight to the Senate floor. A small number of Republican Senators blocked their effort (see Funding). Negotiations continue to clear this legislation for floor consideration. Its future is uncertain. "NCSL sent a letter of support for S. 1716 on September 22, 2005."
Taxes
	H.R. 3768.  This legislation contains sixteen distinct provisions addressing cash flow relief, employment tax credits, housing exemptions and charitable contributions passed in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The provisions were not offset, thereby having a $6.1 billion negative impact on the federal treasury over ten years (see FUNDING). H.R. 3768 authorizes penalty-free distributions from IRAs and qualified retirement plans for those suffering economic losses from Katrina and residing principally in the disaster area. The legislation allows low-income families to use their 2004 income for the refundable earned income and child tax credits. It also extends to five years, from four years for individuals and two years for businesses respectively, tax protection from recognizing gain if damaged property in declared disaster areas is replaced. (More information under CHARITABLE GIVING, EMPLOYMENT-LABOR and HOUSING.)	Passed both houses of Congress the week of September 19. Signed into law by the President as P.L. 109-73.