Treasury Notifies COVID State and Local Recovery Program Recipients of Potential Reduction in Department Support
The U.S. Department of the Treasury notified the beneficiaries of several federal relief programs of cutbacks the department plans to make to the level of support and oversight it can provide to grantees. The department’s Sept. 23 letter was sent to recipients of aid from the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund, the Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund, the Emergency Rental Assistance Program, the Homeowner Assistance Fund, and the Local Assistance and Tribal Consistency Fund. Among the cutbacks contemplated are call center support, email response to questions, reduction of reporting and recipient monitoring, and a hiring freeze of federal staff. NCSL, joined by the six other national associations representing state and local government officials, sent a letter to the Hill asking the House to support the State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial Fiscal Recovery, Infrastructure and Disaster Relief Flexibility Act (S 3011/HR 5735), which would give the Treasury Department more flexibility to reallocate its existing administrative funds to these important service areas. The bills do not call for additional federal funding. The Senate passed S 3011 in October 2021 by unanimous consent. That bill and its companion, HR 5735, are currently pending before the House Committee on Oversight and Reform.
Call to Action
Contact your congressional delegation this week to urge inclusion of the bipartisan State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial Fiscal Recovery, Infrastructure and Disaster Relief Flexibility Act (S 3011/HR 5735) in any legislative vehicle moving through the House to ensure that Treasury Department support and oversight of COVID funding to states and localities are not abruptly halted. The bill also provides for other American Rescue Plan Act flexibilities.
Resources
NCSL Contact: Susan Frederick
MIECHV Reauthorization Bill Heads to Senate
The Jackie Walorski Maternal Child Home Visiting Reauthorization Act would reauthorize the Maternal, Infant and Early Child Home Visiting program for five years. Named in honor of the late congresswoman who championed the program, the bill would increase base funding for all states by $100 million in 2023, with every state and territory receiving an increase over fiscal year 2022, and phase in additional federal matching funds beginning in FY 2024. The matching funds would require a 25% state match. Additionally, the bill would double the tribal set-aside to 6%; dedicate funding for workforce support, retention and case management; and direct funding to research, evaluation, administration and technical assistance. The House Ways and Means Committee passed the bill with a unanimous vote.
Read NCSL’s joint letter with other national partners urging Congress to pass a timely reauthorization of the home visiting program with no lapses in funding. Read more.
NCSL Contact: Lauren Kallins
Congress Kicks Into High Gear on Permitting Reform
Following congressional approval of both the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in November 2021 and the Inflation Reduction Act in August this year, Congress is now focusing on reforming the infrastructure permitting process. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.V.), chair of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, released his permitting reform bill on Wednesday following an agreement with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on the IRA. Though it remains unclear if the bill will be included as part of the fiscal year 2023 continuing resolution Congress will take up later this week, Schumer continues to state it will. More than a third of the House Democratic Caucus sent a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) stating their objection to including permitting reform as part of the continuing resolution process. Separately, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) released a permitting reform bill that was co-sponsored by more than three-quarters of the Senate Republican Caucus. Capito’s bill varies significantly from Manchin’s, though both include significant changes to the federal and state permitting processes for infrastructure projects. Stay tuned for updates as these issues move through Congress. Should Congress enact legislation, NCSL will release a detailed summary of the bill’s direct impact on states.
Key Links
NCSL Contact: Ben Husch
Congress Passes Bipartisan Legislation on Joint Spousal Student Loans
The bill allows two borrowers, who had previously received a joint consolidation loan for their federal student loan debt, to submit a joint application to the Department of Education to sever their consolidated loan into two separate loans. Read more.
NCSL Contact: Austin Reid
Department of Education Announces $1B in School Safety Funding
The funding, provided through the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, will be awarded to high-need school districts in each state for programs and activities that foster safe and supportive school environments. Read more.
NCSL Contact: Austin Reid
Turning a Corner as Roadway Fatalities Decline in Second Quarter
An estimated 10,590 people died in car crashes from April through June, a decrease of 4.9% from the same period in 2021, according to figures released Monday by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Fatalities had been increasing since the third quarter of 2020. Read more.
NCSL Contact: Ben Husch
Federal Judge Rules Rhode Island’s Truck Tolling System Must End
U.S. District Court Judge William Smith overturned Rhode Island’s roadway funding system, which tolled only out-of-state trucks, seven years after the system was put in place. Cars and trucks traveling within the state were not tolled. The lawsuit, brought by the American Trucking Association, claimed Rhode Island’s system violated the Constitution’s commerce clause by discriminating against out-of-state economic interests to favor in-state interests. Read more.
NCSL Contact: Ben Husch
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NCSL’s Advocacy in Washington
NCSL’s Washington staff advocates on behalf of state legislatures before Congress, the White House and federal agencies in accord with the policy directives and resolutions that are recommended by the NCSL Standing Committees and adopted by the full conference at the annual NCSL Legislative Summit Business Meeting. As a result of the advocacy that is guided by these policies’ positions, NCSL is recognized as a formidable lobbying force in state-federal relations.
NCSL Staff in Washington, D.C.
- Molly Ramsdell | 202-624-3584 | Director
- Susan Frederick | 202-624-3566 | Law, Criminal Justice, and Public Safety
- Nicole Ezeh | 202-624-3568 | Law, Criminal Justice, and Public Safety
- Ben Husch | 202-624-7779 | Natural Resources and Infrastructure
- Kristen Hildreth | 202-624-3597 | Natural Resources and Infrastructure
- Jon Jukuri | 202-624-8663 | Labor, Economic Development and International Trade
- Deanna Ross | 202-624-8680 | Labor, Economic Development and International Trade
- Austin Reid | 202-624-8678 | Education
- Erlinda Doherty | 202-624-8698 | Communications, Financial Services and Interstate Commerce
- Brian Wanko | 202-624-5400 | Budget and Revenue
- Lauren Kallins | 202-624-8170 | Health and Human Services