Weekly Update 12/18/23

Appropriations

Negotiations over a government funding framework are almost certain to slip to January, when lawmakers return from the holiday recess with just two weeks to strike a deal on spending limits and reconcile their differences over several spending bills before the first of two shutdown deadlines on Jan. 19…

The U.S. military’s top leaders are urging Congress to pass a Pentagon budget for fiscal 2024, issuing detailed warnings about how continued dysfunction will derail plans to stand up to China, modernize the armed services and fix faltering recruitment efforts…

California

California’s push to phase out gasoline-powered vehicles will cut state tax revenues by $4.4 billion over the next decade, raising questions about how to fund transportation priorities, a state report…

A projected $68 billion deficit has prompted Gov. Gavin Newsom's Department of Finance to urge cost savings across state agencies…

Congress passed legislation Thursday, 12/14, to speed up the transfer of seven Coast Guard military transport planes to Cal Fire…

President and Administration

About 52,000 people on Medicare overdosed on opioids last year, but few beneficiaries receive medication for substance use disorder, according to a new report by the HHS Office of Inspector General…

On Tuesday, 12/12, NHTSA announced request for information in advance of a potential rule intended to prevent people from driving while intoxicated, a step toward fulfilling a mandate from the bipartisan infrastructure law and the crusade of surviving relatives from a 2019 drunk driving crash that killed a family of five…

The Biden administration wants to ensure the government and consumers don’t pay more than other countries for certain new drugs — if pharmaceutical companies used funds from the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response to research the treatments…

A long-standing federal food assistance program could be short $1 billion next year, leaving two million parents and young children without access to its support, a report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities said Tuesday (12/12)…

The Supreme Court has agreed to consider a case that could impact hundreds of Jan. 6 felony prosecutions — and could impact special counsel Jack Smith’s prosecution of former President Donald Trump…

U.S. wind and solar power generators are projected to produce more electricity than coal for the first time next year, according to a new outlook released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration on Tuesday, 12/12…

Electric car giant Tesla is voluntarily pulling more than two million of its vehicles off the road after a national investigation identified safety issues with the steering feature used in its “Autopilot” technology…

About 40 percent of federal student loan borrowers missed their first monthly payment this fall as the unprecedented pandemic-era freeze on student debt expired, the Biden administration announced on Friday, 12/15…

The World Health Organization has called for a blanket ban on flavored e-cigarettes as it ups the ante in its broadside against the products…

Congress

The Congressional Budget Office is out with new economic projections through 2025, finding that inflation will approach the Federal Reserve’s target rate of 2 percent this year…

On Thursday, 12/14, the Republican-controlled House passed a final $886 billion defense policy bill, even after many conservative provisions had been stripped through negotiations with the Senate…

Education

Enrollment at traditional district public schools fell at an alarmingly high rate early in the pandemic, and despite the belief that students would return after schools reopened, our latest report finds district enrollment is now flat for the second straight year…

Weekly Update 12/11/23

Appropriations

On Friday, 12/8, Speaker Mike Johnson sent a "dear colleague" letter to House lawmakers, with an update on "the ongoing negotiations" toward enactment of "full-year" fiscal 2024 funding bills before the next shutdown deadlines hit in January and February…

As talks on a fiscal 2024 funding framework quietly continue behind the scenes, Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) tells us her party “cannot give an inch,” noting the debt limit deal already essentially froze budget levels for domestic accounts for the current fiscal year while Americans are dealing with increased costs…

California

A new poll puts Republican Steve Garvey at third place in the race for California’s Senate seat, trailing far behind Democratic Reps. Adam Schiff and Katie Porter, and just slightly ahead of Rep. Barbara Lee…

According to a poll released Wednesday, 12/6, a strong majority of voters are in favor of Governor Gavin Newsom's ballot initiative to revamp and fund California’s mental health system — one of the governor's top priorities…

President and Administration

The Biden administration is rolling out a framework to enforce the government’s march-in authorities on drugs developed with taxpayer dollars, saying if drugmakers refuse to make their products “reasonably” available, then the government is prepared to give other companies license to produce those drugs at a lower cost…

On Wednesday, 12/6, the Food and Drug Administration delayed rules that would ban menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars in what many see as a nod to the intense lobbying and fragile political environment heading into President Biden’s expected 2024 rematch with former President Donald Trump…

For the third consecutive year, many psychologists across the country say they are seeing patients struggle with worsening symptoms, many of them needing longer treatment times…

The National Promise Neighborhoods Coalition will announce its formation today, 12/11, as a new national bipartisan group that advocates for the Promise Neighborhoods initiative, an Education Department program that helps kids in high poverty communities…

Congress

Kevin McCarthy is officially leaving Congress…

Senate Republicans say it’s time for President Biden to get involved in the border policy talks crucial to saving one of his biggest foreign policy priorities, delivering aid to Israel and Ukraine…

Education

Public school enrollment has increased slightly in North Carolina since the last school year…

A new demographic analysis of chronic absenteeism shows absences have increased for all students — with a dramatic uptick for Latino students and in suburban and rural school districts…

Weekly Update 12/4/23

Appropriations

Senate Republicans are encouraged that House conservatives say they’re willing to accept the overall funding totals established by the bipartisan debt deal, albeit with some major exceptions, like the elimination of a side agreement that would infuse domestic programs with an extra $54 billion…

California

California’s unregulated cannabis stores are reportedly selling pesticide-tainted marijuana…

Today, a growing number of students in California’s colleges and universities are ineligible for DACA…

The secretary of state’s office has given conservative organizers the OK to collect signatures in support of a sweeping statewide ballot measure that would import red state policies on transgender students into California…

On Tuesday, 11/28, Governor Newsom proposed new legislation to classify xylazine as a controlled substance in California…

On Friday, 12/1, State budget analysts warned of a worsening fiscal outlook, raising prospects for an intense budget fight as California lawmakers brace for cuts…

President and Administration

On Tuesday, 11/28, the U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced the release of an updated joint-policy statement on supporting the inclusion of children with disabilities in early childhood programs…

On Thursday, 11/30, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a proposal to strengthen its Lead and Copper Rule that would require water systems across the country to replace lead service lines within 10 years…

Congress

George Santos is out…

Education

For the last two decades, the research team at the University of Arkansas has been studying charter school funding in major cities across the country…

Hosted by the K12 Security Information eXchange, the 2024 National K-12 Cybersecurity Leadership Conference is an in-person only event designed to identify and share solutions and best practices to better defend the K-12 education sector from emerging cybersecurity threats, such as ransomware and data breaches…

Some K-12 public schools are working to improve protection against the threat of online attacks, but lax cybersecurity means thousands of others are vulnerable to ransomware gangs that can steal confidential data and disrupt operations…

OJJDP has updated its Statistical Briefing Book with a new Data Snapshot on the prevalence of bullying experiences reported by high school students in 2021…

At least 16 of the 20 largest U.S. public school districts are offering online therapy sessions to reach millions of students, according to an analysis by The Associated Press…

Infrastructure and Transportation Update - November 2023

California

California has won federal approval to enact a first-in-the-nation rule requiring the state’s railroads to reduce, and eventually eliminate, harmful air pollution from their trains…

Just two local transit agencies will receive 85 percent of the entire Bay Area's state and regional transit agencies bailout money, according to the San Francisco Chronicle…

California is eliminating its popular electric car rebate program — which often runs out of money and has long waiting lists — to focus on providing subsidies only to lower-income car buyers…

State lawmakers are looking with dismay at San Francisco's struggles to regulate robotaxis and getting ready to step in before the problem expands…

President and Administration

The Rural Opportunities to Use Transportation for Economic Success (ROUTES) Initiative aims to address disparities in rural transportation infrastructure by developing user-friendly tools and information, aggregating USDOT resources into a single web resource, and providing technical assistance…

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration announced more than $6 billion in grants on Tuesday (12/5)  for rail projects in California, including some $3 billion for the state's high-speed rail project…

Congress

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act’s two-year anniversary is an opportunity to revisit several safety concerns, two senior Democratic senators recently said…

Congress at the urging of the Biden administration agreed in 2021 to spend $7.5 billion to build tens of thousands of electric vehicle chargers across the country, aiming to appease anxious drivers while tackling climate change…

Weekly Update 11/27/23

Appropriations

In the House, senior GOP leadership aides are saying that there’s no expected floor action on appropriations bills this week…

California

Eviction cases soared across California in the year after the last portion of a statewide moratorium lapsed, a CalMatters analysis of court data shows…

President and Administration

Congress’ failure to include extra aid money for low-income moms and babies in the spending bill sets up a potential showdown early next year…