The Review and Preview for the Week of June 22, 2009 from nwyc.com ...

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REVIEW
Health Care Overhaul on Hold: The Senate Finance Committee has delayed its markup by several weeks of the health care overhaul bill largely because of cost. Members are working to make the cost of the legislation politically marketable.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) placed the cost of the preliminary draft at $1.6 trillion over the next ten years. Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) gathered with committee Democrats to discuss how to get that figure under $1 trillion. The CBO estimate released June 15 indicated that the bill would leave 30 million uninsured, down from the current 46 million uninsured.

Transportation Legislation: Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman James Oberstar (D-MN) presented a blueprint for a six-year, $500 billion measure designed to overhaul the Department of Transportation, speed up projects and tie federal funds to measurable benchmarks. The bill would provide $450 billion for surface transportation projects and $50 billion for high-speed rail. Rep. Oberstar said he plans to move forward with the measure despite a White House proposal to postpone a new highway bill for 18 months.

Intelligence Authorization: The fiscal 2010 intelligence authorization bill includes a requirement that a clear record be kept of congressional briefings. A CIA document released to Congress in May outlined earlier congressional briefings about harsh interrogation techniques. It prompted numerous Democrats to question its accuracy. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) insisted that, contrary to that document, she was not briefed in 2002 about the use of waterboarding. (H.R.2701)

Appropriation Bills 2010: House and Senate subcommittees are moving forward on crafting their fiscal 2010 bills despite the fact that financial industry overhaul legislation has not been drafted. The House panel is set to mark up its bill within the next few days. Lawmakers say they will write the bills according to the information they have available now. The new fiscal year begins Oct. 1.

Earmarks in Agriculture Bill: The House Agriculture appropriations bill that the House Appropriations Committee is marking up contains more than $219 million in congressional earmarks. They include:$3.7 million for the Animal Bioscience Facility$3.7 million for the Center for Grape Genetics$3.7 million for the Center of Excellence for Vaccine Research Click here for more information on this issue.

Foreign Operations Spending Bill: The House Appropriations State-Foreign Operations Subcommittee approved $48 billion for international affairs accounts, including expanded funding for global health programs. The panel approved the draft by voice vote. (H.R.2346)

Food Safety Bill: The House Energy and Commerce Committee approved a food safety bill by voice vote. Several Republicans commended Democrats for moving the bill to the House floor through “regular order,” via the committee. GOP members also said the bill should serve as a model for crafting an overhaul of the health care system. (H.R.2749)

Small Business Grants: A pair of grant programs intended to help encourage innovative research by small high-tech businesses is making its way through the Senate. The Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship could reauthorize the Small Business Innovation Research program and the Small Business Technology Transfer program through 2023.(S.1233) Last week, a House Small Business subcommittee approved a similar bill that would reauthorize both programs through 2011. (H.R.2767)

PREVIEW
The House and Senate will continue work on appropriations bills this week, with action expected from both chambers on the Homeland Security spending bill. The House version of this bill includes a provision for a two-year reauthorization for the E-verify program, which allows the government to check workers’ legal status. The Senate version includes a three-year reauthorization of this program. The Senate will try to complete work on a bill (S.1023) that would promote the United States as a tourist destination.

Click here to view the R&P Report as a PDF

Robin Tucker