Things in Washington look pretty much the same as they have for the last two years. That’s important news for local governments across the nation.Newsworthy developments in Washington, D.C. and how they affect the funding programs most valuable to communities across the country.
The 113th Congress has been duly sworn and seated, and President Obama inaugurated for his second term. While Democrats made gains in both the House and Senate in November’s federal elections, things in Washington look pretty much the same as they have for the last two years: an Obama White House, a Democratic Senate, and a Republican majority in the House with a strong and vocal conservative Tea Party element. As a result, the dynamics of the body are unlikely to change significantly, absent some unforeseen event.
With President Obama’s inauguration for his second term now behind us, Washington is bracing for a difficult road ahead. The president all but acknowledged the difficulties ahead in his inauguration speech. After laying out his goals for his second term and defending federal programs, he challenged congressional Republicans to put aside politics to help advance the nation. “Progress,” he said, “does not compel us to settle centuries-long debates about the role of government for all time, but it does require us to act in our time.”
A serious fight remains, however...
The House, and a good portion of the Senate, remains in the hands of Republicans, many of whom believe that Washington’s biggest problems are spending and debt. Those Republicans must tread carefully, however. The president’s approval ratings have climbed above 50 percent, while Republicans lawmakers remain mired in disapproval ratings almost three times as high as their approval ratings. In fact, House Republicans decided late last week to put off, for now, a fight over increasing the federal debt ceiling, in part because of that reality. Evidently, they now see that their self-styled “Obama Containment Policy” recently has hurt them more than helped.
That’s important news for local governments across the nation. The decks are now cleared for Congress and the White House to negotiate a deal in the coming weeks to address the impending March 1 sequestration and expiring six-month “Continuing Resolution” (CR) that has kept the federal government up and running at fiscal year 2012 levels since October 1.
Sequestration Delayed The 2012 American Taxpayer Relief Act (ATRA) signed on January 2 by President Barack Obama delays fiscal 2013 automatic budget cuts until March 1 and shrinks the total reduction to $85.3 billion from $109.3 billion. The deal gives Congress more time to consider revenue increases or entitlement cuts that might further reduce the size of discretionary budget sequestration. The automatic-cut mechanism was set up as part of the 2011 debt-ceiling deal, calling for more than $1 trillion in deficit reduction over 10 years unless Congress enacted a budget deal to achieve equivalent savings.
This, however, may be easier said than done. Despite warnings about the threat to vital domestic programs, it appears increasingly likely the March 1 deadline will pass without a compromise being reached and that the spending cuts will take effect at least temporarily. Congress and the White House are looking to cut spending on federal programs, either as part of another deficit-reduction deal or as they operate under increasingly tight budget constraints already in law. And though an array of proposals are in the works to delay or replace the cuts, party leaders have yet to find a clear path to compromise.
How painful?
To date, Congress hasn’t changed how the sequester would be implemented. That means, aside from some specifically exempted categories of spending, each defense and non-defense program has to find a way to cut the same percentage of their budget authority through the end of the fiscal year. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) may elect to maximize the amount of flexibility it allows agencies in applying the sequester percentages. Similarly, if Congress and the White House appear likely to undo or alter the remaining sequestration totals in early March, OMB could delay the implementation of budget cuts to give negotiators more time.
Democrats on the House Appropriations Committee are in the process of drafting a detailed report on how the $85 billion in expected cuts in 2013 will affect different areas of the government. Programs slated for cuts include the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), Home Investment Partnership (HOME), Byrne Justice Assistance Grants and COPS, as well as other critical federal resources for local governments in the areas of water infrastructure, job training, education, transit, and emergency management.
About James Alfano
Prior to joining Gov1, James served as Grants Director at the Washington D.C.-based municipal lobbying firm, Marlowe & Company. Mr. Alfano also founded the FundBook, a free information resource read by over 10,000 local governments and two-thirds of Congress. Have a question or a story idea? Feel free to email me at jalfano@efficientgov.com.
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