Policy Corner: November 11, 2022
Categories: Policy Corner Archives
Election Officials Are Counting Votes that will Determine House and Senate Makeup Next Year
Although mid-term elections were held Tuesday, votes are still being counted in a few states that will ultimately determine the makeup of the U.S. House of Representatives, the U.S. Senate and the leadership for the 118th Congress. In Georgia, Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker will face each other again next month in a runoff election as neither received 50% of the votes as required in their state. Arizona and Nevada are still counting votes that may not be finalized until next week. Up in the air, of course, is whether the House and Senate will change from Democratic leadership to Republican leadership.
The Democrats did pick up one seat in the Senate with the election of Pennsylvania’s Democratic Lt. Gov. John Fetterman who is replacing Republican Senator Pat Toomey, who is retiring. Senator Ben Sasse (R-Nebr.) will also be retiring in January as he accepted the position of president of the University of Florida. The 118th Congress will convene January 3, 2023.
Congress will Return for Lame Duck Session to Work on Unfinished Business
While the makeup of the next Congress is being determined, the current Congress will need to finalize must-pass bills and other priorities. The concurrent resolution that funds federal government will expire December 16. Congress needs to fund federal government through the fiscal year that ends September 30. The Senate is expected to take up the National Defense Authorization Act next week. Democrats are also proposing to pass a version of the Child Tax Credit, which expired at the end of 2021. There may also be an opportunity for the ABLE Adjustment Act to pass, as that was amended to one of the retirement savings bills in the Senate Finance Committee that may be included in the appropriations spending bill. The Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act of 2014 allows states to create tax-advantaged savings programs for eligible people with disabilities, which is currently limited to people whose disability occurred before the age of 26. The ABLE Adjustment Act would extend eligibility to age 46.
Congress will need to raise the debt limit early next year, although the current leadership wants to resolve that as the Republicans have proposed to cut entitlements in order to support raising the debt limit. Failure to pass the debt ceiling limit means the country would default on its bills, which would have major financial consequences. Whether the Senate changes leadership may determine how that will be handled.
BIAA Supports the CARE for Long COVID Act
The Brain Injury Association of America (BIAA), which signed onto a group letter calling on the House and Senate to hold hearings on long COVID, has signed on as a supporting organization for S. 3726, CARE for Long Covid Act. The bill requires multiple agencies to carry out research and other activities concerning individuals experiencing post-acute sequelae of COVID-19, or PASC, including health disparities related to this condition. PASC refers to persistent, long-term symptoms following recovery from acute COVID-19. Among the provisions, the bill authorizes the Administration for Community Living (ACL) to award grants or contracts to states, health care providers, legal services providers, and other eligible entities for establishing or expanding medical-legal partnerships and increasing the availability of social supports to individuals with long COVID or related post-viral illnesses and conditions, and in matters relating Social Security.
ACL Establishes a National Center to Expand Direct Care Workforce
In late October, the Administration for Community Living (ACL) announced it has awarded a five-year grant totaling over $6 million for a national center to expand and strengthen the direct care workforce. The National Direct Care Workforce Capacity Building Center will serve as a hub, providing tools, resources and training to assist state systems and service providers and to support the development and coordination of policies and programs that contribute to a stable, robust direct care workforce. The center’s website will share resources from the federal government, highlight state and local model policies and best practices that can be replicated or adapted, and share training and technical assistance materials. In addition, the center will facilitate peer-to-peer sharing of lessons learned and promising practices through learning collaboratives and support collaboration between state systems, including Medicaid, aging, disability, and workforce agencies; service providers; and aging, disability and labor stakeholders.