While I was home for the April district work period, I ran into a few of you who expressed concerns over the recent passage of the omnibus appropriations bill. In case you missed my last update, which included a comprehensive overview of this legislation, I’d like to take another moment to readdress some of the important components surrounding this bill.
As you may know, the omnibus contains several priorities that are important to Nevadans and Americans across the country. Specifically, the bill includes funding to combat our nation’s devastating opioid crisis, ensure military readiness, and give our schools the tools they need to prevent violence on school grounds. My staff and I also fought to ensure this bill included funding for priorities that are unique to western states like ours, including critical funding to combat devastating wildfires, improve forest health, and provide rural communities with compensation for the federal lands that exist within their counties (otherwise known as the PILT program).
The omnibus only provides for 30% of annual spending this year, while 70% of spending is mandatory for programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, in addition to the interest on our debt.
While there is always more work to be done when dealing with broad legislation like this, it’s important to note that this bill does address many of the current funding priorities that are important to CD-2 and our country.
Setting the Stage for Future Appropriations
As you may remember, Congress reopened the federal government back in February by successfully passing the Bipartisan Budget Act. You might be interested to know that this budget, in relation to the omnibus, was the bill that set the stage for the suggested funding limits prior to the 2018 appropriations process.
When the Bipartisan Budget Act passed, Members on both sides of the aisle were excited to support this two-year budget agreement which included spending increases for things like military readiness, infrastructure, and health care programs. Many claimed it was a responsible compromise that would strengthen our critical domestic priorities. In my opinion, funding increases for: America’s defense, infrastructure, health care system, interior, and land management responsibilities are justifiably needed, which is one of the reasons I voted in favor of this legislation.
However, when it came time to appropriate money for these priorities, several Members expressed their dissatisfaction with the increases in spending in the omnibus, even though many were staunch supporters of the funding increases included in the Bipartisan Budget Act.
Additionally, for those who have concerns with a $1.3 trillion a year spending bill – this is what the deficit was in 2010 after two years of the Obama Administration – and that spending had our military woefully unequipped. The spending included in this omnibus will help address our military’s readiness, especially at a time when we’re attempting to recover from the previous Administration’s budgets and ongoing engagements, in Syria, the Middle East, and North Korea, all which necessarily require a military readiness posture that exceeds where the Obama Administration left it.
Securing our Border
I’ve also heard from several constituents who are concerned about the amount of spending included in the omnibus because they do not believe it focuses on the Administration’s homeland security efforts for things like the border wall.
You might be interested to know that the omnibus actually allocates $47.7 billion in discretionary funding for the Department of Homeland Security. With that said, it’s also important to realize the current state and scale of our southern border and how the omnibus responsibly addresses its needs.
Current Barrier Length: There are approximately 1,900 miles of border with Mexico. This border consists of several types of barriers, steel bollard double fencing, and levee walls. One-third (654 miles) of the Southwest border is a combination of pedestrian and vehicle fencing. It’s also important to note that127 miles are unsuitable for construction due to the terrain in those areas. The current border also has a concentrated combination of various types of infrastructure such as wall, fence, all-weather roads, lighting, enforcement cameras, ground sensors, and other related technology. About 1,300 miles of the Southwest border have no barriers established by the government.
Barrier Additions: The omnibus bill greatly strengthens our borders by providing $14 billion for Customs and Border Protection, which is $1.8 billion above Fiscal Year 2018 levels. This funding will provide more than 90 miles of barriers, going beyond the Administration’s request for 74 miles. Construction will occur primarily in two sectors along the border. The Rio Grande Valley Sector, where agents patrol over 320 river miles and 250 coastal miles; and the San Diego Sector, whose primary operational area of responsibility consists of 60 linear miles of international boundary with Mexico and 114 coastal border miles along the Pacific Ocean.
Omnibus funding: The omnibus includes $1.571 billion for much-needed personnel, physical barrier assets and infrastructure, and associated technology. This funding will help to support the identification, location, and arrest of removable aliens in the U.S., including 129 Fugitive Operations teams. It additionally provides funding for more law enforcement officers, domestic and international investigations programs, and the modernization of vessels, aircraft, and facilities to improve readiness.
Finally, it is worth noting that the omnibus funds federal spending for border security through September 30th of this year. With all due respect, we cannot spend $25 billion on any barrier system in the next six months when there is still land to be acquired, design and purchasing requirements to be fulfilled, and in many cases, the preparation work to decide where these barriers will go along a 1,300 mile open stretch of border.
Addressing School Safety
Continuing off the school safety issues discussed in my March 17th newsletter, my staff and I have been working on this issue daily. As you know, in light of February’s tragedy in Parkland, FL, there has been renewed interest in the components surrounding the mental health debate and what Congress is doing to appropriately address the issue.
Below is the latest update on several key components included in the omnibus to address school violence in addition to recent action taken by the Department of Justice (DOJ):
Delivering for Our Students & Teachers
The omnibus includes two important measures that will offer real solutions to the problems facing our nation. The Fix NICS bill and the STOP School Violence Act will work in tandem to empower our academic institutions and law enforcement officials by giving them the tools they need to appropriately identify threats before it’s too late.
The Fix NICS Act is a bipartisan bill to improve the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) by ensuring accurate records of persons prohibited from receiving or possessing a firearm are in the federal system. The bill also provides grants for states to maximize accurate record submission plans.
The STOP School Violence Act passed with an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 407-10 in the House back in March, sending a clear message to the country that we do not consider school safety to be an “us or them” issue and that we’re serious about taking action to keep our children safe. Specifically, the bill will provide millions of dollars in funding for early intervention and prevention programs in addition to enhanced technology and equipment to improve security and stop violence on school grounds.
Addressing Mental Health
In the case of the Parkland shooting, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz came from a history of loss, rejection, and violence, and was eventually expelled from Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School for disciplinary reasons prior to the February 14th shooting. Cruz is not unique. In fact, many of today’s young people are coming to school "broken" in a mental health sense as a result of social, cultural, and familial crises. Simply denying firearms to these students without being able to identify symptoms and provide assistance to them will not, in today’s culture, make schools safer. The challenge is to be comprehensive.
Solution: through the 21st Century Cures Act, the omnibus allocates $205 million for various behavioral and mental health programs to improve care for children with serious emotional disturbance and strengthen community crisis response systems. Below, I’ve highlighted some sections of this bill specific to school safety and violence prevention:
- Active-shooter training for law enforcement (Sec. 14011)
- Develop and operate mental health crisis intervention teams (Sec. 14010)
- Providing support and recovery care for children recovering from trauma (Sec. 10004)
- Provide specialized programs for children with serious emotional disturbances (SED) (Sec. 10001)
- Divert those with mental illnesses to community-based services (Sec. 9002)
- Enable law enforcement to use grants for mental health programs (Sec. 14001)
- Increase access to Assisted Outpatient Treatment Programs (Sec. 14002)
- Boost resources for mentally ill individuals in the judicial system (Sec. 14004)
- Allow state and local governments to use grants for treatment initiatives pertaining to the criminal justice system
- Create the National Criminal Justice and Mental Health Training Center (Sec. 14014)*
- Improve existing DOJ data on mental illness involved in crime (Sec. 14015)*
- Expanded training for law enforcement (Sec. 14024)*
- Creation of additional training for federal law enforcement (Sec. 14025)*
*The FY2018 Consolidated Appropriations Bill included an additional $30,000,000 for mental health programs without further specificity, from which these programs could receive funding.
- Strengthen community response systems (Sec. 9007)
- Expand the National Violent Death Reporting System (Sec. 9013)
Bump Stocks:
In light of the October 2017 shootings in Las Vegas, Congress passed H.R. 4477, the Fix NICS Act of 2017, legislation requiring the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosive’s (ATF) to submit to Congress, within 180 days of the passage of this bill, an administrative review of bump stocks. As you may also know, on March 10, 2017, the Department of Justice (DOJ) submitted a proposed regulation to clarify that the definition of “machinegun” in the National Firearms Act and Gun Control Act includes bump stock type devices. Accordingly, federal law prohibits the possession, sale, or manufacture of such devices. Click here to learn more about the DOJ’s announcement.
Government Shutdowns
With regard to funding the federal government through spending bills like the omnibus, it’s important to consider that when nothing is done by the Senate – until a government shutdown is looming – all the substantive talks take place solely between House and Senate leadership to resolve issues at the eleventh hour. This process, which is fueled by Senate-inaction, flies in the face of the regular order process and rank-and-file Members of Congress who are elected and expected to carry out their work in a transparent manner.
As you know, I was involved in the 2013-decision to shut the federal government down and supported that based on the issue at hand, which was the Affordable Care Act (ACA). However, I am certainly not comfortable shutting down the federal government because the Senate refuses to be transparent about its appropriations process. I’m not willing to tell our troops and the Pentagon they must cease operations while they are involved in foreign engagements because one chamber of Congress refuses to appropriate the funding needed to support their missions unless it’s behind closed doors.
The bottom line is this: a government shutdown, as a method of resolving partisan Senate disputes, has not proven to be an effective tool for negotiation. So until the Senate can fulfill one of its most basic duties as outlined in the Constitution, these types of spending bills will be the way Congress can continue allocating funding for critical programs that support our military, veterans, and national security efforts. If I’ve missed something here, as always, your help is welcome.
Balancing the Budget:
I based my decision to support the Bipartisan Budget Act and the omnibus appropriations bill after reviewing the federal spending increases included in each piece of legislation and analyzing their final net cost. When you consider recapturing the amounts returned directly as federal taxes such as income, excise, fuel, and others, combined with other direct and indirect impacts to the federal Treasury that are brought about by the financial and commercial activity of increased federal dollars in employee, contractor, supplier, consultant, and service members’ pockets – I expect this legislation to lift economic activity in Nevada and throughout the nation, resulting in increased tax collections. Time will tell what the “net cost” in terms of actual deficit increases will be.
Finally, although I broke from some of my colleagues who voted against either or both of these bills, and while I still do not see how they can justify voting against funding for national defense, our nation’s veterans, and children’s health care, I do agree with their analysis and concern about federal deficits. Two final pieces of information on deficits for your consideration: 1) Present federal tax collections are at an all-time high and 2) The full economic impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is yet to be fully realized.
See below for an update:
Economic Update
In light of the recent passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the Bipartisan Budget Act, and the omnibus, below is the latest update on the state of our economy after the March jobs report was released last Friday:
- The Department of Labor reported this week that the number of people receiving unemployment benefits is running at the lowest level in 44 years.
- The U.S. has created 605,000 new jobs since the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act became law.
- The economy has created 3,145,000 new jobs since President Trump was elected in November 2016.
- For March, the report shows an increase of 103,000 nonfarm jobs, with gains in manufacturing, mining, and health care.
In Case you missed it:
Carson City Chamber Event
I stopped by the Carson City Chamber last week to receive the Spirit of Enterprise award and provide a Washington update. Small businesses employ nearly half of our nation’s private workforce. To ensure these key drivers of economic development can continue to succeed, we must focus on pro-growth policies that encourage job creators to invest in their employees and increase productivity. I am honored to receive the Spirit of Enterprise Award and for the opportunity to spend time with the individuals who are truly the backbone of our economy.
Nevada Newsmakers
If you missed my latest interview with Nevada Newsmakers, click here or on the video above to tune in now.
Nevada News:
While I was home in Nevada over the last two weeks for the April district work period, here are some of the other folks I met with:
- West Wendover Mayor Daniel Corona and City Manager Chris Melville
- Wells Rural Electric
- Elko BLM Office
- Battle Mountain BLM Office
- Winnemucca BLM Office
- Washoe RTC
- Nevada Mining Association
- Lemmon Valley Flood Assessment
- Carson City BLM
As always, thank you for subscribing to the Amodei Report. I look forward to continuing to keep you up to date on the issues you care about most.
For additional information, please visit my website at amodei.house.gov or call my Washington office: (202) 225-6155, Reno office: (775) 686-5760 or Elko office: (775) 777-7705. To receive updates on what I am doing in Washington and in Nevada’s 2nd District follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Youtube.
