THE LONG GAME: Six Appropriations bills released; Biden prepares for SOTU speech
Appropriators unveiled six spending bills Sunday to keep key agencies and departments operating for the remainder of the fiscal year. The price tag comes to $467.5 billion and would fund the Departments of Transportation, Veterans Affairs, Energy, Agriculture, Interior, and Housing and Urban Development, plus the Environmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration. The bills face a deadline of Friday at midnight. A second package of bills-- including Pentagon spending as well as funding for the Departments of Homeland Security, Labor, HHS and Education-- will need to pass by March 22. Although the measures are likely to pass, objections have been raised by conservative members who have been insisting on policy riders on abortion and other issues. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is expected to call for a vote on the package as early as Wednesday and is likely to be considered under suspension of the rules, requiring a two-thirds majority to pass, making votes from Democrats crucial. The measures include some Democratic priorities, such as a $1 billion increase in spending for Woman, Infant and Children (WIC) food assistance programs. Among the GOP “wins” are a 7-percent cut to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and a 6-percent cut for the FBI.
Against the backdrop of a presidential election and multiple overseas conflicts, President Biden is preparing to deliver his third State of the Union address Thursday evening. Biden is likely to stress a string of accomplishments, such the bipartisan infrastructure bill and his signature Inflation Reduction Act. Looking ahead, he will also propose efforts to lower prescription drug costs and make wealthy individuals and corporations pay their fair share in taxes, while stressing the need to “save democracy.” The administration’s focus on reproductive health care will be highlighted by First Lady Jill Biden’s special guest: Kate Cox, a Texas woman who was unable to receive an emergency abortion in her home state despite having a nonviable pregnancy. The Republican response will be delivered by Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL).
Washington Watch is published weekly when Congress is in session. Published monthly during extended recess or adjournment.
Spotlight on Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico government says it is on track for SNAP transition
The government of Puerto Rico told the U.S. Department of Agriculture that, despite doubts expressed by the top official of the USDA, the Island is taking steps to prepare for a potential transition from the Nutrition Assistance Program (NAP) to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The response comes days after Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack shared he was not convinced that Puerto Rico would be ready for the transition. “I think it´s not a matter, unfortunately of weeks or months, but I think it is certainly in the foreseeable future, the expectation and the goal is to actually transition (to SNAP),” Vilsack said when asked about SNAP by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) during a Senate Agriculture Committee hearing last week. In a letter to Vilsack, Family Secretary Ciení Rodríguez Troche and the Administrator for the Socioeconomic Development of the Family, Alberto Fradera Vázquez said they are already working toward a possible transition program. They cited a pilot project now underway in Carolina that incorporates SNAP work requirements. The officials also claim to have a plan to transition to SNAP within five years instead of over a full decade, meeting the standard called for in a report commissioned by the USDA. Gillibrand introduced legislation for a transition process from NAP to SNAP for Puerto Rico; she might attempt to attach the measure to the reauthorization of the Farm Bill later this year.
Over $10 million in real estate sales registered in Dorado Beach
According to El Nuevo Dia, residential property sales have exceeded $10 million in one upscale community during the initial months of 2024: the Dorado Beach Resort. This includes an apartment recently purchased by retired St. Louis Cardinal catcher Yadier Molina for $11 million. It is located next to the Ritz-Carlton Reserve in the West Beach residential-tourist complex. Last year’s largest transaction was the sale of Molina’s 12,000-square foot mansion to boxer Jake Joseph Paul, for $15.75 million. All of this is in contrast to sales in 2022. During that year, Dorado saw 12 residential sales exceeding $10 million. The largest transaction was the sale of Jason W. Moore’s mansion for $40 million, a record for the Island’s residential market.
Payments to LUMA set to increase dramatically
Due to inflation and the bankruptcy of the Puerto Rican Electric Power Authority (PREPA), payments to LUMA Energy will increase by approximately $600 million over 15 years, El Nuevo Dia reports. Under the terms of a privatization agreement, both fixed payments and bonuses will skyrocket. Approximately $366 million of this amount has been paid since 2021, after a supplemental contract took effect that enables PREPA to complete its restructuring process. On top of that, the government of Puerto Rico has added $269 million to its future obligations to LUMA. “We have been experiencing unprecedented inflation in recent years. It is usual in these public-private partnership contracts worldwide to consider inflationary increases, and not just in the contract language,” said Fermín Fontanés Gómez, executive director of the agency managing the contract between LUMA Energy and PREPA.
View From the White House
The Department of Health and Human Services last week issued a new rule that will lower costs for more than 100,000 families that receive childcare subsidies by limiting the amount that those families pay for childcare to 7 percent of their household income.
The Commerce Department announced that it is issuing an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking that will launch a probe into the national security risks posed by “connected vehicles” -- or “smart cars”-- made in China.
The Biden Administration said Thursday that it will increase the nation’s affordable housing inventory through $225 million in new grants from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The grants will be used to replace dilapidated homes and assist homeowners with repairs and upgrades.
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