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    Washington Letter November 2015

     

    Federal Government

    Sentencing reform legislation ready for floor votes in Senate and House

    Judiciary committees in both the Senate and House have approved separate bipartisan bills to make significant changes in federal sentencing laws, setting the stage for full floor action on final legislation. S. 2123, approved Oct. 22 by the Senate Judiciary Committee, and H.R. 3713, which garnered House Judiciary Committee approval Nov. 18, both would narrow the scope of mandatory sentences to focus on the most serious drug offenders and violent criminals to address the burgeoning federal prison population.

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    Homelessness

    ABA urges attention to education of children in foster care

    The ABA urged Senate and House committee leaders this month to make sure that the final version of legislation to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act includes provisions in the Senate-passed bill to ensure that educational needs are met for students in foster care and those who are homeless. Both House and Senate have passed versions of the reauthorization legislation, which would overhaul the 2002 No Child Left Behind Act to give states more flexibility over education programs.

    Federal Government

    Deadline looms for enactment of appropriations

    Congress is facing a Dec. 11 deadline for enacting an omnibus appropriations package that will fund the federal government through fiscal year 2016. Members passed a continuing resolution this fall when none of the 12 separate appropriations bills had been enacted into law by Oct. 1, the start of the fiscal year. The continuing resolution, P.L. 114-53 (H.R. 719), extended funding at fiscal year 2015 levels with a small across-the-board reduction to maintain the spending cap put in place by the Budget Control Act of 2013.

    Immigration

    Justice Department urges Supreme Court to allow deportation relief for certain undocumented immigrants

    The Justice Department filed a petition Nov. 20 asking the U.S. Supreme Court to allow the Obama administration to implement a plan to provide temporary deportation relief to as many as 5 million undocumented immigrants. The petition seeks to overturn a decision by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals that upheld a preliminary injunction halting the president’s executive action, which was announced in November 2014 to provide deportation protection for parents of U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents who have been in the country for at least five years.

    Government Benefits

    New Medicare rule provides for advance care planning consultation

    A new rule issued this fall by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) authorizes reimbursement to physicians providing advance care planning services – an action supported by the ABA to help ensure that patients receive the support they need to make informed decisions about their treatment and care. The ABA, which has a long history of strongly promoting the value of advance care planning and use of advance health care directives, supports meaningful planning services as a regular component of care for Medicare beneficiaries.