Hill Update
Senate Judiciary Committee Approves JJDPA Reauthorization
Last Thursday, July 31, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved legislation to reauthorize the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (JJDPA). The reauthorization legislation, S. 3155, was introduced in June by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA), and Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI). It advances the JJDPA as a prevention- oriented statute that will continue to set high standards to protect youth.
The Senate Judicial Committee also adopted several critical amendments that significantly strengthened the bill. The Committee voted 11-7 to approve an amendment offered by Senator Cardin (D-MD) that would completely phase out the Valid Court Order (VCO) exception to the Deinstitutionalization of Status Offenders (DSO) core requirement in three years. Currently, a loophole in federal law allows judges to detain and incarcerate status offenders (like runaway youth) who have violated another court order. Therefore, a youth can run away from a juvenile justice group home, be put back, run away again in violation of the court order, and then become incarcerated. On any given day in 2004, more than 4,700 young people were held for status offenses and, according to FBI data, there were over 400,000 juvenile arrests for status offenses in 2004.
The Committee also voted 18-1 to approve an amendment offered by Senators Feinstein (D-CA), Kennedy (D-MA), and Whitehouse (D-RI) to provide greatly increased substance abuse and mental health services to youth involved in the juvenile justice system. This amendment supports substance abuse and mental health services through comprehensive incentive grants for which States may apply.
Finally, the Committee approved two amendments by Senator Grassley (R-IA) that will provide more oversight for the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDDP) by requiring the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to examine grants distribution and actions to recover wrongly disbursed grants.
This legislation has no companion piece in the House.
President Signs Housing Bill
Last Wednesday, July 30, President Bush signed a comprehensive housing package into law. The law will permanently create a national housing trust fund with a dedicated revenue source and increase the government's line of credit to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Additionally, the law will allow the Federal Housing Administration to guarantee loans for at-risk homeowners to refinance, as well as set up a Federal Housing Finance Agency to supervise Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Banks. The president signed the bill (H.R. 3221), despite a veto threat over the inclusion of $3.9 billion in funding for Community Development Block Grants.
House Committee Approves Housing Bill for People with Disabilities
Last Wednesday, July 30, the House Financial Services Committee approved legislation that would provide affordable housing for people with disabilities. H.R. 5772 would amend Section 811 of the National Affordable Housing Act (PL 101-625), and it would authorize a demonstration program to provide rent subsidies to low-income individuals with disabilities. The bill, which was introduced by Rep. Christopher Murphy (D-CT), would require that occupancy in housing units subject to federal assistance under the bill be limited to individuals with disabilities and households in which at least one member has a disability, regardless of the particular type of disability involved.
House Passes FY 2009 Military Construction-VA Spending Bill
Last Friday, August 1, the House passed H.R. 6599, the first FY 2009 appropriations bill to reach the floor of either chamber. The $118.7 billion Military Construction-VA spending bill came to the floor Friday, after the narrow adoption on Thursday of a rule limiting amendments to those that had been filed a day earlier. HR 6599 includes $130 million for the homeless veterans' grants and per diem program, which represents level funding from FY 2008. This allocation is $8 million above the president's request, and includes $32 million to hire additional personnel for the HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) Program.
Congress in Recess
Both Houses of Congress are in recess until Monday, September 8th for a District Work Period. The Senate will convene pro forma sessions throughout the recess.
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