MONDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2010
SPECIAL UPDATE
UPDATED TENTATIVE SENATE SCHEDULE
The Senate will return from recess on Monday, November 15, 2010 at 2PM. The Senate will be in session for one week and then recess for the week of Thanksgiving, returning on November 29.
Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) has filed cloture on three bills which the Senate will consider upon returning the week of November 15. The bills are: S.3815, the Natural Gas and Electric Vehicles Bill, S.3772, the Paycheck Fairness Bill, and S.510 the Food Safety Bill. Each bill will have a separate cloture vote. If cloture is invoked on any bill, 30 hours of post cloture debate and a vote on the measure will follow.
TREASURY DEPARTMENT ANNOUNCES STATE ALLOCATIONS FOR SMALL BUSINESS CREDIT INITIATIVE
The U.S. Department of Treasury released state-by-state funding allocations for the $1.5 billion State Small Business Credit Initiative program (SSBCI) in the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 (P.L. 111-240). SSBCI provides federal funding to state small business lending programs. These funds augment private lending and together help small businesses that would otherwise not be able to access credit. According to the law, $10 of private funding is required to accompany every $1 of federal funding. Thus, the Department of Treasury estimates SSBCI to result in $15 billion in private lending.
In order to receive the federal funds, states are required to have an existing small business lending program. Examples include Collateral Support Programs for Small Manufacturers, Capital Access Programs, and Loan Guarantee Programs. States without a program may establish one in order to receive funding.
States are awarded their share of the $1.5 billion according to a formula based on the state's unemployment rate and the state's decline in employment relative to other states. According to the formula, Nevada's share is $13,803,176.
NRC BEGINS SHUTDOWN OF YUCCA
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Chairman Gregory Jaczko ordered his agency to begin an "orderly closure" of the Yucca application. This decision comes despite pending lawsuits and a commission decision on whether the Department of Energy can withdraw the application with prejudice. Since Congress has not passed any 2011 spending bills yet, the NRC is unsure if it "should be operating under budget guidance that Congress hasn't passed."
The decision to end the review is controversial because the NRC is still reviewing whether the Obama administration has the legal authority to withdraw their application. In June, the NRC's Atomic Safety and Licensing Board ruled that Congress, not the President, had authority to withdraw the application. The administration appealed the decision to the full NRC body.
The decision is also controversial due to pending lawsuits from the states of Washington and South Carolina. Both states are storing nuclear waste for the federal government.
UNEMPLOYMENT REMAINS HIGH IN LATEST LABOR STATISTICS
The Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the national unemployment rate remained at 9.6 percent for the second month in a row, down .3 percentage points from the year’s high of 9.9 percent in April. Private sector job loss in September totaled 95,000 while government employment declined by 159,000, due to both a drop in the number of temporary Census 2010 jobs and job losses in local governments. Jobless workers totaled 14.8 million.
In August, the latest month the Bureau of Labor Statistics has data for, Nevada's unemployment rate rose to 14.4%, which again led the nation. Michigan had the next highest rate, 13.1%. 14.4% is the highest unemployment rate Nevada has had since the Bureau of Labor Statistics began collecting state series data in 1976.
Across the nation, approximately 12 million more workers have taken part-time jobs because no full time work was available, or they have stopped looking for work because there are no jobs available. The number of workers considered long-term unemployed - jobless for 27 weeks or more, rose in September to 6.1 million, accounting for 41.7 percent of unemployed persons.
PRESIDENT EXPECTED TO POCKET VETO BILL THAT COULD AFFECT FORECLOSURES
The President is expected to pocket veto the Interstate Recognition of Notarizations Act of 2010 (H.R. 3808), which would make it easier for states to recognize out-of-state notarizations. The veto follows growing concerns over alleged errors in processing foreclosures by several mortgage servicing companies and the possible negative unintended consequences of the bill impacting the foreclosure process and hurting consumers.
The bill passed the House by voice vote on April 27 and passed in the Senate on September 27 without debate before adjourning for recess.
UPDATED TENTATIVE SENATE SCHEDULE
The Senate will return from recess on Monday, November 15, 2010 at 2PM. The Senate will be in session for one week and then recess for the week of Thanksgiving, returning on November 29.
Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) has filed cloture on three bills which the Senate will consider upon returning the week of November 15. The bills are: S.3815, the Natural Gas and Electric Vehicles Bill, S.3772, the Paycheck Fairness Bill, and S.510 the Food Safety Bill. Each bill will have a separate cloture vote. If cloture is invoked on any bill, 30 hours of post cloture debate and a vote on the measure will follow.
TREASURY DEPARTMENT ANNOUNCES STATE ALLOCATIONS FOR SMALL BUSINESS CREDIT INITIATIVE
The U.S. Department of Treasury released state-by-state funding allocations for the $1.5 billion State Small Business Credit Initiative program (SSBCI) in the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 (P.L. 111-240). SSBCI provides federal funding to state small business lending programs. These funds augment private lending and together help small businesses that would otherwise not be able to access credit. According to the law, $10 of private funding is required to accompany every $1 of federal funding. Thus, the Department of Treasury estimates SSBCI to result in $15 billion in private lending.
In order to receive the federal funds, states are required to have an existing small business lending program. Examples include Collateral Support Programs for Small Manufacturers, Capital Access Programs, and Loan Guarantee Programs. States without a program may establish one in order to receive funding.
States are awarded their share of the $1.5 billion according to a formula based on the state's unemployment rate and the state's decline in employment relative to other states. According to the formula, Nevada's share is $13,803,176.
NRC BEGINS SHUTDOWN OF YUCCA
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Chairman Gregory Jaczko ordered his agency to begin an "orderly closure" of the Yucca application. This decision comes despite pending lawsuits and a commission decision on whether the Department of Energy can withdraw the application with prejudice. Since Congress has not passed any 2011 spending bills yet, the NRC is unsure if it "should be operating under budget guidance that Congress hasn't passed."
The decision to end the review is controversial because the NRC is still reviewing whether the Obama administration has the legal authority to withdraw their application. In June, the NRC's Atomic Safety and Licensing Board ruled that Congress, not the President, had authority to withdraw the application. The administration appealed the decision to the full NRC body.
The decision is also controversial due to pending lawsuits from the states of Washington and South Carolina. Both states are storing nuclear waste for the federal government.
UNEMPLOYMENT REMAINS HIGH IN LATEST LABOR STATISTICS
The Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the national unemployment rate remained at 9.6 percent for the second month in a row, down .3 percentage points from the year’s high of 9.9 percent in April. Private sector job loss in September totaled 95,000 while government employment declined by 159,000, due to both a drop in the number of temporary Census 2010 jobs and job losses in local governments. Jobless workers totaled 14.8 million.
In August, the latest month the Bureau of Labor Statistics has data for, Nevada's unemployment rate rose to 14.4%, which again led the nation. Michigan had the next highest rate, 13.1%. 14.4% is the highest unemployment rate Nevada has had since the Bureau of Labor Statistics began collecting state series data in 1976.
Across the nation, approximately 12 million more workers have taken part-time jobs because no full time work was available, or they have stopped looking for work because there are no jobs available. The number of workers considered long-term unemployed - jobless for 27 weeks or more, rose in September to 6.1 million, accounting for 41.7 percent of unemployed persons.
PRESIDENT EXPECTED TO POCKET VETO BILL THAT COULD AFFECT FORECLOSURES
The President is expected to pocket veto the Interstate Recognition of Notarizations Act of 2010 (H.R. 3808), which would make it easier for states to recognize out-of-state notarizations. The veto follows growing concerns over alleged errors in processing foreclosures by several mortgage servicing companies and the possible negative unintended consequences of the bill impacting the foreclosure process and hurting consumers.
The bill passed the House by voice vote on April 27 and passed in the Senate on September 27 without debate before adjourning for recess.
CONGRESSIONAL RECESS SCHEDULE:
The Nevada Weekly will be published only on an as-needed basis
until Congress returns the week of November 15, 2010.
The State of Nevada Washington Office
is reachable by phone at (202) 624-5405.
Additional contact information is available on our website.
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