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Volume 1, No. 34, October 1, 2019

U. S. Appeals Court Hears Challenge to H-1B Spouses’ Work Permits
 
In September, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit heard oral arguments [ [link removed] ] in the Save Jobs USA v. the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) case. Save Jobs USA is appealing a lower court’s decision against their complaint, which was initially filed in 2015 after the release of a DHS regulation allowing H-4 visa holders, many of whom are spouses of H-1B holders, to work in the U.S. The group filing the lawsuit represents former Southern California Edison employees who say they were displaced by H-1B guest workers and that they will be further harmed if the DHS rule providing work authorization to the spouses of H-1B holders is permitted to continue.
 
The DHS regulation in question was promulgated under the Obama Administration, but is currently being rewritten by the Trump Administration. In a letter to the Court dated Sept. 16, DHS states that it “formally submitted the proposed rule, titled Removing H-4 Dependent Spouses from the Class of Aliens Eligible for Employment Authorization (H-4 EAD proposed rule), to both the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) for their review…[and that] the proposed rule is currently undergoing the interagency review process…” DHS had requested in the letter that oral arguments be postponed, thereby delaying the case because the agency believes that the court’s ruling may no longer be applicable once the new rule is released. However, the Court denied the request from DHS.
 
Currently, the Obama era rule remains in effect until further notice.

District of Columbia Council Considers Additional Soda Tax
 
Days after a new 2% tax on sodas and other sugary drinks went into effect, the DC City Council is now considering a bill [ [link removed] ] that would replace it with an excise tax. The bill, announced on Oct. 7, would apply to sugary drinks with any “natural common sweeteners,” which would include beverages other than just soda. This comes at a time when proposed taxes on sugary beverages [ [link removed] ] are being hotly debated around the country. Cities such as San Francisco, Philadelphia, and Boulder, CO, have all implemented similar measures, while Chicago reversed course [ [link removed] ] only two months after imposing a soda tax and repealed it.
 
The proposed 1.5 cents per ounce tax is being explored as a strategy to improve health for the District’s low-income neighborhoods where rates of obesity and diabetes are high and “food deserts” limit healthy options [ [link removed] ] . Supporters of the measure argue that the tax will fund early childhood education, grants for outdoor recreation and healthy food programs. Those opposed to the measure, such as the Maryland-Delaware-DC Beverage Association, argue that it will cost jobs and make it harder to attract business to the District. Opponents have also expressed concern that consumers will simply purchase their beverages outside of the District.
 
Most of the DC Council have signed on to the latest measure, giving hope to advocates supporting the tax.

Sen. Alexander Releases the Senate’s Update to the Higher Education Act
 
Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Chairman of the U.S. Senate’s Health, Labor and Pensions Committee, recently released his update to the Higher Education Act. The 169-page [ [link removed] ] legislative package includes bipartisan proposals from Democratic and Republican senators and unlike past reauthorizations, the legislative package is narrowly focused and centers primarily on financial aid.
 
In addition to the permanent mandatory funding of $255 million per year for Historically Black Colleges and Universities and other minority-serving institutions, the bill would also:
 • Simplify the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), including reducing the number of questions asked on the application,
 • Expand Pell Grant eligibility to include incarcerated individuals,
 • Allow the use of Pell Grants for short-term higher education programs, including allowing for-profit colleges to access Pell Grants for short-term programs, and
 • Standardize the format and terminology used in financial-aid letters.

U.S. Rep. Robert “Bobby” Scott (D-VA), Chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives’ Education and Labor Committee, has yet to release his update to the Higher Education Act, though expectations are that it will be significantly different from the Senate’s version.

Colorado Continues to Explore Public Health Insurance Option
 
In April, the ADEA Advocate informed readers of Colorado’s plans to explore a “public option” for health insurance. On Oct. 7, the state’s Division of Insurance and its Department of Health Care Policy and Financing released a draft report detailing [ [link removed] ] how that public option might look in a plan that would likely include an option for dental coverage. Under the draft, the state would design insurance plan options, but private health insurance companies would manage the plans and sell them on the state’s health insurance exchange.
 
One aspect of the plan that could draw opposition from the state’s hospitals, however, is that public option plans would reimburse hospitals at a fee-for-service rate lower than other insurance plans. To provide dental coverage [ [link removed] ] and other additional benefits, the state would seek to create extra funding by applying for a waiver under Affordable Care Act that would allow them to use premium tax credit, pass-through funding to help cover costs.
 
If a final version of the plan is approved and implemented, the public option is expected to be available to consumers in Colorado by 2022.

ADEA State Calendar [ [link removed] ]

ADEA Washington Calendar [ [link removed] ]

ADEA U.S. Interactive Legislative and Regulatory Tracking Map [ [link removed] ]

Key Federal Issues [ [link removed] ]

Key State Issues [ [link removed] ]

The ADEA Advocate [ [link removed] ] is published weekly. Its purpose is to keep ADEA members abreast of federal and state issues and events of interest to the academic dentistry and the dental and research communities.
 
©2019
American Dental Education Association
655 K Street, NW, Suite 800
Washington, DC 20001
202-289-7201, adea.org [ [link removed] ]

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B. Timothy Leeth, CPA
ADEA Chief Advocacy Officer
 
Bridgette DeHart, J.D.
ADEA Director of Federal Relations
 
Phillip Mauller, M.P.S.
ADEA Director of State Relations and Advocacy
 
Brian Robinson
ADEA Program Manager for Advocacy and Government Relations
 
Ambika R. Srivastava, M.P.H.
ADEA/Sunstar Americas, Inc./Jack Bresch Legislative Intern
 
[email protected] [ mailto:[email protected]?subject=State%20Update%3A%20 ]

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