It has been 13 years since the events of September 11th, 2001. Yesterday the House and Senate honored the memories of those lost on that day with medals to be given to the memorials in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, the Pentagon, and Ground Zero. Speaker Boehner told the crowd, “This is the first time the Medal has been given in honor of so many fallen innocents. And we pray it is the last time. That, more than anything, is why we do this,”

Fifteen governors have signed a letter to the president saying the EPA’s greenhouse gas rule to regulate carbon “exceeds the scope of federal law.” The governors are arguing that the EPA cannot use two separate rules to regulate a single source. They write in the letter, “In attempting to regulate outside the fence, the agency’s proposal not only exceeds the scope of federal law, but also, in some cases, directly conflicts with established state law.”

With yesterday’s net neutrality internet slow down protest, public comments to the FCC have exceeded 1.4 million. This dethroned the previous record for FCC’s public comments generated after Janet Jackson’s “wardrobe malfunction” at the Super Bowl. An earlier study by the Sunlight foundation found that 60 percent of the comments on net neutrality were form letters by campaigns. You can find AAF’s comments to the FCC here.

Employer health plans have skyrocketed nearly 50 percent since 2009 according to a new study by the Kaiser Family Foundation. The average deductable for workers is now $1,217 with over 20 percent having to pay $2,000. Small companies are disproportionately hit with nearly one third having paying $2,000 before insurance kicks in.

Eakinomics: House Continuing Resolution

The House of Representatives is expected to vote soon on a bill to provide funding for the federal government through December 11, 2014. The basic structure for H.J.Res. 124 was announced in a press release by House Appropriations Chair Hal Rogers (R-KY). As originally outlined, the bill would fund the government consistent with the cap of $1.012 trillion from the 2013 Bipartisan Budget Act, but would require an across the board cut to funding levels of roughly 0.06 percent to hit the target. These numbers could well shift somewhat in response to the president’s request for funds to respond to ISIS in Syria last night. 

In addition to funding issues, the CR would meet some policy needs. It would extend through June 30, 2015 the Export-Import Bank, reauthorize Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, permit some flexibility in shifting funds to meet border security needs, extend the Internet Tax Moratorium through December 11, and provide $30 million in funds to fight the Ebola virus epidemic.

As with previous short-term funding bills, the outcome is a mixed bag. Certainly, it would be better governance to pass the annual appropriation bills and provide full-year funding for the agencies. Failing that, this outcome is far superior to a government shutdown.

From the Forum

6 Ways to Make College More Affordable by Chad Miller, AAF Director of Education Policy

Primer: The Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) by Brittany La Couture, AAF Health Care Policy Analyst; and Conor Ryan, AAF Health Care Data Analyst