Policy Update: State of the Union, Budgeting, Supreme Court Nomination, and More

Nonprofit Connect works to keep Members updated on policy changes that affect nonprofits through Policy Updates. These messages provide brief information on what is going on in federal government and policy that may be of interest to the nonprofit community.

State of the Union Address
Last night, President Biden gave his first State of the Union address. This is the President’s opportunity to outline his agenda for the next year. In it, he reiterated the United States’ commitment to supporting Ukraine and outlined his plan to combat inflation, as well as to continue to be diligent about COVID-19 even as cases are declining and the CDC modified its mask recommendations.
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Funding the Federal Government
The next few weeks in Congress must focus on funding the government; the current continuing resolution expires on March 11th. The goal is to pass a large omnibus spending bill that will fund every federal agency through the remainder of this fiscal year. Democrats in Congress have outlined a desire to increase spending for education, combatting climate change, health care, and housing. Some are trying to add other, new funding priorities to the must-pass bill, such as President Biden’s request for $35 billion to support COVID vaccinations and testing.
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Supreme Court Personnel Change
Liberal Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer announced his retirement, to take place at the end of the summer. Last week, President Biden announced his nomination of federal appeals court Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to replace him. If confirmed, she would be the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court, as well as the court’s first former public defender. The Senate intends to consider and vote on her confirmation quickly.
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Local Redistricting – Who Will Represent You?

• Kansas – On February 3rd, Governor Kelly vetoed the redistricting bill passed by the Kansas legislature, stating the bill does not empower all people of Kansas. The redistricting plan was considered controversial because it split Wyandotte County in half and separated the city of Lawrence from the rest of Douglas County. However, the House and Senate successfully overrode the Governor’s veto, which means the map is approved. It is expected that the district map will be challenged in court. Read more.
• Missouri – While the Missouri House passed a new Congressional district map that is projected to maintain the 6-2 Republican-Democrat seat split over a month ago, the Senate has yet to pass a map. A map that would have split up Kansas City and created 7 seats that leaned Republican was voted down after a long debate. The Senate majority and the Conservative Caucus are not on the same page about the approach to redistricting. There is no clear path forward at this time. Learn more.

• Kansas – The Strengthening People and Revitalizing Kansas (SPARK) Executive Committee invited people to submit ideas for how it would spend its State Fiscal Recovery Funds. The online submission form closed on February 16th and over 750 submissions were received. The next step is for the Advisory Panels to review the proposals and make recommendations to the Executive Committee. Advisory Panel meetings can be watched here.
• Missouri – The legislature passed, and Governor Parson signed, a supplemental budget last week to modify spending in this fiscal year. This bill includes some American Rescue Plan funds allocated to the state for K-12 education. The remainder of the State Fiscal Recovery Funds are being considered by the General Assembly and will likely be allocated in the typical appropriations process. Learn more.