Inside this issue • Midterm Elections Alter Congressional Landscape • Strategy for FY20 Minority Fellowship Funding Program Comes Into Focus • Virginia Continues To Work Toward Portability: NCLEP Update   Midterm Elections Alter Congressional Landscape     Last month, Democrats took control of the House of Representatives in the midterm elections, giving them more influence over the federal legislative agenda for the next two years. A total of 39 House seats flipped from red to blue, with one race yet to be decided. When the 116th Congress convenes in January, Democrats will fill the chair positions on all House committees and subcommittees, giving them greater control over what pieces of legislation move through each one. Health care, tax reform, infrastructure, and the opioid crisis are among the many policy areas they are expected to focus on.   Republicans maintained control of the Senate, flipping three seats from Democratic control for a 53-47. Despite this, changes will also be coming for the chamber. Several longtime senators have retired, leaving their seats and committee assignments open. Party leadership will determine who will take over these roles by late January.   NBCC will continue to cultivate relationships with legislators on both sides of the aisle as the Government Affairs team begins to navigate through a new session. Identifying key players on committees such as the House Ways and Means, House Energy and Commerce, and Senate Finance Committees, among others, will remain a top priority. Most of the legislative work on issues such as Medicare, federal funding, veteran's affairs, and other NBCC focuses is done at the committee level, and we will be working to both nurture longstanding relationships with these members as well as reach out to new ones.   Top   Strategy for FY20 Minority Fellowship Funding Program Comes Into Focus     NBCC's Government Affairs staff has begun preparations for the FY20 appropriations season. The process usually kicks into high gear around mid-February, after the President releases his FY20 budget, which is meant to serve as a policy suggestion and list of priorities for Congress to consider. Among the issues that NBCC advocates for during this process is the Minority Fellowship Program (MFP).   NBCC is part of a coalition with the American Psychological Association, the American Psychiatric Association, the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, the American Nurses Association, NADAAC, the Association for Addiction Professionals, and the Council on Social Work Education. This coalition successfully fought for a $500,000 increase to the MFP last year. Representatives G.K. Butterfield (D-NC) and John Katko (R-NY) were crucial in securing this funding after it was zeroed out in President Trump's proposed FY19 budget. NBCC thanks Reps. Butterfield and Katko for their commitment to increased MFP funding.    NBCC will again work with partner organizations to advocate for additional funding for the MFP. We have worked collectively over the past year to forge relationships and educate lawmakers on the importance of the program. Our work has paid off, as the program is widely popular among both parties and has no opposition. We will continue to strategize with our partners and work together on the upcoming MFP appropriations process.   Top   Virginia Continues To Work Toward Portability: NCLEP Update     NBCC has been closely monitoring the petition for rulemaking aimed at streamlining portability standards for Virginia counselors. On Nov. 2, the Virginia Counseling Board considered the request to include the National Counselor Licensure Endorsement Process (NCLEP; www.nbcc.org/Assets/Portability/Portability-Statement-Endorsement-Process.pdf) in its licensure rules. The board voted to refer the issue of portability to its Regulatory Committee for further consideration and not to initiate rulemaking at this time.     The decision to refer the issue to the Regulatory Committee was based on the fact that the board is currently engaged in its periodic review of the regulations and will consider modification of the endorsement regulations as part of this standard review process. The board reviews its regulations every four years. The board has the option to add the NCLEP to the rules in an effort to improve portability, which eliminates the need for a new regulatory initiative. The Regulatory Committee will conduct the periodic review during its Jan. 4 and Feb. 7, 2019, meetings.    The board did take another action to streamline the endorsement process, by recognizing the Certified Clinical Mental Health Counselor (CCMHC) credential from NBCC as acceptable in lieu of transcripts verifying education and documentation verifying supervised experience.    NBCC supports the inclusion of the NCLEP, proposed jointly by NBCC, the American Association of State Counseling Boards (AASCB), the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (ACES), and the American Mental Health Counselors Association (AMHCA), as a portability process to promote uniform licensure endorsement standards across the states. The NCLEP balances the need for public protection and uniform training and education standards.   Top Key Legislation Medicare H.R. 3032: Mental Health Access Improvement Act of 2017 S. 1879: Seniors Mental Health Access Improvement Act of 2017 HR 5531: Opioid Emergency Response Act Veterans' Affairs H.R. 3158: Better Workforce for Veterans Act of 2017 S. 1557: Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2018 S. 1325: Better Workforce for Veterans Act of 2017 Federal Occupational Classification HR 5895: Energy and Water, Legislative Branch, and Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act, 2019 Federal Grants and Scholarship Funding HR 6597: Mental Health Professionals Workforce Shortage Loan Repayment Act of 2018 H.R. 5102: Substance Use Disorder Workforce Loan Repayment Act of 2018 HR 6470: Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2019 S 3158: Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2019 Military S. 1519: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018 H.R. 2810: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018