The Senate will convene today, Monday, September 30, at 2:00 pm. After any leader remarks, the Senate will be in a period of morning business until 5:00 pm, with senators being permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each. Senators will be notified when any votes are scheduled. Today, the House will convene at … Continue Reading
LEGISLATIVE ACTIVITY FARM BILL On Saturday, September 28, in its fast-track rule to consider the continuing resolution, the House approved (by a vote of 226-191) a rule to merge its “agriculture-only” bill and the Nutrition Reform and Work Opportunity Act of 2013 (H.R. 3102), which would cut Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as food … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Cybersecurity Legislation Last week, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-MI) called on the Senate Intelligence Committee to pass a cybersecurity information sharing bill so that it could eventually be conferenced with his bill that passed the House in April – the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (H.R. 624). Privacy and national … Continue Reading
EXECUTIVE AND LEGISLATIVE BRANCH ACTIVITY Budget and Debt Ceiling With a government shutdown imminent, the Senate passed its modified version of the continuing resolution (CR) on Friday, September 27. The Senate version changed the expiration date from December 15 to November 15 and removed the House Republican language that defunded the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Student Debit Cards Last Thursday, September 26, Democratic lawmakers, including Sens. Sherrod Brown (OH), Elizabeth Warren (MA), and Dick Durbin (IL), as well as Reps. George Miller (CA), Louise Slaughter (NY), Maxine Waters (CA) and Peter Welch (VT), sent letters to bank CEOs asking for information related to their agreements with institutions of … Continue Reading
Legislative and Legal Activity Nevada Files Petition To Rehear Yucca Mountain Decision The State of Nevada filed a petition to rehear en banc In re: Aiken County, et. al., v. Federal Regulatory Commission in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The petition responds to a writ of mandamus issued on August 13 by a … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity This Week’s Hearings: Tuesday, October 1: The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources will hold a full committee hearing titled “Transboundary Hydrocarbon Agreement.” The committee will consider two bills: S. 812, to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to implement the agreement between the United States and Mexico regarding transboundary hydrocarbon reservoirs … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity This Week’s Hearings: Tuesday, October 1: The Senate Banking Committee will hold a hearing titled “Housing Finance Reform: Fundamentals of a Functioning Private Label Mortgage Backed Securities Market.” This is the first in a series of eight hearings the committee will hold on specific aspects of the housing finance market, with the goal … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Centerstage: Affordable Care Act The Affordable Care Act (ACA) remains in the spotlight this week with Tuesday, October 1 marking a major deadline as open enrollment in the health insurance exchanges officially begins. ACA defund and delay provisions, however, remain a key issue in the ping-pong over the continuing resolution (CR). The Senate … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity U.S. Department of Homeland Security Nomination Hearings On Tuesday, October 1, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee will consider Obama administration nominees for U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of the General Counsel and Under Secretary of Homeland Security. The committee is expected to report out the two nominees to … Continue Reading
Executive and Legislative Branch Activity Syria Last Thursday, September 26, the five permanent members of the United Nations (U.N.) Security Council finalized a resolution that stipulates the Syrian government must abide by the terms or the Security Council will take measures under Chapter VII of the U.N. Charter. Such measures could include economic sanctions or military … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Lawmakers Consider Tax Provisions in Debt Ceiling and Government Funding Debates With both the debt ceiling and government funding deadlines coming quickly, House Republicans and some House Democrats have joined together to attach a repeal of the 2.3 percent medical device tax to the government funding legislation. (Separately, and almost on a party-line … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Privacy Working Group Holds Closed Door Meeting The House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Privacy Working Group held a closed-door roundtable meeting last Thursday, September 26. The working group is co-chaired by Committee Vice Chairman Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT), and provides a forum to evaluate privacy policy issues so committee members … Continue Reading
LEGISLATIVE ACTIVITY WRDA Reauthorization Floor consideration of H.R. 3080, the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2013 (WRRDA), is expected in early October but pressing action on the continuing resolution and the debt ceiling may cause some delay. This Week’s Hearings: Tuesday, October 1: The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Panel on 21st Century … Continue Reading
The Senate will convene today, Monday, September 23, at 2:00 pm. After any leader remarks, the Senate will be in a period of morning business until 4:00 pm, with senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each. Last Thursday, September 19, the Senate reached an agreement that when the House-passed Continuing Resolution (H. … Continue Reading
LEGISLATIVE ACTIVITY House Nutrition Title Bill Last week, the House passed its nutrition title bill, the Nutrition Reform and Work Opportunity Act of 2013 (H.R. 3102), by a vote of 217 to 210. The bill would cut Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as food stamps) funding by $39 billion over the next 10 years, … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Cybersecurity Legislation Last week, the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Security Technologies marked up two cybersecurity bills – the Critical Infrastructure Research and Development Advancement (CIRDA) Act of 2013 (H.R. 2952) and the Homeland Security Cybersecurity Boots-on-the-Ground Act (H.R. 3107). The subcommittee passed both bills by voice vote and … Continue Reading
Executive and LEGISLATIVE Branch ACTIVITY Navy Yard Tragedy On September 16, Aaron Alexis, a lone shooter, opened fire at the U.S. Navy Yard in Washington, DC. His attack resulted in 13 deaths, including his own, and eight injuries. Alexis was a former Navy reservist turned contractor with a security clearance that allowed him access to … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Charter Schools House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) announced last week that he would visit a charter school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania today to deliver a policy speech about expanding school choice. Majority Leader Cantor’s amendment on school choice was adopted as part of the House’s bill to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Energy Efficiency Legislation Delayed The Senate failed last week to fully consider S. 1392, energy efficiency legislation introduced by Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Rob Portman (R-OH). While the legislation enjoys bipartisan support, consideration of the legislation has been delayed by negotiations regarding non-germane amendments related to the Keystone XL Pipeline and implementation … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity This Week’s Hearings: Tuesday, September 24: The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Safety, will hold a hearing to examine black carbon as a global health problem and to determine low-cost solutions. Tuesday, September 24: The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, Subcommittee on Oceans, … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Terrorism Risk Insurance Reauthorization Gets Congress’ Attention Last week the House Financial Services Committee addressed the issue of reauthorization of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA), with committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) stating he felt “skeptical” about the need for reauthorization. This week, the Senate Banking Committee will address the issue with a … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity CR Wrangling The House approved H. J. Res. 59 last week, a Continuing Resolution (CR) to fund the government through December 15 at sequester funding levels. As expected, the resolution includes a provision that would defund the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The Senate will take up the CR this week, and is expected … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity U.S. Department of Homeland Security Nomination Hearings Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Thomas Carper (D-DE) and Ranking Member Tom Coburn (R-OK) continue to criticize the outstanding number of open leadership slots at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Last week, the committee held a hearing to consider nominees to … Continue Reading
