Senate Legislative Activity After a rare Sunday night session last night, the Senate will meet on Monday, June 1, at 12:00pm. Following any Leader remarks, the Senate will be in a period of morning business for one hour, with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each. Following morning business, the Senate will … Continue Reading
Congress Prepares for Memorial Day Recess, Capital Thinking to Return in June With Congress set to leave Washington at the end of the week for a week-long Memorial Day recess, lawmakers have a busy week ahead and are set to address various issues, from funding the nation’s infrastructure to investing in federal research programs to … Continue Reading
Senate Legislative Activity On Monday, May 11, the Senate will convene at 3:00pm. Following any Leaders remarks, the Senate will be in a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each. At 5:00pm, there will be up to 30 minutes of debate prior to a roll call vote … Continue Reading
Senate Legislative Activity On Monday, April 27, the Senate will convene at 3:00pm. Following any Leaders remarks, the Senate will resume consideration of H.R.1191, the Iran Congressional Review Act. At 5:00pm, the Senate will enter into an Executive Session to consider Executive Calendar #75, the nomination of Dava J. Newman, of Massachusetts, to be Deputy Administrator … Continue Reading
Senate Legislative Activity On Monday, April 20, the Senate will convene at 2:00pm. Following any Leaders remarks, the Senate will resume consideration of S.178, Justice for Victims of Human Trafficking. At 5:00pm, the Senate will enter into an Executive Session to consider Calendar #24, George C. Hanks, Jr., of Texas, to be U.S. District Judge for … Continue Reading
Just prior to the Easter Recess, the House and the Senate approved budget resolutions for the first time in six years. More significantly, House Speaker John Boehner and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi found common ground to move major bipartisan entitlement reform legislation through the House. For example, after more than a decade of trying, the … Continue Reading
Congress, Capital Thinking Prepare for Recess At the conclusion of this week, both the House and Senate will adjourn for a two-week recess. During this time, there will not be regularly scheduled updates of the Capital Thinking Blog. Both Congress and Capital Thinking will return on Monday, April 13. Senate Legislative Activity On Monday, March … Continue Reading
Senate Legislative Activity On Monday, March 16, following any Leaders remarks, the Senate will be in a period of morning business for one hour, beginning at 3:00pm. Following morning business, the Senate will resume consideration of S.178, a bill to provide justice for victims of human trafficking. Given that Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) filed cloture … Continue Reading
Senate Legislative Activity On Monday, March 2, following any Leader remarks, the Senate will resume consideration of the House Message to accompany H.R.240, appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which was laid before the Senate. Prior to adjourning on Friday, February 27, the Senate passed H.R.33, as amended with a substitute amendment (SA#268), to fund … Continue Reading
Senate Legislative Activity On Monday, February 23, following any Leader remarks, Senator John Hoeven (R-ND) will be recognized to deliver Washington’s Farewell Address. Following the reading, the Senate will recess until 4:30pm. At 4:30pm, the Senate will resume consideration of the motion to proceed to H.R. 240, the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act of 2105. … Continue Reading
President Obama to Release FY 2016 Budget Later today, President Obama is set to unveil his FY 2016 Budget (Budget), much of which has already been previewed in the weeks leading up to its release. Squire Patton Boggs will release a comprehensive Budget analysis on Wednesday, February 4. Senate Legislative Activity On Monday, February 2, … Continue Reading
Senate Legislative Activity On Monday, January 26, the Senate will convene at 4:30pm. Following any Leader remarks, the Senate will resume consideration of S.1, the Keystone bill. The filing deadline for first degree amendments to the bill is 3:00pm on Monday, with the second degree amendment deadline set for 5:00pm. A roll call vote will … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity DHS Spending Bill Slated for Consideration by House Late on Friday, January 9, House Republicans released a draft bill funding the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) through September 30, the end of the fiscal year. DHS is currently operating under a short-term continuing resolution passed as part of the Consolidated and Further … Continue Reading
Following a dramatic end to the 113th Congress – which saw year-end compromises around defense spending authorization and the so-called “cromnibus” appropriations bill – President Obama and the newly-elected Republican majority in the Senate are under pressure to demonstrate to the American people their capacity to govern for the next two years. As the new … Continue Reading
House of Representatives Leadership Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) was reelected as Speaker of the House. A small faction of the Republican Party – 25 Members – did not vote for him. As a result, two of those Members, Florida Congressmen Richard Nugent and Daniel Webster, lost their seats on the influential House Rules Committee. Scott … Continue Reading
113th Congress Adjourns, 114th Congress Set to Begin During the final weeks of the 113th Congress, lawmakers were able to pass a $1.1 trillion spending package, as well as legislation that retroactively extended more than 50 expired tax provisions for the 2014 calendar year. Additionally, the Senate was able to confirm numerous Obama nominees, including … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity 114th Congress Prepares for Busy Appropriations and Budget Season Legislators are gearing up for a busy agenda at the start of the 114th Congress, including several key appropriations and budget priorities. On December 16, 2014, President Obama signed the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act (also known as the “CRomnibus”). The CRomnibus funds … Continue Reading
Before the 113th Congress adjourned on December 16, Congress adopted the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act of 2015, which ensures the federal government operates with budget certainty until September 2015. Among the provisions included in the last-minute budget agreement was an amendment to a provision in the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act) that will … Continue Reading
2014 Mid-Term Congressional Election Analysis The mid-term elections were notable for two reasons, one historical, one prospective. The Senate elections on Tuesday marked the 100th year of direct elections of Senators pursuant to the 17th Amendment, which became effective in 1913, superseding Article I, section 3, of the Constitution, under which Senators had until then … Continue Reading
