Legislative Activity Sen. Thune Introduces Bill Regarding Spectrum Auction Deposits On November 19, Sen. John Thune (R-SD), Chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee (Senate Commerce Committee), introduced S.2319, a bill that reduces some of the administrative burden associated with the handling of auction deposits. Specifically, the bill would require spectrum auction deposits … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House Lawmakers to Mark-Up FSOC-Related Bills On Tuesday, November 3, the House Financial Services Committee will hold a mark-up of various bills, including legislation targeting the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC). Specifically, lawmakers will consider legislation to: (1) bring the FSOC within the normal appropriations process; (2) make Council meetings more open and … Continue Reading
President Obama’s UNGA Schedule President Barack Obama is in New York City (NYC) attending the U.N. General Assembly (UNGA) until Tuesday. He delivered remarks at the closing session of the Post-2015 Development Agenda after he arrived Sunday afternoon. The President will address the UNGA this morning, where he is expected to review progress made over the last year … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Senate Adds Cyber Legislation to Agenda The Senate appears to be willing to take up the Cyber Information Sharing Act or CISA (S. 754) by the end of June, with the Senate Whip adding the bill to the list of legislation to the agenda. After the challenges related to passage of the PATRIOT … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Congress Avoids DHS Shut-Down With only hours to spare before the midnight Friday deadline, the House and Senate passed a stop-gap measure extending funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) by one week, delaying a long-term solution to the current partisan impasse but avoiding a temporary shut-down of the agency. In remarks … Continue Reading
Presidential Trip Over the weekend, President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama departed Washington for India, where the President will be the chief guest in the country’s Republic Day parade. In advance of the trip, U.S. and Indian negotiators met in London to reach an accord over a 2010 Indian nuclear liability law that prohibits … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity GOP Lawmakers Unveil Net Neutrality Bill Restricting FCC Power On January 16, Republican lawmakers in the House and Senate unveiled draft net neutrality bills that would require broadband providers to follow some net neutrality principles while imposing important new restrictions on the power of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The legislation proposes to … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Cybersecurity Legislation Possible This Week Last week, Senate leadership began the process of moving two cybersecurity bills – the Federal Information Security Modernization (FISMA) Act of 2014 (S. 2521) and the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (NCCIC) Act of 2014 (S. 2519) – to the floor to be considered under unanimous consent. … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Cybersecurity Legislation The lame duck session of Congress will officially begin on Wednesday and it is expected that Senate Democrats will seek to use the remainder of 2014 to complete any outstanding policy items before Republicans take over the Senate in 2015. Although many stakeholders are calling for the Senate to take up … Continue Reading
