Legislative Activity Tuesday, July 29: The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will hold a hearing titled “Breaking the Logjam at BLM: Examining Ways to More Efficiently Process Permits for Energy Production on Federal Lands.” Tuesday, July 29: The House Energy and Commerce Committee will hold a hearing titled “FERC Perspectives: Questions Concerning EPA’s Proposed … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House Passes Coast Guard Reauthorization On April 1, the House of Representatives passed by voice vote the Howard Coble Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2014 (H.R. 4005), which was introduced by House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Chairman Duncan Hunter (R-CA). This bill would authorize $17.5 … Continue Reading
Regulatory Activity Greenhouse Gas Emissions The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is extending the public comment period on its proposed Standards of Performance for Greenhouse Gas Emissions from New Stationary Sources for Electric Utility Generating Units until May 9. Lead and Copper EPA has announced public meetings of the National Drinking Water Advisory Council Lead and … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House To Consider Amending Flood Insurance Bill This Wednesday, February 26, and for the duration of the week, the House will consider amending the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act under suspension of the rules. The legislation would scale back flood insurance rate increases. According to Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA), “the House will … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Homeland Security Nominations President Barack Obama has announced his intention to nominate two more officials to fill senior homeland security positions. First, he will nominate Leon Rodriguez to serve as Director of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Rodriguez is currently the Director of the … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Senator Threatens to Hold Jeh Johnson Nomination President Barack Obama has nominated former Department of Defense Chief Counsel Jeh Johnson to serve as the next secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). However, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) has announced that he plans to block all new nominees until the State Department gives … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity WRDA Reauthorization Floor consideration of H.R. 3080, the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2013, has been delayed due to the debate over the continuing resolution. This Week’s Hearings: Despite the shutdown, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee continues to hold hearings and conduct business as usual. The following subcommittee hearings are … 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
Legislative Branch Activity Cybersecurity Legislation The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee is expected to mark up a bipartisan cybersecurity bill before the end of this month. A draft of the bill is currently being circulated and contains provisions that would codify the role of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to continue … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity RFS A House Energy and Commerce Committee White Paper on implementation issues with the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) was released last week. Comments on RFS-related issues are due by July 26. This Week’s Hearings: Tuesday, July 16: The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will explore how the domestic oil boom is affecting … Continue Reading
Legislative Branch Activity Defense Budget Last week, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel sent a letter to the Senate Armed Services Committee in which he “strongly” opposed the $52 billion sequester cuts to the Defense Department’s FY 2014 Budget. He particularly cited risks to U.S. military readiness and technological superiority. Secretary Hagel noted the adverse effects … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Franks Abortion Bill The House is scheduled to take up H.R. 1797, the “Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act” on Tuesday, June 18, that would ban nearly all abortions after the twentieth week of pregnancy. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ), was approved by a vote of 20-12 by the House Judiciary … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity This Week’s Hearings: Tuesday, June 18: The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will hold a markup of pending legislation. Tuesday, June 18: The House Appropriations Energy and Water Subcommittee will mark up the FY 2014 appropriations bill. Tuesday, June 18: A House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee will hold a hearing on “U.S. … Continue Reading
Legislative Branch Activity Cybersecurity Legislation The House Homeland Security Committee will introduce a new piece of cybersecurity legislation that would codify the cyber roles and responsibilities of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), as well as address other key aspects of cybersecurity. The committee has been working with stakeholders for several weeks on its draft … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Budget and Appropriations Last Thursday, June 6 the House approved the FY 2014 Homeland Security appropriations bill by a vote of 245-182, which provides $38.9 billion in discretionary funding to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Both Republican and Democrat amendments successfully transferred funds from the Office of the Undersecretary for Management … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity This Week’s Hearings: Tuesday, June 4: The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources will hold a full committee hearing intended to identify ways to improve federal wildland fire management. Tuesday, June 4: The House Committee on Natural Resources will hold a full committee hearing to address species conservation concerning tribal, state and … Continue Reading
