Legislative Activity Continuing Resolution and Zika Negotiations Persist, Vote Could Occur Early This Week The Senate is likely to take a procedural cloture vote to move onto debate of the vehicle for the Fiscal Year 2017 Continuing Resolution (CR) as soon as Monday afternoon. Negotiations on the legislation occurred throughout the weekend, and compromise language … Continue Reading
Combating ISIL On Sunday, in his third address to the nation from the Oval Office, President Barack Obama spoke of the terrorist attack last week in San Bernardino, California, where 14 Americans were killed. He sought to address the broader threat of terrorism and how to ensure the homeland is safe from threats such as … Continue Reading
Combatting ISIL – Syria and Iraq Crises After Turkey downed a Russian fighter jet over its territory last Tuesday, President Barack Obama maintained Turkey had a right to defend its airspace. He spoke with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan that day, expressing U.S. and NATO support for Turkey’s right to defend its sovereignty. The two … Continue Reading
Syrian and Iraqi Crises Secretary of State John Kerry delivered remarks on U.S. Middle East policy last Wednesday at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. The Secretary called on the Russian Government to contribute to the end of the Syrian conflict, including through a political settlement. He also highlighted areas where the United States, Russia, … Continue Reading
Indonesia – Washington Visit This afternoon, President Barack Obama will welcome President Joko Widodo of Indonesia to the White House. President Widodo is making his first visit to the United States since becoming President of Indonesia. President Obama and President Widodo are expected to discuss plans to expand existing areas of bilateral cooperation, including in … Continue Reading
TPP Update Extending into a fifth day on Sunday, TPP negotiators spent the weekend hashing out final compromises on biologics exclusivity, dairy market access, sensitive products, investor-state dispute settlement, and other last minute issues. The United States and Japan reportedly reached agreement in principle on automobile market access and rules-of-origin in talks that also included … 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
President Obama’s Africa Trip President Barack Obama travelled to Kenya this past weekend, where he met with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta. The Governments of the United States and Kenya issued a joint commitment to promote good governance and anti-corruption efforts in Kenya. The White House also released fact sheets on: (1) Advancing Democracy, Human Rights, Gender Equality, Wildlife Conservation, … Continue Reading
Iran Early last Tuesday, President Obama announced that, after two years of negotiations, the P5+1 negotiators reached a comprehensive, long-term deal with Iran that will prevent it from obtaining a nuclear weapon. Congress will now have an opportunity to review the deal, and the Obama Administration has already begun outreach to Members. President Obama also … Continue Reading
Iran As was expected, the P5+1 countries agreed last week to extend their voluntary deadline for finalizing a comprehensive deal with Iran over its nuclear program by one week to 7 July. At a White House press briefing, President Obama acknowledged that hard negotiations remain, but it will ultimately be up to the Iranians to … Continue Reading
Recap of Last Week’s House Action on Trade Legislation Last Friday, President Barack Obama made a last-minute trip to Capitol Hill in the morning to encourage support among Democrats for the bill containing Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) and Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA), acknowledging to the press that the vote situation remained fluid. That afternoon, the … Continue Reading
G-7 Summit President Barack Obama arrived in Germany on Sunday to attend the G-7 Summit. The leaders are expected to review the current situation in Ukraine; discuss continued support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity; and underscore their support for a diplomatic solution based on full implementation of the Minsk agreements. Many expect the G-7 … Continue Reading
TPA Update Last Wednesday, 6 May, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) filed a motion to proceed to a “shell” House-passed bill (H.R. 1314) for Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), a procedural tactic used since TPA is a revenue measure and must originate in the House. The next day, the Majority Leader filed cloture on a … Continue Reading
Iran With the Obama Administration facing months of international negotiations with Tehran for a comprehensive deal on Iran’s nuclear program, it also worked this week to ensure congressional actions do not compromise the diplomatic effort. Bipartisan lawmakers still believe Congress should have an up-or-down vote on any final accord reached with Iran. The Senate Foreign … Continue Reading
