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
Senate Legislative Activity On Monday, February 9, following any Leader remarks, the Senate will be in a period of morning business until 5:00pm. At 5:00pm, the Senate will proceed to Executive Session to consider Calendar #10, the nomination of Michael P. Botticelli to be Director of the National Drug Control Policy, with 30 minutes of … 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
Senate Legislative Activity On Monday, January 12, the Senate will convene at 2:00pm. Following any Leader remarks, the Senate will resume consideration of the motion to proceed to S.1, the Keystone bill. The time will be equally divided and controlled in the usual form until 5:30pm, at which time the Senate will hold a roll call … 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
Capital Thinking Update Given that the 113th Congress is scheduled to adjourn this week, please note that today, December 8, will be the last Capital Thinking update until January 5, 2015, the week when the 114th Congress is scheduled to begin. Senate Legislative Activity On Monday, December 8, following any Leader remarks, there will be … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Election Brings Changes to Senate Commerce Committee With Republicans winning a majority in the Senate for the 114th Congress and the departure of key lawmakers, there will be changes on the Senate Commerce, Science & Transportation Committee. Sen. John Thune (R-SD) will assume the chairmanship of the committee. With Sen. John D. Rockefeller … Continue Reading
Senate Legislative Activity Given that the House has adopted S. Con. Res. 44, the Senate will stand adjourned until 10:00 am on October 15 for a pro forma session only. Following the pro forma session, the Senate will adjourn until November 12 at 2:00 pm. On November 12, following any Leader remarks, the Senate will hold a … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Senate to Vote on Highway Funding Bill This week, the Senate is expected to vote on H.R. 5021, the Highway and Transportation Funding Act of 2014, which recently passed the House by a vote of 367-55. The bill would patch and reauthorize the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) through May 2015 by using transfers … Continue Reading
Regulatory Activity Pesticides and Waters of the United States The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is accepting comment on its proposed data collection concerning potential changes to its permits for discharges to waters of the U.S. from biological and chemical pesticides that leave a residue. Comments are due by September 15. Ozone EPA is considering updating … Continue Reading
Senate Legislative Activity The Senate will convene today, Monday, June 23, at 2:00 pm. After any leader remarks, the Senate will be in a period of morning business until 5:30 pm, with senators allowed to speak for up to 10 minutes each. After morning business, the Senate will proceed to Executive Session for a series … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Senate Finance Committee Aims to Markup Highway Funding Bill While not yet noticed, the Senate Finance Committee is expected to markup a short-term highway funding bill before the week-long July 4 holiday recess; however, it is possible that the markup will slip until Congress returns the week of July 7. While disagreements remain … Continue Reading
Senate Legislative Activity The Senate will convene today, Monday, June 16, at 2:00 pm. After any leader remarks, the Senate will be in a period of morning business until 5:30 pm, with senators allowed to speak for up to 10 minutes each. At 5:30 pm, the Senate will proceed to Executive Session for a series … Continue Reading
Regulatory Activity Greenhouse Gas Data The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) intends to publish data it has collected from industry and related parties under the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program. The agency is seeking comment on its plan to publicly release information by aggregating in order to protect the confidentially of entities that provided information. Comments on … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House Appropriations Committee On June 11, the House Appropriations Committee favorably reported out of committee by voice vote the FY 2015 Homeland Security Appropriations bill. This bill funds the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and related agency activities, such as border security, law enforcement, cybersecurity protection, counter-narcotics efforts, counter-terrorism activities, and disaster response. … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Reid, Paul Working on Repatriation Bill to Fund Transportation Infrastructure On June 10, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) indicated that they are working on legislation that would allow corporations to repatriate foreign earnings at lower rates, suggesting that this revenue could be used to fund improvements to … Continue Reading
Senate Legislative Activity The Senate will convene today, Monday, June 9, at 2:00 pm. After any leader remarks, the Senate will be in a period of morning business until 5:30 pm, with senators allowed to speak for up to 10 minutes each. At 5:30 pm, the Senate will proceed to Executive Session for a series … Continue Reading
Senate Legislative Activity The Senate will convene today, Monday, June 2, at 2:00 pm. After any leader remarks, the Senate will be in a period of morning business until 5:30 pm, with senators allowed to speak for up to 10 minutes each. At 5:30 pm, the Senate will proceed to Executive Session to consider Executive … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity This Week’s Hearings: Tuesday, May 20: The House Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology will hold an oversight hearing on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler is scheduled to testify. Thursday, May 22: The House Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade will hold a hearing on legislation to enhance … Continue Reading
Executive Branch Activity U.S. Department of Homeland Security Cybersecurity Dashboard The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) plans to begin using a new dashboard in January 2015 that will display real-time visual data of the cybersecurity status of federal networks. The dashboard is part of DHS’s cybersecurity efforts through its Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM), … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House to Vote on Legislation to Permanently Extend R&D Tax Credit During the week of May 5, the House of Representatives is set to vote on H.R. 4438, the “American Research and Competitiveness Act of 2014,” which is one of six bills considered during the House Ways and Means Committee’s markup of certain … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Senate Banking Committee to Hold Markup of GSE Reform Bill and Vote on Nominations On Tuesday, April 29, the Senate Banking Committee is scheduled to hold a markup of the legislation to reform the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs), released by Chairman Tim Johnson (D-SD) and Ranking Member Mike Crapo in March and based on … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Ways and Means to Hold Markup of Six Extender Bills On Tuesday, April 29, the House Ways and Means Committee will hold a markup of six bills to permanently extend the business tax provisions discussed in the Committee’s hearing on April 8. The bills are: HR 4429, “To amend the Internal Revenue Code … Continue Reading
