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
The Senate will convene at 10:00 am on Tuesday, July 23. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) is expected to renew his motion to proceed on the FY 2014 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies appropriations bill (S. 1243). The time until 12:00 pm will be equally divided and controlled between Majority Leader … Continue Reading
Legislative and Regulatory Activity Broadcast Incentive Auction Hearing. The U.S. House Energy & Commerce Committee is reportedly planning a July 23 hearing to review Federal Communications Commission (FCC) progress on the broadcast incentive auctions mandated by the JOBS Act. The Committee has not publicly announced the hearing and the date is still tentative. Rural Broadband … Continue Reading
Executive and Legislative Branch Activity Egypt Last week, the Obama Administration dealt with possible U.S. legal ramifications connected to the Egyptian military’s intervention on July 3 that led to the removal of Mohamed Morsi as the President of Egypt, specifically whether the intervention should be classified as a coup d’état. President Obama encouraged all political, … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Secretary of Homeland Security Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano announced last Friday that she will be stepping down from her position to become the next president of the University of California system. She will continue to serve as Secretary until early September during which time President Obama will nominate her replacement. Immigration … 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 Branch Activity Cybersecurity Legislation The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee is expected to mark up a bipartisan cybersecurity bill drafted by Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and Ranking Member John Thune (R-SD) by the end of this month. The bill will be focused on defining industry standards for critical infrastructure and strengthening cybersecurity … Continue Reading
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) is expected to renew the motion to proceed to the Keep Student Loans Affordable Act of 2013 (S. 1238) at 2:00pm on Monday, July 15 following any leader remarks. The time until 5:30pm will be equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees. On July 11, … Continue Reading
Executive and Legislative Branch Activity Syria Leaders at the G-8 Summit last week reiterated their support for a political solution to the Syrian civil war and for the transitional government plan agreed to last year in Geneva. The G-8 Leaders Communiqué condemned the use of chemical weapons in Syria, but it did not identify the … Continue Reading
Legislative and Regulatory Activity Privacy The World Wide Consortium (W3C), which has led the multistakeholder effort to establish a universal Do Not Track (DNT) standard, will reach its last call deadline next Monday, July 1. In an email to members of the working group last week, W3C co-chairs Peter Swire and Matthias Schunter pledged to … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Full Time Employee Bill Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Sen. Joe Donnelly (R-IN) introduced a bill that would change the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) definition of a full-time worker to someone who works 40 hours a week, up from 30 hours, titled the “Forty Hours is Full Time Act of 2013.” The Senators also … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Administration Nominations to be Considered this Week On Thursday, June 27, the Senate Banking Committee will hold a hearing to consider several of President Obama’s nominations, including Rep. Mel Watt (D-NC) to be Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA); Kara Stein and Mike Piwowar to be Commissioners at the Securities and … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Greenhouse Gas Emissions The National Academies of Sciences (NAS) has released its report titled “Effects of U.S. Tax Policy on Greenhouse Gas Emissions.” Congress had charged NAS with conducting a comprehensive review of the Internal Revenue Code to identify the types of and specific tax provisions that have the largest effects on carbon … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Student Loan Reform Senators continue to work on a bipartisan deal to address federally subsidized student loan interest rates, which expire July 1. The long-term deal, which is expected to (1) peg the rates to the 10-year Treasury bill, (2) include a consolidated rate cap – something Democrats have called “non-negotiable,” and (3) … Continue Reading
Legislative Branch Activity Cybersecurity Legislation In the Senate, the committees with jurisdiction over cybersecurity issues continue to work on drafting legislation that will be introduced in the coming weeks, including the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, and the Senate Intelligence Committee. Previous efforts to pass cybersecurity … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Senate This week Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) is expected to conclude the debate and amendment process on the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act (S. 744) and bring the bill to a final vote on the Senate floor before Congress departs for the Fourth of July recess. Cloture votes are … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Wheeler Hearing The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation will hold a hearing on Tuesday, June 18 on the nomination of Mr. Thomas Wheeler to be Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller’s decision to move forward without a Republican nominee to fill the other vacancy on the … Continue Reading
Executive and Legislative Branch Activity Syria Last week, the United Nations confirmed nearly 93,000 deaths in Syria since the start of hostilities there. On Tuesday, June 18, the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission will hold a briefing on the human rights and internally displaced persons situation in Syria. Last week, the Syrian opposition continued losing … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Senate The Senate initiated its debate on S. 744, the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act last week. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) invoked cloture on a motion to proceed and began accepting amendments to the bill on Tuesday, June 11. Last Wednesday, June 12 the process got bogged down with … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Comprehensive Immigration Reform This week, the Senate will continue to consider its comprehensive immigration reform bill – the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act (S. 744) – though an amendment introduced by Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) regarding border security may hold up the process. Senator Cornyn’s amendment would add requirements to … 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 House Passes Derivatives Bills Last Wednesday, June 12, the House passed several bills related to certain derivatives and swaps regulation provisions under the Dodd-Frank Act. Included among the bills was H.R. 1256, a controversial proposal that would direct the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to adopt a … Continue Reading
Legislative Branch Activity National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) Over the course of two days last week, the House debated over 150 amendments to its FY 2014 NDAA bill (H.R. 1960). Notably, the House approved by 305-121 an amendment to transfer all combat operations to Afghans by the end of this year and withdraw all 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
