Will the House complete consideration of all 12 fiscal year 2023 appropriations bills before the August recess? Will Senate appropriators keep pace with their House counterparts? What obstacles must the House and Senate overcome to complete spending bills following the mid-term elections? With the August congressional recess only weeks away, House and Senate appropriators are … Continue Reading
Are COVID-19 economic stimulus negotiations between the Trump Administration and Congressional Democrats hopelessly deadlocked? Will the US experience a government shutdown prior to the November election? What steps will Congress take to address these issues in September?… Continue Reading
How has COVID-19 altered the US federal appropriations process? What steps is Congress taking to adopt must-pass fiscal year 2021 spending bills? Will the United States experience another government shutdown this year? Attention in Congress will soon turn to the annual appropriations process and passage of fiscal year 2021 spending bills. In addition to funding … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House Armed Services Committee Introduces “By Request” NDAA Bill On June 7, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-TX) and Ranking Member Adam Smith (D-WA) introduced H.R. 2810, the “by request” version of the Fiscal Year 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). This procedural measure is traditionally the first step in the legislative process … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity President Trump’s FY 2018 budget This week brings the long-anticipated full details of President Trump’s FY 2018 budget, which is expected to be released on Tuesday. The Administration’s “skinny budget” released in March indicated the potential for large cuts to several agencies amounting to a $54 billion reduction in domestic spending. The budget … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity This Week’s Hearings: On Wednesday, May 17, the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces has scheduled a hearing titled “Military Space Organization, Policy, and Programs.” On Wednesday, May 17, the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Airland has scheduled a hearing titled “United States Military Small Arms Requirements.” On Thursday, May 18, the … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity This Week’s Hearings: On Tuesday, February 28, the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Communications has scheduled a hearing titled “The Future of FEMA: Recommendations of Former Administrators.” The witnesses will be announced. On Tuesday, February 28, the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence has scheduled a hearing … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House to Vote on Financial Services Appropriations Bill as Hensarling Pushes Plan to Replace Dodd-Frank This week, the House is expected to consider the FY 2017 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act, which passed out of Committee largely along partisan lines and contains various provisions that would peel back certain aspects of … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Lawmakers Pass Counterterrorism Measures in Wake of Orlando Shooting On Thursday, June 16, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed H.R. 5471, the Counter Terrorist Radicalization Act, which combines three previously-passed bills to counter terrorist recruitment and extremism, by a vote of 402 to 15. House leaders repackaged the measures – H.R. 4401, the … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Lawmakers Continue Focus on TSA Wait Times, While House Spending Panel Approves TSA Funding for FY 2017 The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security approved its draft FY 2017 appropriations measure on Thursday, June 9, including $7.6 billion for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), $163 million more than in FY 2016 and $21.8 … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Lawmakers Approve Reallocated Funds for TSA House appropriators followed on their Senate colleagues and approved reallocated funds for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to address growing screening lines over the summer. Rep. John Carter (R-Texas), Chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, indicated that agency heads have already cautioned that they may … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) On Thursday, May 12, the House Agriculture Committee will hold a hearing to examine issues some retailers face while navigating SNAP requirements. During the first 16 months of the 114th Congress, the House Agriculture Committee, along with its Subcommittee on Nutrition, held 14 hearings that focused on SNAP. … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Look Ahead: FY 2017 Appropriations Lawmakers are currently debating their priorities for FY 2017, including funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and related agencies. President Obama’s FY 2017 budget request includes a proposed $908.8 million increase in the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) fees by raising airline passenger fees by $1 per … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity International Tax Reform v. Inversions Following up on Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch’s (R-UT) recent acknowledgment that his “corporate integration” proposal has been delayed, at least by “a few weeks,” it now appears that the House Ways and Means Committee may miss its self-imposed goal of March 31 by which to release … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Senate Judiciary Committee to Hold Hearing on EB-5 Target Employment Areas **NOTE: The Senate Judiciary Committee has since postponed this hearing. We will update this post to reflect the new date/time once confirmed.** This week, the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold its second hearing of the year examining the EB-5 Regional Center Program. … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Senior Senate Democrat Criticizes Cuts to State/Local Homeland Security Program Shortly after President Obama unveiled his FY 2017 budget request, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) highlighted significant cuts proposed to the Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI). UASI funds provide state and local authorities with financial assistance for the prevention, mitigation, response to, and recovery from … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House Committees Mark-Up Fiduciary Rule Legislation as Senators Introduce Companion Bills With the Department of Labor (DOL) having recently submitted its Fiduciary Rule to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) – officially beginning the countdown before DOL’s proposal is released in final form – last week, the House Ways and Means and … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Tax-Writers to Scrutinize Obama’s Budget With President Obama set to release his FY 2017 Budget Proposal on the morning of Tuesday, February 9, House and Senate tax-writers this week have scheduled numerous hearings to review the tax and revenue portions of the Budget. The proposals – at least some of which are sure … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House Appropriations Panel Approves Homeland Security Spending Bill, Scrutinizes “Sanctuary City” Policies This week, the House Appropriations Committee approved its FY 2016 spending bill funding homeland security programs. The measure provides $39.3 billion in discretionary funding for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), $337 million below the amount enacted for FY 2015 … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House Appropriations Panel to Consider Homeland Security Measure This Tuesday, the House Appropriations Committee will meet to consider its draft FY 2016 bill funding homeland security programs. The Subcommittee on Homeland Security unanimously approved the measure, which provides $39.3 billion in discretionary funding, on Thursday, July 9. Though the subcommittee vote was unanimous, … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity DHS FY 2016 Appropriations Continues Debate Over Immigration and U.S. Secret Service Challenges FY 2016 funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) could restart debate on Capitol Hill regarding the President’s executive actions on immigration, the very same fight that almost derailed FY 2015 funding for the agency earlier this year. While … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Gyrocopter Lands on Capitol Lawn, Sparks Security Concerns On Wednesday afternoon, Doug Hughes, a Florida postal worker, flew a small gyrocopter through protected Washington airspace and landed on the west lawn of the Capitol. Hughes reportedly planned to deliver letters on campaign finance reform addressed to each of the 535 Members of Congress. … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Appropriations Season About to Begin Congress returns from a two-week recess this week, with work on twelve appropriations bills set to begin very soon. Last week, House Appropriations Chairman Harold Rogers (R-KY) announced vice chairmen for each of the panel’s subcommittees. Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ), chair of the Defense Subcommittee, will also serve … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House Bill Would Tighten Requirements for Visa Waiver Program A proposed House bill seeks to strengthen requirements under the visa waiver program in place for nationals from certain countries. The Visa Waiver Program Improvement Act of 2015 (H.R. 158), originally introduced by Rep. Candice Miller (R-MI), aims to tighten requirements under the visa … Continue Reading