On Tuesday, the House Rules Committee advanced a structured rule for House floor consideration of 476 amendments to the Fiscal Year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The NDAA provides annual authorization of appropriations for the Department of Defense (DOD) and defense-related activities at other federal agencies. Congressional appropriations committees are responsible for providing budget … Continue Reading
Late last night, the US Senate voted 51 to 50 to repeal a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) rule prohibiting class action waivers in arbitration agreements. All but two Republicans (Senators Lindsey Graham (SC) and John Kennedy (LA)) voted to repeal the CFPB’s arbitration rule, while all Democrats voted against repeal. Vice President Mike Pence … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Government Shutdown Looms as Current CR Expires Friday; White House Expresses Interest in Bipartisan Negotiations Congress faces a short time frame to pass a spending package for the remainder of the current fiscal year and prevent a government shutdown as the current FY 2017 Continuing Resolution (CR/P.L. 114-254) expires Friday at midnight. House … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity The Prospects for Tax Reform in Trump Town With the 115th Congress nearing the end of month two, tax reform continues to be a focal point of the political debate in Washington. Intent to move forward with their tax reform “Blueprint” released in June 2016, Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI), House Ways and Means … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Potential Energy Legislation After the House proposed a narrow version of the energy bill to the Senate, Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) proposed a broader bill once again. After a meeting last week with House Natural Resources Chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT), Chairman Murkowski appeared confident she will get a … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity WRDA The House is expected this week to take up H.R. 5303, the “Water Resources Development Act of 2016” (WRDA). The Senate recently passed its version of the bill, S. 2848, on September 15. Unlike the Senate, the House legislation does not include funding for drinking water and wastewater infrastructure or for emergency … Continue Reading
Legislative Action Comprehensive Energy Bill Conferees met on last week on Thursday for the opening session to consider energy legislation, S. 2012, the North American Energy Security and Infrastructure Act of 2016. If passed, the bill would be the first piece of comprehensive energy legislation to emerge from Congress in almost a decade. The mood … Continue Reading
Legislative Action Comprehensive Energy Bill As we have previously reported, while the House has voted to go to conference on comprehensive energy legislation and has already appointed its conferees, the Senate has yet to do the same. Work continues in the Senate to clear potential obstacles to agreeing to a conference with the House and … Continue Reading
Legislative Action Energy Bill Last week, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee released a 50-page section-by-section of the recently passed S. 2012 Energy Modernization Policy Act of 2016. Looking forward to a potential conference of the Senate and House energy bills, Chairman Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee recently … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Senate Floor Consideration of Comprehensive Energy Bill The Senate has been trying to conclude its floor consideration of S. 2012, the Energy Policy Modernization Act of 2016. Last week, a motion to invoke cloture was offered but the Senate failed to reach the 60 votes needed to end debate on the bill. Democrats refused to … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Comprehensive Energy Legislation This week the Senate will continue its floor debate of S. 2012, the comprehensive energy bill that Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Ranking Member Maria Cantwell (D-WA) authored. Under the open amendment process 130 amendments were filed. While some of the non-controversial amendments were accepted last … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Comprehensive Energy Legislation Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) is likely to seek floor time for her comprehensive energy bill, S. 2012, by the end of this month or early February. This Week’s Hearings: Puerto Rico On Tuesday January 12, the House Natural Resources Committee, Subcommittee on Energy and … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Comprehensive Energy Legislation Last week, the House passed H.R. 8, the North American Energy Security and Infrastructure Act of 2015, which included an amendment that would authorize crude oil exports. Debate continues on whether to include a crude export authorization provision in the separate “must pass” all-encompassing appropriations bill to fund the government … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House To Move Energy Bill This week, the House intends to hold a floor vote on H.R. 8, the North American Energy Security and Infrastructure Act of 2015. The bill addresses energy use and efficiency in the U.S. An all-Texan, bipartisan contingent of Congressmen including Representatives Joe Barton (R-TX), Henry Cuellar (D-TX), Michael McCaul … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House and Senate “Comprehensive” Energy Bills Last week, the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Subcommittee on Energy and Power held a markup of its comprehensive energy legislation that will be considered by the full House in the weeks ahead. In the Senate, Chairman Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Ranking Member Maria Cantwell (D-WA) introduced … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity DHS Funding Deadline Nears Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding expires on Friday, February 27, leaving only days for Congress to act to fund DHS. The Senate has not been able to overcome a Democratic filibuster of the House DHS funding legislation (H.R. 240), which includes policy riders blocking the President’s executive actions … Continue Reading
Regulatory Activity Clean Water Proposed Rule The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) has announced a proposed rule that would allow “changes to pollutant analysis methods that are used by industries and municipalities to analyze the chemical, physical, and biological components of wastewater and other environmental samples that are required by regulations under the Clean Water Act.” … Continue Reading
Senate Legislative Activity After two weeks of recess, the Senate will convene today, Monday, April 28, 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, there will be up to … Continue Reading
The Senate will convene today, Monday, February 10, at 2:00 pm. After any leader remarks, the Senate will resume consideration of S. 1963, the Military Retirement Pay Restoration bill. At 5:30 pm, there will be a roll call vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to S. 1963. The House … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House Passes Water Resources Reform and Development Act Last week, the House passed its Water Resources Reform and Development Act (WRRDA), which provides federal funding for water and water-related infrastructure projects. The Senate passed its Water Resources and Development Act legislation in March. A conference committee will now be appointed to work out … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Transportation Appropriations Both the House (H.R. 2610) and Senate (S. 1243) Transportation-HUD appropriations bills are poised for floor consideration before the August recess. In the House, there has been delay in Rules Committee action and in bringing the bill to the floor, but the intention is to consider it before the month-long August … Continue Reading
