Legislative Activity House Republicans Look for Mandatory Cuts to Make Passage of a Budget Resolution Possible House Budget Committee Chairman Tom Price (R-GA) and House Republican Leadership continue to look for cuts to mandatory spending to offset the $30 billion increase in discretionary spending for FY 2017 called for in last year’s bipartisan budget deal. … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Congress Reacts to Administration’s Implementation Plan for Changes to Visa Waiver Program On January 21, the Administration announced plans to begin implementing changes to the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) included in the omnibus appropriations bill funding the government through the end of FY 2016. The VWP permits citizens from approved countries to enter … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House Likely to Move CR Soon, But Complications Remain With only eight legislative days scheduled in the House before government funding runs out on September 30, Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) is under a short timeline to push a Continuing Resolution (CR) through the House. Speaker Boehner could bring a CR to the floor … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House to Vote on Repealing Medical Device Tax House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) announced last week that the House plans to take up legislation to eliminate the excise tax on medical devices during the week of June 15. The Protect Medical Innovation Act (H.R. 160), which was introduced by Representative Erik Paulsen … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House and Senate Nearing Budget Conference Agreement House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) included possible consideration of the budget conference report on this week’s House schedule, and Senate Budget Committee Chairman Michael Enzi (R-WY) said he is optimistic the House and Senate budget conferees can come to an agreement this week, noting he … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Representative Dold Appointed to Ways and Means While his selection has not yet been formally approved, it was announced that Representative Bob Dold (R-IL) will fill the seat on the House Ways and Means Committee that was vacated when former Representative Aaron Schock (R-IL) stepped down last month. Representative Dold, who was originally … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House and Senate Budget Conference The House and Senate budget conference committee will hold a public conference meeting on Monday, as they attempt to negotiate a joint agreement on a fiscal 2016 budget resolution that can pass both houses of Congress. Most of the Committee’s upcoming negotiations will take place in private, and … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House and Senate Budget Conference The House and Senate Budget Committees are working towards a budget resolution that will pass both the House and the Senate. The Budget Committee Chairmen, Representative Tom Price (R-GA) and Senator Mike Enzi (R-WY), returned early from the two-week recess to discuss the budget resolutions, as they try … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House and Senate Budget Resolutions Heading to the Floor for Debate The House and Senate Budget Committees have reported their respective budget resolutions out of committee, and the House and Senate will bring those resolutions to the floor this week. Both committees have seen defense hawks and fiscal conservatives at odds over the … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Congress Avoids DHS Shut-Down, Passes Short-Term Funding Measure Funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will again be the top priority on the congressional agenda this week after both a “clean” full-year continuing resolution (CR) and a three-week CR failed to advance in the House, forcing Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) … Continue Reading
