Legislative Activity This Week’s Hearings: On Wednesday, March 15, the Senate Judiciary Committee has scheduled a hearing titled “Vows for Visas: Investigating K-1 Fiance Fraud.” On Wednesday, March 15, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee has scheduled a business meeting to consider the nomination of the Honorable Elaine Duke to be Deputy Secretary, U.S. … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Rep. Greg Walden to Chair House Energy & Commerce Committee in the 115th Congress Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR) has been selected by the House Republican Steering Committee (the body that assigns party members to House committees) to chair the House Energy & Commerce Committee (House Commerce Committee) in the 115th Congress, which will … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity McCaul Unveils Counterterrorism Strategy, Including TSA Overhaul On Tuesday, September 20, House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) unveiled a counterterrorism strategy containing over 100 policy prescriptions and principles designed to combat the rise of global terrorism. The 35-page document, “A National Strategy to Win the War Against Islamist Terror,” follows on … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House and Senate Committee Chairs Call for Reconsideration of IANA Transition On September 8, House Committee on Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI), House Committee on the Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation (Senate Commerce Committee) Chairman John Thune (R-SD), and Senate Committee on the Judiciary … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House Republicans Unveil Counterterrorism Legislation On Friday, July 1, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) introduced H.R. 5611, the Homeland Safety and Security Act, in response to the mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando and other recent acts of terror around the world. The bill would amend the Homeland Security Act … 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 Debate Over Growing TSA Lines Continues Lawmakers maintained their focus on growing airport security lines, as the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) continues to grapple with the growing number of summer travelers. Congressman Mike McCaul (R-TX), Chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, and several colleagues are preparing legislation aimed at easing the bottlenecks, including … 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 Senate Subcommittee Holds Hearing on FCC’s Proposed Broadband Privacy Rules On May 11, the Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary held a hearing titled “Examining the Proposed FCC Privacy Rules.” The hearing examined the substance and implications of the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC’s) Notice of … 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 60 Members of Congress Address FCC’s Set-Top Box Proposal On May 5, 60 members of Congress from both sides of the aisle wrote a letter to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Tom Wheeler expressing concern about the FCC’s recent proposal to change the FCC’s set-top box rules (previously discussed here). The letter stated … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Senate Panel Examines EB-5 Targeted Employment Areas On Wednesday, April 13, 2016, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing titled “The Distortion of EB-5 Targeted Employment Areas: Time to End the Abuse.” The EB-5 program is designed to bolster the U.S. economy by incentivizing investment from foreigners in exchange for legal permanent residence. … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Senate Judiciary Committee Confirms Hearing on EB-5 Target Employment Areas The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold its second hearing of the year examining the EB-5 Regional Center Program. This program is designed to bolster the U.S. economy by incentivizing investment from foreigners in exchange for legal permanent residence. The FY 2016 omnibus appropriations measure … 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 Senate Panel to Consider Changes to Investment Visa Program This week, the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing to consider changes to the EB-5 Regional Center Program. This program is designed to bolster the U.S. economy by incentivizing investment by foreign individuals. So-called “regional centers” pool EB-5 funds for investment in projects. In … 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 to Vote on Changes to Visa Waiver Program, While Attention Could Soon Turn to U.S. Visa System Overall House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has scheduled a vote this week on a measure to overhaul the Visa Waiver Program (VWP), which permits citizens from approved countries to enter the United States visa-free. … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Congress Returns to Potential Showdown over Refugee Resettlement, Debate of Changes to Visa Waiver Program Congress returns to Washington this week, but the brewing battle over plans to resettle Syrian refugees threatens to complicate the few days remaining before the end of the legislative session. Just before the Thanksgiving break, the House passed legislation … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Lawmakers React to Paris Attacks The world reacted with sorrow and outrage following a series of attacks across Paris on Friday, November 13. While the French continued to mourn the scores lost, the Hollande government stepped up airstrikes in Syria against ISIL, which claimed responsibility for the attacks. Lawmakers quickly began to into … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity U.S. Secret Service Allegedly Released Information on Congressional Leader This week, allegations surfaced that the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) had leaked sensitive information on Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) just as the Congressman had been investigating the agency. An Inspector General’s report found that senior USSS officials released information on the head of the … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Administration Announces It Will Accept At Least 10,000 Additional Syrian Refugees During FY 2016 This week, the Administration announced it would accept up to 10,000 additional refugees fleeing conflict in Syria during the next fiscal year. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina), Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State Foreign Operations, has said … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Lawmakers Expected to Introduce Spectrum Legislation Soon Though nothing has been introduced, recent reports suggest that that the public can expect members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee (House Commerce Committee) and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation Committee (Senate Commerce Committee) to introduce legislation aimed at freeing up government … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Tax-Writers Running Out of Time on Highway Bill Following the passage last week of the House’s $8 billion five-month highway patch, the Senate continues to remain focused on moving forward with its own bill, which provides for a six year highway reauthorization and three years’ worth of funding (more than $47 billion), with … Continue Reading
