Tag Archives: Senate

President Releases “Skinny Budget”; Senate Commerce Committee to Hold Hearing on FAA Reauthorization

Legislative Activity President Releases “Skinny Budget” On March 16, the Administration released the President’s “Skinny Budget.” As is typical with a budget outline provided by a new President, the request is very high level and does not include nearly the detail of a full budget proposal. The Administration has said it will release its full … Continue Reading

Senate to Vote on CMS Nominee, House Continues Work on Health Care Bill

Senate Legislative Activity The Senate will convene at 2:00 pm today, March 13.  Following any Leader remarks, the Senate will resume consideration of the nomination of Seema Verma, nominated to be Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, post-cloture; all time on the nomination will expire at 5:30pm and the Senate will vote … Continue Reading

Transportation Stakeholders Hopeful for More Information This Week; House Transportation Committee Holds Hearing on FAST Act Implementation; President Trump Will Nominate Jeffrey Rosen as DOT Deputy Secretary

Legislative Activity Transportation Stakeholders Hopeful for More Information This Week As the Trump Administration and Congress continue to develop a large-scale infrastructure proposal, transportation stakeholders are hopeful they will get additional information this week. The President’s ‘Skinny Budget” is expected to be released on Thursday, March 16. While it is unclear how much detail will … Continue Reading

House to Consider Defense Spending Bill; Senate Schedule Free of Cabinet Confirmations

Senate Legislative Activity The Senate stands adjourned until today, March 6 at 2:00 pm. Following any Leader remarks, the Senate will resume consideration of H.J.Res.37, disapproving the rule submitted by the Department of Defense, the General Services Administration, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration relating to the Federal Acquisition Regulation, with the time until … Continue Reading

Secretary Chao Discusses Infrastructure Priorities as Administration Begins to Release More Details; Appropriations Committees to Hold Hearings on THUD Issues; House Transportation Committee to Hold Third FAA Hearing

Legislative Activity Secretary Chao Discusses Infrastructure Priorities as Administration Begins to Release More Details As the Trump Administration and Congress continue to develop a large-scale infrastructure proposal, the Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary, Elaine Chao, discussed the Administration’s priorities. Speaking to the National Governors Association last week, Secretary Chao acknowledged challenges in passing the $1 … Continue Reading

Wilbur Ross and Ryan Zinke Get Their Day in the Senate, House Returns for Full Week

Senate Legislative Activity The Senate convenes today, February 27, at 12:00pm.  Following any Leader remarks, the Senate will proceed to Executive Session and resume consideration of the nomination of Wilbur Ross, to be Secretary of Commerce. At 3:00pm, Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE) will be recognized to deliver Washington’s Farewell Address.  Following the reading of Washington’s … Continue Reading

Financial Services Regulatory Reform Debate Abounds in Congress and at the Agencies; FSOC to Meet Under Mnuchin

Legislative Activity CHOICE Act 2.0 Could Be Weeks Away as GOP May Need to Resolve Differences While previous reports indicated that House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) was set to move on a revised version of the Financial CHOICE Act (CHOICE Act 2.0), his plan seems to have been met with delay. Though … Continue Reading

The Prospects for Tax Reform in Trump Town

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

President Trump Expected to Discuss Infrastructure in Coming Weeks; House Transportation Committee to Hold Second FAA Hearing, Focused on Airports

Legislative Activity President Trump Expected to Discuss Infrastructure in Coming Weeks The President is expected to release additional information on his infrastructure agenda in the coming weeks. White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said the President will discuss infrastructure in his address to Congress on Tuesday. Additionally, he noted that more information will be included … Continue Reading

Senate to Vote on Mnuchin, Shulkin, and McMahon

Senate Legislative Activity The Senate stands adjourned until 12:00pm today, February 13. Following any Leader remarks, the Senate will enter Executive Session and resume consideration of the nomination of Steven Mnuchin to be Secretary of the Treasury. There are seven hours of post-cloture debate time remaining. Upon the use or yielding back of time, the … Continue Reading

Congressional Hearings on FAA Reauthorization and Automated Vehicles; FTA Withholds Funding from DC, MD, VA for Missing WMATA Safety Oversight Deadline

Legislative Activity House Transportation Committee to Begin Holding FAA Hearings The House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee will begin examining Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization this week, with the first of five expected hearings on the issue. The first hearing, titled “Building a 21st Century Infrastructure for America: State of American Aviation Manufacturing.” The witnesses … Continue Reading

Senate Set to Vote on DeVos, Short Week for House

Senate Legislative Activity The Senate stands adjourned until 12:00pm today, February 6. Following any Leader remarks, the Senate will resume consideration of the nomination of Betsy DeVos to be Secretary of Education. The confirmation vote on the DeVos nomination is expected on Tuesday, February 7. Procedural votes are possible tonight around 6:00pm. As a reminder, … Continue Reading

Congress Begins to Evaluate Infrastructure Needs, Senate EPW to Hold Hearing this Week

Legislative Activity Congress Begins to Evaluate Infrastructure Needs, Senate EPW to Hold Hearing this Week The Trump Administration has provided few specifics on its trillion-dollar infrastructure proposal, and it has become increasingly clear that Congress will not act on a broad infrastructure bill in the first 100 days of the new administration. Recently, House Speaker … Continue Reading

Senate to Consider Tillerson and Chao, House Returns for Full Week

Senate Legislative Activity The Senate will convene today, January 30, at 3:00pm. Following any leader remarks, the Senate will be in a period of morning business until 5:00pm. At 5:00pm, the Senate will proceed to Executive Session to resume consideration of Executive Calendar #2, the nomination of Rex Tillerson to be Secretary of State. There … Continue Reading

Senate to Approve Chao Nomination This Week; Democrats Offer Their Own Infrastructure Proposal as Trump’s Proposal Still Unclear; Transportation Committees Begin to Hold Hearings on Infrastructure

Legislative Activity Senate to Approve Chao Nomination This Week On Tuesday, the Senate will vote on the Honorable Elaine Chao’s nomination to serve as Transportation Secretary. Secretary-designate Chao is expected to face little opposition in the Senate and should be confirmed easily. For additional information on Ms. Chao and her nomination hearing in the Senate … Continue Reading

Senate to Consider Pompeo Nomination, House Returns for Short Week

Senate Legislative Activity The Senate will convene on Monday, January 23, at 3:00pm. Following any leader remarks, the Senate will proceed to Executive Session to resume consideration of the nomination of Mike Pompeo to be the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. There will be up to six hours of debate, equally divided, followed by a … Continue Reading

Senate May Approve Chao Nomination This Week; President Trump Addresses Infrastructure, But Plan Still Unclear; President Trump Freezes Regulatory Action

Legislative Activity Senate May Approve Chao Nomination This Week While Nominee-designate Elaine Chao was not included in the two cabinet members approved by the Senate on Friday (Defense Secretary James Mattis and Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly were confirmed), but Ms. Chao may be confirmed this week. Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee Chairman John … Continue Reading

With Trump’s Inauguration Days Away, Senate Committees Set to Consider More Nominees; House Not in Session

Senate Legislative Activity The Senate will convene on Tuesday, January 17 at 3:00pm. Following any Leader remarks, the Senate will be in a period of morning business until 4:15pm. At 4:15pm, the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee will be discharged from further consideration of H.R.72, GAO Access and Oversight Act. There will be 30 … Continue Reading

Congress Continues Budget Debate; Congressional Review Act: A Primer

Senate Activity The Senate will convene on Monday, January 9 at 2:00pm. Following any Leader remarks, the Senate will resume consideration of S.Con.Res.3, the FY 2017 Budget Resolution. At 5:30pm, the Senate will vote on Paul Amendment #1 (Substitute), with additional votes possible. At 2:30pm on Tuesday, January 10, the Senate will vote on Sanders Amendment #19 … Continue Reading

Senate Commerce Committee to Hold Chao Nomination Hearing; President-Elect Trump Infrastructure Proposal Update; “Drones Over People” Rule Expected Soon

Legislative Activity Senate Commerce Committee to Hold Chao Nomination Hearing The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee will hold a nomination hearing for Transportation Secretary-designate Elaine Chao. In addition to serving as the Secretary of Labor under President George W. Bush, she served as Deputy Secretary at US DOT under President George H. W. Bush, … Continue Reading

Possible WRDA and Energy Bills This Week

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

Congress, NHTSA, and Outside Organizations Continue to Evaluate DOT’s Automated Vehicles Policy; President-Elect Trump Selects Elaine Chao as DOT Secretary

Congressional Activity Congress, NHTSA, and Outside Organizations Continue to Evaluate DOT’s Automated Vehicles Policy Congress continues its oversight of the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Automated Vehicles policy, and a House Committee Roundtable is scheduled for this Tuesday, December 6.  Many Members of Congress have lauded the expected benefits of automated vehicles on the economy and … Continue Reading
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