Indonesia – Washington Visit This afternoon, President Barack Obama will welcome President Joko Widodo of Indonesia to the White House. President Widodo is making his first visit to the United States since becoming President of Indonesia. President Obama and President Widodo are expected to discuss plans to expand existing areas of bilateral cooperation, including in … Continue Reading
Iran Nuclear Deal Enters into Force – Congress Scrutinizes Iran’s ICBM Test On Sunday, President Barack Obama issued a statement on the adoption day of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) between the P5+1 and Iran. The President said he had directed the heads of all relevant U.S. executive departments and agencies to begin … Continue Reading
TPP Update Extending into a fifth day on Sunday, TPP negotiators spent the weekend hashing out final compromises on biologics exclusivity, dairy market access, sensitive products, investor-state dispute settlement, and other last minute issues. The United States and Japan reportedly reached agreement in principle on automobile market access and rules-of-origin in talks that also included … Continue Reading
President Obama’s UNGA Schedule President Barack Obama is in New York City (NYC) attending the U.N. General Assembly (UNGA) until Tuesday. He delivered remarks at the closing session of the Post-2015 Development Agenda after he arrived Sunday afternoon. The President will address the UNGA this morning, where he is expected to review progress made over the last year … Continue Reading
Iran Nuclear Deal On Thursday, 10 September, the Senate failed to pass a motion to invoke cloture on the resolution disapproving of the Iran nuclear deal (H.J.Res. 61) by a vote of 58-42. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) immediately filed a new motion, teeing up another vote on the measure this week. President Barack Obama … Continue Reading
President Obama’s Africa Trip President Barack Obama travelled to Kenya this past weekend, where he met with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta. The Governments of the United States and Kenya issued a joint commitment to promote good governance and anti-corruption efforts in Kenya. The White House also released fact sheets on: (1) Advancing Democracy, Human Rights, Gender Equality, Wildlife Conservation, … Continue Reading
Iran Early last Tuesday, President Obama announced that, after two years of negotiations, the P5+1 negotiators reached a comprehensive, long-term deal with Iran that will prevent it from obtaining a nuclear weapon. Congress will now have an opportunity to review the deal, and the Obama Administration has already begun outreach to Members. President Obama also … Continue Reading
Iran According to the press, the P5+1 negotiators and Iran plan to announce today that they have reached a historic deal that would address Iran’s nuclear program in return for sanctions relief. Though negotiators said that they had hoped to reach a nuclear agreement with Iran by last Friday, Secretary of State John Kerry announced … Continue Reading
Recap of Last Week’s House Action on Trade Legislation Last Friday, President Barack Obama made a last-minute trip to Capitol Hill in the morning to encourage support among Democrats for the bill containing Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) and Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA), acknowledging to the press that the vote situation remained fluid. That afternoon, the … Continue Reading
Vice President Mourns Death of Son Late on Saturday, 30 May, the White House informed the public that Vice President Joseph Biden’s son, Joseph R. “Beau” Biden III , passed away after a two-year battle with brain cancer. He was 46 years old. Iran Despite media reports last week that yet another delay may be … Continue Reading
Trade Promotion Authority On Tuesday, 12 May, the Senate failed, on a largely party line vote, to pass a motion to proceed to H.R. 1314, which includes Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) and Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA). After the failed vote, negotiations between Republicans and Democrats continued in earnest to chart a way forward for the TPA-TAA … Continue Reading
TPA Update Last Wednesday, 6 May, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) filed a motion to proceed to a “shell” House-passed bill (H.R. 1314) for Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), a procedural tactic used since TPA is a revenue measure and must originate in the House. The next day, the Majority Leader filed cloture on a … Continue Reading
Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) On Thursday, 16 April, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) released a draft Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) bill – The Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015 (“TPA-2015”). The bill includes objectives on currency manipulation, settlement of investor-state disputes, intellectual property protections, … Continue Reading
The Senate is in session this week, while the House of Representatives is in recess. Russia/Ukraine Crisis During a Wednesday hearing before the House Foreign Affairs Committee last week, Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland said Russia would face new consequences should it: (1) continue “fueling the fire” in any … Continue Reading
Iran/Israel The disagreement between the Obama Administration and Prime Minister Netanyahu deepened last week. In advance of his address before a joint session of Congress this week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned the deal emerging from the ongoing P5+1 Talks will allow Iran to become a “nuclear threshold state.” National Security Adviser Susan Rice … Continue Reading
State Department’s FY 2016 Budget Secretary of State John Kerry is scheduled to testify this week before Congress on the Department’s FY 2016 Budget request and U.S. interests abroad. The hearings will be held: On Tuesday, 24 February before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee; On Wednesday, 25 February before the House Foreign Affairs Committee; and On … Continue Reading
Upcoming Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) Summit U.S. National Counterterrorism Center Director Nicholas Rasmussen reported last week that 20,000 foreign fighters are joining ISIL and other extremist organizations. Secretary of State John Kerry also observed that thousands of extremist fighters have been killed in Syria and in Iraq, including many foreign fighters. This week, the White House … Continue Reading
Russia/Ukraine Crisis Secretary of State John Kerry travels to Kyiv, Ukraine, on 5 February to meet with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin, and members of Ukraine’s parliament. Media reports indicate the Obama Administration may be reconsidering its position on providing Ukraine with lethal assistance, which is likely to be a topic … Continue Reading
Presidential Trip Over the weekend, President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama departed Washington for India, where the President will be the chief guest in the country’s Republic Day parade. In advance of the trip, U.S. and Indian negotiators met in London to reach an accord over a 2010 Indian nuclear liability law that prohibits … Continue Reading
North Korea On 2 January, President Barack Obama ordered new sanctions on three (3) entities and 10 individuals connected with the North Korean government. This action is in response to a December cyberattack on Sony Pictures Entertainment. In announcing the new U.S. sanctions, White House Press Secretary Joshua Earnest said, “We take seriously North Korea’s … Continue Reading
Russia/Ukraine Crisis Despite previous failed attempts to revive the Minsk ceasefire agreement, last week Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko announced the Government would observe a “day of silence” on Tuesday and that heavy weapons would be drawn down from the frontlines if the pro-Russian separatists maintained the ceasefire. Last Thursday, Vice President Joe Biden spoke with … Continue Reading
Last Tuesday, Republicans secured control of the U.S. Senate – 52 seats, with some races yet-to-be-determined and could result in further gains. Squire Patton Boggs produced a 2014 Mid-Term Congressional Elections Analysis, which summarizes some of the implications of a Republican-controlled 114th Congress on the Obama Administration’s international and domestic policies. This Wednesday, 12 November, … Continue Reading
Executive and Legislative Branch Activity Defense Authorization The Fiscal 2014 National Defense Authorization Act (S.1197) is expected to come to the Senate floor this week. Speculation is high the Senate debate will be truncated in order to conclude before the Thanksgiving congressional recess. Iran Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State John Kerry continued … Continue Reading
Executive and Legislative Branch Activity Iran Secretary of State John Kerry joined the P5+1 Talks last Friday in Geneva, Switzerland. The Talks failed to reach an agreement this past weekend and are expected to resume at a lower level on November 20. At the conclusion of the Talks, Secretary Kerry said: “There’s no question in my … Continue Reading
