Weekl ly Legislative Update Week of October 26, 2015 Congressional Outlook Week of October 26th The House and Senate are in session this week. The House is scheduled to vote on 8 bills under suspension of the rules, including H.R. 3819, the "Surface Transportation Extensionn Act of 2015," which would extend authorization for r federal highway, transitt and safety programs through Friday, November 20, the 35th short-term extension since 2009. The billl also extends the deadline for railroads to install positivee train controll (PTC) safety systems for three years, until December 31, 2018. The House will vote on H.R. 1090, the "Retail Investor Protection Act," which would prohibit the Labor Department from finalizing its fiduciary rule for brokers handling retirement accounts until the Securities and Exchange Commission acts on the issue. The House will also likely vote on raising thee nation's $18.1 trillion debt limit, whichh needs to be passed by November 3 in order to avoid default, as well as a bill to reform and renew the Export-Import Bank of the United States. The Senate will take a final vote on Tuesday on S.. 754, the "Cybersecurityy Informationn Sharing Act (CISA) of 2015," after voting on 8 amendments to the bill. S. 754 would provide legal protection to companies that voluntarily share cyber threat data in "real time" with industry or government partners and would direct the federal government to share classified and unclassified information with the private sector. Thee Senate will also consider a vote on a debt-limit extension and will vote on the House's short-term highway funding bill, which needs to be passed by October 29. Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) is expected to win his bid to become Speaker of the House after winning support from the three major caucuses within the Republican conference. House Republicans will pick their nominee for Speaker on Wednesday, and the entire House holds a formal roll call vote on Thursday. Even if Ryan wins, some Republican defections are possible. The success of Ryan's tenure rests on his relationshipp to hard-line conservatives who weree instrumental in forcing House Speaker John Boehner into retirement. Ryan agreed to hold offf on his plan to reform the "motion to vacate," a procedure that the group has used for leveragee in the past, as a concession to the House Freedom Caucus. That means that Ryan still has a
good deal of negotiating to do if he wants to reform House rules. The White House and GOP House and Senate leadership are reportedly nearing a deal to raise the debt limit and set the federal budget for the next two years.. The agreement is not yet final, as negotiators still need to settle a dispute over controversial policy riders. Congressional leaders hope to announce a deal on Monday evening that would cover fiscal years 2016 and 2017. Legislation to raise the debt ceiling and fund the government is central to the deal, but the talks are also said to include measures that would fund highway and infrastructure construction and renew the Export-Import Bank for one year. Lawmakers face a Friday, December 11 deadline to fund the federal government. Week in Review House Transportation & Infrastructure Committeee Passes Transportation Authorization Bill On October 22, the full House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee marked up and unanimously passed the "Surface Transportation Reauthorization and Reform Act (STRRA) of 2015" (H.R. 3763), a bipartisan bill to reauthorize and reform federal highway, transit, and highway safety programs. The STRRA spends up to $325 billion on transportationn projects over the next six fiscal years with $261 billion on highways, $55 billion on transit, and $9 billion on safety programs. The House Republicann leadership has to find $32 billion in funding offsets to support the FY 2016-2018 spending levels in the bill before the bill comes to the House floor for a vote, and a future Congress will need to deposit another $50 billion into the Highway Trust Fund by September 2018 in order to activate the spending in the final threee years of the STRRA. During the more than five-hour markup of the STRRA, a manager's amendment to the billl introduced by T& &I Committeee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-PA) was adopted unanimously by voice vote, as were 11 additional amendments introduced by T&I members, while 60 amendments were withdrawn without objection by T& &I Committeee members. Many of the withdrawn amendments will likely resurfacee when the full House votes on the STRRA, some of which may be part of an additional manager's amendment. Numerous members of Congresss who do not serve on the T&I Committee will likely submit amendments to the House Rules Committee for consideration when the STRRA is set to receive a floor vote in the House. Congress has until midnight on Thursday, October 29 to pass H.R. 3819, the "Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2015," a three-week extension of Highway Trust Fund spending authority through November 20. Between now and then, the House will need to figure out a way to pay for the first three years of the STRRA and then conference with the Senate on merging the STRRA with the Senate-passed DRIVE Act. There is no fixed schedulee yet for bringing the STRRA to the House floor for consideration. Read more... House Passes Default Prevention Act On October 21, the House passed, by a vote of 235-194, the "Default Prevention Act" (H.R.. 692) ). The bill would require the U.S. Treasury to continue to borrow once the statutory debt limit is reached-but only to pay the principal and interest on government debt held by the public and by the Social Security trust funds, not to pay other debts or legal obligations. Under the measure, the Treasury could not borrow above the federal debt limit for any other purpose
than to pay selected holders of America's debt, many of whom are outside of the U.S.; all other already-incurred bills would have to be paid by general revenues on a cash-flow basis, which would force the Treasury Department to default on many other obligations, including pay for active-duty military, veterans benefits, Medicare and Medicaid payments, and payments to small businesses. The White House issued a veto threat for H.R. 692, stating that the bill "would result in the Congress not paying obligations it has already agreed to, thereby putting the Nation into default on its obligations." Read more... House Passes Bill Speeding Up Mineral Mining On October 22, the House passed, by a vote of 254-177, the "National Strategic and Critical Minerals Production Act of 2015" (H.R. 1937). The bill would reduce or eliminate environmental reviews, and give mining companies control over the timing of permitting decisions for virtually all types of mining operations on federal public land, including minerals like gold, silver, copper and uranium to plentiful materials such as sand, clay, gravel and potentially coal. The bill deems all mines to be "infrastructure projects" in order to put them in line with an Executive Order aimed at reducing permitting time for surface transportation, aviation, pipelines and other infrastructure projects. Lastly, the bill requires the Interior Department to waive compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) if the federal or state permitting process is deemed "adequate" and requires federal agencies to enter into agreements with mining companies to set time limits for each part of the permit review process and limit total review time to 30 months. The White House issued a Statement of Administration Policy for H.R. 1937, stating that it "strongly opposed" the bill, "which would undermine existing environmental safeguards for, at a minimum, almost all types of hardrock mines on Federal lands." Read more... House Passes Partial Affordable Care Act Repeal On October 23, the House passed, by a vote of 240-189, the "Restoring Americans' Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act of 2015" (H.R. 3762). The bill repeals several major Affordable Care Act provisions, including the mandates for individuals to buy insurance and for larger employers to provide it, the 40 percent tax on high-cost "Cadillac" insurance plans, and a 2.3 percent tax on medical devices. The bill would also defund Planned Parenthood for one year. The bill only requires 51 votes in the Senate to pass, instead of the usual 60, making it more likely to reach President Obama's desk, and his veto pen. However, Republican Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX), Marco Rubio (R-FL), and Mike Lee (R-UT) have vowed to oppose the bill, accusing party leaders of abandoning their promise to fully repeal the Affordable Care Act. And with three other moderate Republican senators voicing concerns about defunding Planned Parenthood, the opposition from some on the party's right flank has the potential to sink the legislation, leaving Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) no room for error, who will have to keep the rest of his 54-member caucus united to secure the 51 votes needed for passage. The White House issued a veto threat of H.R. 3762. Read more... Senate Democrats Block Sanctuary Cities Bill On October 20, the Senate voted 54-45 on a measure to end debate on S. 2146, the "Stop Sanctuary Policies and Protect Americans Act"; sixty votes were needed to overcome the procedural hurdle and move toward a vote on the bill itself. The bill would withhold federal law enforcement and housing grants from cities that have declared themselves sanctuaries and refuse to detain undocumented immigrants at the request of the Homeland Security Dept. The White House issued a veto threat for S. 2146 stating that the "bill fails to offer comprehensive
reforms needed to fix the Nation's broken immigration laws and undermines current Administration efforts to remove the most dangerous convicted criminals and to work collaboratively with State and local law enforcement agencies." Read more... Senate Votes To Move Forward on Cybersecurity Bill On October 22, the Senate voted 83-14 to move forward on S. 754, the "Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA) of 2015." The bill would make it easier for corporations to share information about cyberattacks with each other or the government without fear of lawsuits. Dozens of industry and business groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, back CISA, saying it would help encourage companies and the government to share information that might help thwart high-profile cyberattacks. But many privacy activists and a few lawmakers, including Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), vehemently oppose it. Several big tech companies, including Google, Facebook, and Yahoo also have come out against the measure, arguing that it fails to protect user privacy and does too little to prevent cyberattacks. The White House supports the bill but strongly opposes more exceptions being added to the bill. A final vote on the bill will take place on October 27, after 8 amendments are considered. Read more... President Obama Vetoes FY 2016 National Defense Authorization Act On October 22, President Obama took the rare step of vetoing a major defense policy bill, the "National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2016" (H.R. 1735). The bill, which the House passed by a 270-156 vote and the Senate passed by a 70-27 vote earlier this month, is only the fifth bill President Obama has formally vetoed during his entire presidency. It's highly unusual for a president to veto the defense legislation, which typically becomes law with bipartisan support. The move amounts to a public rebuke of congressional Republicans, who warned that vetoing the $612 billion measure would put the nation's security at risk. The NDAA has only been vetoed four times in the last half-decade. President Obama argues that the bill irresponsibly skirts spending caps adopted in 2011 by putting $38 billion into a war fund not subject to the limits, a move he called a "gimmick." He has called on Congress to increase both defense and nondefense spending. "Let's have a budget that properly funds our national security as well as economic security, let's make sure that we're able in a constructive way to reform our military spending to make it sustainable over the long term," President Obama said. The president also objects to language in the bill that requires the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, military prison to remain open. The veto forces Congress to revisit the bill and send it back to the president. The military will continue to operate under last year's defense policy if lawmakers cannot reach an agreement. The move forces Congress to revisit the bill and send it back to the president. The military will continue to operate under last year's defense policy if lawmakers cannot reach an agreement. It is very likely that the veto will be sustained when the House and Senate eventually vote on trying to override the veto. Read more... Senate Judiciary Committee Passes Criminal Justice Reform Legislation On October 22, the full Senate Judiciary Committee passed comprehensive bipartisan legislation by a vote of 15-5 aimed at recalibrating prison sentences for certain drug offenders, targeting violent criminals, and granting judges great discretion at sentencing for lower-level drug crimes. The "Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act of 2015" (S. 2123) also seeks to curb recidivism by helping prisoners successfully re-enter society. The bill was introduced by
Senate Judiciary Committeee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA),, and has nine original cosponsors: Sens. Dick Durbin (D-IL), John Cornyn (R-TX), Graham ( R-SC), Pat Leahy (D-VT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Tim Scott (R-SC). Sen. Cornyn has stated that the bill could reach the Senatee floor early next year. Read more... Sheldon Whitehousee (D-RI), Mike Lee (R-UT), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Lindsey Congressional Schedule Tuesday, October 27 Rules Committee meets to formulate a rule on H.R. 1090, the "Retail Investor Protection Act." House Agriculture Subcommittee on Nutrition hearing entitled "Past, Present, and Future of SNAP: Breaking the Cycle." House Education and the Workforce Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education hearing entitled "Improving Career and Technical Education to Help Students Succeed in the Workforce." House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology hearing entitled "Common Carrier Regulation of the Internet: Investment Impacts." House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee onn Environment and the Economy hearing entitled "E-manifest: An Update on Implementation.' Judiciary Committee markup of H.R. 3279, the "Open Book on Equal Access to Justice Act"; H.R. 2830, "To make technical amendments to update statutory references to certain provisions classified to title 2, United States Code"; H.R. 2831, "To make technical amendments to update statutory references to provisions classified to chapters 44, 45, 46, and 47 of title 50, Unitedd States Code"; H.R. 2832, "To make technical amendments to update statutory references to certain provisions classified to title 52, United States Code"; and H.R. 2834, "To enact certain laws relating to the environment as title 55, United States Code, 'Environment'." House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Information Technology and House Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigationss joint hearing entitled "VA and DoD IT: Electronic Health Records Interoperability." House Small Business Subcommittee on Contracting and the Workforce hearing entitled "How are the SBA and DoD Mentor-Protégand Infrastructure Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation hearing entitled "Prevention of and Response to the Arrival of a Dirty Bomb at a U.S. Port." Programs Serving Small Businesses?" House Transportation Full Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing "on the development and potential implementation of the Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation, and Enforcement's proposed Stream Protection Rule." Full Senate Finance Committee hearing entitled "The Internal Revenue Service's Response to Committeee Recommendations Contained in its August 5, 2015 Report." Wednesday, October 28 Agriculture Committee hearing entitled "Big Data and Agriculture: Innovation and Implications." Budget Committee hearing entitled "Restoring the Trust for America's Most Vulnerable."
House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology hearing entitled "Breaking Down Barriers to Broadband Infrastructure Deployment." House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy hearing entitled "Update on Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Issues." House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence hearing entitled "Terror Inmates: Countering Violent Extremism in Prison and Beyond." Judiciary Committee hearing entitled "Oversight of the United States Department of Justice." House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Federal Lands hearing entitled "on Discussion Draft of the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Modernization Act of 2015." House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Indian, Insular and Alaska Native Affairs legislative hearing on H.R. 3764, the "Tribal Recognition Act of 2015." House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Power and Oceans legislative hearing entitled on H.R. 1219, the "Arbuckle Project Maintenance Complex and District Office Conveyance Act of 2015"; H.R. 1296, "to amend the San Luis Rey Indian Water Rights Settlement Act to clarify certain settlement terms, and for other purposes"; and H.R. 3062, the "Assuring Private Property Rights Over Vast Access to Land (APPROVAL) Act." House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Transportation and Public Assets hearing entitled "Moving Ahead For Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21) Program Consolidation." House Science, Space, and Technology Subcommittee on Research and Technology hearing entitled "A Review of the Networking and Information Technology Research and Development (NITRD) Program." House Science, Space, and Technology Subcommittees on Environment & Oversight joint hearing entitled "An Overview of the Nation's Weather Satellite Programs and Policies." Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies hearing "to review unmanned aircraft systems and the steps being taken to successfully integrate this technology into our National Airspace System." Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development hearing entitled "Securing America's Future: Realizing the Potential of the DOE National Laboratories." Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Protection hearing entitled "The State of Rural Banking: Challenges and Consequences." Full Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation nomination hearing for Ms. Jessica Rosenworcel to serve as commissioner at the Federal Communications Commission for a second five-year term. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee on Primary Health and Retirement Security hearing entitled "Retirement Plan Options for Small Businesses." Full Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing entitled "Assessing the State of Our Nation's Biodefense." Full Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee hearing entitled "VA Mental Health: Ensuring Access to Care." Thursday, October 29 House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health hearing entitled "Examining the Regulation of Diagnostic Tests and Laboratory Operations."
House Judiciary Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law hearing on H.R. 3438, the "Require Evaluation before Implementing Executive Wishlists (REVIEW) Act of 2015"; and H.R. 2631, the "Regulatory Predictability for Business Growth Act of 2015." House Science, Space, and Technology Subcommittees on Environment & Oversight joint hearing entitled "Examining the Costs and Challenges of EPA's Power Plan." Full Senate Finance Committee hearing entitled "Welfare and Poverty in America." Full Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing entitled "Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders in America: Priorities, Challenges, and Opportunities."