April 30, 2012
Congress is in recess this week, returning to work on Monday, May 7th. Before leaving town last Friday, the House took action on legislation to delay the increase in student loan interest rates. And both chambers continued to move forward on their FY2013 appropriations measures. FY 2013 Appropriations While Congress is expected to finalize any… Read More
April 23, 2012
President Obama used his weekly address to call on Congress to prevent student interest rates from doubling in July. He believes that we should be doing everything we can to put higher education within reach for every American because “at a time when the unemployment rate for Americans with at least a college degree is… Read More
April 16, 2012
Congress is back in session today after a two-week break for the Easter holiday. Appropriators in both chambers will begin moving FY 2013 annual appropriations bills this week. The House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday will start marking up its spending bills for FY 2013 with a goal of cutting federal spending by a little more… Read More
April 2, 2012
The House and Senate began their two-week spring recess last Friday after passing the House budget resolution for FY 2013. This plan would cut $19 billion from the FY 2013 spending level outlined in the Budget Control Act (PL 112-25) approved by Congress last August. Most of those cuts would come from non-defense discretionary spending… Read More
March 29, 2012
The House is expected to adopt the FY 2013 GOP budget plan, which would set up a conflict with the Senate over appropriations spending levels. That chamber also plans a vote on a three-month highway bill extension, days before funding for transportation programs expires. The Senate votes on a motion to invoke cloture on an… Read More
March 22, 2012
The House Budget Committee approved its FY 2013 budget resolution late last night. This resolution, a blueprint developed by Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI), will now go to the House floor where it is expected to gain strong support from most Republicans and fierce opposition from Democrats. The plan would set discretionary spending in FY 2013… Read More
March 19, 2012
Budget: With the House in recess last week, work continued behind the scenes to draft the FY 2013 budget resolution which is expected to be marked up this week. This budget resolution is likely to propose deeper spending cuts in an effort to balance the budget more quickly. Conservatives have been pushing to get the… Read More
March 2, 2012
Congressman Norm Dicks announced today that he will retire at the end of this session of Congress. His decision comes as a shock, but after 44 years in public service in Washington, DC, and at age 71, we all can certainly appreciate and understand his desire to spend more time with his wife Suzie, their children, and grandchildren. Dicks… Read More
February 27, 2012
Budget The House Budget Committee will mark up its FY13 budget resolution by the third week of March, with Republican leaders hoping to have it adopted by the end of the month. The House plan is expected to propose discretionary spending for FY13 that is lower than the $1.047 trillion level set by last August’s… Read More
February 20, 2012
Congress is in recess this week for President’s Day and will return to the Capitol next week – the same week that UW President Michael Young will be in DC for his annual visit to the Washington State Congressional Delegation. Last Monday, the President submitted his FY13 budget to Congress. Next week, President Young will… Read More
