July 25, 2011
Bipartisan deficit reduction talks broke down again over the weekend and congressional leaders are now writing their own proposals to avoid a government default in eight days (August 2nd). Lawmakers could vote on their separate plans later this week, which may form the basis for a compromise. The House Speaker will present a plan to… Read More
July 22, 2011
Debt Limit: President Obama and House Speaker Boehner are continuing their negotiations on a new “grand bargain” that would raise the federal debt limit by August 2nd, call for $3 trillion in spending cuts over the next decade, and promise a federal tax code overhaul next year. The deal would be a new version of… Read More
July 12, 2011
Debt Negotiations Continue: Congressional leaders will meet with President Obama at the White House again today as both sides show no sign of softening their positions. Obama has increased the pressure on Congressional leaders to reach a deal in the coming weeks by stating that he would not agree to any short-term measures. The President… Read More
July 8, 2011
New Staff Member in the Office of Federal Relations: On Tuesday, Sarah Martin Castro joined the OFR team in our Washington, DC office as our new Associate Director. Sarah comes to us after several years as the government relations officer for the University of Missouri System. She has also worked on Capitol Hill for a… Read More
July 7, 2011
The House released its Energy & Water Appropriations bill for FY12 today. The bill provides a total $30.7 billion for the Energy Department and federal water projects in FY12, $5.9 billion (16 percent) less than requested by the President and $1.7 billion (5 percent) less than FY11 enacted totals. The bill provides an additional $1… Read More
July 7, 2011
Today, three House Appropriations subcommittees are expected to approve FY12 domestic spending bills that continue the push by House Republicans to cut domestic spending and reverse administration policies. Interior-Environment Bill: Steep cuts are proposed for the EPA, federal clean water and drinking water programs, and for state environmental grant programs that Republicans say are a… Read More
July 6, 2011
The House Appropriations Committee today released their FY12 Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations bill, which will be considered in subcommittee tomorrow. The bill funds the Department of Commerce, the Department of Justice, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Science Foundation (NSF), and other related agencies. In total, the draft legislation contains $50.2 billion… Read More
July 6, 2011
Latest Budget Talks: President Obama has summoned lawmakers to the White House Thursday for a fresh round of talks on the budget and debt limit. While some progress has been made over the holiday weekend, but there is the two sides are still a long way apart if they want to reach agreement before the… Read More
June 30, 2011
Congressional Schedule: The House is in recess this week and the Senate is scheduled for recess next week (week of July 4th). The House has another recess scheduled for the week of July 18th, and both chambers have recess scheduled for the month on August (August 8th through September 6th). Debt Negotiations Continue: Yesterday, President… Read More
June 24, 2011
Calendar: The House is preparing to begin its Fourth of July holiday recess today and is slated to return July 5, while the Senate remains in session throughout next week before their scheduled recess during the week of July 4th. Deficit Negotiations Stalled: Attempts by Congress and the White House to broker a budget deal… Read More
