Happy Fourth of July from the Office of Federal Relations. Congress will be back on Monday from the District Work Period. Federal Relations will have a full report on what’s to come before the August Recess next week.
July 4, 2013
July 1, 2013
Federally Subsidized Student Loan Rates Double Today
Congress adjourned last week for the 4th of July recess without passing legislation to halt the rise of student loan interest rates. That means that today the interest rate on Federally Subsidized student loans doubles from 3.4% to 6.8%. The rate hike is expected to affect 7 million students and will add an average of… Read More
June 27, 2013
Senate Passes Immigration Reform
A short time ago, the US Senate approved sweeping immigration legislation. By a vote of 68 to 32, the Senate approved and concluded a month-long debate of a measure which was nearly 1,200 pages. To note the historic significance of the vote, Vice President Biden presided over the vote and Senators voted from their desks, which is… Read More
Senate may Vote on Immigration Bill Today
Although the vote is officially scheduled for tomorrow afternoon, some reports are claiming that Senators may try to move the legislation for a vote around 4pm today. Senator Reid announced that Senators will make the vote from their desks – a method usually reserved for votes on historic legislation. Republicans in the House of Representatives… Read More
June 26, 2013
Student Loan Deal Unlikely
Today, Senate Leader Harry Reid admitted that a deal to keep student loan interest rates from doubling to 6.8% before July 1st is unlikely. Several Senators continue to work to produce a last minute deal, including Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) who has been working with Senator Angus King (I-ME), an independent who caucuses with Democrats, and… Read More
June 25, 2013
President’s Climate Action Plan
In conjunction with his statement today, the President has released his Climate Action plan. A short overview of the plan can be found here, while the longer version can be found here – POTUS Climate Change Action Plan.
Senate Confirms Pritzker
Today, the Senate confirmed Penny Pritzker as Secretary of Commerce by a vote of 97-1. Pritzker, a member of the family that owns Hyatt Hotels, was the national finance chairwoman of President Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign and the national co-chairwoman of his reelection campaign. The Commerce Department is comprised of of 12 different agencies responsible for… Read More
President Unveils Climate Change Agenda
President Barack Obama will unveil his climate change agenda during a speech around 2 p.m. Eastern this afternoon. The agenda is expected to combine both Executive Orders and a call to Congress to enact legislation. The new climate initiative will impose deadlines for EPA to write rules throttling carbon dioxide emissions at U.S. power plants, part… Read More
June 24, 2013
This Week in Congress
Congress will attempt to wrap up work on several outstanding issues this week before adjourning for the Independence Day Recess next week. The July 1st deadline on Student-Loan rates is looming and the interest rate is set to rise in 7 days unless Congress is able to reach an agreement. As of now, there does… Read More
Fisher v. University of Texas Ruling
Today, the Supreme Court came out with its ruling on the case Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin that lower courts did not apply a sufficiently high level of scrutiny to the University of Texas’s use of race in admissions decisions, sending the case back to one of those lower courts to be reconsidered. In… Read More
