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Author: McKinzie Strait

This Week in Congress, January 26

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Tuesday, January 27

Senate HELP
NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND AND TEACHERS
10 a.m., 216 Hart Bldg.
Full Committee Hearing

House Budget
CBO BUDGET AND ECONOMIC FORECAST / Full Listing
Jan. 27, 10:30 a.m., 210 Cannon Bldg.
Full Committee Hearing

House Science, Space and Technology
CYBERSECURITY ISSUES
2 p.m., 2318 Rayburn Bldg.
Subcommittee Hearing

House Veterans Affairs
TRANSITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
2 p.m., 334 Cannon Bldg.
Subcommittee Hearing

 

Wednesday, January 28

Senate Budget
CBO BUDGET AND ECONOMIC FORECAST
10 a.m., 608 Dirksen Bldg.
Full Committee Hearing

This Week in Congress, January 19-23

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It’s a short week due to the Martin Luther King holiday, but a full one nonetheless. President Obama delivers his annual State of the Union address Tuesday evening and House and Senate committees get moving on issues that are sure to be significant in the 114th Congress. We’ll be paying attention to the following hearings and events this week.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 20

Annual State of the Union Address
6 p.m., House Chamber
View online at www.C-SPAN.org

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21

House Science, Space & Technology
UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS ISSUES
2:30 p.m., 2318 Rayburn Bldg.
Full Committee Hearing

House Transportation & Infrastructure
FAA REGULATORY CERTIFICATION PROCESS
10 a.m., 2167 Rayburn Bldg.
Full Committee Hearing

Senate Commerce, Science & Transportation
INTERNET AUTHORITY ISSUES
2:30 p.m., 253 Russell Bldg.
Full Committee Hearing

Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions
NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND
10 a.m., 430 Dirksen Bldg.
Full Committee Hearing

THURSDAY, JANUARY 22

Senate Finance
JOBS AND ECONOMIC ISSUES
10 a.m., 215 Dirksen Bldg.
Full Committee Hearing

House Energy & Commerce
EPA COAL ASH RULE
10 a.m., 2123 Rayburn Bldg.
Subcommittee Hearing

Kilmer to Join House Appropriations Committee

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Congressman Derek Kilmer (WA-6) has been selected by his Democratic colleagues to fill a seat on the House Appropriations Committee, which is responsible for discretionary spending on government agencies and programs. He is the only new Democrat to land a spot on the powerful spending panel for the 114th Congress. Each year the committee’s 12 subcommittees are tasked with producing 12 annual appropriations bills. No word yet on which subcommittee Kilmer will sit on.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said Kilmer, who just entered his second term, would be a “strong voice for bigger wages, better infrastructure and greater opportunities for every American.” Congratulations, Congressman Kilmer!

This Week in Congress

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The House begins consideration of a bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security through the duration of FY15. You’ll recall DHS was not included in the FY15 CRomnibus so that the new Republican Congress could attempt to block President Obama’s executive order on immigration. However, the White House has promised to veto any attempt to do so. As a result, HR 240 is largely the same version that was negotiated at the end of the last Congress for inclusion in the omnibus. The deadline for passage is in late February, when the CR funding DHS ends.

The Senate resumes consideration of controversial legislation that would allow construction of the Keystone XL pipeline.

Several committees meet this week to organize and adopt committee rules for the 114th Congress. As House and Senate Committees begin to dive into policy, we’ll keep you updated here on the blog when hearings on topics of interest to the University take place.

New ARPA-E Director Confirmed by US Senate

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Dr. Ellen Williams, the new Director of ARPA-E, was confirmed by the U.S. Senate last week and sworn in earlier today by U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz. 

Prior to joining ARPA-E, Dr. Williams served as a Senior Advisor to the Secretary of Energy and previously served as the Chief Scientist for BP. She is currently on a leave of absence from the University of Maryland where she has served as a Distinguished University Professor in the Department of Physics and the Institute for Physical Science and Technology since 2000.

Dr. Williams has served as a Professor in the Department of Physics at the University of Maryland since 1991. She founded the University of Maryland Materials Research Science and Engineering Center and served as its Director from 1996 through 2009. In 2005, she was elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences; two years earlier, she was selected as a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

To learn more about Dr. Williams, visit the ARPA-E website to view her full bio.