One Federal Fiscal Year Ends, Another One Begins

Posted on September 29, 2017

Federal FY2017 comes to a close Saturday night, September 30. To prevent the government from shutting down Sunday morning at the start of FY2018, Congress passed and the President signed into law earlier this month a short-term funding measure that would keep the federal government funded through the first week of December essentially at FY2017 levels.

Whether and if any of the 12 individual spending bills for FY2018 are dealt with before the short-term funding package expires on December 9 remains to be seen.

What We’re Reading, September 25-29

Posted on September 29, 2017October 2, 2017

Here is a selection of articles that we’re reading this week.

Fourth Time’s a Charm? – Dino Rossi at first did not succeed. So he tried … and tried … and tried again. And now, the Washington Republican state senator, who lost two races for governor (2004, 2008) and one for the U.S. Senate (2010), is giving national politics another shot. Rossi announced at the state’s GOP dinner on Thursday he will run to fill the seat being vacated by Republican Dave Reichert in Washington’s 8th District. Reichert is retiring next year after seven terms. Read more about it on Roll Call.

NIH For All! – Some issues aren’t partisan. Whether you’re a Republican, Democrat, independent or anything in between, your family and friends have been touched by disease. That is why the Tuesday Group, a caucus of moderate House Republicans, and the New Democrat Coalition, a coalition of moderate House Democrats, are working together to support funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Read more on The Hill.

Feds Investigate NCAA Basketball Bribes – Now that the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York has formally announced its charges against four NCAA assistant basketball coaches, here’s what ESPN’s on what we know going forward regarding the federal probe into corruption and fraud in college basketball. Read more on ESPN.

Trump v. Ferguson – When the history books get around to Donald Trump, his unlikely rise to power will receive plenty of ink — the buttoned-up rivals he steamrolled, the scandals he survived, the biases and tensions he exploited. But each recollection of this period will inevitably include the first major defeat of his political career, delivered by a man who might seem his polar opposite: Washington state’s bookish attorney general, Bob Ferguson. Read more on Geek Wire.

Back to Square One – The Trump administration is hitting reset on its search for a permanent Department of Homeland Security secretary due to White House aides’ dissatisfaction with the slate of candidates, according to two people familiar with the process. House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mike McCaul had been considered the front-runner for the job, but he no longer is in contention. Read more on Politico.

Big Six Reveal Tax Reform Framework

Posted on September 27, 2017September 28, 2017

As expected, the long-awaited proposal released Wednesday. Negotiated by the “Big Six” — Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, House Speaker Paul Ryan, House Ways & Means Chairman Kevin Brady, and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orin Hatch — is heavy on promoting the Republican tax cut desires and light when it comes to explaining whose taxes will have to go up to help control costs. There is still a lot unknown about the plan with any specificity. While there is an agreement that the tax cut proposal will have some deficit impact, the plan will partially defray the cost with offsetting tax increases, but how and what will do so remains unclear.

The full blueprint is here and a one-pager is here.

This week in Congress, September 25-29

Posted on September 25, 2017September 25, 2017

Here are some of the committee meetings taking place on the Hill this week.

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

HOUSE OVERSIGHT & GOVERNMENT REFORM
Subcommittee Hearing
Nuclear Waste Management/Storage
Sept. 26, 2 p.m., 2154 Rayburn Bldg.

HOUSE OVERSIGHT & GOVERNMENT REFORM
Subcommittee Hearing
Internet of Things Cybersecurity
Sept. 27, 2 p.m., 2154 Rayburn Bldg.

HOUSE SCIENCE, SPACE & TECHNOLOGY
Subcommittee Hearing
Science Gains from the Great American Eclipse
Sept. 28, 9:30 a.m., 2318 Rayburn Bldg.

U.S. SENATE

SENATE FINANCE
Full Committee Hearing
Graham-Cassidy Healthcare Reform
2 p.m. Sept. 25, 215 Dirksen Bldg.

SENATE ENVIRONMENT & PUBLIC WORKS
Full Committee Hearing
Forest Management to Mitigate Wildfires
Sept. 27, 10 a.m., 406 Dirksen Bldg.

SENATE SMALL BUSINESS & ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Full Committee Hearing
Reviewing SBA’s Hurricane Response
Sept. 27, 3 p.m., 428-A Russell Bldg.

SENATE VETERANS’ AFFAIRS
Full Committee Hearing
Veteran Suicide Prevention
Sept. 27, 2:30 p.m., 418 Russell Bldg.

Deal or No Deal?

Posted on September 14, 2017

After dinner last night between President Trump and the two top Congressional Democrats, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), a number of reports have emerged about whether the three agreed to a deal around a host of immigration issues, including those around how to protect individuals impacted by the repeal of DACA. While the Democratic leaders have stated that an agreement had been reached, the White House and Congressional Republican have pushed back against those assertions. Like other issues that must be dealt by the federal government, the situation on this front also remains fluid.