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News and updates

This week in Congress, November 27 – December 1

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Here is a selection of committee meetings taking place this week.

 

U.S. House of Representatives

HOUSE OVERSIGHT & GOVERNMENT REFORM
Full Committee Field Hearing
Combating the Opioid Crisis
Nov. 28, 12:30 p.m., Johns Hopkins Hospital, 1800 Orleans St., First Floor, Chevy Chase Auditorium, Baltimore, Md.

HOUSE TRANSPORTATION & INFRASTRUCTURE
Subcommittee Hearing
Unmanned Aircraft Systems
Nov. 29, 10 a.m., 2167 Rayburn Bldg.

HOUSE OVERSIGHT & GOVERNMENT REFORM
Subcommittee Hearing
Voting Machines Cybersecurity
Nov. 29, 2 p.m., 2154 Rayburn Bldg.

HOUSE NATURAL RESOURCES
Full Committee Hearing
Modernizing the National Environmental Policy Act
Nov. 29, 10 a.m., 1324 Longworth Bldg.

HOUSE ENERGY & COMMERCE
Subcommittee Hearing
21st Century Cures Act
Nov. 30, 10 a.m., 2123 Rayburn Bldg.

HOUSE JUDICIARY
Subcommittee Hearing
Impact of Nationwide Injunctions by District Courts
Nov. 30, 2 p.m., 2141 Rayburn Bldg.

U.S. Senate

SENATE HEALTH, EDUCATION, LABOR & PENSIONS
Full Committee Hearing
Higher Education Act Reauthorization
Nov. 28, 10 a.m., 430 Dirksen Bldg

SENATE COMMERCE, SCIENCE & TRANSPORTATION
Full Committee Hearing
NOAA Nomination
Nov. 29, 10:30 a.m., 253 Russell Bldg.

SENATE HEALTH, EDUCATION, LABOR & PENSIONS
Full Committee Hearing
Opioid Crisis
Nov. 30, 10 a.m., 430 Dirksen Bldg.

House Passes Tax Bill; Senate Action Awaits

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Earlier this afternoon, the House passed H.R. 1, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, by a vote of 227 to 205. A total of 13 Republicans joined every Democrat in opposing the bill.

Even as the House was considering its bill on the floor, the Senate Finance Committee has been debating its version of the measure since Monday.  Late on Tuesday, the committee leadership decided to add a provision that would repeal the individual insurance mandate currently in law as part of the Affordable Care Act.  Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) announced his opposition to the bill yesterday, making the Republican leadership’s current vote margin on the bill even smaller.

The goal of the proponents of this effort is to get a bill signed into law by the holidays.

Third Travel Ban Partially Ok’ed by Federal Court

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On Monday, a panel of judges in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals allowed a version of the Trump Administration’s third travel ban to take effect.  The proposed ban, which was originally slated to take effect last month, sought to bar many kinds of travelers from eight countries, including those from Chad, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen.    Before itcould take effect, suits were filed against the Administration in the Fourth Circuit and the Ninth Circuit.

In their decision, the judges ruled that the government could implement the ban but not on those individuals with “a bona fide relationship with a person or an entity in the United States.”  The appeal in the Fourth Circuit has not yet been heard.

Read more here.

New Nominee to Lead HHS Named

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The Trump Administration announced today that it intends to nominate Alex Azar as the next Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS).  Azar served at HHS under the George W. Bush Administration from 2001 to 2007, first as general counsel and deputy secretary.  He served in senior leadership roles at Lilly USA between 2007 and late 2016.

Read more here and here.

The first HHS Secretary in the Trump Administration, Tom Price, resigned earlier this fall due to the fallout over his use of chartered flights.

What We’re Reading This Week, October 30 to November 3

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Here’s a selection of articles we’ve read this week.

John Boehner Unchained – To outsiders, Boehner might just be the happiest man alive, a liberated retiree who spends his days swirling merlot and cackling at Speaker Paul Ryan’s misfortune. The truth is more complicated. At 67, Boehner is liberated—to say what he spent many years trying not to say; to smoke his two packs a day without undue stress; to chuckle at the latest crisis in Washington and whisper to himself those three magic words: “Not my problem.”  Read more from Politico.

House GOP Tax Plan Arrives – This week the House released its tax reform plan. Read all about it right here on our blog.

How the Russians Took Over Social Media – Wednesday, Congress released some of the 3,000 Facebook ads and Twitter accounts created by Russian operatives to sway American voters. You can explore them in an analysis the Post published here. These disturbing messages, seen by up to 126 million Americans, raise thorny questions about Silicon Valley’s responsibility for vetting the information it publishes. Read more from the Washington Post.

Anatomy of a Russian Facebook Ad –  Among the ads released by lawmakers, there’s a wide variety of content, tone and visual style. While some mimic Internet memes intended for easy consumption and sharing, others take the form of more-traditional campaign-style ads or promoted events.  Read more from the Washington Post.

In Conversation: Jimmy Kimmel – In the space of six weeks, this seemingly apolitical 49-year-old comedian, who, since his show debuted in 2003, has done exceptionally well by coming across as late-night’s unexceptional guy, had transformed himself into a riveting teller of truths — with the ratings bump to match. Read more on Vulture.