Senate Keeps Moving

Posted on June 27, 2016June 28, 2016

Only the Senate is in session this week, as the House recessed early for the Fourth of July work period last week. The Senate plans to keep working on the FY 2017 CJS bill this week and should also turn to their FY 2017 Military-Construction-Veterans (Mil-Con appropriations bills. Also on tap this week, possibly the Supplemental Appropriations for Zika funding.

The final version of the Mil-Con spending bill, which the Senate plans to take up this week, is traditionally the first and least controversial of the 12 annual measures needed to fund the government. No one wants to vote against military veterans, after all, and the package usually steers clear of the contentious ideological provisions that can doom other bills.

Unfortunately, this no normal year. the bill appears headed for the trash heap. Supporters appear to lack the 60 votes required under Senate rules to advance it, mostly because it’s attached to a bitterly contested funding package to combat the Zika virus. Even if it clears the Senate, the White House has promised a veto.

The House and Senate’s scheduled mid-July departure for the party political conventions and an extended summer recess leaves maybe a dozen days for legislative business.

What We’re Reading This Week, June 20-24

Posted on June 24, 2016June 24, 2016

Here’s a selection of articles the Federal Relations Team is enjoying this week.

Sit In (You Can’t See) – The D.C. political world riveted its attention on a rare sit-in on the House floor Wednesday afternoon by House Democrats, but the closest C-SPAN’s cameras could get to the action was the steps of the Capitol building.That’s because the news organization that chronicles every sneeze on the Hill doesn’t control the cameras recording live feeds of the House chambers — the Republicans in the House majority do. Read more at Roll Call.

Shut It Down – The House erupted into deafening shouts as Republicans attempted to end Democrats’ sit-in on the Floor with a vote unrelated to gun control. Read more at The Hill.

Flag Issue Is Back – The issue that decimated the FY 2016 appropriations process in the House is back. An amendment barring the flag imagery’s display in Veterans Affairs cemeteries was added to the FY 2017 Military Construction-VA spending bill last month. When the conference report was released, however, the amendment was gone. Read more in Roll Call.

Watching the Watchdog – This week, the private accrediting group that allowed Corinthian to stay open for business will face its own existential threat, when federal regulators decide whether to shut it down. That decision will go a long way toward determining whether education companies will continue to have free rein to profit from government financial aid programs. Read more in the New York Times.

Income v. Revenue – Donald Trump spent more money than he raised in the month of May, and ended the month with $1.3 million in the bank. Read more in the Washington Post.

Counselor – For 13 years, the lawyer who had infamously whispered in McCarthy’s ear whispered in Donald Trump’s. In the process, Roy Cohn helped deliver some of Mr. Trump’s signature construction deals, sued the National Football League for conspiring against his client and countersued the federal government — for $100 million — for damaging the Trump name. Read more in the New York Times.

Vox explains BrExit.

To the Interwebs! – Eight hours after voting to leave the European Union, Google reported that searches for “what happens if we leave the EU” have tripled in Britain. Read more in The Washington Post.

Zika Deal Reached

Posted on June 23, 2016

Early Thursday morning, the House approved a Zika funding package, the product of a House-Senate conference report that was crafted just hours before.

House Democrats’ unusual daylong protest over gun control finally ended early Thursday morning after Republican leaders moved to adjourn the House through the July 4 recess – without a gun vote.

As a result, House hearings and legislation that had been planned for this week are now delayed at least 11 days. Another consequence, and shocking bonus — a surprisingly speedy vote on a major Zika funding deal.

What’s in the $1.1 billion package:

$476 million to CDC for mosquito control
$230 million to NIH for vaccines
$165 million to the State Department and USAID to respond to outbreaks overseas
$86 million for emergency response research through the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority.

The package is offset by about $750 million from unspent Ebola and Obamacare funds, in addition to another $100 million from HHS’s administrative fund. It now heads to the Senate for a vote, where it’s expected to face resistance.

Democrats on the House Appropriations Committee said they won’t support the deal and called for negotiations to continue.

After the measure passed, the House recessed for the Fourth of July work period.

SCOTUS: Fisher v. Texas

Posted on June 23, 2016

Today, the Supreme Court today upheld the University of Texas at Austin’s (UT) consideration of race and ethnicity in college admissions. The ruling came in a case, Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, about the admissions practices at the UT, but will likely affect admissions and financial aid policies in most institutes of higher education.

In a 4-3 decision, the court ruled that that the primary reason that the plaintiff in the case was denied admission to the university was not its consideration of race in admissions, but of Texas’ “10 percent plan.” The plan, as enacted by the Texas legislature, allows students within the top 10 percent of their high school graduating class to be admitted to the public college or university of their choice.

The university does have “a continuing obligation to satisfy the strict scrutiny burden: by periodically reassessing the admission program’s constitutionality, and efficacy, in light of the school’s experience and the data it has gathered since adopting its admissions plan, and by tailoring its approach to ensure that race plays no greater role than is necessary to meet its compelling interests.”

The Week Ahead

Posted on June 20, 2016June 21, 2016

Congress is back for a few days before the Fourth of July Recess. The House and Senate return tomorrow, and the House will recess on Friday making the Fourth a two week recess. The Senate plans on being in session though Friday, June 24th.

The Senate reconvened today and is expected to resume consideration of FY 2017 CJS Appropriations bill. Also for Monday, the Senate has scheduled four votes on competing, partisan plans aimed at prohibiting suspected terrorists from buying guns and strengthening background checks for gun sales. A nearly 15-hour Democratic filibuster aimed at forcing a vote to restrict gun sales prompted the votes, but with 60 votes needed to advance a measure under Senate rules, none of the proposals may have enough support to get adopted.

The House reconvenes Tuesday and is expected to consider measures under suspension of the rules, including several cyber security bills. For the remainder of the week, the House will consider the FY 2017 Financial Services and General Government appropriations bill.