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News and updates

NDAA Sent to Senate

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The House passed HR 3979 the FY15 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) by a vote of 300-119. The Senate is expected to take up and pass the measure next week.

The measure, which must be passed annually, authorizes all Pentagon and defense-related programs for the fiscal year. In FY15, the measure authorizes $577.1 billion for the Pentagon and defense-related programs for FY 2015, of which $63.7 billion is war-related funding — including $5.1 billion requested by the president to counter the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. Defense spending continues to account for well over 50% of overall federal discretionary spending.

The bill extends the administration’s authority to train and equip Syrian rebels fighting both ISIS and the Assad regime and authorizes funding to help train the Iraqi Army in its fight against ISIS. It includes new provisions to combat sexual assault in the military, continues restrictions on the transfer of Guantánamo Bay detainees and allows the Pentagon to slightly reduce servicemembers’ housing allowances and impose a small copay for prescription drugs. It also includes a major package of non-defense-related land management provisions, including an appropriation for the PILT program and provisions creating new National Park units.

Additionally, the legislation includes strong language on increasing military cyber security.  These efforts come in the wake of two years of leaks from Defense Department insiders and cyberattacks on both the department and its contractors, including Manning and Snowden.

The measure would require the Defense Department to report back to Congress by March 2015 on its efforts to build both interim and long-term capabilities to continuously evaluate the security status of employees with access to classified information. Another provision in the bill is directly linked to a report the Senate Armed Services Committee released in September detailing what congressional leaders called a disturbing lack of communication on cyberattacks between agencies.

Additionally, the bill would add cybersecurity to the department’s list of major force programs. The department groups certain activities into those groups for budgeting and mission planning — the current list includes programs such as special operations, mobility forces and guard and reserve forces. Breaking cybersecurity out into its own major force would serve a symbolic move to show that the issue has been elevated to a high priority for the department.

 

Obama Takes Action on Immigration

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President Obama has announced during a prime-time television address on Thursday evening that he will take executive action on immigration. The sweeping actions aim to shield as many as 5 million undocumented immigrants from deportation and will grant work permits to some.
A new program will allow the parents of US citizens and permanent residents to apply for work permits and deferred deportation. It is estimated that around 4 million parents are eligible to take advantage of this sweeping reform. To be eligible, parents must be here illegally for at least five years and have no felony convictions.
In addition, federal law enforcement officers are directed to shift enforcement efforts to illegal immigrants with criminal records, gang affiliations, or ties to terrorism going forward. There will also be a long-overdue expansion of high-tech visas, and restrictions on would-be entrepreneurs will be loosened to allow them to travel more freely to the US to launch companies.

The GOP has confirmed that the executive actions cannot be blocked through appropriations. While many within the GOP claim the President does not have legal authority to make such sweeping actions, the White House maintains it does and points to the fact that every US President in the last half century has taken executive action on immigration.

 

House Appropriations Subcommittee Chairs Announced

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Today House Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers announced the Republican Steering Committee has approved the 12 Appropriations Subcommittee Chairs for the 114th Congress.

In a statement, Chairman Rogers said, “The 12 Appropriations Subcommittee Chairmen are essential to this success. They lead the way in overseeing our federal agencies, and guide spending decisions to make the most responsible and effective use of American tax dollars. Over the next two years, we will have some big challenges and a full plate of ‘to-dos’ ahead of us as we continue to fight for stability, continuity, and responsibility in the federal budget process. These excellent Subcommittee Cardinals will be a tremendous benefit to our efforts. I congratulate them and look forward to working with them in the 114th Congress.”

The Subcommittee Chairs are as follows:

  • Subcommittee on Agriculture and Rural Development – Chairman Robert Aderholt
  • Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, and Science – Chairman John Culberson
  • Subcommittee on Defense – Chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen
  • Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development – Chairman Mike Simpson
  • Subcommittee on Financial Services – Chairman Ander Crenshaw
  • Subcommittee on Homeland Security – Chairman John Carter
  • Subcommittee on the Interior, Environment – Chairman Ken Calvert
  • Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education – Chairman Tom Cole
  • Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch – Chairman Tom Graves
  • Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs – Chairman Charles Dent
  • Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations – Chairwoman Kay Granger
  • Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development – Chairman Mario Diaz-Balart

Congressman Rush Holt to lead AAAS

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Congressman Rush D. Holt, Ph.D., who is retiring from the U.S. House of Representatives at the end of this year, has agreed to become chief executive officer and executive publisher of the Science family of journals for American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS),

He will succeed Alan I. Leshner, Ph.D., who had previously announced that he would be stepping down as AAAS CEO.

Congressman Holt has represented Central New Jersey (12th District) in Congress since 1999. He earned his B.A. degree in physics from Carleton College in Minnesota, and he completed his Master’s and doctoral degrees at New York University. In 1982-83, while he was teaching physics and public policy at Swarthmore College, Holt was selected by the American Physical Society to receive a highly competitive AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellowship. 

On Capitol Hill, Holt has established a long track record of advocacy for federal investment in research and development, science education, and innovation. Over the course of his career, Holt has held positions as a teacher and as an arms control expert at the U.S. State Department. From 1989 until 1998, he served as Assistant Director of the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, the largest research facility of Princeton University. As a result of his alternative-energy research, Holt in 1981 was issued a patent on an improved solar-pond technology for harnessing energy from sunlight. He also famously beat IBM supercomputer Watson in a “Jeopardy!” exhibition game intended to promote innovation.

Holt, a research physicist and former teacher, will serve as the 18th chief executive of the 166-year-old non-profit, non-partisan AAAS after his legislative term ends, during the association’s 2015 Annual Meeting, February 12-16, in San Jose, Ca.

Appropriations Update: Shutdown Possible?

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Congress returns to the Capitol today to begin a long week of work before the Thanksgiving break. There are roughly 11 working days before the next continuing resolution (CR) runs out on December 11th so Congress continues to consider their options for completing FY 2015 appropriations. House and Senate Republican leaders keep insisting they don’t want another government shutdown, but rank-and-file members continue to look for ways to oppose President Obama’s executive actions on immigration and environmental policies. This caustic political environment is eerily similar to the one that led to last year’s government shutdown.

So far, House and Senate appropriators insist they are making headway in writing a FY 2015 omnibus spending package that they hope to have ready for the floors by the week of December 8th. That won’t leave lawmakers much time to complete their work so options are also being considered, such as another short-term CR – for a week or so – to allow lawmakers time to vote on the omnibus, a year-long CR to fund government through September 2015, or a shutdown to force the President to take action (or not take action) on certain policies. Unfortunately, we won’t know which way they are leaning until after Thanksgiving.

In other budget news, last week the House GOP considered lifting the ban on earmarks. They had their most extensive debate in years over reviving earmarks for states, local governments, public utilities, or other public entities, but ultimately they decided to keep the ban that has been in place since 2011. The debate suggests there is some interest in returning to earmarks that some appropriators believe would help move the annual spending bills. Under current House rules, appropriations bills can include specific line-item spending projects as long as the President includes it in his budget. At least for now, earmarks will be off the table for the 114th Congress.