Moniz sworn in as Secretary of Energy

Posted on May 21, 2013

Dr. Ernest Moniz was sworn in as Energy secretary in the department’s cafeteria this morning. Moriz was overwhelmingly approved by the Senate on May 16. Moniz, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology physicist, begins with bipartisan endorsement after his 97-0 confirmation.

His predecessor, Steven Chu, also won unanimous confirmation in 2009 before battling with GOP lawmakers over green energy loans, climate legislation and more — so there’s plenty of time and opportunity for collision with lawmakers from both parties.

Chu stepped down in April 2013 and Deputy Energy Secretary Daniel Poneman has been Acting Secretary since that time.

Senate focuses on Farm Bill and House focuses on Student Loans for the bulk of the week

Posted on May 20, 2013May 21, 2013

The Senate and House continue to work though legislation that respective committees addressed last week.

The full Senate will consider the Farm Bill (S 954), which the Senate Agriculture Committee passed last week. The Farm Bill reauthorization , which would overhaul farm subsidies and food stamp programs, is expected to be considered by the Senate for the bulk of the floor action this week and again after the Memorial Day recess as well.

The full House is expected to consider and pass two bills passed by the House Education and Workforce Committee last week. First, HR 1949, the IPEDS Act is expected to pass on Wednesday of this week as a Suspension bill — or a bill that is considered a noncontroversial measure. Then, on Thursday, the House will consider HR 1911, the Smarter Solutions for Students Act. This legislation would set interest rates on federal student loans to the 10-year Treasury note rate plus 2.5 percentage points for undergraduate loans and plus 4.5 percentage points for graduate loans as of July 1. Rates would be capped at 8.5 percent and 10.5 percent, respectively, and the interest rates would be calculated yearly. Amendments are expected to be offered to the bill.

The Office of Federal Relations is monitoring both bills closely and will continue tracking their progress.

This Week in Congress

Posted on May 20, 2013May 17, 2013

An overview of House and Senate Committee Hearings and Markups on the schedule this week.

TUESDAY, MAY 21st

House Appropriations
FISCAL 2014 APPROPRIATIONS: 302(B) ALLOCATIONS
May 21, 11 a.m., 2359 Rayburn Bldg
Full Committee Markup

House Education & the Workforce
FISCAL 2014 BUDGET: DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
May 21, 10 a.m., 2175 Rayburn Bldg
Full Committee Hearing

WEDNESDAY, MAY 22nd

Senate Appropriations
2014 APPROPRIATIONS: DEFENSE
May 22, 10 a.m., 192 Dirksen Bldg
Subcommittee Hearing

Senate Appropriations
2014 APPROPRIATIONS: INTERIOR AND ENVIRONMENT
May 22, 9:30 a.m., 124 Dirksen Bldg
Subcommittee Hearing

Senate Commerce, Science & Transportation
SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION NOMINATION
May 22, 2:30 p.m., 253 Russell Bldg
Full Committee Confirmation Hearing

House Judiciary
IMMIGRATION MODERNIZATION ACT
May 22, 2 p.m., 2141 Rayburn Bldg
Full Committee Hearing

THURSDAY, MAY 23rd

Senate Appropriations
2014 APPROPRIATIONS: AGRICULTURE, RURAL, FDA
May 23, 10 a.m., 124 Dirksen Bldg
Subcommittee Hearing

Senate Commerce, Science & Transportation
SECRETARY OF COMMERCE NOMINATION
May 23, 11 a.m., 253 Russell Bldg
Full Committee Confirmation Hearing

FY14 Appropriations Update

Posted on May 20, 2013May 20, 2013

Appropriations: This week, House appropriators are expected to approve a plan for writing FY14 spending bills that would make deep cuts in domestic programs in order to protect defense programs. The overall figure will adhere to the spending caps set by recent budget agreements and assumes the sequester will apply to FY14 without a larger agreement to cut the deficit. At question is how the overall amount will be divided between the 12 annual spending bills. The GOP approach makes it clear that they intend to preserve national security spending at the expense of domestic programs favored by Democrats.

The allocations provide a combined $625 billion in FY14 for the Defense, Military Construction-VA, and Homeland Security bills, which would be a cut of $4 billion, or less than one percent, from the current enacted level. Discretionary spending in the rest of the government — covered by the other nine spending bills, including the Labor-HHS-ED bill — would be cut by about $72 billion, or 17 percent, from current levels.

The Labor-HHS-ED bill would provide $121.8 billion, about $35 billion, or 22 percent, less than the current level. House Appropriations Committee Chairman, Hal Rogers (R-KY) has not ruled out increases in spending allocations if lawmakers can come to a broad budget accord to reduce the deficit and replace the sequester. But for now, House Republicans appear to have adopted a strategy of back-loading the cuts on bills, such as Labor-HHS-Education, to buy them some time for possible negotiations.

Debt Ceiling: The debt ceiling increase debate is one issue that appears to be off table in budget negotiations. With the law suspending the ceiling on federal borrowing authority expiring over the weekend, on Friday Treasury Secretary Lew formally told lawmakers that Congress won’t need to raise the debt limit again until after Labor Day. When the legislation was approved earlier this year, it was assumed the debt limit would need to be increased by late spring or early summer. Lew reiterated the Administration’s pledge that it won’t negotiate with Congress over the debt ceiling, despite ongoing talks among Republican lawmakers aimed at a strategy of using the need to raise the debt limit as leverage in a broader debate over tax and spending policy.

House GOP Proposes Austere FY14 Appropriations Plan

Posted on May 17, 2013

Late yesterday, the House Republicans released new spending targets for FY14 appropriations bills. Under the GOP numbers, the Labor-HHS-ED bill will face a nearly 20 percent reduction on top of the cuts already made in the March 1^st sequestration order. These programs would be capped at $121.8 billion — or about $28 billion below the best available estimates for post-sequestration appropriations. This represents $42 billion, or 26 percent, below what was enacted in FY10. House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-KY) appears to be scaling back spending for these programs, as well as for transportation, housing, environmental, and natural resources programs, in order to provide significant increases for a few of the 12 annual bills this summer. For example, Pentagon spending would rise to $512.5 billion, a roughly 6 percent increase over the reduced levels allowed under sequestration. We expect similar increases for Military-VA and Homeland Security.

Meanwhile, Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), whose state is home to the NIH, pledged to work with the top senators on the Labor-HHS-ED subcommittee to ensure they get an appropriate allocation to fund these programs. The Democrat said she is “worried about the sequester’s effect on the people who work at NIH as well as extramural programs such as those run by universities.” Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL), the top Republican on the full committee, said he would work with Mikulski to try to increase funding for NIH in the face of the sequester. Other Senators also pledged their support for NIH funding, including Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Jerry Moran (R-KS) – top ranking members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee. But despite the bipartisan support, there are still concerns that GOP priorities would prevent Congress from giving NIH the necessary funding resources.

The Office of Federal Relations continues to remind the Washington state delegation about the substantial fiscal impact NIH grant funding has on our economy. Please contact us if you have information that will help inform Members of Congress about the importance of NIH funding.