Weekly Legislative Update
 Week of January 11, 2016
  
Congressional Outlook

Week of January 11th 

The House and Senate are in a shortened session this week, before House and Senate Republicans convene on Wednesday for a legislative retreat in Baltimore, Maryland to map out the GOP's 2016 legislative agenda. On Monday, the House will vote on nine bills under suspension of the rules, including the "Grants Oversight and New Efficiency (GONE) Act" (S. 1115), which would require all federal agencies to disclose grants that have expired for at least two years and identify challenges to closing out those accounts. For the rest of the week, the House will be voting on (1) the "Supporting Transparent Regulatory and Environmental Actions in Mining (STREAM) Act" (H.R. 1644), which would block final action on the Obama Administration's proposed update to the stream-buffer zone rule until one year after completing a study on the effectiveness of the current rule; (2) the "Iran Terror Finance Transparency Act" (H.R. 3662), which would prevent lifting economic sanctions on certain individuals and banks with ties to Iran; and (3) a resolution, under the Congressional Review Act, that would nullify the EPA and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' "Waters of the United States" (WOTUS) rule (S.J. Res. 22), which the White House has already threatened to veto.
 
On Tuesday, the Senate will vote on the motion to proceed to the "Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2015" ( S. 2232 ), which would increase congressional oversight of the Federal Reserve, as well as subject the central bank to an audit by the Government Accountability Office.          
 
President Obama will deliver his seventh and final State of the Union address at 9pm ET on Tuesday night. His address will focus not on policy proposals for the year ahead, but rather, on longer-term issues. "In this case, [President Obama] wants to focus most of his time on the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead for the country, and how the choices that we make today will have a significant impact on the success of future generations of Americans," White House press secretary Josh Earnest said. The GOP response will be given by South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley. President Obama will travel to Omaha, Nebraska and Baton Rouge, Louisiana in the days immediately following the address.  
Week in Review

President Obama Vetoes Bill Repealing Affordable Care Act
 
On Friday, January 8, President Obama vetoed the "Restoring Americans' Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act of 2015" (H.R. 3762), which would repeal key portions of the Affordable Care Act and defund Planned Parenthood for one year. The House voted 240-181 on January 6 to pass H.R. 3762, while the Senate passed the bill on December 3 by a vote of 52-47. Passage of the bill marks the first time such a repeal measure has reached President Obama's desk since the enactment of the Affordable Care Act in 2010. The veto was the eighth of Obama's presidency and the sixth since last year, when Republicans took over both chambers of Congress. Even though Obama long threatened to veto the measure, Republicans touted the vote as an important step toward reversing the Affordable Care Act if the party wins the White House in November. Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) pledged that Congress would vote to override President Obama's veto. The party lacks the two-thirds majority necessary to achieve that, however. Speaker Ryan said the vote showed there is a "clear path" for Republicans to repeal the law. Read more...

President Obama Announces Executive Actions to Address Gun Violence
 
On January 5, President Obama announced several executive actions to address gun violence. The actions would expand licensing of gun dealers and background checks on gun purchases. President Obama is also calling on Congress to approve $500 million for an initiative to increase access to mental health services and directing the Departments of Defense, Justice, and Homeland Security to conduct or sponsor research into gun safety technology and explore potential ways to further the use and development of smart gun technology to more broadly improve gun safety. President Obama  said   in an opinion piece for the New York Times that "common sense" gun reform would not happen during his presidency because of Congress. Obama   made his case  for gun control at a televised town hall with activists on both sides of the issue. Read more...
House Passes Regulatory Reform Bills
 
On January 7, the House passed, by a vote of 244-173, the "Sunshine for Regulatory Decrees and Settlements Act of 2015" (H.R. 712). The bill would require federal agencies to publish any proposed consent decree or settlement in the Federal Register 60 days before they could file it with a court to end litigation brought by private parties. H.R. 712 would delay the implementation of new rules by requiring that the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) make any agency rule be available online for six months before the rule can take effect. In a Statement of Administration Policy, the White House threatened to veto H.R. 712.
 
On January 7, the House passed, by a vote of 245-174, the "Searching for and Cutting Regulations that are Unnecessarily Burdensome (SCRUB) Act of 2015" (H.R. 1155). The bill would require federal agencies to rescind existing regulations to offset the cost of new rules. The bill would authorize as much as $30 million for a new nine-member commission to review the Code of Federal Regulations and recommend repeals, with the goal of reducing cumulative costs by 15 percent. In a Statement of Administration Policy, the White Hose threatened to veto H.R. 1155 "in its current form."  Read more...   
House Passes Bill to Reform Asbestos Lawsuits
 
On January 8, the House passed, by a vote of 211-188, the "Fairness in Class Action Litigation and Furthering Asbestos Claim Transparency Act of 2015" (H.R. 1927). The bill would require courts to find that all potential plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit have suffered similar injuries before allowing the case to move forward. The bill also incorporates unrelated language from the "Furthering Asbestos Claim Transparency (FACT) Act of 2015" (H.R. 526), which would require bankruptcy trusts established to pay claims related to asbestos exposure to disclose the identity of anyone claiming compensation for diseases caused by the mineral, used for insulation and contained in a variety of industrial products. In a Statement of Administration Policy, the White House threatened to veto H.R. 1927. Read more...
White House Announces Delayed FY 2017 Budget Release Date
 
The White House plans to release the President's FY 2017 budget request on Tuesday, February 9. The traditionally required release date is the first Monday in February, so this year's release is eight days later than that statutory deadline. Last year, the Administration's budget request was released on time. The GOP controlled Congress generally ignores the President's request, and will be setting their own budgets for FY 2017. But appropriators have mostly used the agency-specific line-by-line project and programmatic details included in the Administration's budget request in crafting their spending bills. Read more...
Congressional Schedule

Monday, January 11
  • House Rules Committee meets to formulate a rule on H.R. 1644, the "Supporting Transparent Regulatory and Environmental Actions in Mining (STREAM) Act"; H.R. 3662, the "Iran Terror Finance Transparency Act"; and S.J. Res. 22, "Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency relating to the definition of 'waters of the United States' under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act."   
  • House Small Business Subcommittee on Agriculture, Energy and Trade hearing entitled "SBA's Office of International Trade: Good for Business?" 
Tuesday, January 12
  • House Agriculture Subcommittee on Nutrition hearing entitled "Past, Present, and Future of SNAP: Addressing Special Populations."
  • House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Power hearing on H.R. ____, the "EPS Improvement Act of 2016."
  • House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology legislative hearing on Four Communications Bills: H.R. 1301, the Amateur Radio Parity Act; H.R. 2666, the No Rate Regulation of Broadband Internet Access Act; H.R. 2669, the Anti-Spoofing Act; and H.R. ____, the Small Business Broadband Deployment Act.
  • House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance hearing entitled "Opportunities and Challenges Facing the National Flood Insurance Program."
  • House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Security Technologies and House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Information Technology joint hearing entitled "Wassenaar: Cybersecurity and Export Control."
  • Full House Judiciary Committee markup of H.R. 3406, the "Second Chance Reauthorization Act of 2015"; H.R. 4240, the "No Fly for Foreign Fighters Act"; and H.R. 1854, the "Comprehensive Justice and Mental Health Act of 2015."
  • House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources hearing entitled "Exploring Energy Challenges and Opportunities Facing Puerto Rico."
  • Full House Oversight and Government Reform Committee markup of H.R. 1671, the "Government Neutrality in Contracting Act";  H.R. 3023, "To Amend Title 5, United States Code, to Modify Probationary Periods with Respect to Positions within the Competitive Service and the Senior Executive Service, and for Other Purposes"; H.R. ___, the "Senior Executive Service Accountability Act"; H.R. ___, the "Federal Information Systems Safeguards Act of 2016"; H.R. ___, the "Official Personnel File Enhancement Act"; and H.R. ___, the "Administration Leave Reform Act."
  • Full House Science, Space, and Technology Committee markup of H.R. 4084, the "Nuclear Energy Innovation Capabilities Act."
  • Full House Small Business Committee hearing entitled "SBA Management Review: Oversight of SBA's Access to Capital Offices."
  • House Small Business Subcommittee on Health and Technology hearing entitled "Oversight of the Office of Innovation and Investment at the SBA."
  • Full House Veterans' Affairs Committee hearing entitled "1988 to 2016: VETSNET to VBMS; Billions Spent, Backlog Grinds On."
  • Full Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee nomination hearing for Robert Califf to be the Commissioner of Food and Drugs, Department of Health and Human Services.
  • Full Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee nomination hearing for Michael J. Missal to be Inspector General, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the Honorable Carolyn N. Lerner to be Special Counsel, Office of Special Counsel.
  • Full Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee nominations hearing for Michael J. Missal to be Inspector General, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Wednesday, January 13
  • House Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness hearing entitled "Effects of Reduced Infrastructure and Base Operating Support Investments on Air Force Readiness."
  • House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance hearing entitled "How to Create a More Robust and Private Flood Insurance Marketplace."
  • House JudiciarySubcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice hearing entitled "The Original Meaning of the Origination Clause."
  • Full House Small Business Committee markup of H.R. 4341, the "Defending America's Small Contractors Act of 2016."