August 8, 2014 

The House and Senate were in recess this week. The President signed into law legislation to improve veterans’ access to healthcare as well as a bill providing FY14 emergency supplemental appropriations for the Government of Israel’s Iron Dome defense system.

Supplemental Appropriations

DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson notified Congress that his agency will transfer $405 million from other programs within the agency to deal with the immigration crisis on the southwestern border. A large portion of the funding, $207 million, will come from FEMA’s disaster relief fund, $70.5 million will come from other CBP activities, and $30 million will come from the Coast Guard. The funding transfer is expected to sustain border operations through the end of FY14. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack also said that about $400 million to $500 million in fire prevention projects will have to be put on hold for FY14 as the funding set aside strictly for firefighting will run out by the end of August.

The Senate supplemental that stalled last week would provide $3.7 billion in emergency funding for the border, wildfire suppression and Israel’s anti-missile Iron Dome system. The House bill provided $694 million for the border crisis only as well as revisions to a 2008 anti-trafficking law (PL 110-457) and other policy changes. The funding and policy differences may be difficult for Congress to resolve when they return in September. With the agencies stretching out their funding to cover the rest of the fiscal year, an alternative would be for lawmakers to add more resources for FY15 in a continuing resolution rather than continue debate on a supplemental.

Political Updates

Former White House Press Secretary James Brady died on Monday. Brady was wounded in an assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan in 1981 and then became a symbol of the fight for gun control through his organization, the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.

Sen. John Walsh (D-MT) announced yesterday that he was ending his campaign. His withdrawal from the race comes two weeks after The New York Times reported that he had plagiarized large sections of his thesis in 2007 to earn his master’s degree at the Army War College. Walsh has served in the Senate for six months after being appointed by Governor Steve Bullock to replace former Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) who was named ambassador to China. Rep. Steve Daines (R-MT) is the heavily favored Republican in the race. Democrats have until August 21 to replace him. The convention to replace Walsh is expected to take lace on August 16. Democrats may consider Nancy Keenan, a former head of Naral Pro-Choice America, State Senator David Wanzenried, Lt. Gov. John Bohlinger,

Primaries were held this week in Kansas, Michigan, Tennessee, and Washington.

Kansas

Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-KS) held off a challenge from former Rep. Todd Tiahrt, who formerly held the seat before a failed Senate race in 2010. Pompeo was backed by Koch Industries, the Koch-connected Americans for Prosperity, and the Club for Growth, while Tiahrt struggled to raise money after jumping in the race in late May.

Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-KS) claimed a narrow victory against primary challenger Alan LaPolice. Huelskamp, a tea party conservative, had faced some criticism of his support for phasing out the Renewable Fuel Standard and other issues. Agriculture and ethanol groups backed LaPolice, but Huelskamp had much more cash on hand and the backing of conservative groups like Freedomworks.

Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS) held off a challenge from Milton Wolf, a tea party backed candidate and second cousin of President Obama. Roberts took a hit earlier this year when he admitted that he rented out his residence in Dodge City, KS and stays with a supporter when he visits the state. Wolf was criticized for posting X-rays of deceased patients on a social-networking site, along with inappropriate comments.

Michigan

Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI) defeated businessman Brian Ellis, who received the endorsements of the US Chamber of Commerce and some members of Congress, including House Intelligence Committee Chairman and fellow Michigander Mike Rogers (R-MI). Amash had the support of the Club for Growth, which spent more than a half-million on the race.

House Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) beat tea party challenger Jim Bussler, and will go on to face Democrat Paul Clements, a college professor, in November. Upton vastly outraised Bussler, a registered nurse.

Freshman Rep. Kerry Bentivolio (R-MI) on Tuesday became the third GOP House member to lose renomination after he was defeated in the state’s 11^th District Republican primary by attorney David Trott. Bentivolio, a reindeer rancher and Santa Claus impersonator, was elected in 2012 after then-Rep. Thaddeus McCotter was kicked off the ballot. Trott had the backing of the US Chamber of Commerce endorsed Trott, and Mitt Romney campaigned twice for him.

Tennessee

Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) held off a challenge from tea party backed candidate, state Rep. Joe Carr as well as five other challengers. Alexander had faced some criticism for his vote for the immigration-reform bill that passed the Senate last year. Alexander is the top Republican on the Senate’s energy and water appropriations panel

Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-TN) also held off a strong GOP primary challenge from Weston Wamp in Tennessee’s 3^rd District. Fleischmann won the 2010 nomination in an 11-way primary with under 30% of the vote, and in 2012, with three candidates (including Wamp) on the ballot, Fleischmann failed to crack the 40% mark.

In the 4^th district, the results are unofficial, but it appears that Rep. Scott DesJarlais (R-TN) defeated primary challenger Jim Tracy. Tracy challenged DesJarlais after reports surfaced that DesJarlais, a doctor, had affairs with his patients and had encouraged his ex-wife to get two abortions.

Washington

Rep. Doc Hastings (R-WA), Chair of the House Natural Resources Committee, announced earlier this year that he would retire at the end of this Congress. A number of Republicans threw their hat in the ring to replace him, as did a handful of Democrats and Independents. However, the state’s “top-two” system ensured that Hastings would be replaced by a Republican. Former Washington Redskins tight end Clint Didier and former state agriculture director Dan Newhouse led in the race by a comfortable margin.

Next Week

The House and Senate are in recess until the week of September 8.

August 1, 2014

This week the House passed HR 4315, the 21st Century Endangered Species Transparency Act; the conference report to accompany HR 3230, a bill to improve the access of veterans to medical services from the Department of Veterans Affairs; and HR 935, the Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act of 2013. The House also passed a resolution providing authority to move forward with a lawsuit against President Barack Obama. The resolution was agreed to in a party line vote of 225 to 201.

The Senate confirmed Robert McDonald to be Secretary of the Veterans Affairs Department by a vote of 97 to 0 and John Tefft to be the next American ambassador to Russia. The Senate passed the conference report to accompany HR 3230, which now goes to the President for his signature. The Senate also first passed an amended version of HR 5021, the Highway and Transportation Funding Act, but then agreed to the House-passed version of the bill by a vote of 81 to 13 after the Congressional Budget Office reported that the Senate’s amended version was $2.4 billion short of the amount needed to offset the fund’s infusion. The bill, which keeps highway and transit programs funded through May, now goes to the President for his signature. The Senate also passed a $225 million emergency appropriation for Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system Friday. The Senate failed to invoke cloture on S 2569, the Bring Jobs Home Act, and could not reach agreement with Republicans on S 2648, the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act.

Appropriations

Emergency Supplemental

The Senate on Thursday blocked an emergency funding measure (S 2648) to respond to the border crisis. The $2.7 billion funding measure died on a procedural vote, 50 to 44. The bill needed 60 votes to advance.

House Republican leaders also abruptly cancelled a vote on their $659 million measure on Thursday when they realized they didn’t have the votes necessary for passage. The House Rules Committee is meeting this afternoon to consider a new plan that would call for two votes in the House later tonight. The first vote would be on a slightly larger $694 million border supplemental measure that would provide $405 million for DHS, $22 million to accelerate judicial proceedings for immigrants, $70 million for National Guard border efforts, $197 million for HHS, and $40 million in repatriation assistance to Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. The bill also includes policy provisions amending the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008, providing authority for the Secretary of State to negotiate agreements with foreign countries regarding Unaccompanied Children, providing a “last-in, first-out” policy prioritizing the removal of minors that most recently arrived, authorizing additional temporary judges, changing the Immigration and Nationality Act to strengthen the law prohibiting criminals with serious drug related convictions, prohibiting the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior from denying CBP activities on federal land, authorizing the deployment of the National Guard to the Southern border, and prohibiting the housing of unauthorized immigrants on military bases if the use of the base will displace service members. The second vote would be on a bill that would bolster language targeting the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

FY2015 Appropriations Bill Status

Veterans Affairs Reform

The House approved by a vote of 420 to 5 a conference report to HR 3230, a bill that overhauls the embattled Department of Veterans Affairs. The Senate took up the measure later in the week and approved it by a vote of 91 to 3. The bill now goes to the President for his signature.

The conference report was crafted by the House and Senate Veterans Affairs Committee chairmen, Rep. Jeff Miller (R-FL) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT). The $17 billion compromise bill would provide $10 billion for veterans to receive health care outside of the VA system if they cannot get medical service at a VA facility within a reasonable amount of time or live more than 40 miles from a VA facility and $5 billion for hiring new doctors and nurses and extending and increasing debt reduction payments for participants in the VA’s Health Professionals Education Assistance Program. Most of the bill’s spending (~$12B) is not offset with other cuts. The bill gives the new VA Secretary more authority to fire senior executives accused of wrongdoing (with a 21-day appeal period in which they would not receive pay), prohibits bonuses for VA employees through FY16, and authorizes 27 new “major medical facility” leases. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the bill would increase the deficit by about $10 billion over 10 years. Sanders said that the bill only addresses immediate concerns, and did not rule out seeking more funding increases for the VA in the future.

A copy of the conference report can be found at:

https://beta.congress.gov/113/crpt/hrpt564/CRPT-113hrpt564.pdf

Defense

Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James and Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen. Mark Welsh III this week rolled out a new strategic framework that will guide Air Force planning and resourcing over the next 30 years. The framework has three main elements: a long-term future look that provides the vectors and imperatives necessary to guide planning activities, a 20-year resource-informed plan, and a 10-year balanced budget, based on fiscal projections. The framework will be used for organizing, training and equipping the Air Force going forward, providing the strategic agility to respond to complex challenges confronting our nation. It will allow the Air Force to adapt and respond faster than potential adversaries. James reinforced that the Air Force’s top three priorities are: 1) taking care of people, 2) balancing readiness of today and readiness of tomorrow, and 3) making every dollar count.

The first document in the framework trilogy, “America’s Air Force: A Call to the Future,” can be found at:

http://www.af.mil/Portals/1/documents/SECAF/AF_30_Year_Strategy.pdf

The Air Force will release the other two parts of the trilogy – a 20-year resource-informed “strategic master plan” by the end of the year, and eventually a 10-year balanced budget that will be based on fiscal projections.

Homeland Security

Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards Program

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs approved an amended version of HR 4007, the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards Program Authorization and Accountability Act of 2014. The substitute amendment introduced by Committee Chairman Tom Carper (D-DE) and Ranking Member Tom Coburn (R-OK), The Protecting and Securing American Chemical Facilities from Terrorist Attacks Act of 2014, would reauthorize the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) Program until 2018, strengthen management practices to ensure no high-risk facilities are going unregulated, strengthen whistleblower protections, and simplify reporting and information sharing practices. In May, the Committee held a hearing to examine the current state of the CFATS program and the need to reauthorize it. The bill passed the House on July 8.

Custom and Border Protection

The House passed by voice vote HR 3846, the United States Customs and Border Protection Authorization Act. The bill’s passage marks the first time either the House or Senate has backed a formal authorization of the CBP and its security functions, which include the Border Patrol and customs screening. The bill would also task the agency with new reporting requirements on migrant children and the use of lethal force by border patrol agents. And, under the measure, the CBP would have to assess whether its current facilities for migrant children are in compliance with laws on housing, feeding, and providing medical care for minors.

NSA Reform

Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) introduced a new NSA reform bill on Tuesday, the Uniting and Strengthening America by Fulfilling Rights and Ensuring Effective Discipline Over Monitoring (USA Freedom) Act of 2014. The bill has 13 bipartisan cosponsors and the support of the White House, tech companies, and privacy and civil liberties groups including the American Civil Liberties Union, FreedomWorks, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and the New America Foundation’s Open Technology Institute. But the path forward for the bill is uncertain, as Sens. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Mark Udall (D-CO), two of the biggest critics of the NSA, have declined to cosponsor the bill as did Senate Intelligence Committee leaders Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA). Tech and privacy groups are concerned that Feinstein will try to incorporate a data retention mandate into the bill. Leahy will try to move the measure through the Senate when they return in September. As expected the Senate started the process of allowing the bill to bypass committee consideration and go directly to the floor. A copy of the bill can be found at:

https://www.vantagepointstrat.com/?p=239

Cybersecurity

House Passes Four Cybersecurity Bills

The House passed four cybersecurity bills this week: Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul’s (R-TX) National Cybersecurity and Critical Infrastructure Protection Act (HR 3696), Rep. Patrick Meehan’s (R-PA) Critical Infrastructure Research and Development Advancement Act (HR 2952), Rep. Yvette Clarke’s (D-NY) Homeland Security Cybersecurity Boots-on-the-Ground Act (HR 3107), and Rep. Kerry Bentivolio’s (R-MI) Safe and Secure Federal Websites Act of 2014 (HR 3635). HR 3696 codifies and articulates the Department of Homeland Security’s role in cybersecurity, including through the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center. HR 2952 establishes a DHS clearinghouse for critical infrastructure security technology, HR3107 requires DHS to set occupation classifications for cybersecurity and conduct a cybersecurity workforce assessment, and HR 3635 prohibits a federal agency from deploying or making available to the public a new Federal PII website until a certification is submitted to Congress that the website is fully functional and secure. DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson praised the passage of McCaul’s bill stating that it is “a positive step forward for our nation’s cybersecurity.”

The vote puts pressure on the Senate to bring their own cybersecurity legislation to the floor when they return in September. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC) has advanced legislation to codify and authorize DHS’ national cybersecurity operations center (S 2519), boost the recruitment and training of cyber-workers (S 2354), and update the Federal Information Security Modernization Act (S 2521). HSGAC Chairman Tom Carper (D-DE) said that his bills are relatively non-controversial and could be considered on the Senate floor under a unanimous consent agreement. Carper also said that he has had preliminary discussions with Senate Intelligence Committee leaders about whether his committee will hold a markup of their Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (S 2588), but a decision has not yet been made.

Gillibrand Cybersecurity Bill

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) introduced a Cyber Information Sharing Tax Credit Act this week. The bill would amend the Internal Revenue Code to allow a refundable tax credit for companies to offset costs of joining and participating in sector-specific Information Sharing and Analysis Organizations (ISACs). Gillibrand hopes that the bill can move either as a standalone bill or a package with other legislation later this year.

A copy of Sen. Gillibrand’s bill can be found at:

https://www.vantagepointstrat.com/?p=240

Federal Contractors

The President signed an executive order this week that will require prospective federal contractors to disclose labor law violations, and will give agencies more guidance on how to consider labor violations when awarding federal contracts. The new process is structured to encourage companies to settle existing disputes. The order also ensures that workers are given the necessary information each pay period to verify the accuracy of their paycheck. And workers who may have been sexually assaulted or had their civil rights violated would “get their day in court.” The order applies to contractors with more than $500,000, and could affect 24,000 businesses employing 28 million workers.

A copy of the executive order can be found at:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/07/31/executive-order-fair-pay-and-safe-workplaces

Political Updates

Rep. Eric Cantor’s (R-VA) last day as House Majority Leader was on Thursday. He then announced that he would also resign from Congress, effective August 18. He asked Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe to hold a special election for his seat on Election Day (November 4) so his successor could be sworn in immediately. Dave Brat, a Tea Party-backed professor who beat Cantor in the Republican primary in June, responded that if elected he would be ready to serve beginning November 5.

Elana Broitman, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Manufacturing and Industrial Base Policy at the Department of Defense (DoD) announced this week that she is stepping down next month to spend more time with her family in New York. Prior to joining DoD, Broitman spent 10 years on Capitol Hill, most recently as a senior advisor to Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), and 9 years in private industry.

The Senate has confirmed Laura Junor to be Principal Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness. Nominated for the post in February, Junor has been the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Readiness since 2011.

The Senate confirmed by voice vote Brian McKeon as Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy. McKeon is currently Deputy Assistant to the President, Executive Secretary of the National Security Council, and Chief of Staff for the National Security Staff at the White House, a position he has held since 2012. His nomination initially faced some criticism from Republicans over whether he was aware of Russia’s potential violations of a nuclear treaty.

Suzy George will be named executive secretary and chief of staff of the National Security Council, stepping in to replace Brian McKeon, who was confirmed yesterday to be undersecretary of Defense. National Security Adviser Susan Rice announced George’s position praising her experience at the State Department and most recently as a principal at the Albright Stonebridge Group consulting firm.

President Obama announced that Jonathan “Jon” Samuels will leave the White House this week after six years in Legislative Affairs. Alejandro Perez replaces him as Deputy Assistant to the President and House Liaison, reporting to White House Legislative Director Katie Beirne Fallon. Perez has been in the in White House Legislative Affairs office since 2009 serving as the liaison to House Ways and Means and Education committees, and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. Before joining the White House, Perez was House floor director, as senior staff member to Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD). Perez was also the executive director of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and worked for Catholic Charities, Immigration Counseling Services in Dallas, the Austin-Travis County Office of Refugee Services, and the United Farm Workers in Austin.

DoD Secretary Chuck Hagel announced that Dabney Kern has been appointed director for policy, plans and requirements in the White House Military Office. Kern had been vice president for homeland and defense services at CACI International.

The Chief of Staff of the Army announced this week that Maj. Gen. Stephen Fogarty will take over as commanding general of the Cyber Center of Excellence (COE) and Fort Gordon, GA. Fogarty most recently served as commanding general of the US Army Intelligence and Security Command at Ft Belvoir, VA. The Cyber COE is the Army’s force modernization proponent for Cyberspace Operations, Signal/Communications Networks and Information Services, and Electronic Warfare (EW) and is responsible for developing related doctrine, organizational, training, materiel, leadership/education, personnel, and facility solutions.

A Florida judge has asked the state legislature to redraw the state’s congressional map by August 15, posing the possibility that Florida could postpone some or all of its House elections until after the scheduled general election on November 4. The judge ruled last month that the Republican-controlled legislature violated the state constitution by taking politics into consideration when drawing two of the state’s 27 congressional districts after the 2010 Census. After the revised map is submitted the judge will “consider additional evidence as to the legal and logistical obstacles to holding delayed elections for affected districts in 2014.”

Next Week

The House and Senate are in recess until the week of September 8. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said yesterday that he plans to bring up the following bills when they return in September: FY15 appropriations bills, FY15 National Defense Authorization Act, the Internet Tax Freedom Act, the Export-Import Bank, campaign finance reform and minimum wage, Hobby Lobby, and college affordability/student debt. Reid also said that Senators should expect to work weekends in September – “every day between September 8 and September 30 is fair game” for being in session.

July 25, 2014 

This week the House passed HR 3136, the Advancing Competency-Based Education Demonstration Project Act; HR 4984, the Empowering Students through Enhanced Financial Counseling Act; HR 3393, the Student and Family Tax Simplification Act; HR 4935, the Child Tax Credit Improvement Act of 2014; HR 5111, a bill to improve the response to victims of child sex trafficking; and HR 5081, the Strengthening Child Welfare Response to Trafficking Act of 2014. The White House issued a veto threat for HR 4935. The Senate approved a number of judicial nominations and confirmed Lisa Disbrow to be an Assistant Secretary of the Air Force, Victor Mendez to be Deputy Secretary of Transportation, Peter Rogoff to be Under Secretary of Transportation for Policy, and Bruce Andrews to be Deputy Secretary of Commerce. The Senate also invoked cloture on S 2569, the Bring Jobs Home Act, a bill that would give businesses tax breaks for bringing jobs back to the US.

Appropriations

Emergency Supplemental

With action stalled on the FY15 appropriations process, Congress’ attention this week turned to the President’s emergency supplemental request. Two weeks ago the White House submitted a $3.7 billion emergency supplemental spending request to Congress. The request included $1.1 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, $433 million for Customs and Border Protection, $64 million for the Department of Justice for additional immigration judge teams, $300 million for the State Department and other international programs to support repatriation and reintegration efforts in Central America, and $1.8 billion for the Department of Health and Human Services to provide care for unaccompanied children. The request was in response to the backlog of deportation cases that has built as more than 50,000 unaccompanied minors have entered the country illegally this fiscal year.

This week Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) released S 2649, a bill providing $2.7 billion in emergency supplemental appropriations. Of that amount, $1.2 billion would go to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The remaining $1.5 billion would go to the Departments of Homeland Security ($1.1B), State, and Justice. Within DHS, ICE would receive $702 million, CBP would receive $291 million, and together they would receive $112 million. The bill also includes $225 million for Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense program and $615 million in emergency firefighting funds for wildfires. The Senate proposal does not include any immigration legislation policy changes, nor does it provide any funding offsets. A copy of the Senate proposal can be found at:

http://www.appropriations.senate.gov/sites/default/files/DRAFT2014%20Bill.PDF

The House was expected to release a $1.5 billion fully offset measure this week, but that has been delayed until next week. In the meantime, Rep. Kay Granger (R-TX), Chair of the House Border Crisis Working Group did release her group’s recommendations on border security and immigration:

http://kaygranger.house.gov/press-release/granger-releases-border-crisis-working-group-recommendations

It is expected that the House will not include any funding for HHS in its emergency supplemental. Therefore, what is lining up to be the most contentious aspect of the legislation is over how to ease the financial strain for the HHS. House Republicans want to change a 2008 anti-trafficking law that will allow Central American children to self-deport, which they believe will help stem the tide of unaccompanied minors arriving at the border. Some Democrats may be willing to consider these changes, while others believe in moving a funding-only supplemental with no policy changes.

FY15 Continuing Resolution and Omnibus

The House has passed seven of its 12 annual appropriations bills, but action in the Senate stalled when they attempted to consider their first three-bill minibus on the floor but could not reach agreement on amendments. This week House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) said that the House would vote on a short-term continuing resolution (CR) when they return in September. The CR will likely fund the government through early December when the lame-duck Congress will either pass an omnibus measure or another CR in to 2015. House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-KY) wanted to pass a CR prior to the August recess, but Boehner said that the legislation would have to wait. It is unclear whether the House CR would fund the government in FY15 at FY14 levels or the lowest funding level in any FY15 bill that has seen action in committee or on the floor.

The Senate this week released three FY15 spending bills– Labor HHS Education, Financial Services, and Energy and Water. There is likely to be no further action on these three bills in the Senate, so Senate appropriators may have released the bill text and report language as a way to lay down markers for negotiations later this year with the House over an omnibus measure. Or their action could have been to set spending levels for the likely CR. All three bills were approved in subcommittee, but not in full committee. The Senate does not usually release bill text and report language until after full committee markup. The only bill text and language that has not been released in the Senate is the FY15 Interior Appropriations bill.

FY15 Senate Energy and Water Appropriations

Bill Text

http://www.appropriations.senate.gov/sites/default/files/E%26W%20Bill%2087223.PDF

Report Language http://www.appropriations.senate.gov/sites/default/files/E%26W%20Report%20w%20Chart%2010REPT.PDF

FY15 Senate Labor HHS Education Appropriations

Bill Text

http://www.appropriations.senate.gov/sites/default/files/LHHS%20Bill%2087259.pdf

Report Language http://www.appropriations.senate.gov/sites/default/files/LHHS%20Report%20w%20Chart%2007REPT.PDF

FY15 Senate Financial Services Appropriations

Bill Text

http://www.appropriations.senate.gov/sites/default/files/FSGG%20Bill%2087225.pdf

Report Language http://www.appropriations.senate.gov/sites/default/files/FSGG%20Report%20w%20Chart%2003REPT.PDF

FY2015 Appropriations Bill Status

Veterans Affairs Reform

Negotiations between the House and Senate on legislation to reform veterans health care got a little heated this week and appeared to be unraveling. It is unclear if Congress will be able to come to agreement and pass legislation before they adjourn at the end of next week for the August recess. House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Jeff Miller (R-FL) floated an alternative proposal on Thursday that was perceived by Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Bernard Sanders (I-VT) as negotiating in bad faith. Miller’s compromise bill did not include language authorizing emergency mandatory funding that was requested by Acting VA Secretary Sloan Gibson at a July 16 Senate VA Committee hearing. Gibson requested an additional $17.6 billion over three years to hire 10,000 more health care professionals, expand facilities, and modernize information technology. Gibson’s request for additional funding came after the House and Senate had passed their bills and conferees were appointed. Sanders had proposed earlier this week a bill that would cost $25 billion and included $3.3 billion in offsets from other programs within his committee’s jurisdiction. Miller originally held that the bill needed a pay-for, but conceded this week that he may be willing to consider a deal that is not totally offset in cost. Negotiations are continuing over the weekend.

National Defense Authorization Act

The House passed its FY15 National Defense Authorization Act (HR 4435) on May 22. The Senate reported its bill (S 2410) out of committee on June 2, but has not considered the bill on the Senate floor due to procedural disputes. It was reported this week that House and Senate Armed Services Committee staff are starting preliminary discussions (pre conferencing) with each other despite no action in the Senate.

Homeland Security

9/11 Commission Report

This week marked the 10-year anniversary of the original 9/11 Commission Report. On the anniversary, former commission members released Reflections on the Tenth Anniversary of The 9/11 Commission Report. Commission members stated that the struggle against terrorism is far from over and that the landscape has changed dramatically over the 10 years. They laid out several recommendations encompassing policy changes and budgetary suggestions to remedy their concerns. Their recommendations include:

• To sustain public support for policies and resource levels, national security leaders must communicate to the public – in specific terms – what the threat is, how it is evolving, what measures are being taken to address it, why those measures are necessary, and what specific protections are in place to protect civil liberties. In this era of heightened skepticism, platitudes will not persuade the public. Leaders should describe the threat and the capabilities they need with as much granularity as they can safely offer.
• Congress and the President should revise the September 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force. The administration should clearly explain (1) whether it needs new legal authority to confront threats like ISIS and (2) how far, in its view, any new authority should extend.
• Reiterating what they said in The 9/11 Commission Report: Congress should oversee and legislate for Department of Homeland Security through one primary authorizing committee. DHS should receive the same streamlined oversight as the Department of Defense. At the very minimum, the next Congress should sharply reduce the number of committees and subcommittees with some jurisdiction over the department. These changes should take effect when the next Congress convenes, and the House and Senate adopt new rules in January. Planning should begin now to make this possible.
• Government officials should explain to the public — in clear, specific terms — the severity of the cyber threat and what the stakes are for the country. Public and private-sector leaders should also explain what private citizens and businesses can do to protect their systems and data.

A copy of the report can be found at:

http://bipartisanpolicy.org/sites/default/files/%20BPC%209-11%20Commission.pdf

House Passes Homeland Security Legislation on Transportation Security

The House unanimously passed bipartisan legislation this week that would address security concerns at airports (HR 4802), provide oversight of TSA’s Office of Inspection (HR 4803), and simplify travel for veterans (HR 4812). HR 4802, the Airport Security Enhancement Act of 2014 improves intergovernmental planning for and communication during security incidents at domestic airports. HR 4803, the TSA Office of Inspection Accountability Act of 2014 requires TSA to conform to existing Federal law and regulations regarding criminal investigator positions. And, HR 4812, the Honor Flight Act establishes a process for providing expedited and dignified passenger screening services for veterans traveling to visit war memorials built and dedicated to honor their service. The bills were considered and passed on the House floor on the Suspension Calendar.

Cybersecurity

There was talk this week that House leadership may soon bring up three cybersecurity bills for a vote on the House floor. The bills are Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul’s (R-TX) National Cybersecurity and Critical Infrastructure Protection Act (HR 3696), Rep. Patrick Meehan’s (R-PA) Critical Infrastructure Research and Development Advancement Act (HR 2952), and Rep. Yvette Clarke’s (D-NY) Homeland Security Cybersecurity Boots-on-the-Ground Act (HR 3107).

HR 3696 codifies and articulates the Department of Homeland Security’s role in cybersecurity, including through the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center. HR 2952 establishes a DHS clearinghouse for critical infrastructure security technology, and HR3107 requires DHS to set occupation classifications for cybersecurity and conduct a cybersecurity workforce assessment. These bills could be on next week’s House suspension calendar.

House Leadership first needed to resolve the issue of jurisdiction over federal civilian networks, language that was removed from HR 3696. Leadership may also add language from Rep. Kerry Bentivolio’s (R-MI) Safe and Secure Federal Websites Act (HR 3635), which mandates that federal sites that collect personally identifiable information be certified as functional and secure.

If the House bills are passed, the Senate could feel some pressure to act on S 2521, the Federal Information Security Modernization Act (FISMA) of 2014 and S 2519, the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (NCCIC) Act of 2014, which were passed out of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee in late June. These Senate bills could offer a vehicle for conference with the cybersecurity legislation from the House.

Federal Contractors

The President signed two executive orders (EO) this week prohibiting federal contractors from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The first EO expands upon a memorandum issued by President Lyndon Johnson in 1965 that prohibited federal contractors from discriminating “against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, religion, sex or national origin,” to include sexual orientation and gender identity. The order did not carve out an exception for religiously affiliated contractors and instead pointed to an EO issued by President George W. Bush that allows federal contractors to consider an applicant’s religion when hiring. The Professional Services Council noted that most federal contractors have already barred discrimination based on sexual orientation. The second EO expands previous guidance issued by President Bill Clinton that prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation, updating it to add prohibiting discrimination based on an individual’s gender identity.

The Executive Order can be viewed at:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/07/21/executive-order-further-amendments-executive-order-11478-equal-employmen

Congressional Schedule

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) released an updated scheduled for the Senate this week. The Senate will return from the August recess on Monday, September 8, 2014. Target adjournment date for the early fall session will be Tuesday, September 23 (the day before Rosh Hashanah). There is a possibility that the Senate would return the week of September 29 if needed to process any unfinished must-pass legislation or nominations. The House is also scheduled to return from the August recess on Monday September 8. However, the House will not be in session the week of September 22 and has a target adjournment date of October 2.

Political Updates

Businessman David Perdue won the Republican Senate primary runoff in Georgia this week defeating Rep. Jack Kingston (R-GA). Perdue, the former CEO of Reebok and Dollar General, won 50.9% to 49.1% despite Kingston’s endorsement by the US Chamber of Commerce. Perdue will face Democratic candidate Michelle Nunn in the general election this fall. Perdue’s cousin Sonny was a two-term governor, and Nunn’s father, Sam, was a four-term US senator. Kingston is currently the Chair of the House Labor HHS Education Appropriations subcommittee. His departure at the end of the year puts the third appropriations subcommittee chairmanship up for grabs next year. Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA), Chair of the Commerce, Justice, Science appropriations subcommittee and Rep. Tom Latham (R-IA), Chair of the Transportation HUD appropriations subcommittee are both retiring at the end of this year.

Madelyn Creedon was confirmed by the Senate this week to be Principal Deputy Administrator at the National Nuclear Security Administration, the number two position in the semi-autonomous branch of the Energy Department. Creedon will work directly under Energy Undersecretary for Nuclear Security Frank Klotz assisting in the management of the US atomic weapons complex and working on Energy policy initiatives in support of the administration’s nuclear nonproliferation goals.

The Senate also confirmed Lisa Disbrow to be an Assistant Secretary of the Air Force, Victor Mendez to be Deputy Secretary of Transportation, Peter Rogoff to be Under Secretary of Transportation for Policy, and Bruce Andrews to be Deputy Secretary of Commerce.

Cristin Dorgelo was named Chief of Staff for the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) replacing Rick Siger, whose new role will be announced in the coming weeks. Dorgelo was most recently the assistant director for grand challenges at OSTP, and was previously an executive at the nonprofit XPRIZE.

Melanie Kaye, Director of Communications to Dr. Jill Biden departed the White House this week and was replaced by James Gleeson, who most recently worked as Communications Director for Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-CA). Before that, Gleeson was an Account Manager for a political consulting firm in Denver, CO and a Legislative Aide in the Colorado State House.

President Obama nominated Chip Fulghum to be DHS Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Fulghum currently serves as the Budget Director in the Office of the CFO at DHS, a position he has held since 2012. And he has served as Acting CFO from 2013 to 2014. Fulghum served for 28 years in the US Air Force from 1984 to 2012 retiring with the rank of Colonel. From 2010 to 2012, he was Director of Air Force Budget Programs, and from 2008 to 2010 he was CFO for Air Education and Training Command at Randolph Air Force Base.

The President also nominated Stephen Burns and Jeff Baran to be Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) commissioners. Burns was a career NRC employee and by the time he left the agency for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Nuclear Energy Agency in 2012 he had become the NRC’s general counsel. Baran is an adviser to Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) and the staff director on energy and environment issues for the Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The nominees are filling seats vacated when Obama declined to re-nominate George Apostolakis for another term at the NRC, and one that Commissioner William Magwood will depart at the end of August. If confirmed, Baran would fill Magwood’s seat, which expires on June 30, 2015, while Burns’ term wouldn’t expire until June 30, 2019.

Willie May was nominated by the President this week for the position of Under Secretary for Standards and Technology at the Department of Commerce. May currently serves as the Associate Director for Laboratory Programs at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in the Department of Commerce, a position he has held since 2011.

Therese McMillan was nominated by the President to fill the position of Federal Transit Administrator at the Department of Transportation. McMillan is currently Deputy Administrator of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), a position she has held since 2009.

Larry Zelvin announced this week that he is stepping down as the director of DHS’ National Cyber and Communications Integration Center (NCCIC) in the middle of August. Zelvin is leaving after almost 30 years in government and is heading to the private sector (possibly Citibank). Greg Touhill, the deputy assistant secretary for Cybersecurity Operations and Programs, will be the interim NCCIC director until DHS hires a permanent replacement for Zelvin.

Next Week

The House will consider four endangered species bills: HR 4315, the 21st Century Endangered Species Transparency Act; HR 4316, the Endangered Species Recovery Transparency Act; HR 4317, the State, Tribal, and Local Species Transparency and Recovery Act; and HR 4318, the Endangered Species Litigation Reasonableness Act. The House will also consider H Res 676, a resolution providing for authority to initiate litigation for actions by the President or other executive branch officials inconsistent with their duties under the Constitution of the United States. The House may also consider legislation to deal with the ongoing crisis on the border.

The Senate will resume consideration of S 2569, the Bring Jobs Home Act, but passage is unlikely as Republicans filed amendments to the bill that are related to coal regulations and employer contributions for health care. The Senate will also vote on a number of nominations including that of Robert McDonald to be Secretary of the Veterans Affairs Department. The Senate may take up S 5021, the Highway and Transportation Funding Act, which provides nearly $11 billion to keep the Highway Trust Fund solvent until next May. Senate leaders reached an agreement that would allow the Senate to vote on the bill after considering four amendments, all of which would be subject to a 60-vote threshold for passage. One of the amendments would shorten the duration of the bill so that it extends only through December of this year, forcing Congress to revisit the issue during a lame duck session. The other three amendments would make slight changes in offsets; shift responsibility for transportation projects to the states while cutting the federal gasoline tax; and ease environmental reviews and permitting rules for some projects.

July 18, 2014 

The House passed HR 5021, the Highway and Transportation Funding Act of 2014; HR 5016, the FY2015 Financial Services Appropriations bill; HR 4719, the Fighting Hunger Incentive Act of 2014; and HR 3086, the Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act barring the government from taxing users for access to the Internet and ending taxes in seven states that were grandfathered in the initial moratorium. The Senate confirmed Cheryl LaFleur and Norman Bay to serve as members of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, David Shear to be an Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs, David Mader to be Controller in the Office of Federal Financial Management at OMB, and Paul Jaenichen to be Administrator of the Maritime Administration. The Senate also passed S 517, the Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Act, which restores an exemption to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) permitting consumer users to “unlock” their cell phones when their contract expires, as well as S 2244, the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2014. The Senate began consideration of the Protect Women’s Health From Corporate Interference Act (S 2578), but was unable to invoke cloture on the measure. The bill was a response to the Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby decision and would have prevented employers from refusing to cover contraception, among other things, for employees and their dependents.

FY2015 Appropriations

House

House Floor – Financial Services

The FY15 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations bill was considered and passed on the House floor by a vote of 228 to 195 on July 16. The $20.2 billion measure is the seventh appropriations bill to pass the House this year, and is the first time since 2007 that the House has passed the bill as a stand-alone measure. House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) noted that the House is more than halfway done with their FY15 bills while the Senate has not passed any. The White House responded to the bill’s passage with a veto threat in a Statement of Administration policy, objecting to steep cuts to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), reductions in financial regulatory oversight, and policy riders aimed at the District of Columbia, including limiting abortion, decriminalizing marijuana. and enforcing a handgun ban. One notable amendment offered by Rep. Denny Heck (D-WA) would prohibit the use of funds to penalize financial institutions in specified states that provide financial services to manufacturers, producers or persons who handle marijuana/marijuana products in states where it is legal. The amendment passed by a vote of 231 to 192.

Interior

The House Appropriations full committee marked up and reported out of committee its $30.2 billion FY15 Interior and Environment spending bill. The committee approved the bill by a vote of 29 to 19. The bill provides $4.1 billion to prevent and fight wildfires, including $470 million for the Forest Service to cover the unexpected FY14 shortfall in suppression funding, but does not include the additional $615 million in emergency spending President Obama recently requested. It cuts funding for the EPA by 9% compared to FY14, funding the agency at $7.5 billion. During the markup, there were several attempts at removing language from the bill that would block the EPA from implementing several controversial regulations, including carbon pollution limits on new and existing power plants.

Senate

Defense

The Senate Appropriations Committee marked up their $489.6 billion FY15 Defense appropriations bill in subcommittee and full committee this week. The bill also provides $58.3 billion in emergency funding for the Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) account. The bill was approved by voice vote on Thursday after the committee adopted a managers’ amendment as well as three amendments offered by Sens. Harkin (D-IA), Murkowski (R-AK), and Merkley (D-OR). The committee rejected (by a vote of 9 to 21) an amendment offered by Sen. Mark Pryor (D-AR) that would have struck a provision in bill to train and equip members of the Syrian Opposition Forces and redirected the funding to “more effective” counterterrorism efforts.

The bill blocks many of the cuts proposed by the Administration for FY15 and added funding to several programs including $1.3 billion for 12 E/A-18G Growler electronic attack aircraft, $848 million to refuel the USS George Washington aircraft carrier, $125 million to accelerate competition on the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle, and $250 million to continue production of the Army’s Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles. The bill also maintains operations of the A-10 “Warthog” attack jet fleet. To meet budget caps while funding these priorities as well as a 1% pay raise for the civilian workforce, the committee made cuts to 517 programs for a total savings of $11.7 billion.

The bill includes a provision that prohibits the DOD from awarding contracts to companies that seek to avoid paying taxes in the United States — a move that would affect nine “inverted” companies that currently do business with the department, as well as provisions urging the Defense secretary to “reassess the value of an alternate engine program” following a June 23 engine fire that led to the temporary grounding of the entire F-35 fleet. The report also recommends the Pentagon conduct an independent cost analysis of Army’s controversial aviation restructuring plan, which the service believes will save $11.9 billion.

The National Security Agency would be required to prepare an unclassified report on all NSA bulk collection activities, including when such activities began, the cost of such activities, what types of records have been collected in the past, what types of records are currently being collected, and any plans for future bulk collection.Another unclassified report is required to provide “a list of terrorist activities that were disrupted, in whole or in part, with the aid of information obtained through NSA’s telephone metadata program.”

Cybersecurity funding was increased in the bill over the $8.63 billion requested by the administration, including $7.5 million for NSA cyber programs, $10 million for insider threat detection in the Defense Department, $7.5 million to support classified cyber-related research by the National Centers of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Research, and personnel increases for intelligence and cyber mission areas. The bill also gives the Defense Department six months to produce a report on cyber training throughout the military.

The bill adds $25 million each for the Army, Navy and Air Force for alternative energy research that is contributing to reduced emissions, and encourages DoD to continue aggressively planning for the effects of climate change, particularly in regard to the Arctic, adding $5 million to Arctic Domain Awareness programs at DARPA.

A copy of the Senate FY15 Defense Appropriations Report can be found at:

https://www.vantagepointstrat.com/?p=235

Emergency Supplemental Request

The White House submitted a $3.7 billion emergency supplemental spending request to Congress last week, which included $1.1 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, $433 million for Customs and Border Protection, $64 million for the Department of Justice for additional immigration judge teams, $300 million for the State Department and other international programs to support repatriation and reintegration efforts in Central America, and $1.8 billion for the Department of Health and Human Services to provide care for unaccompanied children. The question now is when will Congress pass an emergency spending measure. DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson warned last week that Immigration and Customs Enforcement will run out of money by mid-August and Customs and Border Protection will run out of funds by mid-September.

House Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers (R-KY) said this week that the plan in the House is to move a single bill that provides both policy changes and supplemental funding. Republicans formed a working group tasked with making policy recommendations in response to the border crisis. Rep. Kay Granger (R-TX) chairs the task force and admitted this week that it is taking the group longer than anticipated to finalize their recommendations. The group is pushing for increased border security funding, the use of National Guard troops on the border, and the installation of more immigration judges to preside over deportation hearings and asylum requests. As for the funding, Appropriators are selecting parts of the President’s $3.7B request including funds for border security, humanitarian assistance and prevention. However, it is unclear how much funding would be allocated in the House bill, and whether or not the funding would be considered “emergency” funding not requiring an offset. There has been some discussion among House Republicans that the funding be less than half of what the President requested or around $1.5B, and that it only be for calendar year 2014.

On the Senate side, Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) indicated that she would like to fully fund the White House’s $3.7 billion supplemental appropriations request and she rejected Republican calls to offset any supplemental spending with corresponding cuts to discretionary programs.

While House leaders hope to move forward before the August recess, given the differences between the two sides on their approaches, the prospects for each chamber passing legislation and then conferencing the differences before the August recess seems to be a tall order.

FY2015 Appropriations Bill Status

Defense

Department of Defense FY2014 Reprogramming Request

The Department of Defense (DOD) submitted a reprogramming request to Congress on July 10, seeking Congress’ approval for shifting $4.3 billion in FY14 funds to cover high priority programs. Some members of Congress, including Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) have criticized the request stating that DOD was initiating new programs that Congress has not endorsed. The request benefits several programs including $100 million for the Air Force’s Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle program; $111 million to procure 21 UH-72 Lakota Light Utility Helicopters for Army pilot training; and $220 million to maintain Navy surface ships that have deployed longer than planned. The increases are offset by cuts elsewhere in the budget including a $66 million reduction in the CH-47 Chinook helicopter upgrade program and a $73 million cut in the Paladin artillery vehicle initiative. The Air Force also would spend $103 million less on aircraft spare parts. Both the House and Senate Appropriations committees as well as the House and Senate Armed Services committees must approve the request. A copy of the request can be found at:

https://www.vantagepointstrat.com/?p=234

Air Force HQ Organization Changes

Air Force leaders announced changes to their headquarters staff manning and organization this week, which include deactivating and realigning organizations at headquarters Air Force, major commands (MAJCOMs), numbered air forces, and field operating agencies.

The changes are expected to result in savings of $1.6 billion across the Air Force over the next five years. The efficiencies created through the reorganization will also help meet the Department of Defense’s directive to reduce costs and staff levels by at least 20%, eliminating 3,459 positions at headquarters across the Air Force, both in country and at overseas locations. As part of ongoing cost savings initiatives, the Air Force will also continue to reduce contract spending, operating budgets and travel expenditures.

To minimize the effect on civilian personnel, the Air Force is initiating Voluntary Early Retirement Authority programs and Voluntary Separation Incentive Pay to foster voluntary reductions before pursuing involuntary measures. Military members were also offered a variety of voluntary incentive programs.

The largest initiative will include centralizing policy and oversight of installation and mission support activities within a newly created Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center (AFIMSC), which will report to Air Force Materiel Command. Execution will remain at the local level. Support functions are currently spread across the MAJCOMs’ staffs. There will also be changes to the headquarters Air Force staff organization by splitting Operations, Plans and Requirements (A3/5) and Strategic Plans and Programs (A8) and reorganizing them into the new Operations (A3) organization, which will stand alone and merge the planning staffs into the new A5/8 organization. And, the current programming functions from A8 will be merged into the service’s financial management organization (FM). The Air Force will also realign several functions that currently report to the headquarters and realign some field operating agencies to operational MAJCOMs, merge Field Operation Agencies (FOAs) with similar missions and deactivate others. Finally, the Air Force Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance Agency will be realigned from headquarters Air Force as a FOA to become part of a new operational numbered air force under Air Combat Command.

Cybersecurity

The Administration released new cross-agency priority goals on their Performance.gov website this week requiring agency chief information officers to focus on the 2015 priorities of information security continuous monitoring mitigation, strengthening anti-phishing and malware defenses, and improving authorization processes through personal identity verification (PIV).

A copy of the Administration’s Cross Agency Priority Goal: Cybersecurity FY2014 Q2 Status Update can be found at:

https://www.vantagepointstrat.com/?p=233

Political Updates

Secretary of State John Kerry chose Robert Papp as the first special representative to the Arctic region, part of a plan to prepare for the US to become chair of the Arctic Council in 2015. Papp retired in May as commandant of the Coast Guard. Secretary Kerry also named Alaska’s former lieutenant governor, Fran Ulmer, as a special adviser on Arctic science and policy. Ulmer chaired the US Arctic Research Commission during the Obama administration. The Arctic Council is made up of eight nations that reach into the Arctic Circle; the US touches the Arctic Circle in Alaska. The Arctic Council aims to protect the thawing region as its seas open to commercial shipping traffic.

EPA Deputy Administrator Bob Perciasepe announced this week that he is leaving his post in August to become president of the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES). The post may not be filled quickly as EPA nominations usually incur a bit of scrutiny during the Senate confirmation process, even more so now in the wake of EPA’s controversial rule limiting carbon pollution from power plants. And if Republicans take control of the Senate next year, the position may never be filled.

President Obama nominated Joseph Nimmich to be Deputy Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Chip Fulghum to be Chief Financial Officer at the Department of Homeland Security, and Alissa Starzak to be General Counsel of the Department of the Army.

Next Week

The House will consider HR 3136, the Advancing Competency-Based Education Demonstration Project Act; HR 4984, the Empowering Students through Enhanced Financial Counseling Act; HR 3393, the Student and Family Tax Simplification Act; and HR 4935, the Child Tax Credit Improvement Act of 2014. The House may also consider legislation to address the growing crisis on the border as well as the reauthorization of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act. The Senate may take up S 2609 the Marketplace and Internet Tax Fairness Act and S 5021, the Highway and Transportation Funding Act.

July 11, 2014

The House passed the FY15 Energy and Water Appropriations Act, a bill amending the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent a tax break for equipment and other asset purchases by businesses, and HR 803 the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. HR 803 authorizes $58B over six years for federal workforce development programs. It was amended and passed by the Senate in June and now goes to the President for his signature. In the Senate, action on S 2363, the Bipartisan Sportsmen’s Act stalled on the floor on Thursday. The bill reauthorizes conservation programs and expands public land for hunters and anglers. The motion to invoke cloture failed by a vote of 41 to 56 with all 26 Republican cosponsors of the bill voting against cloture. The Senate did confirm the nominations of Shaun Donovan to be Director of the Office of Management and Budget and Julian Castro to be Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

FY2015 Appropriations

House

Energy & Water

The House passed their $30.4B FY15 Energy and Water appropriations bill this week by a vote of 253 to 170. The bill boosts funding for the Energy Department’s fossil energy programs while slashing renewable energy funds by about $111 million. A number of amendments were passed including restricting the use of climate change data by the administration, adding $500,000 to the Energy Information Administration’s budget, blocking DOE from spending money to enforce efficiency standards for incandescent bulbs, preventing spending cash on consolidating or closing DOE’s National Energy Technology Lab or putting the facility’s operations into contractor hands, and prohibiting the use of federal funds to award grants or provide funding for high-efficiency toilets or indoor water-efficient toilets.

The House also rejected several amendments including one offered by Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV) that would have stripped $150M in the bill for continuing the development of the nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain. They also rejected several amendments that would have restored funding for renewable energy projects, prohibiting funds in the bill from being used at DOE’s loan office, and a 1-percent across-the-board cut.

The White House issued a veto threat in a Statement of Administration Policy citing concerns with funding levels (cuts to renewable energy programs) and policy riders (restrictions on cooperation with Russia on nonproliferation programs). The companion bill in the Senate stalled last month in committee when Republicans threatened to offer amendments on the administration’s carbon emissions regulations for existing power plants.

Labor HHS Education

The House Labor HHS Education Appropriations Subcommittee chairman Jack Kingston (R-GA) said this week that the outlook for marking up his $155.7 billion bill is uncertain as there are “people on both sides of the philosophical fence [who] have very intense views that are opposed to each other.” The chairman of the full committee, Rep. Hal Rogers (R-KY) said that he still hopes that the bill is marked up before the August recess, but a markup has not been scheduled yet. The House and Senate allocations are $1.1 billion apart compared to the $42 billion difference last year. Senate Appropriations Chairwoman Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) cancelled a planned full committee markup of their FY15 Labor HHS bill last month due to concerns about potential Republican amendments on the Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”). On the House side, Kingston is competing in a July 22 Republican primary runoff in Georgia for the open Senate seat, which may be further complicating the timing of consideration of this bill.

Interior-Environment

The House Interior-Environment Appropriations subcommittee marked up their $30.2B FY15 spending bill this week cutting funding for the EPA by 9% from FY14 and holding the agency’s staffing levels to the lowest levels since 1989. The bill also prevents the EPA from regulating greenhouse gas emissions from new and existing power plants. The full House Appropriations Committee will mark up the bill next Tuesday where Democrats are expected to push back against some of these cuts and policy riders.

Senate

Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee acknowledged this week that while she would prefer to pass all twelve annual spending bills individually, time is running short and she is considering an omnibus spending measure. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) had initially promised to set aside two weeks in July for consideration of the spending bills on the floor, but his most recent agenda did not include any appropriations bills. And Senate leaders had to pull their first three-bill minibus appropriations package from the floor last month due to a dispute over amendments. Chairwoman Mikulski said she still plans on using that floor time if she can find a path forward on amendments.

Emergency Supplemental Request

The White House submitted a $3.7 billion emergency supplemental spending request to Congress this week. The request included $1.1 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, $433 million for Customs and Border Protection, $64 million for the Department of Justice for additional immigration judge teams, $300 million for the State Department and other international programs to support repatriation and reintegration efforts in Central America, and $1.8 billion for the Department of Health and Human Services to provide care for unaccompanied children. The request was in response to the backlog of deportation cases that has built as more than 50,000 unaccompanied minors have entered the country illegally this fiscal year.

The Senate Appropriations Committee held a hearing on the request this week, where some lawmakers expressed concerns over whether this is a start of a new trend of emergency funding requests. They were also concerned by the lack of details on how the additional funding would speed up the processing of the detained migrants and a potential lack of accountability with so many agencies involved. Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) said he will talk to Senate Appropriations Chairwoman Mikulski next week to get his bill to overhaul the Border Patrol pay system (S 1691) added to this potential border security supplemental.

It is unclear how the House or Senate will consider the emergency funding request, but one possibility is if a continuing resolution (CR) is passed to keep the government running beginning Oct. 1, a supplemental could be combined with the CR. Conservatives who might oppose the supplemental on its own may be inclined to vote for the CR package to avoid a government shutdown. However, DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson warned Senators at the hearing that if the supplemental is not passed before the August recess, that his agency would be forced to reprogram funding from other vital Homeland Security programs to address the crisis.

Next week

Next week the House is due to take up the FY15 Financial Services spending bill on the House floor. The bill will be considered under an open rule, meaning that members can offer any amendments. The House Appropriations Committee will consider the FY15 Interior appropriations bill in full committee on Tuesday. And on the Senate side, the FY15 Defense Appropriations bill is scheduled to be marked up in subcommittee on Tuesday and full committee on Thursday.

FY2015 Appropriations Bill Status

Homeland Security

On Tuesday, the House passed the following three homeland security related bills on the floor under suspension of the rules:

• HR 4007, the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) Program Authorization and Accountability Act of 2014 codifying and strengthening DHS’ CFATS program, which issues and enforces security standards for high-risk chemical facilities.
• HR 4263, the Social Media Working Group Act of 2014 authorizing DHS to establish a social media working group.
• HR 4289, the Department of Homeland Security Interoperable Communications Act addressing the recommendations of a November 2012 DHS IG report, which found that DHS lacks an effective governance structure to ensure interoperable communications among its components.
• HR 3488, the Preclearance Authorization Act of 2014 establishing the conditions under which the Secretary of DHS may establish preclearance facilities, conduct preclearance operations, and provide customs services outside the U.S.

Cybersecurity

S 2588 Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act

The Senate Intelligence Committee marked up S 2588, the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2014 earlier this week passing it out of committee by a vote of 12 to 3 in a closed markup. Sen. Mark Udall (D-CO) and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) opposed the bill citing concerns of privacy advocates. The bill:

• Requires the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) to increase the sharing of classified and unclassified cyber threat information to the private sector, consistent with the protection of sources and methods.
• Requires federal government procedures for the receipt, sharing and use of cyber information. This includes the establishment of a “portal” managed by DHS through which electronic cyber information will enter the government and be shared with other appropriate federal entities.
• Puts in place liability protections for individuals and companies that appropriately monitor their networks or share cyber information.

The draft CISA bill has drawn criticism from both industry groups and privacy advocates who are concerned that the bill would create a loophole in privacy law allowing the government to ask companies to voluntarily turn over customer information, which could then be used in criminal investigations. They also argue that the bill is a threat to whistleblowers and lacks adequate transparency measures.

Seven amendments were adopted during the markup including a manager’s package to the bill. One amendment that was offered by Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) added compliance with Fair Information Practice Principles language to the bill. Privacy groups said the addition of that language still wouldn’t do enough to safeguard privacy because it lacks requirements that the government take additional steps to protect sensitive information after it’s shared.

Supporters of the bill say they can get it through conference with the House-passed version, CISPA, and get something to the president’s desk if the Senate can act on its piece before recess – but hurdles from opponents remain. Supporters hope that if NSA reform passes (no certainty on that happening), some of that opposition will ease. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has not indicated if and when the bill might get called for a vote on the floor. It may be a tough privacy vote for vulnerable Democrats right before the election. And, it is unclear if Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Tom Carper (D-DE) would want to hold a hearing on the bill before it goes to the floor as his committee could claim jurisdiction.

A copy of the bill can be found at:

https://www.vantagepointstrat.com/?p=227

NIST New Internet of Things Cyber Framework

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) announced the development and implementation of a new cybersecurity framework dedicated to cyber-physical systems, otherwise known as the Internet of Things. The working group will release a road map by early 2015 and complete it by summer 2015. They will also release a cyber-physical systems framework by Spring 2015. The announcement came during NIST’s first meeting (via webinar) of their cyber-physical systems working group. The overall goal of the working group is to develop a cross-industry approach to designing and implementing cyber-physical technologies that have a robust cybersecurity structure.

Political Updates

The Senate on Wednesday voted to confirm San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro to be secretary of Housing and Urban Development. The vote was 71 to 26. His nomination was supported by many Republicans and he faced little to no opposition. Castro will replace Shaun Donovan, who was confirmed by the Senate this week as the new Director of the White House Office of Management and Budget in a vote of 75 to 22.

Matt Olsen, Director of the National Counterterrorism Center for the past three years announced his resignation this week. Prior to serving at the NCTC, Olsen was the general counsel and chief legal officer for the National Security Agency and principal legal adviser to its director. He also previously served as associate deputy attorney general at the Justice Department, executive director of the Guantanamo Review Task Force, assistant attorney general for national security and special counsel to the FBI director. Olsen has not set a date to leave the job, but is expected to depart in the next few months after a successor is selected.

President Obama nominated Air Force Maj. Gen. James McLaughlin to be deputy commander of US Cyber Command and recommended he be promoted to the rank of lieutenant general. McLaughlin is currently commander of Air Force Space Command and commander of Air Forces Cyber at US Cyber Command, Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas. McLaughlin’s nomination comes as the four-year-old Cyber Command is beefing up its staff.

The President nominated Dr. Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall to be Deputy Secretary of Energy replacing Daniel Poneman who announced his resignation last month. Dr. Sherwood-Randall currently serves as Special Assistant to the President and White House Coordinator for Defense Policy, Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction, and Arms Control, a position she has held since 2013. She has also served as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for European Affairs at the National Security Council. Prior to joining the White House, she was a Stanford University Senior Research Scholar and Adjunct Senior Fellow for Alliance Relations at the Council on Foreign Relations.

The President nominated Joseph Nimmich to be Deputy Administrator of Federal Emergency Management Agency at the Department of Homeland Security, Anne Rung to be Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy at the Office of Management and Budget, and Alissa Starzak to be General Counsel of the Army at the Department of Defense.

The GOP confirmed this week that their 2016 Republican National Convention will be held in Cleveland, OH. They are considering the weeks of June 28 and July 18 as possible dates. Democrats are still considering Birmingham, Brooklyn, Cleveland, Columbus, Philadelphia, and Phoenix. Democrats hope to name a 2016 convention host city by the end of this year or early next year.

Next Week

The House will take up HR 5016, the FY15 Financial Services Appropriations bill as well as five tax bills – HR 2807, the Conservation Easement Incentive Act of 2014; HR 4619, the Permanent IRA Charitable Contribution Act of 2014; HR 4719, the Fighting Hunger Incentive Act of 2014; HR 3134, the Charitable Giving Extension Act; and HR 4691, the Private Foundation Excise Tax Simplification Act of 2014. The House may also consider HR 5021, the Highway and Transportation Funding Act of 2014 and an extension of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act. The Senate will vote on the nominations of Cheryl LaFleur and Norman Bay to serve as members of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The Senate will also consider S 2244, the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2014.

July 3, 2014

The House and Senate were in recess this week.

FY2015 Appropriations

Lawmakers are now talking about not if but when a continuing resolution (CR) will be needed to keep the government running after Sept 30. While the House has passed five of the 12 annual spending bills, the Senate stalled on their first minibus bill they brought to the floor. The CR would likely fund the government through the November elections, but what happens during the lame duck session depends on the results of the election. If the Republicans take control of the Senate they may opt to pass another CR so that they could assert their greater influence when they have control of both houses of Congress.

FY2015 Appropriations Bill Status

Political Updates

President Obama nominated Robert McDonald to succeed Eric Shinseki as secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs. McDonald is the retired Chairman of the Board, President and CEO of The Proctor and Gamble Company. He is credited with overseeing a major expansion of the company during his tenure. McDonald is a West Point graduate and served as a Captain in the US Army for five years, primarily in the 82^nd Airborne division.

Rep. Vance McAllister (R-LA) announced this week that he would seek re-election in November. After leaked security camera footage showed the married congressman kissing an aide earlier this year, he announced that he would not run again for the seat. He recanted that decision a few weeks later. He has until Aug 22 to file the necessary paperwork. Several other Republicans have announced their intentions to run for the seat, including Zach Dasher, cousin of “Duck Dynasty” star Willie Robertson. McAllister was originally elected to the seat in a special election on Nov 16, 2013 to fill the seat vacated by Rep. Rodney Alexander. He has seats on the Agriculture and Natural Resources committees.

Next Week

The House and Senate return from their July 4^th recess next week. The House will take up HR 803, the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, HR 4923, the FY15 Energy and Water Appropriations Act, and HR 4718, a bill making the bonus depreciation permanent.

June 27, 2014

The House passed HR 4413, the Customer Protection and End User Relief Act, a bill reauthorizing the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, as well as three energy bills: HR 6, the Domestic Prosperity and Global Freedom Act; HR 3301, the North American Energy Infrastructure Act; and HR 4899, the Lowering Gasoline Prices to Fuel an America that Works Act. The Senate passed HR 803, the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, overhauling and reauthorizing the 1998 Workforce Investment Act(PL 105-220), which expired in 2003. The bill passed by a vote of 95 to 3.

FY2015 Appropriations

After having to pull the three-bill minibus from the Senate floor last week due to a stalemate over amendments, Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) is considering a new strategy in order to have a chance to move the 12 FY15 spending bills before Oct. 1 to avoid a continuing resolution (CR). Mikulski may pair up the bills differently to keep them going, such as adding the popular $71.9 billion Military Construction/Veterans Affairs bill to this minibus. Others are recommending that she bring the non-controversial bills to the floor as single bills eliminating the hurdle of getting unanimous consent to combine multiple measures into one legislative vehicle. While Mikulski hasn’t agreed to this single bill strategy, she is considering offering the FY15 Military Construction/Veterans Affairs bill as a stand-alone measure. Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL), Ranking Republican on the committee predicted a CR through Nov 15.

On the House side, House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers’ (R-KY) timeline for passage has also slipped. Rogers originally wanted all bills passed on the House floor before the August recess. He is now saying his goal is to have them all passed out of committee before the recess. Floor consideration of the House spending bills slowed after Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) lost his primary race and set off a Republican leadership shake-up. While there was some talk about returning to the FY15 Agriculture spending bill that was set aside when Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) lost his primary election, House leaders are now saying that they will turn to the FY15 Energy and Water spending bill when they return from the July 4^th recess.

House

Financial Services

The House Appropriations full committee approved their $21.3 billion FY15 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations bill this week and reported it out of committee by a vote of 28 to 21. The bill provides annual funding for the Treasury Department, the Judiciary, the Small Business Administration, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and several other agencies. The bill is $566 million below the FY14 enacted level and $2.3 billion below the President’s FY15 budget request.

While the bill does not include a pay raise for federal workers in FY15, it also does not specifically prohibit one. If enacted, this would allow the president to determine a pay raise based on the Employment Cost Index. The bill does prohibit pay raises for senior political appointees. The president had recommended a 1% pay raise for federal workers in his FY15 budget request.

Six amendments were adopted during full committee markup: a manager’s amendment and amendments requiring the postal service to deliver mail six days a week, prohibiting funding in the bill to require the disclosure of private email information by ISPs without a criminal warrant, prohibiting the District of Columbia from using local funds for the decriminalization of marijuana, altering the Dodd Frank law in order with respect to safe swap activities, and prohibiting funding for abortions through OPM-negotiated “multi-state qualified health plans” offered under Obamacare.

House appropriators also used the bill as an opportunity to express their concern that the FCC is “overstepping its jurisdiction” by getting involved in cybersecurity and that it “believes the FCC should be concerned with things that are strictly within its jurisdiction and not attempt regulatory overreach.” This cautionary report language follows a letter sent by Reps. Mike Rogers (R-MI) and Mike Pompeo (R-KS) earlier this month in response to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler’s speech at AEI, in which he unveiled a new cybersecurity approach for the nation’s communications networks and warned communication companies to take cybersecurity more seriously if they want to avoid new regulations on their networks.

State Foreign Operations

The full House Appropriations Committee marked up its $48.3 billion FY15 State Foreign Operations bill this week. The bill is $707.6 million less than the FY14 enacted level and $276.5 million less than the president’s FY15 budget request. Within this amount, Overseas Contingency Operations are funded at $5.9 billion for supporting operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, as well as stabilization and humanitarian efforts in areas of conflict around the globe. The bill required the administration to provide a detailed strategy for assistance to Egypt while providing $1.3 billion in military aid and $250 million in economic aid to the country. Appropriators also provided $1 billion for Iraq.

Four amendments were passed during the full committee markup: a manager’s amendment and amendments adding language related to health care coverage covering abortion costs for Peace Corps volunteers who become pregnant as a result of rape or whose lives would be endangered by the pregnancy, renaming a street in DC after Nobel Prize winner Liu Xiaobo, and encouraging USAID to provide humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, with emphasis on agricultural assistance to rural women. The committee rejected efforts by Democrats to scale back military aid for Egypt and to boost funds for reproductive health.

Senate

Financial Services

The Senate Financial Services Appropriations subcommittee marked up its $22.673 billion FY15 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations bill. The bill provides $607 million more than the FY14 enacted level and $1.1 billion less than the President’s FY15 budget request. A full committee markup for the bill has not been scheduled and may not happen anytime soon.

Homeland Security

The Senate marked up their $39.2 billion FY15 Department of Homeland Security spending bill in subcommittee and full committee this week and approved it by voice vote. The bill provides $643 million more than the FY14 enacted level, but $220 million less than the House version. Under the legislation, ICE would receive $5.5 billion, which is $149 million above the president’s request and $106 million below FY14; CBP would get $12.6 billion, coming in $18 million below the budget request and $480 million above FY14 enacted levels, and the Coast Guard would receive $8.6 billion. The bill also includes $213 million for Coast Guard OCO funding and $6.4 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Act (FEMA) Disaster Relief Fund. The committee directed more funding than the House for the Coast Guard and Transportation Security Administration as DHS Appropriations subcommittee chairman Mary Landrieu (D-LA) said that she disagreed with the president’s deep cuts to the Coast Guard in his FY15 budget request. The bill allocates nearly $11 million more than the administration’s FY15 request for cybersecurity. Of the $1.213 billion allocated to the National Protection and Programs Directorate’s Infrastructure Protection and Information Security Program, $757 million is included for cybersecurity protection of federal networks and incident response, $10.9 million more than what was requested and more than what was allocated in the House-passed version. Like the House, Senate appropriators directed more funding than the President requested for the child migration crisis along the southern U.S. border. They proposed a $2 hike in customs fees to fund additional Customs and Border Protection officers and called for an extra 1,000 immigration detention beds, as well as a new center that would enable immigrant families to stay together during detention. During the full committee markup, the committee adopted a manager’s package that included provisions requiring DHS to report on how well it is working to keep families of illegal immigrants in detention facilities that are not run by CBP or ICE, directing DHS to detail to Congress any times its drones have crashed, and requiring DHS to report on the Coast Guard’s work in the last three years responding to oil discharges in the Gulf of Mexico. They also passed an amendment offered by Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM) that would treat Presidential fire disaster declarations and disaster declarations the same way only in this fiscal year giving FEMA more flexibility in FY15 to cover the costs of preventing future wildfires in areas stricken by disaster.

Overseas Contingency Operations

The White House submitted its $65.8B FY15 Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) budget request to Congress this week. The request includes $58.6B for DOD OCO ($20.9B less than the $79.4B placeholder submitted in March) and $1.4B for State/OIP. In addition to funding for the U.S. military mission in Afghanistan and DOD’s supporting presence in the broader region, the OCO submission seeks congressional support for the new $5 billion Counterterrorism Partnerships Fund (CTPF) and $1 billion for the European Reassurance Initiative (ERI). The Administration indicated earlier this year that they want to expand the scope of the OCO fund requesting funding for worldwide counterterrorism and European security efforts.

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Buck McKeon (R-CA) was not pleased yesterday that he read about the Administration’s OCO budget request in the news prior to receiving the details himself. In a press release, McKeon said that his committee would have a number of questions for the administration after they have received the budget request on equipment reset funding levels and how the new counterterrorism fund differs from existing initiatives.

The Senate Defense Appropriations subcommittee will mark up their FY15 Defense spending bill in subcommittee on July 17 and could work quickly over the next few weeks to draft the OCO section. The House has already passed their FY15 Defense spending bill and may wait until conference to sort out the OCO section with the Senate. On the authorizing side, the HASC’s FY15 NDAA passed the full House but the SASC’s FY15 bill is awaiting floor action. The Senate could do a floor amendment to make their adjustments if/when they take their bill to the Senate floor. And then HASC would wait to work it out in conference. In the meantime, HASC does plan on holding hearings and requesting administration officials to testify.

A copy of the FY15 OCO Budget Request can be found at:

https://www.vantagepointstrat.com/?p=215

FY2015 Appropriations Bill Status

Homeland Security

The Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee marked up and reported out of committee a number of bills this week.

S 2521 Federal Information Security Modernization Act (FISMA) of 2014

The FISMA of 2014 updates the FISMA of 2002 and better delineates the roles and responsibilities of OMB and DHS. It also empowers DHS to issue “binding operational directives” containing requirements for the mitigation of exigent risks and incident reporting, and moves the agencies away from paperwork-heavy processes toward real-time and automated security. The bill passed by voice vote.

S 2519 National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (NCCIC) Act of 2014

The NCCIC Act of 2014 formally codifies the 24-hour cybersecurity and communications operations center within DHS, and calls on the center to serve as the federal civilian information sharing interface for cybersecurity information and analysis, incidence response, and recommendations for security measures to improve cybersecurity. Sen. Johnson (R-WI) offered an amendment to not grant additional regulatory or rulemaking authority to DHS. The amendment passed by voice vote with 2 no votes. Sen. Landrieu (D-LA) expressed concern about the NCCIC and other cybersecurity assets all being located “inside the beltway” in Washington, DC stating that we are vulnerable if DC is targeted. While her concern was noted, no amendment was offered. The bill passed by voice vote.

While Senate HSGAC Chairman Tom Carper (D-DE) was pleased with the committee’s progress on this cybersecurity legislation, he said that they still have more work to do including further clarifying DHS’ role in working with the private sector on cybersecurity matters including specifying the rules for the road for DHS interacting with private critical infrastructure. Carper also called for updating the 2002 DHS act to clarify who is responsible in DHS for cybersecurity, continuing to improve R&D for cybersecurity, and the need to codify the EINSTEIN program.

S 1691 Border Patrol Agent Pay Reform Act of 2013

The committee passed S 1691 the Border Patrol Agent Pay Reform Act of 2013 by a vote of 9 to 0. Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) offered an amendment in the nature of a substitute that would allow the border patrol to classify jobs within three pay schedule options that allow for 20 hours of overtime, 10 hours of overtime, or no overtime per two-week period. The bill also requires CBP to assess its staffing needs at every post along the border and estimate the funding needed to fulfill those needs. GAO would oversee those assessments. Sen. Coburn (R-OK) offered an amendment that would make a Border Patrol Agent ineligible for overtime if 50% or more of their time is being used in an official capacity for union activities. The amendment failed in a vote of 6 to 9. Coburn offered another amendment requiring that Border Patrol agents that are not in the field receive the basic pay rate. Tester modified the amendment with a second degree amendment that they would start with the Coburn approach, but if CBP determined that more hours were needed than the 80 hour work cap would be lifted. The modified amendment passed by voice vote.

HR 1232 Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act

The committee also passed HR 1232, the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act, in which Sen. Coburn offered an amendment in the nature of a substitute as base text. The bill empowers CIOs at 24 key agencies to be responsible and accountable for how the agency acquires its IT systems and programs; codifies the government-wide IT dashboard which publicly shows the metrics for IT; codifies the PortfolioStat process OMB put in place a few years ago; and includes the language included in S 1611 to ensure that the administration’s data center consolidation is seen through to its conclusion. The bill was passed by voice vote.

S 2061 Preventing Conflicts of Interest with Contractors Act

The committee also passed S 2061, the Preventing Conflicts of Interest with Contractors Act, which is intended to prevent contractors from reviewing their own work for background checks. Sen. Coburn said he had some problems with the bill so he opposed it but promised to work with Sen. Tester to improve the bill before floor consideration.

S 1347 the Conference Accountability Act of 2013

Action on S 1347 the Conference Accountability Act of 2013 was postponed as Sen. Levin (D-MI) asked the committee to wait to have more debate on the measure and get comments from OMB before marking it up.

Cybersecurity

The Senate Intelligence Committee cancelled the tentative markup of their Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA) this week. The markup was postponed until sometime after July 4th recess citing that too many members’ travel schedules would have conflicted with a markup. Committee members are hopeful that it might come up the week of July 7. The draft CISA bill has drawn criticism from both industry groups and privacy advocates. The ACLU, CDT, EFF, and others sent a letter to senators on Thursday stating concerns that the bill would create a loophole in privacy law allowing the government to ask companies to voluntarily turn over customer information, which could then be used in criminal investigations. They also argue that the bill is a threat to whistleblowers and lacks adequate transparency measures.

A copy of the bill can be found at:

https://www.vantagepointstrat.com/?p=213

Contractor Compensation

The Department of Defense, General Services Administration, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration published an interim rule in the Federal Register this week on the limitation on allowable government contractor compensation costs. The rule amends the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement section 702 of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013. Section 702 of the law set the initial limitation on allowable contractor and subcontractor employee compensation costs at $487,000 per year, which will be adjusted annually to reflect the change in the Employment Cost Index for all workers as calculated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The interim rule also implements the possible exception to this allowable cost limit for scientists, engineers, or other specialists if such exceptions are needed to ensure that the executive agency has continued access to needed skills and capabilities. Interested parties can submit written comments on the interim rule to he Regulatory Secretariat on or before August 25, 2014 to be considered in the formulation of a final rule.

FY14 Intelligence Authorization

The House agreed to a Senate-passed FY14 Intelligence Authorization Act (S 1681) in a voice vote Tuesday night sending the bill to the President for his signature. The bill funds major cyber priorities authorizing funding for cyber-defense priorities and NSA surveillance of foreign intelligence. It also mandates ramped up insider threat detection to spot intelligence leakers such as former contractor Edward Snowden and requires the Director of National Intelligence to study the possibility of replacing manual security clearances with continuous evaluation procedures that would monitor employees and contractors’ public and government records to spot suspicious behavior. The bill also gives the DNI six months to deliver a report describing any critical gaps in education and workforce training in cybersecurity and other technology fields. The House and Senate have yet to agree on an FY15 intelligence authorization bill.

Political Updates

While Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS), Ranking Republican on the Senate Appropriations Committee trailed his primary challenger Chris McDaniel in a primary earlier this month, Cochran was able to garner the necessary 51% of the vote to avoid another runoff. If Republicans take over the Senate next year, Cochran would be in line to reclaim chairmanship of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY), member of the House Ways and Means Committee, also survived a primary challenge this week in a rematch with state Sen. Adriano Espaillat. Rangel beat Espaillat 47% to 44% and appears to be on his way to winning his 23^rd term in Congress in November.

In the Republican primary in Oklahoma’s special election to replace Tom Coburn, Republican Rep. James Lankford won the nomination amid a crowded GOP field. Lankford beat Oklahoma House Speaker T.W. Shannon and captured 56% of the vote to avoid a runoff in August. Lankford is expected to cruise to a victory in the deep-red state’s general election this fall.

The Senate Budget and Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committees approved the nomination of Shaun Donovan to be Director of the Office of Management and Budget by a vote of 9 to 1. Donovan is currently serving as the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. The full Senate is expected to vote on the nomination when they return from their July 4 recess.

The Senate confirmed Leon Rodriguez to be Director of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services at the Department of Homeland Security by a vote of 53 to 43 this week. The Senate also approved the nominations of Jessica Garfola Wright to be Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness and Jamie Michael Morin to be Director of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation.

The Republic National Committee announced this week that Cleveland and Dallas are the two finalists to host the 2016 Republican National Convention. A selection committee voted Wednesday to eliminate Denver and Kansas City from contention after visiting all four cities. Democrats are in the earlier stages of choosing the location of their convention. Six cities submitted bids prior to this month’s deadline: Birmingham, AL.; Cleveland, OH; Columbus, OH; New York, NY; Philadelphia, PA; and Phoenix, AZ.

The Pentagon’s top procurement policy official, Richard Ginman, is retiring after a 40-year-career that spanned both the private and public sectors. Grinnan is a retired Navy rear admiral who became DoD’s director for defense procurement and acquisition policy in 2011, when DoD decided to split the office into two divisions. Before that, Ginman was DoD’s deputy director for contingency and acquisition policy after having served in several high-level civilian acquisition leadership roles within the Navy.

Former Senate Majority Leader and Chief of Staff to President Ronald Reagan Howard Baker (R-TN) died yesterday. Baker was first elected to the Senate in 1966 and retired in 1984 returning to practicing law in Tennessee.

Next Week

The House and Senate are in recess next week.

28 Days Left…What Gets Done?

As we head into the July 4th recess with only 28 days of session left on the congressional calendar before the November elections, the question is what legislation will get passed this year?

12 FY15 Appropriations Bills or a Continuing Resolution

FY15 National Defense Authorization Act

Veterans Affairs Reform

Cybersecurity – CISPA and CISA

NSA Reform

Data Breach Notifications

FISMA

NCCIC

Workforce Bills

Ambassadorial Nominations

Immigration Reform

June 20, 2014

The House passed the FY15 Defense Appropriations bill. The Senate approved a number of judicial nominations and passed the Omnibus Territories Act of 2013 (S 1237). The Senate also began consideration of the FY15 Commerce-Justice-Science, Transportation HUD, and Agriculture “minibus” appropriations spending bill, but pulled it when they could not reach agreement on amendments.

FY2015 Appropriations

House

Defense

The House completed action on its fifth FY15 appropriations bill this week passing the FY15 Defense spending bill by a vote of 340 to 73. The $570.4 bill was considered under an open rule allowing any member to offer germane amendments. While there was no limit on the number of amendments (over 70 were offered), there was a 10-minute limit on the time to debate each one.

Several amendments were accepted including blocking the retirement of the A-10 Warthog aircraft, prohibiting the transfer of Guantanamo Bay detainees to foreign countries, shifting $5 million from Army Guard personnel accounts to O&M accounts to station soldiers along the southwest border, and barring the NSA from using funds to gain “backdoor” access to Americans’ information. The House rejected amendments to increase funding for Pentagon drug interdiction and counternarcotics activities, allow the Air Force to retire intercontinental ballistic missiles, and prohibit funds for US combat operations in Iraq.

In a Statement of Administration Policy issued this week, the White House raised multiple concerns with the bill but stopped short of a veto threat. The Administration objected to rejection of some of the administration’s cost-cutting proposals for the Department of Defense, restrictions on Guantanamo Bay detainee transfers, and plans to begin developing a domestic rocket engine to replace the Russian-made engines used on some United Launch Alliance rockets.

The bill included a placeholder of $79.4 billion for Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) because the White House has not yet submitted a detailed war budget request to Congress. At a Senate Defense Appropriations subcommittee hearing this week, Defense Secretary Hagel said that they would soon propose an OCO budget for FY15. The budget may be sent to Congress just before both chambers leave for the July 4^th recess. Hagel said that the FY15 OCO budget will cover costs related to Afghanistan and other operations as well as other costs related to CENTCOM operations in the Mideast. In addition, it will include up to $5 billion for a Counterterrorism Partnerships Fund and $1 billion for the European Reassurance Initiative.

Energy & Water

The House Appropriations Committee marked up their $34 billion FY15 Energy & Water spending bill in full committee this week and considered several amendments on hot-button issues. The committee rejected an amendment to strike language weakening the EPA waters rules in the bill. They adopted an amendment allowing individuals to carry firearms on Army Corps of Engineers lands. The committee also adopted amendments prohibiting funds to be used for DOE regulations on ceiling fans and adding report language clarifying a provision in the bill to protect pension plan contributions by the NNSA. The legislation provides annual funding for national defense nuclear weapons activities, the Army Corps of Engineers, various programs under the Department of Energy (DOE), and other related agencies. The bill is $50 million less than the FY14 enacted level and $327 million above the President’s FY15 request.

Financial Services

The House Financial Services Appropriations subcommittee marked up its $21.3 billion FY15 spending bill this week and approved it by voice vote. The bill provides annual funding for the Treasury Department, the Judiciary, the Small Business Administration, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and several other agencies. The bill is $566 million below the FY14 enacted level and $2.3 billion below the President’s request for FY15. The bill covers agencies implementing the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial regulatory overhaul, as well as parts of the Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”) making it a potential lightening rod for controversial amendments when it is marked up in full committee next week. In the subcommittee’s bill, the IRS would receive $10.95 billion a 3%, or $341 million, reduction from its FY14 enacted level and $1.5 billion, or 12%, below the president’s FY15 budget request. The SEC would receive $1.4 billion for FY15 under the measure, an increase of $50 million from FY14 but $300 million below the president’s FY15 request.

State Foreign Operations

The State Foreign Operations Appropriations subcommittee marked up its $48.3 billion FY15 spending bill this week and approved it by voice vote. The bill is $708 million below the FY14 enacted level and $277 million below the president’s FY15 request. Within the $48.3 billion, OCO is funded at $5.9 billion and will support operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, as well as stabilization and humanitarian efforts in areas of conflict around the globe. The bill gives priority to funding embassy security, aid to refugees, international security assistance and programs to promote democracy in Ukraine, the Middle East and Latin America. It seeks to reinstate the Mexico City policy that blocks aid to overseas agencies that promote or perform abortions, along with proposing other long-standing riders aimed at further defunding abortion and limiting family planning programs. And, it blocks foreign aid to any countries housing Guantanamo detainees unless the administration briefs Congress on the terms of any transfer agreement prior to implementation. The bill is likely to be a partisan battleground over international aid programs and dues payments to the United Nations when it is marked up in full committee next week.

House Appropriations Committee Next Week

The House Appropriations Committee is scheduled to consider the FY15 Financial Services and FY15 State Foreign Operations spending bills in full committee next week.

House Floor

House leaders have not decided which spending bill will be next considered on the House floor. They could return to the $20.9 FY15 Agriculture spending bill that was pulled from the floor last week after Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) lost his primary and Republican leaders shifted their focus to election of a new Majority Leader. Another option is to take up the FY15 Energy and Water spending bill, which would give Republicans the opportunity to offer amendments to block the new EPA carbon emission rules.

Senate

Commerce-Justice-Science, Transportation HUD, and Agriculture

The Senate began consideration of their first FY15 spending bills on the Senate floor this week with a minibus containing the FY15 CJS, Transportation HUD, and Agriculture spending bills. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) had to pull the $126.2 billion measure from the floor after Republicans and Democrats could not reach agreement on amendments. Democrats were insisting that amendments require 60 votes to be adopted. Given the vast scope of the bill, it attracted amendments on topics including commercial use of drones, Guantanamo Bay prisoner transfers, school nutrition standards, trucker safety, alternative fuel vehicles, and court-appointed advocates for children. While all three bills passed out of committee with bipartisan support and consideration of the minibus bill got off to a good start earlier in the week with the Senate voting to invoke cloture by a roll call vote of 95 to 3, it is now unclear if the Senate will be able to complete action on the minibus bill.

Energy & Water

The Senate Energy & Water Appropriations Subcommittee marked up its $34.2 billion FY15 spending bill in subcommittee this week. The bill provides an increase of $148 million above the FY14 enacted level and an increase of $525 million above the President’s FY15 request level.

The bill was scheduled to be marked up in full committee on Thursday, but the mark up was postponed after Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) indicated that he would offer an amendment that would effectively block the EPA’s recently announced carbon standards for existing power plants unless the administration confirms it won’t increase electricity costs or kill jobs. The amendment has a chance of prevailing given the breakdown of Democrats on the full committee; especially those who are facing tough reelection bids this year. The White House threatened to veto the measure if the amendment was included so Senate Appropriations Chairwoman Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) postponed full committee action.

Legislative Branch

The Senate Appropriations Committee met this week to mark up the non-controversial FY15 Legislative Branch spending bill. The bill marked up in the full committee would provide $4.3 billion for Senate operations and joint legislative branch agencies. Senate appropriators provided $42 million more than FY14 and $165 million less than the president’s FY15 budget request. GAO would receive $525.5 million under the Senate bill, a $20.1 million increase over FY14. CBO would get $46 million, a $360,000 increase from FY14 and $700,000 more than the House provided. The bill also provides the Architect of the Capitol with $600 million — a $2 million drop from current levels and $76.6 million below what was requested. It would, however, fully fund the fourth and final phase of the Capitol Dome restoration.

State Foreign Operations

The Senate Appropriations Committee marked up their $48.285 billion FY15 State Foreign Operations spending bill in subcommittee and full committee this week. Of this amount, $8.625 billion is for OCO in the frontline states of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iraq as well as other areas in political transition (Middle East and North Africa), and to respond to humanitarian emergencies (Syria, Somalia, South Sudan). The bill is $285 million below the President’s FY15 budget request and $716 million below the FY14 enacted level. Like the House bill, it provides $100 million in economic and security assistance to Ukraine and other former Soviet republics to counter Russian aggression. The committee also lifted the restriction on aid to foreign nongovernmental organizations that use non-US funds to counsel or perform abortions (the Mexico City policy). The House bill maintains the restriction. The Senate measure would provide Egypt with $1.15 billion in military and economic aid and $201 million for the United Nations Clean Technology Fund and the organization’s Strategic Climate Fund.

Labor HHS Education

Last week Senate Appropriations Chairwoman Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) cancelled a scheduled full committee markup of the FY15 Labor HHS Education spending bill. While committee Democrats blame scheduling blame, others have said that the markup was delayed because of concerns over potential controversial amendments, including those related to the Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”). The subcommittee had approved the bill earlier in the week.

Senate Appropriations Committee Next Week

The Senate Appropriations Committee is scheduled to consider the FY15 Department of Homeland Security and FY15 Financial Services spending bills in subcommittee next Tuesday.

FY2015 Appropriations Bill Status

Veterans’ Access to Care

The House and Senate appointed conferees to HR 3230, the Veterans’ Access to Care through Choice, Accountability, and Transparency Act of 2014. The conferees are charged with reaching agreement on VA accountability and emergency care measures.

Senate conferees include: Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), Patty Murray (D-WA), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Jon Tester (D-MT), Mark Begich (D-AK), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Richard Burr (R-NC), Isakson (R-GA), Johanns (R-NE), McCain (R-AZ), Coburn (R-OK), and Rubio (R-FL).

House conferees include: Reps. Jeff Miller (R-FL), chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, Doug Lamborn (R-CO), Phil Roe (R-TN), Bill Flores (R-TX), Dan Benishek (R-MI), Mike Coffman (R-CO), Brad Wenstrup (R-OH), Jackie Walorski (R-IN), Mike Michaud (D-ME), Corrine Brown (D-FL), Mark Takano (D-CA), Julia Brownley (D-CA), Ann Kirkpatrick (D-AZ), and Tim Walz (D-MN).

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released an estimate of the House version of the bill this week saying that the measure could eventually cost $54 billion a year if fully implemented. In comparison, the Senate version would cost $50 billion a year. Neither bill is fully offset. These new cost estimates could complicate the conference negotiation process.

Cybersecurity

Senate Intelligence Committee Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act

Senate Intelligence Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and ranking member Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) released a draft cybersecurity bill, the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act, on Tuesday. The committee is expected to vote on the bill next week.

The bill makes it easier for companies to share information on a voluntary basis about cyber threats and cyber countermeasures by removing legal barriers, while also offering liability protection to companies that participate in the information sharing program. It authorizes and provides liability protection for companies to monitor their networks. And, it directs the federal government to share information with the private sector at the classified and unclassified levels, consistent with protections of sources and methods.

The bill also attempts to provide protections to prevent privacy intrusions by requiring companies sharing cyber information to remove personally identifying information before sharing it with the government, and requiring that any information shared with the government in real time be given to the Department of Homeland Security. The Attorney General would be required to write procedures to limit the government’s use of cyber information to appropriate cyber purposes and to ensure privacy protections are in place. And, the bill would require reports by the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board and relevant federal agency inspectors general.

While the senators included provisions aimed at easing the concerns of privacy advocates, they haven’t won them over yet. The ACLU is concerned that shared information could be used for criminal investigations, including leaks of national security information. They are also concerned that the NSA and other intelligence agencies could gain access to the data.

A copy of the bill can be found at:

https://www.vantagepointstrat.com/?p=213

FCC and Cybersecurity

In response to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler’s speech at the American Enterprise Institute last week where he unveiled a new cybersecurity paradigm for the nation’s communications networks and warned communication companies to take cybersecurity more seriously if they want to avoid new regulations on their networks, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-MI) sent a letter to Wheeler this week. In the letter, Rogers and Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-KS) expressed concerns that the FCC may be preparing to implement a new regulatory scheme that would significantly affect ISPs and other web service providers. They warned Wheeler that the private sector should lead the charge against cyber threats and prescriptive regulations would only get in the way. They also raised objections to the cybersecurity provisions in the FCC’s FY15 budget request, which included substantial funding increases for cybersecurity activities, including funding for “Big Data Cybersecurity Analytics and a Cybersecurity Metrics” program.

A copy of the letter can be found at:

https://www.vantagepointstrat.com/?p=214

Political Updates

Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) was elected by his Republican colleagues yesterday as the new House Majority Leader replacing Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) who unexpectedly lost his primary for reelection earlier this month. Cantor will step down on July 31. McCarthy beat out Rep. Raul Labrador (R-ID) for the leadership position. McCarthy’s ascension in rank opened up his current position as Majority Whip. Three Republicans were vying for the position: Rep. Peter Roskam (R-IL), Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA), and Rep. Marlin Stutzman (R-IN). Scalise, Chairman of the Republican Study Conference, won the Majority Whip position on the first ballot.

The Transportation Security Administration announced this week that Melvin Carraway will become deputy administrator July 13. He replaces Deputy Administrator John Halinski, who is retiring. Carraway currently serves as TSA supervisory federal air marshal in charge, Dallas field office.

The Department of Homeland Security’s chief procurement officer, Nick Nayak, plans to resign next month after three-and-a-half years on the job. His replacement hasn’t been chosen. During his tenure, Nayak oversaw the award of a number of major contracting vehicles, including the $11 billion Technical, Acquisition and Business Support Services contract, the $3 billion Tactical Communications contract, the $3 billion FirstSource II contract, and Eagle II. Nayak will take some time off before exploring opportunities with the private sector.

Christine Wormuth was confirmed by voice vote to be Under Secretary of Defense in the full Senate this week.

In a memo to agency staff yesterday, Deputy Energy Secretary Dan Poneman announced that he would be leaving the department this fall and heading to Harvard University, where he earned his bachelor’s and law degrees.

President Obama announced his intention to nominate Carolyn Watts Colvin as Commissioner of Social Security today. Colvin is currently Deputy Commissioner of Social Security for the Social Security Administration (SSA), a position she has held since January 2011.  She has also served as Acting Commissioner of Social Security since February 2013.  Previously, she has served as the Secretary of the Board of Trustees of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund, Special Assistant to the Secretary of Transportation for Maryland, Chief Executive Officer of Amerigroup Community Care of DC, Director of the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services, and Director of the District of Columbia Department of Health and Human.

Next Week

The House will consider HR 4413, the Customer Protection and End User Relief Act as well as three energy bills: HR 6, the Domestic Prosperity and Global Freedom Act; HR 3301, the North American Energy Infrastructure Act; and HR 4899, the Lowering Gasoline Prices to Fuel an America that Works Act. The Senate schedule for next week is unclear at this time as Senate leaders had set aside time to finish consideration of the FY15 CJS, THUD, Agriculture minibus appropriations bill. They may take up S 2363, the Bipartisan Sportsmen’s Act.

June 13, 2014

The House passed a NASA reauthorization bill (HR 4412), the FY15 Transportation HUD Appropriations bill (HR 4745), two tax extender bills (HR 4453 and HR 4457), and a bill directing the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to enter into contracts for the provision of hospital care and medical services at non-Department of Veterans Affairs facilities for VA patients with extended waiting times (HR 4810). The House began consideration of the FY15 Agriculture Appropriations bill, but unexpectedly pulled it from the floor after members voted on a series of amendments. The bill may return to the floor the week of June 23. The Senate began consideration of the Bank on Students Emergency Loan Refinancing Act (S 2432), but the motion to invoke cloture was not agreed to by a vote of 56 to 38. The Senate was able to pass a bill (HR 3230/S 2450) to improve the access of veterans to medical services by a vote of 93 to 3 as well as an FY14 Intelligence Authorization bill (S 1681), which passed by voice vote. The VA reform bills in the House and Senate are similar and members of Congress expect that they will be able to quickly iron out their differences to send a bill to the President for his signature. Conservatives may push to find an offset for the bill after CBO released its cost estimates this week.

FY2015 Appropriations

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s (R-VA) unexpected primary loss this week slowed floor momentum and caused House leaders to pull the FY15 Agriculture spending bill from the floor after several amendments had been offered and voted on. The fate of the remaining FY15 spending bills is questionable, as the House will focus on leadership elections next week. Conservatives may feel emboldened by Cantor’s defeat and hopeful for Republican majorities in the House and Senate in 2015. They may push to delay all spending bills and seek a continuing resolution delaying all spending decisions until they have control over both houses of Congress. There are less than 25 legislative days left before the August recess, so the goal of passing all 12 spending bills before then is looking less and less likely. The Senate is expected to take up a minibus appropriations bill on the floor next week containing the FY15 Commerce, Justice, Science; Transportation HUD; and Agriculture spending bills. Sen. Mikulski (D-MD) has said that members will be allowed to offer amendments to the minibus measure. The House may take up the FY15 Defense appropriations bill on the floor next week.

House

The $52 billion FY15 Transportation HUD bill was on the House floor this week. The House Appropriations Committee marked up their $491 billion FY15 Defense and $39.2 billion FY15 Homeland Security appropriations bills in full committee this week, and the FY15 Energy & Water bill in subcommittee. The panel also approved technical revisions to their FY15 spending allocations, otherwise known as 302(b)s, agreeing to changing the spending limits by voice vote. The changes shift $18 million to the Labor HHS and Financial Services bills from the Defense and CJS bills. It does not change the overall cap of $1.014 trillion for discretionary spending.

Transportation HUD

The House passed the $52 billion FY15 Transportation HUD spending bill on the floor by a vote of 229 to 192. Last year’s bill had to be pulled from the House floor because of disagreements over the top-line funding level and concerns that TIGER grants had been zeroed out. House Republicans believe that the grant program has been poorly managed and slashed TIGER grants from $600 million in FY14 to $100 million in FY15. During floor consideration, Rep. Aaron Schock (R-IL) offered an amendment that would bar the issuance of Section 8 housing vouchers for levels above 120% of an area’s fair market rental value. The amendment passed 210 to 209. The House also adopted an amendment cutting off funding for high-speed rail in California offered by Rep. Jeff Denham (R-CA). And amendments barring the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Agency from raising its liability insurance requirements for truck and bus companies and barring federal housing agencies from acquiring cameras to photograph license plates were passed. Rep. Paul Broun (R-GA) offered a controversial amendment to abolish subsidies for Amtrak, but was defeated on a voice vote. The White House issued a Statement of Administration Policy that criticized several provisions in the bill, but stopped short of threatening a veto.

Defense

The House Appropriations Committee marked up their $491 billion FY15 Defense spending bill in full committee this week. The bill provides an increase of $4.1 billion above the FY14 enacted level and $200 million above the President’s budget request. The draft bill provides $165 billion for operations and maintenance ($4.8 billion more than the FY14), $63.4 billion for research and development, $91.2 billion for equipment procurement, and $31.6 billion for defense health and military family programs. In addition, the bill includes $79.4 billion in Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) funding, the same level requested by the President and included in the FY15 House-passed National Defense Authorization Act. House Appropriators approved the bill by voice vote after adding restrictions on OCO funding after heated debate over the Bergdahl prisoner exchange. The provision withholds 85% of OCO funds until the Pentagon assures Congress that it will not circumvent a law requiring it to notify lawmakers 30 days in advance of transferring Guantanamo Bay prisoners from the detention facility. Rep. Jack Kingston (R-GA) offered an amendment during the full committee markup that would cut funding for O&M and put the savings toward maintaining the A-10 aircraft fleet, which the Air Force wants to retire. The amendment was not agreed to. The bill may be considered on the House floor next week.

Homeland Security

The House Appropriations Committee marked up its $39.2 billion FY15 Homeland Security spending bill in subcommittee this week. This is a decrease of $50 million below the FY14 enacted level, but an increase of $887.8 million above the President’s FY14 budget request. The bill includes an additional $78 million to handle the increase in unaccompanied minors crossing the Southern border. Amendments that were adopted included a provision barring ICE from funding abortions for female detainees, except in cases of rape or incest or when the life of the mother would be endangered. Members are also frustrated with tardy submissions of reports and expenditure plans from DHS so they zeroed out funding for the Office of Legislative Affairs and threatened to cut other management accounts.

Energy & Water

The House Energy and Water Appropriations subcommittee marked up its $34 billion FY15 Energy & Water spending bill this week. FY15 funding in the bill is $50 million less than the FY14 enacted level and an increase of $327 million above the President’s budget request. The bill provides $11.4 billion for DOE’s nuclear weapons security programs, including Weapons Activities, Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation, and Naval Reactors. This is a $154.6 million increase over FY14. The Army Corps of Engineers is funded at $5.5 billion, an increase of $25 million above FY14. Environmental Cleanup funding Included in the legislation is $5.6 billion, $202.2 million below FY14. Funding for energy programs within DOE is $10.3 billion – an increase of $113 million above FY14. The bill includes $5.1 billion for science research (same as FY14); $1 billion for the Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Reclamation to help manage, develop, and protect the water resources of western states; $150 million for the Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Disposal program; and $55 million for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to continue the adjudication of DOE’s Yucca Mountain License application. Republicans held off on trying to block the Obama administrations plans for new carbon emissions standards, but are expected to offer amendments on this issue during full committee markup next week. The bill will be marked up in full committee next Wednesday.

Senate

The Senate marked up their $156.8 billion FY15 Labor HHS appropriations bill in subcommittee and was expected to consider the bill in full committee on Thursday, but the markup was postponed indefinitely. The postponement may have come from concern over potential controversial Republican amendments (e.g. cutting funds for “Obamacare”) that would cause vulnerable Democrats (Landrieu, D-LA; Pryor, D-AR; and Shaheen, D-NH) up for reelection in 2014 to be put in the position of casting difficult votes. The bill is about $900 million more than the House’s allocation, but $1.2 billion below the administration’s request.

FY2015 Appropriations Bill Status

Defense Acquisition

Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Frank Kendall and Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition Sean Stackley held a press briefing today on the second annual Performance of the Defense Acquisition System Report, a Better Buying Power update and the Superior Supplier Incentive Program. The report examines 150 defense deals and breaks down the performance of major contractors in delivering programs on time and on budget. A copy of DOD’s Performance of the Defense Acquisition System 2014 Annual Report can be found at:

http://www.defense.gov/pubs/Performance-of-Defense-Acquisition-System-2014.pdf

Cybersecurity

Federal Communications Commission Cybersecurity Approach

At an American Enterprise Institute event this week, “After Snowden: The road ahead for cybersecurity,” Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Tom Wheeler unveiled a new cybersecurity approach for the nation’s communications networks. Wheeler warned communication companies to take cybersecurity more seriously if they want to avoid new regulations on their networks. He said that the FCC believes that, “there is a new regulatory paradigm where the Commission relies on industry and the market first while preserving other options if that approach is unsuccessful.” Wheeler also said that the FCC would be seeking input on how to measure whether any security regime implemented by the telecom industry is working and effective. The full text of Wheeler’s speech can be found at:

http://www.fcc.gov/document/chairman-wheeler-american-enterprise-institute-washington-dc

DHS Cyber Industry Days

DHS is inviting interested parties (universities, businesses, laboratories, etc) to participate in their Cyber Industry Days regarding an upcoming solicitation/call to be issued against the DHS, S&T, Cybersecurity Division BAA (https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=f73abf2e77c708034a7c63634679ba1b&tab=core&_cview=1). The purpose of the industry days is to brief interested parties on each specific BAA topic:

1. Distributed Denial of Service Defense: Thursday, June 26, 2014 from 1:30 pm – 3:45 pm (EDT) at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington DC. https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=e85505561a099a6043631c5709a98d55&tab=core&_cview=0
2. Cyber Physical Systems Security: Thursday, June 26, 2014 from 9:30 am – 11:45 am (EDT) at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington DC. https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=2472ee7c7126e48008a76b65fe2ca903&tab=core&_cview=0
3. Mobile Technology Security: Tuesday, June 24, 2014 from 1:30 pm – 4:15 pm (EDT) at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington DC. https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=621830a47ca346e6e0a1063fa99a4d5b&tab=core&_cview=0
4. Data Privacy Technologies Research and Development: Tuesday, June 24, 2014 from 9:00 am – 11:50 am (EDT) at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington DC. https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=b0179e8b8c3164a264bddd1355e1c91d&tab=core&_cview=0

Homeland Security

The House of Representatives passed HR 4228 the DHS Acquisition Accountability and Efficiency Act by voice vote under suspension of the rules this week. The bill would require an acquisition review board led by the DHS Under Secretary for Management to review every major acquisition program in DHS and to take steps to improve the accountability, standardization, and transparency of major DHS acquisition programs. In the event of a breach in a major DHS acquisition program, the board would have to notify Congress of decisions to move forward with each phase of the acquisition and provide lawmakers with strategic plans for improvement. DHS would also be required to provide Congress with a multiyear acquisition strategy.

The House Homeland Security Committee marked up eight bills in full committee this week approving all by voice vote:

• HR 3846 would authorize Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to create a uniform procedure for the use of deadly force by CBP officers and border agents, as well as require them to take continuing education courses in order to understand federal legal rulings and court decisions.
• HR 3488 establishes the conditions for the formation of preclearance facilities outside the US.
• HR 3202, the “Essential Transportation Worker Identification Credential Assessment Act” requires a security assessment of the transportation security card program.
• The “Social Media Working Group Act” (HR 4263) authorizes DHS to establish a social media working group.
• The “DHS Security Interoperable Communications Act” (HR 4289) requires DHS to maintain interoperable communications capabilities among DHS components.
• HR 4802, the “Airport Security Enhancement Act of 2014” focuses on improving intergovernmental planning for and communication during security incidents at domestic airports.
• The “TSA Office of Inspection Accountability Act” (HR 4803) requires TSA to conform to existing Federal law and regulations regarding criminal investigator positions.
• HR 4812, the “Honor Flight Act” requires TSA to establish a process for providing expedited and dignified passenger screening services for veterans traveling to visit war memorials.

Political Updates

In a major upset this week, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) lost his bid for reelection in a primary contest to Tea Party backed candidate David Brat. Prior to his defeat, Cantor was considered next in line for House Speaker. The following day Cantor announced that he would step down from his leadership position on July 31. House Republicans will hold elections for majority leader and majority whip next week on June 19. Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-CA was initially the only candidate in the running for majority leader, but Rep. Raul Labrador (R-ID) announced today that he will run for the position. Labrador is a leading conservative voice. Reps. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) and Pete Sessions (R-TX) were considering challenging McCarthy for the leadership spot, but quickly dropped out. Reps. Steve Scalise (R-LA), Marlin Stutzman (R-IN), and Peter Roskam (R-IL) are all running for McCarthy’s position as majority whip.

Michael McCord was confirmed by the full Senate this week to be Under Secretary of Defense, Comptroller. He replaces current Pentagon Comptroller Robert Hale who is retiring. McCord has been serving as the deputy comptroller since January 2009 and was nominated for the position four months ago. He is a former Senate Armed Services Committee staffer under Chairman Carl Levin (D-MI) and former Chairman Sam Nunn (D-GA). Hale’s last day at the Pentagon has not been announced.

Air Force Maj. Gen. William Bender has been appointed to the rank of lieutenant general for assignment as chief of information dominance and chief information officer in the office of the secretary of the Air Force. He’s now deputy chief in the office of Security Cooperation-Iraq.

Next Week

The House may begin consideration of HR 4413, the Customer Protection and End User Relief Act, a bill reauthorizing the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, as well as the FY15 Defense Appropriations bill. The Senate will turn its attention to a minibus appropriations bill containing the FY15 Commerce, Justice, Science; Transportation HUD; and Agriculture spending bills.

June 6, 2014 

The Senate passed S 2270, the Insurance Capital Standards Clarification Act of 2014, a bill revising Sec. 171 of the Dodd-Frank Act (also called the “Collins Amendment”). The bill clarifies that the Federal Reserve Board can apply insurance-based capital standards to the insurance portion of any insurance holding company it oversees. The Senate approved the nominations of Sylvia Mathews Burwell to be Secretary of Health and Human Services, Stefan Selig to be Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade, and Carolyn Hessler Radelet to be Director of the Peace Corps. The Senate also approved a number of judicial nominations as well as commissioners of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The House was in recess.

FY2015 Appropriations

Senate Appropriations chairwoman Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) said this week that she is planning to bundle several appropriations bills together for floor consideration. While she will defer to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) on how they will be brought to the floor, she is preparing “clusters” or “minibuses” for when floor time comes. Reid has previously indicated to Mikulski that appropriators could have two weeks of floor time for consideration of their bills. Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL), Chairman of the Senate Defense Appropriations subcommittee this week reiterated his intent to mark up the FY15 Defense Appropriations bill the week of July 7.

The Senate Appropriations Committee marked up the FY15 Commerce, Justice, Science spending bill in subcommittee and full committee this week. The $51.2 billion bill (a decrease of $398 million below FY14 and an increase of $1 billion above the President’s request level) funds the Department of Commerce at $8.6 billion and the Department of Justice (DOJ) at $28 billion. The bill includes creating cybersecurity standards to protect .mil, .gov, and .com and provides an additional $722 million for DOJ to continue its cybersecurity work. NIST received $900 million, $50 million above FY14; and NSF received $7.2 billion, an increase of $83 million over FY14. The Senate also included $58.5 million for the National Instant Criminal Background Check System compared with the $78 million the House provided last week after agreeing to an amendment to increase funding for the program. The committee approved an amendment offered by Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) that would prohibit federal law enforcement authorities from preventing farmers from experimenting with industrial hemp in states where it is permitted as is allowed for by the new farm bill (PL 113-79).

The Committee also marked up their FY15 Transportation HUD bill in subcommittee and full committee this week. The $54.4 billion bill provides a total of $18.1 billion in discretionary budget authority for the Department of Transportation (DOT) and $36 billion for Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Appropriators did not make significant changes to the funding levels in the markup, but did add some policy provisions including suspending existing federal rules that require truck drivers to take 34 hours off between workweeks while calling for more study on the rules. The committee report also includes language encouraging DOT to ban cell phones on planes. DOT announced in February it was taking comments on a rule banning phone calls in flight.

Next week the Senate will turn its attention to the FY15 Labor HHS Education spending bill marking it up in subcommittee on June 10 and full committee on June 12. On June 10, the House will mark up its FY15 Energy and Water spending bill in subcommittee and its FY15 Homeland Security and Defense bills in full committee.

FY2015 Appropriations Bill Status

National Defense Authorization Act

The Senate Armed Services Committee released its FY15 National Defense Authorization Act report (113-176) this week. A copy of the report can be found at: https://www.vantagepointstrat.com/?attachment_id=203.

Cybersecurity

The Homeland Security Advisory Council held a meeting on Thursday at which the National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD) Under Secretary Suzanne Spaulding mentioned that the NPPD is reaching out to the venture capitalist community to encourage them to put analysis of a company’s cybersecurity practices in their due diligence process. The hope is that this will drive improved cybersecurity risk management processes in the private sector. NPPD is also working with the American Bar Association to push for more attention on cybersecurity in the M&A due-diligence process.

Cybersecurity was also a topic of discussion at the Bloomberg Cybersecurity: Getting to Business conference earlier this week. Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), Ranking Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee and speaker at the conference said that he and Sen. Feinstein (D-CA), Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, have been working on cyber legislation and are down to a couple of outstanding provisions: 1) liability protection and 2) how a private sector entity reports an incident. The bill will create a DHS portal and private entities will report activity to the portal in real time. Under the bill, companies would have immunity from liability if they shared the information through the portal. They would not have immunity outside of the portal. Chambliss said that they are at the point of counting votes, but Sen. Feinstein is sensitive to the concerns of privacy advocates. Chambliss also said that he thought the Executive Order was playing out pretty well, that the framework is working, and that NIST is doing a good job of engaging with the private sector. He is concerned that if they don’t get a bill done this year, with his retirement and Rep. Rogers retirement there will be a whole new set of members with potentially new priorities next year.

NSA Director Adm. Mike Rogers was also a speaker at the conference. Adm. Rogers, when not getting besieged with questions about Edward Snowden, emphasized the need for maximizing detection capabilities and said, “I believe [cybersecurity] legislation is necessary. We tried to do this on a voluntary basis but there is still a big delta. Coming together in a partnership is where we can really gain advantages.”

Veterans Affairs

The Senate reached a bipartisan compromise this week on a bill that will allow veterans to see private doctors if they experience long wait times or live more than 40 miles from a VA facility. The measure would also fund the construction of more than 25 new VA medical facilities in 18 states. And it incorporates provisions from legislation introduced in the Senate by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) making it easier to fire VA officials on the spot without pay. While there was tentative agreement on the measure, fiscal conservatives in the Senate may call for offsets for the $2 billion in emergency funding authorized in the bill. Democrats and moderate Republicans argue that the 2011 debt limit law allows for budget caps to be waived in the event of an emergency. While the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT) said that they are open to amendments, he also urged his colleagues to not delay passage of the bill with extraneous amendments.

Political Updates

With neither side clinching 50% of the vote, the GOP Senate primary in Mississippi will now go to a runoff on June 24. Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS), a six-term incumbent, received 48.8% while his tea party challenger state Sen. Chris McDaniel received 49.6%. Sen. Cochran is the ranking Republican on the Senate Appropriations Committee and also holds seats on the Agriculture and Rules Committees.

Secretary of Defense Hagel announced this week that Robert Cardillo will be the next director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA). He will replace Letitia Long who is retiring later this year after four years at the helm of NGA. Cardillo is currently serving as the deputy director for national intelligence for intelligence integration, and previously served as the deputy director of the defense intelligence agency (DIA), the deputy director for analysis at DIA, and the director of analysis and production at NGA. Cardillo will formally succeed Long in October 2014.

Defense Secretary Hagel chose General Joseph Dunford, the commander of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, to be the next commandant of the Marine Corps. The nomination is subject to confirmation by the Senate. Dunford will replace Gen. James Amos, who is retiring. Amos has led the Marine Corps since October 2010. Dunford is an infantry officer, the branch the Marines traditionally tap for their commandants. He is a graduate of St. Michael’s College and holds a Master of Arts degree from Georgetown University. He was commissioned in the Marine Corps in 1977.

The President nominated Navy Rear Admiral Walter Carter Jr. for appointment to the rank of vice admiral and for assignment as superintendent of the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. Carter is currently serving as president of the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island.

Next Week

The House will consider the FY15 Transportation HUD spending bill. The Senate will begin consideration of S 2422, a bill to improve the access of veterans to medical services from the Department of Veterans Affairs. The Senate may also begin consideration of the Bank on Students Emergency Loan Refinancing Act (S 2432).