February 13, 2015

The House passed S1, the Keystone XL Pipeline Approval Act; HR 644, a bill to permanently extend and expand the charitable deduction for contributions of food inventory; and HR 636, a bill to permanently extend increased expensing limitations (“America’s Small Business Tax Relief Act”). S1 now goes to the President who is expected to veto the measure. The White House has also issued veto threats on the other two bills the House passed this week. The Senate cleared the nominations of Ash Carter to be Secretary of Defense and Michael Botticelli to be Director of the National Drug Control Policy, and passed S295, the Amy and Vicky Child Pornography Victim Restitution Improvement Act of 2015.

Authorization for Use of Military Force Against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)

The White House submitted its Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) against ISIL to Congress this week. The President’s AUMF authorizes the use of the United States Armed Forces against ISIL subject to limitations including terminating three years after the date of enactment unless reauthorized and not authorizing “enduring offensive ground combat operations.” The AUMF also calls for the repeal of the AUMF Against Iraq Resolution of 2002.

The AUMF can be found at:

https://www.vantagepointstrat.com/?p=349

FY15 DHS Appropriations

House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Nita Lowey (D-NY) and Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Lucy Roybal-Allard (D-CA) introduced a “clean” FY15 DHS appropriations bill (HR 861) this week that would fund the agency through the end of FY15. The bill does not include any of the immigration policy riders that were included in the bill passed by the House earlier this year and currently being considered by the Senate. Lowey and Roybal-Allard were unsuccessful in trying to bring up their bill during floor consideration of S1, the Keystone XL Pipeline Act using a procedure to defeat the previous question on the rule. House Republicans unanimously blocked the attempt by a vote of 242 to 183. While unsuccessful in the maneuver, Lowey and Roybal-Allard were seeking to put House lawmakers on the record on a “clean” Homeland Security spending bill for the first time.

A copy of the House Democrats’ bill can be found at:

https://www.congress.gov/114/bills/hr861/BILLS-114hr861ih.pdf

Meanwhile, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) remain in a standoff over the issue. Democrats in the Senate say they will not lift their filibuster unless McConnell moves a clean bill, so McConnell has called on Boehner and the House GOP to make the next move. But throughout the week, Boehner has maintained that the Senate must find a way to take up the House-passed bill.

Cybersecurity

Private Sector Cybersecurity Information Sharing Executive Order

The White House is hosting a cybersecurity summit at Stanford University today. At the event the President is signing an Executive Order (EO) that provides a framework to encourage and promote sharing of cybersecurity threat information within the private and between the private sector and government. Specifically, the EO:

• Encourages the development of information sharing and analysis organizations (ISAOs).
• Directs DHS to create a non-profit organization to develop a common set of voluntary standards for ISAOs.
• Streamlines the mechanism for DHS’ National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (NCCIC) to enter into information sharing agreements with ISAOs.
• Allows DHS to approve classified information sharing arrangements and ensures that information sharing entities can appropriately access classified cybersecurity threat information.
• Requires ISAOs to abide by a common set of voluntary standards that include privacy protections.

A copy of the President’s Cybersecurity Information Sharing Executive Order can be found at:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/02/13/executive-order-promoting-private-sector-cybersecurity-information-shari

Cyber Threat Intelligence Integration Center

Lisa Monaco, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism announced during a speech at the Wilson Center this week that the Administration is creating a new agency – the Cyber Threat Intelligence Integration Center. The new center will be tasked with coordinating digital/cyber intelligence from federal agencies such as the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency and distributing it more broadly with federal agencies so that they’re aware of cyber threats in as close to real time as possible. The CTIIC will be part of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), which is already responsible for coordinating intelligence from various agencies. Initial staff of about 50 people will be culled from across departments and agencies. The agency will be funded by an annual $35 million budget.

Link to Monaco’s speech:

http://www.wilsoncenter.org/event/cyber-threats-and-vulnerabilities-securing-americas-most-important-assets

Cybersecurity Legislation

Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE), Ranking Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee this week introduced S456, The Cyber Threat Sharing Act of 2015. The bill incorporates President Obama’s legislative proposal and would codify mechanisms for enabling cybersecurity threat indicator sharing between private and government entities, as well as among private entities. It was referred to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr (R-NC) indicated that his panel would seek to revive its information-sharing bill soon saying that it would be the committee’s bill not the President’s proposed bill.

GAO High Risk Report

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released its biennial High Risk List this week. The list is an exhaustive document highlighting government programs and activities that need careful oversight against waste, fraud, and abuse. Of the 30 areas on the 2013 list, 18 have at least partially met all of the criteria for removal, and of those, 11 met at least one of the criteria for removal and partially met all others. Sufficient progress was made to narrow the scope of two high-risk issues—Protecting Public Health through Enhanced Oversight of Medical Products and DOD Contract Management. On the other hand, GAO added two areas to the list this year: 1) Veterans Affairs Health Care and 2) IT Acquisitions and Operations. And they expanded two areas due to evolving high-risk issues: 1) Enforcement of Tax Laws and 2) Ensuring the Security of Federal Information Systems and Cyber Critical Infrastructure and Protecting the Privacy of Personally Identifiable Information.

A copy of the GAO report can be found at:

http://www.gao.gov/assets/670/668415.pdf

Political Updates

The Senate confirmed Ash Carter to replace Chuck Hagel as secretary of Defense by a vote of 93 to 5. The five Republicans voting against Carter were Sens. Mark Kirk (R-IL), Roy Blunt (R-MS), John Boozman (R-AR), Mike Crapo (R-ID), and Jim Risch (R-ID). Carter will be sworn in next Tuesday. He is expected to tap Eric Fanning to be his Chief of Staff and Maj. Gen. Ron Lewis to be his Senior Military Assistant. Fanning, a former journalist, is currently the Air Force Undersecretary. Lewis took over the Army’s public affairs office last June. He is a career Air Cavalry officer, who served tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.

USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah gave his last speech this week at AEI as he leaves his post on February 18.

Former Senate liaison Amy Pope will become the White House’s No. 2 adviser on homeland security, replacing outgoing deputy assistant Rand Beers. Pope has served over the last year as special assistant to the president and senior director for transborder security at the National Security Council. Pope worked previously as counsel to Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), and as a liaison between Senate leadership and the Senate Judiciary Committee. She has also been deputy chief of staff and counselor to the assistant attorney general for the Criminal Division at the Justice Department, as well as senior counsel to the assistant attorney general.

President Obama announced his intent to appoint Dr. Kathryn Brinsfield as DHS Assistant Secretary for Health Affairs and Chief Medical Officer. Brinsfield is the Associate Chief Medical Officer and Director for Workforce Health and Medical Support at DHS, a position she has held since 2009. Since 2013, she has also served as the Acting Assistant Secretary in the Office of Health Affairs and the Acting Chief Medical Officer at DHS.

The President also nominated Seth Carpenter to be an Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, Ann Elizabeth Dunkin to be an Assistant Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, Brodi Fontenot to be Chief Financial Officer at the Department of the Treasury, and Jane Toshiko Nishida to be an Assistant Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.

And finally, Philadelphia has been chosen as the site of the 2016 Democratic National Convention.

Next Week

The House and Senate are in recess next week and return the following week (Senate – February 23, House – February 24).

February 6, 2015

The House passed HR 596, a bill repealing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and health care-related provisions in the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010; HR 50, the Unfunded Mandates Information and Transparency Act of 2015; HR 527, the Small Business Regulatory Flexibility Improvements Act of 2015; HR 623, the Social Media Working Group Act; HR 615, the Department of Homeland Security Interoperable Communications Act; and HR 361, the Medical Preparedness Allowable Use Act. The Senate passed HR 203, the Clay Hunt SAV Act, which now goes to the President for his signature. The Senate tried and failed three times to invoke cloture on HR 240, the FY15 Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act.

President’s FY16 Budget Request

President Obama submitted his $3.999 trillion FY16 budget to Congress on Monday. This budget will be his last budget request where he will be in office for the full budget cycle. The budget reflects Democratic priorities on spending and taxes, and does away with the sequester replacing both defense and non-defense cuts by trimming mandatory and discretionary programs by $600 billion over 10 years, raising $638 billion in new tax revenues, and calling for an immigration reform plan to save $158 billion over 10 years. The post-sequester caps for FY16 are $493.491B for non-defense discretionary and $523.091B for defense. The President’s budget request would raise non-defense accounts by $37B to $530B and defense accounts by $38B to $561B. As expected, Congressional Republicans pushed back on the President’s proposal to increase taxes and said that they are eager to write their own 10-year balanced budget proposals over the next two months.

The White House Office of Management and Budget FY16 budget documentation can be found at:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/Overview

The federal agencies’ detailed budget documents can be found at:

Agriculture

http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?navid=BUDGET

Commerce

http://www.commerce.gov/news/fact-sheets/2015/02/02/fact-sheet-fy-2016-us-department-commerce-budget

Defense

http://comptroller.defense.gov/budgetmaterials/budget2016.aspx

Education

http://www2.ed.gov/about/overview/budget/budget16/index.html

Energy

http://energy.gov/cfo/downloads/fy-2016-budget-justification

Environmental Protection Agency

http://www2.epa.gov/planandbudget/fy2016

Health and Human Services

http://www.hhs.gov/budget/index.html#justifications

Homeland Security

http://www.dhs.gov/dhs-budget

Housing and Urban Development

http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/cfo/reports/fy16_CJ

Interior

http://www.doi.gov/budget/appropriations/2016/highlights/index.cfm

Justice

http://www.justice.gov/about/fy16-budget-and-performance

Labor

http://www.dol.gov/dol/budget/

NASA

http://www.nasa.gov/news/budget/index.html#.VNUdYynGDzI

National Science Foundation

http://www.nsf.gov/about/budget/fy2016/index.jsp

Small Business Administration

https://www.sba.gov/content/fiscal-year-2016-congressional-budget-justificationannual-performance-report

State

http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/236395.pdf

Transportation

http://www.dot.gov/mission/budget/fy2016-budget-estimates

Treasury

http://www.treasury.gov/about/budget-performance/Pages/cj-index.aspx

US Army Corps of Engineers

http://www.usace.army.mil/Missions/CivilWorks/Budget.aspx

Veteran Affairs

http://www.va.gov/budget/products.asp

FY15 DHS Appropriations

The Senate tried three times this week to invoke cloture on the $37.9 billion FY15 Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill, but was not successful in garnering the 60 aye votes needed to proceed to consideration of the bill. The Senate is expected to hold a fourth cloture vote next week. The votes this week were 51 to 48, 53 to 47, and 52 to 47 with Democrats and Independents united in opposition. Each time, Sen. Dean Heller (R-NV) was the only Republican to vote against cloture joining Democrats who opposed the measure because it contains provisions that would roll back President Obama’s immigration executive actions. Congress has only 10 workdays to complete action on the measure before the current continuing resolution (CR) funding the department runs out on Feb. 27. The House and Senate will not be in session the week of 2/16. It is unclear if Senate Republicans will look to the House to send over a new bill or put together its own proposal. In the meantime, a short-term funding bill (CR) may be needed to keep the agency running past Feb. 27.

2015 National Security Strategy

President Obama submitted to Congress today his 2015 National Security Strategy and National Security Advisor Susan Rice discussed the new strategy at a launch event at the Brookings Institution this afternoon.

While the Goldwater-Nichols Defense Department Reorganization Act of 1986 requires the president to submit a national security strategy to Congress each year, this is only the second national security strategy from President Obama. His last strategy was issued in 2010. The report is frequently submitted late or not at all. President George W. Bush only submitted two (2002 and 2006) during his two terms in office, President George H.W. Bush missed submitting it two years, and President Clinton had the best track record in recent years only missing submitting it in 1999.

National security strategies outline the president’s foreign policy vision and priorities and include not just defense goals, but also diplomacy, economics, and expressions of value. In this case, President Obama’s 2015 strategy includes combating climate change, reducing the threat of weapons of mass destruction, maintaining an active US presence in the international community, advancing an international trade agenda, and preventing, detecting, and rapidly responding to biological threats among other priorities and principles.

A copy of the 2015 National Security Strategy can be found at:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/2015_national_security_strategy.pdf

House Armed Services Committee Vice Chairs and Retreat

House Armed Services Committee (HASC) Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-TX) announced vice chairs for the committee’s six subcommittees. In announcing the vice chairs, Thornberry said that he wants to get more committee members, especially junior members, more deeply involved in national security issues. The vice chairs are as follows:

Seapower and Projection Forces – Duncan Hunter (R-CA)

Readiness – Elise Stefanik (R-NY)

Strategic Forces – Doug Lamborn (R-CO)

Emerging Threats and Capabilities – Trent Franks (R-AZ)

Military Personnel – Tom MacArthur (R-NJ)

Tactical Air and Land Forces – Paul Cook (R-CA)

Chairman Thornberry is also hosting a one-day retreat at the US Naval Academy on Tuesday, Feb. 10 for all (Democrat and Republican) HASC members. During the retreat, committee members will meet with top military officials and discuss trends in threats to US national security.

Political Updates

Rep. Alan Nunnelee (R-MS) died today from complications from brain cancer. Nunnelee was first elected to Congress in 2010, defeating one-term Democrat Rep. Travis Childers. Nunnelee had a seat on the House Appropriations Committee and was a member of the Republican Study Committee. He was 56.

There are three finalists for the position of Director of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). The current Director, Doug Elmendorf, will step down when his replacement is named by House and Senate Republican leaders. The position does not require Senate confirmation. The three finalists are economists Katherine Baicker, Keith Hall, and Harold Furchtgott-Roth. Baicker is an economist and health care policy expert serving on CBO’s panel of health advisors. Hall is the Chief Economist at the US International Trade Commission. And Furchtgott-Roth has his own consulting firm, Furchtgott-Roth Economic Enterprises.

President Obama announced his intent to appoint Tony Scott as US Chief Information Officer (CIO) and Administrator of the Office of Electronic Government at the Office of Management and Budget. Scott currently leads the global information technology group at VMware Inc., a position he has held since 2013. Prior to joining VMware Inc., he served as CIO at Microsoft and The Walt Disney Company.

Dan Pfeiffer, who has been with President Obama since his first presidential campaign, said that he is leaving the White House in early March. Pfeiffer, Senior Advisor to the President, is exploring options in the private sector. Communications Director Jennifer Palmieri is also leaving the White House to join the Hillary Clinton campaign. Palmieri’s departure date is still being finalized.

Next Week

The House will take up S 1, the Keystone XL Pipeline Approval Act; HR 644, a bill to permanently extend and expand the charitable deduction for contributions of food inventory; and HR 636, a bill to permanently extend increased expensing limitations (“America’s Small Business Tax Relief Act”). The Senate will consider the nomination of Michael Botticelli to be Director of the National Drug Control Policy. The Senate may also consider the nomination of Ash Carter for Secretary of Defense if the Senate Armed Services Committee reports his confirmation to the full body early in the week. The Senate could also take up S 405, the Bipartisan Sportsman’s Act or HR 596, a bill to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and health care-related provisions in the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010.

January 30, 2015

The House passed several measures aimed at preventing and prosecuting human trafficking as well as HR 351, the LNG Permitting Certainty and Transparency Act. The Senate passed S 1, the Keystone XL Pipeline Act by a 62 to 36 vote after voting on more than 40 amendments. The House passed a similar measure (HR 3) on January 9. President Obama has vowed to veto the bill, and any conference measure is unlikely to get the necessary 2/3 votes in both the House and Senate to override a veto.

House Republican February Agenda

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) sent a memo to House Republicans yesterday outlining their agenda for the month of February. The House will first take up a bill (HR 596) repealing Obamacare. While the House has passed repeal measures in the past, this attempt will include instructions for committees to craft a Republican alternative to Obamacare. The agenda also calls for making permanent tax breaks for charitable giving, preventing the Administration from “coercing states to adopt Common Core standards,” and a bill opposing any plan to tax 529 college savings accounts. And, if the Senate passes a FY15 DHS appropriations bill that is different from the one passed by the House in January, the House will conference with the Senate in February. The memo does not mention HR 399, the Secure Our Borders First Act or HR 36, the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. Both bills were scheduled for House floor consideration in January, but were pulled when it was clear that the GOP did not have the votes for passing them.

FY15 DHS Appropriations

The Senate is poised to consider the FY15 Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill next week, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) will be challenged in finding the 60 votes needed for moving the measure forward. Senate Democrats, hoping to force Republicans to strip out riders blocking President Obama’s immigration actions, have said that they will not vote for cloture on the bill.

Earlier this week, Senate Democrats signed and sent a letter to McConnell urging for passage of a clean FY15 DHS Appropriations bill. Sens. Shaheen (D-NH), ranking member of the Homeland Security Appropriations subcommittee, and Sen. Mikulski (D-MD), ranking member of the full committee, also introduced a clean bill to fund DHS through the end of FY15. S 272 is based on the House and Senate December 2014 DHS compromise.

Another obstacle to the House-passed DHS funding bill is that the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its score of the bill this week. CBO estimates that the immigration-related provisions in the House bill would add a net of $7.5 billion to the federal deficit over the next decade.

The current CR funding DHS expires on February 27.

A copy of the Senate Democrats’ letter can be found at:

http://www.shaheen.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/01.27.15%20DHS%20Funding%20Letter.pdf

And a copy of the Senate Democrats’ bill, S 272, can be found at:

http://www.shaheen.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/01.28.15%20DHS%20Bill.pdf

CBO Annual Budget and Economic Outlook

The Congressional Budget Office released its annual Budget and Economic Outlook this week. The outlook contains baseline projections based on current federal law for forecasting spending, tax revenues, the deficit and other economic factors associated with legislation and the federal budget. This latest outlook projects that the federal deficit will fall to $468B in FY2015 and $467B in FY2016 but rise to over $1T in FY2025. The reasons for the long-term deficit growth can be attributed to slowing economic growth and accelerating baby boomer retirements. The CBO’s last update was released in August. CBO Director Doug Elmendorf will testify before the House and Senate Budget Committees next week.

A copy of the CBO’s outlook can be found at:

http://www.cbo.gov/publication/49892

House Appropriations Deadlines

The House Appropriations subcommittee chairmen released their guidance letters to members of Congress this week. The letters included procedures for receiving members’ programmatic and language submissions for consideration in the FY16 appropriations process as well as the deadlines for each subcommittee.

Subcommittee	Deadline
Agriculture	March 23
Commerce Justice Science	March 25
Defense	March 25
Energy & Water	March 18
Financial Services	March 26
Homeland Security	March 26
Interior	March 23
Labor HHS	March 26
Legislative Branch	March 18
Military Construction/Veterans Affairs	March 18
State Foreign Operations	March 25
Transportation HUD	March 23

The subcommittee letters can be found at:

http://appropriations.house.gov/legislation/memberinstructions.htm

Cloud Computing

Cloud computing vendors seeking to sell cloud services to federal agencies currently must get security accreditation through GSA’s FedRAMP. To date, FedRAMP has offered accreditations up to the “moderate-impact” level, but demand for higher levels has grown as cloud computing has become an accepted norm. The General Services Administration (GSA) released draft security control standards for cloud systems supporting these higher levels or “high impact” uses. “High impact” uses are any systems necessary to support agency continuity of operations and systems that agencies have identified under their critical infrastructure plans.

The draft high baseline documents lay out a process for authorizing cloud service providers to host data that, if leaked or otherwise compromised, would have a significant impact, including personal harm, loss of life or financial ruin. Most of the information to be covered under the high baseline will be law enforcement data and patient health records, but will not cover classified information or data relevant to national security.

The draft security control standards will go through two rounds of public comment before becoming final. This draft will be open for comment for 45 days (ending 3/13/15) before a second draft is issued (summer 2015). The final version is expected before the end of 2015.

A copy of the draft can be found at:

http://cloud.cio.gov/document/fedramp-high-baseline

Committee Rosters

House Armed Services Committee

HASC Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-CA) and Ranking Member Adam Smith (D-WA) announced the final majority and minority members who will lead and serve on subcommittees for the 114th Congress.

EMERGING THREATS AND CAPABILITIES

Majority Members

Mr. Wilson, Chairman

Mr. Kline

Mr. Shuster

Mr. Hunter

Mr. Nugent

Mr. Zinke

Mr. Franks

Mr. Lamborn

Mr. Brooks

Mr. Byrne

Ms. Stefanik

Minority Members

Mr. Langevin, Ranking Member

Mr. Cooper

Mr. Garamendi

Mr. Castro

Mr. Veasey

Mr. Norcross

Mr. Ashford

Mr. Aguilar

MILITARY PERSONNEL

Majority Members

Dr. Heck, Chairman

Mr. Jones

Mr. Kline

Mr. Coffman

Mr. MacArthur

Ms. Stefanik

Mr. Cook

Mr. Knight

Minority Members

Mrs. Davis, Ranking Member

Mr. Brady

Ms. Tsongas

Ms. Speier

Mr. Walz

Mr. O’Rourke

OVERSIGHT AND INVESTIGATIONS

Majority Members

Mrs. Hartzler, Chairwoman

Mr. Miller

Mr. Conaway

Dr. Heck

Mr. Scott

Ms. McSally

Minority Members

Ms. Speier, Ranking Member

Mr. Cooper

Mr. Johnson

Ms. Graham

READINESS

Majority Members

Mr. Wittman, Chairman

Mr. Bishop

Mrs. Hartzler

Mr. Scott

Ms. Stefanik

Mr. LoBiondo

Mr. Rogers

Mr. Gibson

Mr. Palazzo

Mr. Nugent

Dr. Wenstrup

Mr. Graves

Minority Members

Ms. Bordallo, Ranking Member

Mrs. Davis

Mr. Courtney

Mr. Castro

Ms. Duckworth

Mr. Peters

Ms. Gabbard

Mr. O’Rourke

Mr. Gallego

SEAPOWER AND PROJECTION FORCES

Majority Members

Mr. Forbes, Chairman

Mr. Conaway

Mr. Palazzo

Mr. Byrne

Mr. Wittman

Mr. Hunter

Mrs. Hartzler

Mr. Cook

Mr. Bridenstine

Mrs. Walorski

Mr. Zinke

Mr. Knight

Minority Members

Mr. Courtney, Ranking Member

Mr. Langevin

Mr. Larsen

Ms. Bordallo

Mr. Johnson

Mr. Peters

Ms. Gabbard

Ms. Graham

Mr. Moulton

STRATEGIC FORCES

Majority Members

Mr. Rogers, Chairman

Mr. Franks

Mr. Lamborn

Mr. Coffman

Mr. Brooks

Mr. Bridenstine

Mr. Forbes

Mr. Bishop

Mr. Turner

Dr. Fleming

Minority Members

Mr. Cooper, Ranking Member

Ms. Sanchez

Mr. Larsen

Mr. Garamendi

Mr. Takai

Mr. Ashford

Mr. Aguilar

TACTICAL AIR AND LAND FORCES

Majority Members

Mr. Turner, Chairman

Mr. LoBiondo

Dr. Fleming

Mr. Gibson

Mr. Cook

Dr. Wenstrup

Mrs. Walorski

Mr. Graves

Ms. McSally

Mr. Knight

Mr. MacArthur

Mr. Jones

Mr. Wilson

Minority Members

Ms. Sanchez, Ranking Member

Ms. Tsongas

Mr. Johnson

Ms. Duckworth

Mr. Veasey

Mr. Walz

Mr. Norcross

Mr. Gallego

Mr. Takai

Ms. Graham

Mr. Moulton

House Intelligence Committee

The Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence adopted a new subcommittee structure and named its subcommittee chairmen, ranking members, and members this week. Chairman Devin Nunes (R-CA) said that the new subcommittee structure is “designed to enhance oversight of the relevant agencies and departments.” The committee will comprise the following four subcommittees:

CIA Subcommittee

LoBiondo (Chairman), Conaway, King, Westmoreland, Rooney, Pompeo

Swalwell (Ranking Member), Gutierrez, Himes, Carson

Jurisdiction: Central Intelligence Agency programs and Central Intelligence Agency Retirement Fund

Department of Defense Intelligence and Overhead Architecture Subcommittee


Heck (Chairman), Miller, Ros-Lehtinen, Turner, Wenstrup, Stewart

Sewell (Ranking Member), Gutierrez, Swalwell, Murphy

Jurisdiction: National Reconnaissance Program (NRP), the National Geospatial-Intelligence Program (NGP), the General Defense Intelligence Program (Defense Intelligence Agency), and Department of Defense activities that are funded through the Military Intelligence Program (MIP)

Emerging Threats Subcommittee


Rooney (Chairman), LoBiondo, Heck, Turner, Wenstrup, Stewart

Quigley (Ranking Member), Sewell, Carson, Speier

Jurisdiction: Office of the Director of National Intelligence, including the National Counterterrorism Center, the National Counterproliferation Center and the National Counterintelligence and Security Center; the national security components of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Intelligence Community-wide integration and information sharing programs; and the intelligence elements of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Departments of State (DOS), Homeland Security (DHS), Energy (DOE), and Treasury (DOT).

NSA and Cybersecurity Subcommittee

Westmoreland (Chairman), Miller, Conaway, King, Pompeo, Ros-Lehtinen

Himes (Ranking Member), Speier, Quigley, Murphy

Jurisdiction: National Security Agency programs, including cybersecurity policy and information sharing; and the Department of Defense Information Systems Security Program.

Senate Appropriations Subcommittees

Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Thad Cochran (R-MS) and Vice Chairwoman Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) announced members for the 12 subcommittees that make up the Senate Committee on Appropriations.

Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies

Majority

Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), chairman

Roy Blunt (R-Mo.)

Thad Cochran (R-Miss.)

Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.)

Susan Collins (R-Maine)

John Hoeven (R-N.D.)

Steve Daines (R-Mont.)

Minority

Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), ranking member

Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.)

John Tester (D-Mont.)

Tom Udall (D-N.M.)

Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.)

Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.)

Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies

Majority

Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), chairman

Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.)

Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska)

Susan Collins (R-Maine)

Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.)

Mark Kirk (R-Ill.)

John Boozman (R-Ark.)

Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.)

James Lankford (R-Okla.)

Minority

Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), ranking member

Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.)

Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.)

Jack Reed (D-R.I.)

Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.)

Chris Coons (D-Del.)

Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.)

Chris Murphy (D-Conn.)

Defense

Majority

Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), chairman

Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.)

Richard Shelby (R-Ala.)

Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.)

Susan Collins (R-Maine)

Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska)

Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.)

Roy Blunt (R-Mo.)

Steve Daines (R-Mont.)

Jerry Moran (R-Kan.)

Minority

Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), vice chairman

Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.)

Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.)

Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.)

Patty Murray (D-Wash.)

Jack Reed (D-R.I.)

Jon Tester (D-Mont.)

Tom Udall (D-N.M.)

Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii)

Energy and Water Development

Majority

Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), chairman

Thad Cochran (R-Miss.)

Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.)

Richard Shelby (R-Ala.)

Susan Collins (R-Maine)

Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska)

Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.)

John Hoeven (R-N.D.)

James Lankford (R-Okla.)

Minority

Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), ranking member

Patty Murray (D-Wash.)

Jon Tester (D-Mont.)

Richard Durbin (D-Ill.)

Tom Udall (D-N.M.)

Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.)

Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.)

Chris Coons (D-Del.)

Financial Services and General Government

Majority

John Boozman (R-Ark.), chairman

Jerry Moran (R-Kan.)

James Lankford (R-Okla.)

Minority

Chris Coons (D-Del.), ranking member

Richard Durbin (D-Ill.)

Department of Homeland Security

Majority

John Hoeven (R-N.D.), chairman

Thad Cochran (R-Miss.)

Richard Shelby (R-Ala.)

Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska)

Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.)

Bill Cassidy (R-La.)

Minority

Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), ranking member

Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.)

Patty Murray (D-Wash.)

Jon Tester (D-Mont.)

Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.)

Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies

Majority

Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), chairman

Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.)

Thad Cochran (R-Miss.)

Roy Blunt (R-Mo.)

John Hoeven (R-N.D.)

Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.)

Steve Daines (R-Mont.)

Bill Cassidy (R-La.)

Minority

Tom Udall (D-N.M.), ranking member

Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.)

Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.)

Jack Reed (D-R.I.)

Jon Tester (D-Mont.)

Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.)

Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies

Majority

Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), chairman

Jerry Moran (R-Kan.)

Richard Shelby (R-Ala.)

Thad Cochran (R-Miss.)

Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.)

Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.)

Mark Kirk (R-Ill.)

Bill Cassidy (R-La.)

Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.)

James Lankford (R-Okla.)

Minority

Patty Murray (D-Wash.), ranking member

Richard Durbin (D-Ill.)

Jack Reed (D-R.I.)

Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.)

Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.)

Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.)

Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii)

Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.)

Legislative Branch

Majority

Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), chairman

Mark Kirk (R-Ill.)

Jerry Moran (R-Kan.)

Minority

Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), ranking member

Chris Murphy (D-Conn.)

Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies

Majority

Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), chairman

Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.)

Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska)

John Hoeven (R-N.D.)

Susan Collins (R-Maine)

John Boozman (R-Ark.)

Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.)

Bill Cassidy (R-La.)

Minority

Jon Tester (D-Mont.), ranking member

Patty Murray (D-Wash.)

Jack Reed (D-R.I.)

Tom Udall (D-N.M.)

Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii)

Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.)

Chris Murphy (D-Conn.)

State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs

Majority

Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), chairman

Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.)

Mark Kirk (R-Ill.)

Roy Blunt (R-Mo.)

John Boozman (R-Ark.)

Jerry Moran (R-Kan.)

James Lankford (R-Okla.)

Steve Daines (R-Mont.)

Minority

Patrick Leahy (R-Vt.), ranking member

Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.)

Richard Durbin (D-Ill.)

Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.)

Chris Coons (D-Del.)

Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.)

Chris Murphy (D-Conn.)

Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies

Majority

Susan Collins (R-Maine), chairman

Richard Shelby (R-Ala.)

Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.)

Mark Kirk (R-Ill.)

Roy Blunt (R-Mo.)

John Boozman (R-Ark.)

Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.)

Bill Cassidy (R-La.)

Steve Daines (R-Mont.)

Minority

Jack Reed (D-R.I.), ranking member

Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.)

Patty Murray (D-Wash.)

Richard Durbin (D-Ill.)

Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.)

Chris Coons (D-Del.)

Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii)

Chris Murphy (D-Conn.)

Appropriations Committee Chairman Cochran and Vice Chairwoman Mikulski are also ex-officio members of each subcommittee of which they are not regular members.

Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Ron Johnson (R-WI) and Ranking Member Tom Carper (D-DE) announced subcommittee members for its three subcommittees for the 114th Congress. Johnson and Carper are ex-officio members of every subcommittee.

Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI)

Majority Members

Rob Portman (R-OH), Chairman

John McCain (R-AZ)

Rand Paul (R-KY)

James Lankford (R-OK)

Kelly Ayotte (R-NH)

Ben Sasse (R-NE)

Minority Members

Claire McCaskill (D-MO), Ranking Member

Jon Tester (D-MT)

Tammy Baldwin (D-WI)

Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND)

Subcommittee on Federal Spending Oversight and Emergency Management (FSO)

Majority Members

Rand Paul (R-KY), Chairman

James Lankford (R-OK)

Michael B. Enzi (R-WY)

Kelly Ayotte (R-NH)

Joni Ernst (R-IA)

Ben Sasse (R-NE)

Minority Members

Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Ranking Member

Claire McCaskill (D-MO)

Cory A. Booker (D-NJ)

Gary C. Peters (D-MI)

Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs and Federal Management (RAFM)

Majority Members

James Lankford (R-OK), Chairman

John McCain (R-AZ)

Rob Portman (R-OH)

Michael B. Enzi (R-WY)

Joni Ernst (R-IA)

Ben Sasse (R-NE)

Minority Members

Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), Ranking Member

Jon Tester (D-MT)

Cory A. Booker (D-NJ)

Gary C. Peters (D-MI)

Political Updates

House Conservatives formed a new caucus focused on “limited, constitutional government in Congress.” The House Freedom Caucus has nine members to start and it isn’t clear how it will distinguish itself from the Republican Study Committee who has over 170 members. Original members of the group include Reps. Scott Garrett (R-NJ), Jim Jordan (R-OH), John Fleming (R-LA), Matt Salmon (R-AZ), Justin Amash (R-MI), Raul Labrador (R-ID), Mick Mulvaney (R-SC), Ron DeSantis (R-FL), and Mark Meadows (R-NC).

NSA Director and Commander of the US Cyber Command Michael Rogers appointed Jonathan Freed as the agency’s new Associate Director for Strategic Communications. Freed is a longtime public relations professional and former journalist. He most recently served as a media relations and public affairs executive at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

The President nominated Stuart Delery to be Associate Attorney General at the Department of Justice and Albert Meiburg to be Deputy Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.

Next Week

The House will take up HR 596, a bill repealing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and health care-related provisions in the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010; HR 50, the Unfunded Mandates Information and Transparency Act of 2015; and HR 527, the Small Business Regulatory Flexibility Improvements Act of 2015. The Senate will take up HR 203, the Clay Hunt SAV Act and HR 240, the FY15 DHS Appropriations Act. And the President releases his FY16 budget request on Monday at 11:30 am.

January 23, 2015

The House passed HR 161, the Natural Gas Pipeline Permitting Reform Act, a bill that requires the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to approve or deny natural gas pipeline projects within 12 months after receiving a complete application. The House also passed HR 7, a bill making the Hyde amendment permanent. The Hyde amendment prohibits taxpayer-funded abortions. The House took up HR 7 after facing opposition from their own party and putting aside debate on a bill banning abortions after 20 weeks (HR 36, the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act). House Republicans wanted to pass some form of abortion legislation to coincide with March for Life Day. The Senate resumed consideration of S 1, the Keystone XL Pipeline Act and voted on several amendments, but not final passage. One accepted amendment offered by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) expressed the sense of the Senate that climate change is real and not a hoax. And President Obama delivered his annual State of the Union address on Tuesday evening.

Border Security

The House Homeland Security Committee met this week and marked up HR 399, the Secure Our Borders First Act. The bill mandates operational control of the Northern and Southern borders within five years, and imposes harsh penalties on political appointees at the Department of Homeland Security if they fail to meet those requirements. The bill also calls for new fencing and infrastructure, requires deployment of specific technological capabilities at various sectors on the Northern and Southern borders, allows for the use of Department of Defense (DoD) excess wartime equipment, authorizes the use of DoD aviation assets to assist the Border Patrol, allows Border Patrol to access federal lands on the border, doubles the authorization for Operation Stonegarden, and requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to implement a biometric exit at all of our nation’s air, land, and sea ports of entry within five years.

The bill was introduced last Friday and passed out of committee this Wednesday by a vote of 18 to 12. Democrats on the committee accused GOP leaders of drafting the proposal without any minority representation and used a number of procedural motions that slowed the markup process. HR 399 is expected to be considered on the House floor next week. House Republicans have not said how this bill fits into their broader immigration reform strategy. A companion bill was introduced in the Senate this week by Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX), Ron Johnson (R-WI), and Jeff Flake (R-AZ). Johnson is Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

A copy of HR 399 can be found at:

http://homeland.house.gov/sites/homeland.house.gov/files/documents/pdf/HR-399-ANS_xml.pdf

And a copy of the Senate bill can be found at:

http://www.ronjohnson.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/ea4d2b75-55e2-41bb-8020-88ce20a0ff00/johnson-border-security-bill.pdf

House Appropriations Committee

House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Nita Lowey (D-NY) announced the ranking members and democratic membership of the committee’s 12 subcommittees. Under Committee Rules, Lowey, as the Ranking Minority Member of the Full Committee, is authorized to sit as a member of all Subcommittees. The subcommittee assignments are as follows:

Agriculture:

Rep. Sam Farr (D-CA), Ranking Member

Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT)

Rep. Sanford Bishop (D-GA)

Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-ME)

Commerce, Justice, Science:

Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-PA), Ranking Member

Rep. Mike Honda (D-CA)

Rep. José Serrano (D-NY)

Rep. Derek Kilmer (D-WA)

Defense:

Rep. Peter J. Visclosky (D-IN), Ranking Member

Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN)

Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY)

Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH)

Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD)

Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH)

Energy & Water Development:

Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), Ranking Member

Rep. Peter J. Visclosky (D-IN)

Rep. Mike Honda (D-CA)

Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA)

Financial Services & General Government:

Rep. José Serrano (D-NY), Ranking Member

Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL)

Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-PA)

Rep. Sanford Bishop (D-GA)

Homeland Security:

Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA), Ranking Member

Rep. David Price (D-NC)

Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX)

Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH)

Interior & Environment:

Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN), Ranking Member

Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-ME)

Rep. Derek Kilmer (D-WA)

Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY)

Labor, HHS, Education:

Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Ranking Member

Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA)

Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA)

Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-PA)

Legislative Branch:

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Ranking Member

Rep. Sam Farr (D-CA)

Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN)

Military Construction, Veterans Affairs:

Rep. Sanford Bishop, (D-GA), Ranking Member

Rep. Sam Farr (D-CA)

Rep. David Price (D-NC)

Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA)

State and Foreign Operations:

Rep. Nita Lowey, Ranking Member

Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA)

Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD)

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL)

Rep. José Serrano (D-NY)

Transportation, Housing and Urban Development:

Rep. David Price (D-NC), Ranking Member

Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL)

Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH)

Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX)

Political Updates

Brian Deese will take over for Tony Podesta when he leaves the administration in February. Deese is currently the Deputy OMB Director. Deese’s portfolio will concentrate on the president’s energy policy and climate change initiatives. And Alex Platkin, White House Deputy Research Director, will become Director with the departure of Ben Holzer. Kristen Bartoloni will become the Deputy Research Director.

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee approved the nomination of Russell Deyo to be Undersecretary for Management at the Department of Homeland Security and Earl Gay to be Deputy Director of the Office of Personnel Management.

Ashton Carter will appear before the Senate Armed Services Committee about his nomination for Secretary of Defense on Feb. 4.

President Obama announced his intention to nominate Stan Meiburg as deputy administrator of the EPA. Meiburg is currently serving in that post in an acting capacity. Previously, he served as Deputy Regional Administrator for EPA Regions 4 and 6 and has held several other positions within EPA where he started his career in 1977.

Next Week

The House will consider HR 351, the LNG Permitting Certainty and Transparency Act and HR 399, the Secure Our Borders First Act. The Senate will resume consideration of S 1, the Keystone XL Pipeline Act.

January 16, 2015

The House passed HR 203, the Clay Hunt SAV Act; HR 33, the Protecting Volunteer Firefighters and Emergency Responders Act; HR 185, the Regulatory and Accountability Act of 2015; HR 37, the Promoting Job Creation and Reducing Small Business Burdens Act; and HR 240, the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act. The Senate began consideration of S1, the Keystone XL Pipeline Act, and invoked cloture by a vote of 63 to 32. The bill is open to amendment, and, as of today, more than 60 amendments were filed.

White House Announcement on Cybersecurity and Data Breach Notification

Cybersecurity Proposal

President Obama announced a new cybersecurity legislative proposal this week. His bill would enable cybersecurity information sharing between the private sector and the Department of Homeland Security’s National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (NCCIC), which will then share it in as close to real-time as practicable with other relevant federal agencies. The legislation also encourages the formation of private-sector led Information Sharing and Analysis Organizations. The proposal also enhances collaboration and information sharing amongst the private sector.

Legislative Proposal:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/legislative/letters/updated-information-sharing-legislative-proposal.pdf

Section-by-Section Analysis:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/legislative/letters/information-sharing-legislation-section-by-section.pdf

Law Enforcement Proposals

The Administration’s proposal contains provisions that would allow for the prosecution of the sale of botnets, criminalize the overseas sale of stolen US financial information like credit card and bank account numbers, expand federal law enforcement authority to deter the sale of spyware used to stalk or commit ID theft, and give courts the authority to shut down botnets engaged in distributed denial of service attacks and other criminal activity. It also proposes updates to the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) so that it applies to cybercrimes, clarifies the penalties for computer crimes, and makes sure these penalties are in line with other similar non-cyber crimes.  Finally, the proposal modernizes the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act by ensuring that insignificant conduct does not fall within the scope of the statute, while making clear that it can be used to prosecute insiders who abuse their ability to access information to use it for their own purposes.

Legislative Proposal:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/legislative/letters/updated-law-enforcement-tools.pdf

Section-by-Section Analysis:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/legislative/letters/updated-law-enforcement-tools-section-by-section.pdf

Data Breach Notification Proposal

The Administration also updated its proposal on security breach reporting standardizing the existing patchwork of 46 state laws (plus the District of Columbia and several territories) that contain these requirements into one federal statute.

Legislative Proposal:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/legislative/letters/updated-data-breach-notification.pdf

Section-by-Section Analysis:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/legislative/letters/updated-data-breach-notification-section-by-section.pdf

Cybersecurity and Consumer Protection Summit

The White House announced that it would host a summit on cybersecurity and consumer protection on February 13, 2015 at Stanford University. The summit will bring together major stakeholders on cybersecurity and consumer financial protection issues – including senior leaders from the White House and across the federal government; CEOs from a wide range of industries including the financial services industry, technology and communications companies; computer security companies and the retail industry; as well as law enforcement officials, consumer advocates, technical experts, and students. Topics at the Summit will include increasing public-private partnerships and cybersecurity information sharing, creating and promoting improved cybersecurity practices and technologies, and improving adoption and use of more secure payment technologies.

Cybersecurity Education Consortium

Vice President Biden and Department of Energy Secretary Ernie Moniz announced on Thursday that the Department of Energy will provide $25 million in grants over the next five years to support a cybersecurity education consortium consisting of 13 HBCUs and two national labs. The program is intended to help to fill the growing demand for skilled cybersecurity professionals in the US job market. The full list of participating consortium members are:

Virginia

Norfolk State University (lead)

Georgia

Clark Atlanta University

Paine College

Maryland

Bowie State University

North Carolina

North Carolina A&T State University

South Carolina

Allen University

Benedict College

Claflin University

Denmark Technical College

Morris College

South Carolina State University

Voorhees College

Charleston County School District

US Virgin Islands

University of the Virgin Islands

California

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

New Mexico

Sandia National Laboratories

Homeland Security Appropriations

The House passed the $39.7B Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill this week by a vote of 236 to 191. Five amendments aimed at blocking the President’s immigration executive order were agreed to during consideration of the bill on the House floor. Text of the amendments can be found at:

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/L?d114:./temp/~bdaxDQA:1[1-5](Amendments_For_H.R.240)&./temp/~bdL4Ys

The inclusion of these amendments containing partisan immigration policy provisions drew a veto threat from the President even though he was supportive of the underlying bill. The Senate is also unlikely to back all of these immigration policy provisions and may not have the 60 votes needed to advance the measure. In addition, the Senate may not take up the measure until the first week of February as they plan to resume consideration of the Keystone XL Pipeline Act next week. The current funding agreement for DHS expires on February 27, 2015 providing five more weeks (both are in recess the week of President’s Day) when the House and Senate are in session before a potential shutdown of DHS. Given the tight timeframe, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) has not ruled out the possibility of passing a “clean” DHS spending bill without the immigration amendments.

House FY15 DHS Appropriations Bill Text:

http://docs.house.gov/billsthisweek/20150112/BILLS-114-HR240-IH.pdf

House FY15 DHS Appropriations Explanatory Statement:

http://docs.house.gov/billsthisweek/20150112/114-HR240-ES.pdf

House Armed Services Committee Organization Meeting

The House Armed Services Committee (HASC) met this week to organize for the 114^th Congress. HASC Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-CA) offered four committee resolutions that were adopted by the committee during the meeting. One resolution shifted oversight of the military intelligence program to the full committee from the Emerging Threats and Capabilities subcommittee. Chairman Thornberry said that he wants to increase exposure of all committee members to the intelligence community. Thornberry chaired the Emerging Threats and Capabilities subcommittee during the 113^th Congress, and has served on the House Intelligence Committee.

Links to the adopted committee resolutions can be found at:

http://armedservices.house.gov/index.cfm/hearings-display?ContentRecord_id=1430C0E8-390F-4E61-828B-B59035A7E5E5

House and Senate Committee Assignments

House Appropriations GOP Subcommittee Assignments

House Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers (R-KY) announced Republican appropriators subcommittee seats this week, assigning more senior members to the more powerful spending panels. The complete subcommittee roster can be found at:

http://appropriations.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=393934

House Homeland Security Committee (Democrats)

The Ranking Member of the House Homeland Security Committee, Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), announced the subcommittee Ranking Members and the new Democratic membership of the Committee for the 114th Congress.

Subcommittee Ranking Members:

Border and Maritime Security – Rep. Filemon Vela (D-TX)

Counterterrorism and Intelligence – Rep. Brian Higgins (D-NY)

Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection & Security Technologies – Rep. Cedric L. Richmond (D-LA)

Emergency Preparedness, Response & Communications – Rep. Donald M. Payne, Jr. (D-NJ)

Oversight and Management Efficiency – Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ)

Transportation Security – Rep. Kathleen Rice (D-NY)

Homeland Security Committee Democratic Members (12):

Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS)

Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-CA)

Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX)

Rep. James R. Langevin(D-RI)

Rep. Brian Higgins (D-NY)

Rep. Cedric L. Richmond (D-LA)

Rep. William R. Keating (D-MA)

Rep. Donald M. Payne, Jr. (D-NJ)

Rep. Filemon Vela (D-TX)

Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ)

Rep. Kathleen Rice (D-NY)

Rep. Norma J. Torres (D-CA)

House Intelligence Committee

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) announced the appointment of members of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

Republicans

Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA), Chairman

Rep. Jeff Miller (R-FL)

Rep. Mike Conaway (R-TX)

Rep. Peter King (R-NY)

Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ)

Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R-GA)

Rep. Tom Rooney (R-FL)

Rep. Joe Heck (R-NV)

Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-KS)

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL)

Rep. Michael Turner (R-OH)

Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-OH)

Rep. Chris Stewart (R-UT)

Democrats

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), Ranking Member

Rep. Luis Gutiérrez (D-IL)

Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT)

Rep. Terri Sewell (D-AL)

Rep. André Carson (D-IN)

Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA)

Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL)

Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA)

Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-FL)

Senate Appropriations Committee

Agriculture Subcommittee

Chairman: Jerry Moran (R-KS)

Ranking Member: Jeff Merkley (D-OR)

Commerce, Justice, Science Subcommittee

Chairman: Richard Shelby (R-AL)

Ranking Member: Barbara Mikulski (D-MD)

Defense Subcommittee

Chairman: Thad Cochran (R-MS)

Ranking Member: Richard Durbin (D-IL)

Energy and Water Subcommittee

Chairman: Lamar Alexander (R-TN)

Ranking Member: Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)

Financial Services Subcommittee

Chairman: John Boozman (R-AR)

Ranking Member: Christopher Coons (D-DE)

Homeland Security Subcommittee

Chairman: John Hoeven (R-ND)

Ranking Member: Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH)

Interior Subcommittee

Chairman: Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)

Ranking Member: Tom Udall (D-NM)

Labor HHS Subcommittee

Chairman: Roy Blunt (R-MO)

Ranking Member: Patty Murray (D-WA)

Legislative Branch Subcommittee

Chairman: Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV)

Ranking Member: Brian Schatz

Military Construction Subcommittee

Chairman: Mark Kirk (R-IL)

Ranking Member: Jon Tester (D-MT)

State Foreign Operations Subcommittee

Chairman: Lindsey Graham (R-SC)

Ranking Member: Patrick Leahy (D-VT)

Transportation HUD Subcommittee

Chairman: Susan Collins (R-ME)

Ranking Member: Jack Reed (D-RI)

Senate Armed Services Committee

Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) Chairman John McCain (R-AZ) named the subcommittee leadership for the committee.

Airland Subcommittee

Chairman: Tom Cotton (R-AR)

Ranking Member: Joe Manchin (D-WV)

Emerging Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee (now including cybersecurity)

Chairman: Deb Fischer (R-NE)

Ranking Member: Bill Nelson (D-FL)

Personnel Subcommittee

Chairman: Lindsey Graham (R-SC)

Ranking Member: Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)

Readiness and Management Support Subcommittee

Chairman: Kelly Ayotte (R-NH)

Ranking Member: Tim Kaine (D-VA)

Seapower Subcommittee

Chairman: Roger Wicker (R-MS)

Ranking Member: Mazie Hirono (D-HI)

Strategic Forces Subcommittee

Chairman: Jeff Sessions (R-AL)

Ranking Member: Joe Donnelly (D-IN)

Political Updates

Marilyn Tavenner, the administrator of the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, announced today that she is resigning effective the end of February. Tavenner oversaw the rollout of the Affordable Care Act and the federal health insurance marketplace. She joined the administration in February 2010.

Antonio Weiss took himself out of contention to become the Treasury Department’s Undersecretary of Domestic Finance this week asking President Obama to not renominate him for consideration in the new 114^th Congress. Weiss’ nomination had drawn criticism from a number of progressive members of Congress including Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) who thought that Weiss did not have enough regulatory experience. Warren was also concerned that the head of investment banking for Lazard would be too deferential to the finance industry. Instead, Weiss will serve as a counselor to Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, a position that does not require Senate confirmation.

Newly elected Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) will deliver the Republican response to President Obama’s State of the Union address on Tuesday evening.

The President nominated Alissa Starzak to be General Counsel of the Department of the Army replacing Brad Carson who resigned.

The Republican National Committee set its 2016 convention dates this week. The convention will be held in Cleveland, OH from July 18 to July 21, 2016. These dates are more than a month earlier than the convention that was held in 2012.

Next Week

The House will take up HR 36, the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act and HR 161, the Natural Gas Pipeline Permitting Reform Act. The Senate will resume consideration of S1, the Keystone XL Pipeline Act.

January 9, 2015

The House and Senate convened and gaveled in the 114^th Congress this week, adopting new rules packages and swearing in newly elected members. The President returned from his Hawaiian holiday, but quickly hit the road to preview his State of the Union themes. First up in the House was HR 22, the Hire More Heroes Act of 2015, a bill exempting veterans and reservists from being counted as full-time employees under Obamacare. The bill passed under suspension of the rules. The House also passed HR 30, the Save American Workers Act; HR 3, the Keystone XL Pipeline Act (but fell short of a veto override); HR 37, the Promoting Job Creation and Reducing Small Business Burdens Act; HR 23, the National Windstorm Impact Reduction Act Reauthorization; and HR 26, the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act. The Senate also passed HR 26, which now goes to the President for his signature, and began consideration of S1, the Keystone XL Pipeline Act. And the Office of Management and Budget announced this week that the White House will release its fiscal year 2016 budget on Monday, February 2, meeting the mandated deadline for the first time in five years.

Leadership Elections

Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) was re-elected speaker of the House this week, overcoming an effort by House conservatives to oust him as speaker. Boehner garnered a total of 216 votes out of 408 cast. The 25 Republicans not voting for Boehner either voted present or voted for other candidates. Two members of the Senate received one vote each for speaker, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) and Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), as did retired four-star general and former Secretary of State Colin Powell. A number of House Democrats from New York missed the vote as they attended the funeral of former NY Governor Mario Cuomo on Tuesday.

In the Senate, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) was sworn in as the Senate President Pro Tempore this week making him third in line to the Presidency after the Vice President and the Speaker of the House. Since 1890, the most senior senator in the majority party has generally been chosen to be the President Pro Tempore.

Senate Committee Assignments

The Senate approved organizing resolutions this week affirming 114th Congress committee assignments for the majority and minority.

Majority Committee Assignments:

https://www.vantagepointstrat.com/?p=330 

Minority Committee Assignments:

https://www.vantagepointstrat.com/?p=329

FY15 Homeland Security Appropriations

Eleven of the 12 FY2015 appropriations bills were included in the FY15 omnibus appropriations measure, which was signed into law on December 16 and became Public Law No. 113-235. The Department of Homeland Security was the only federal agency that didn’t get a full appropriations measure as part of this omnibus spending deal. DHS was funded through February 27, 2015 in the omnibus bill allowing Republicans more time to craft a response to President Obama’s immigration executive order. House Republicans released a $39.7B spending bill this afternoon that they are planning on considering on the House floor next week. The House Rules Committee will consider the bill on Monday, and it is expected that a few amendments will be made in order to be offered on the House Floor.

House FY15 DHS Appropriations Bill Text:

http://docs.house.gov/billsthisweek/20150112/BILLS-114-HR240-IH.pdf

House FY15 DHS Appropriations Explanatory Statement:

http://docs.house.gov/billsthisweek/20150112/114-HR240-ES.pdf

2015 Key Dates

Now that the new Congress has convened, here are some key dates to keep in mind for 2015:

Jan 20            State of the Union Address

Feb 2              President’s FY16 budget request due to Congress

Feb 27           FY15 DHS appropriations continuing resolution expires

March 15       Debt ceiling suspension expires, Treasury can use extraordinary measures to buy more time

March 31       “Doc Fix” expires

April 15          Budget resolution deadline for Congress (no penalty if missed)

May 31           Surface Transportation authorization expires

June 1            USA Patriot Act provisions expire

June 30         Export Import Bank charter expires

October 1      Fiscal Year 2016 begins

Senate Appropriations Ranking Members

Senate Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) announced the subcommittee ranking members this week.

Agriculture

Ranking Member: Jeff Merkley (D-OR)

Commerce, Justice, Science

Ranking Member: Barbara Mikulski (D-MD)

Defense

Ranking Member: Richard Durbin (D-IL)

Energy and Water

Ranking Member: Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)

Financial Services

Ranking Member: Christopher Coons (D-DE)

Homeland Security

Ranking Member: Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH)

Interior

Ranking Member: Tom Udall (D-NM)

Labor HHS

Ranking Member: Patty Murray (D-WA)

Legislative Branch

Ranking Member: Brian Schatz

Military Construction

Ranking Member: Jon Tester (D-MT)

State Foreign Operations

Ranking Member: Patrick Leahy (D-VT)

Transportation HUD

Ranking Member: Jack Reed (D-RI)

As for the subcommittee chairmen, the ranking Republican appropriators for the subcommittees in the last Congress are now expected to claim the gavels. But a few subcommittee chairmanships are up for grabs as members have either retired or departed the committee.

Senate Armed Services Committee Leadership

The Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) released its list of subcommittee chairmen and ranking members this week. While SASC Chairman John McCain (R-AZ) had considered adding a new subcommittee for cybersecurity, he instead opted to add the cybersecurity portfolio to the Emerging Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee as the panel is restricted to six subcommittees by Senate rules. The new subcommittee chairmen and ranking members are as follows:

Airland Subcommittee

Chairman: Tom Cotton (R-AR)

Ranking Member: Joe Manchin (D-WV)

Emerging Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee

Chairman: Deb Fischer (R-NE)

Ranking Member: Bill Nelson (D-FL)

Personnel Subcommittee

Chairman: Lindsey Graham (R-SC)

Ranking Member: Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)

Readiness and Management Support Subcommittee

Chairman: Kelly Ayotte (R-NH)

Ranking Member: Tim Kaine (D-VA)

Seapower Subcommittee

Chairman: Roger Wicker (R-MS)

Ranking Member: Mazie Hirono (D-HI)

Strategic Forces Subcommittee

Chairman: Jeff Sessions (R-AL)

Ranking Member: Joe Donnelly (D-IN)

Cybersecurity

Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD), the former ranking member on the House Intelligence Committee reintroduced the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) this week. The bill provides legal safe-harbor for companies sharing cyberthreat information with the federal government and each other. Privacy advocates are concerned that the bill could give NSA more access to the private information of Americans. Ruppersberger said that he was reintroducing the bill because of the severe cyber attack on Sony by North Korea. CISPA passed the House last spring.

Political Updates

Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) announced this week that she would not seek re-election in 2016. Boxer is the junior senator from California and was first elected in 1992. She holds the ranking member position on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Speculation over who will run for her seat centers on four candidates: Kamala Harris, Attorney General of California; Gavin Newsome; current Lieutenant Governor of California and former mayor of San Francisco; Tom Steyer, a wealthy hedge fund manager and environmentalist; and Antonio Villaraigosa, the former Mayor of Los Angeles.

President Obama nominated Allan Landon to serve on the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Landon is a Partner in Community BanCapital and was the former CEO of the Bank of Hawaii.

The President also nominated David Cohen to be Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Cohen is currently the Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence at the Department of the Treasury. Before joining the Treasury Department, Cohen was a partner in the law firm of WilmerHale, where he focused on complex civil litigation, white collar criminal defense, internal investigations, and anti-money laundering counseling.

And, the President submitted the following nominations to the Senate this week: Therese McMillan to be Federal Transit Administrator, Dava Newman to be Deputy Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Marisa Lago to be a Deputy United States Trade Representative, and Russell Deyo to be Under Secretary for Management at the Department of Homeland Security.

The White House also announced that Debra Eschmeyer will be joining the staff as the Executive Director of Let’s Move! and Senior Policy Advisor for Nutrition policy replacing Sam Kass who departed in December. Eschmeyer co-founded FoodCorps, a national AmeriCorps service program whose members teach hands-on lessons about food and nutrition; build and tend school gardens; teach cooking lessons; and help change school cafeteria menus to give kids healthy food.

Next Week

The House will only be in session Monday through Wednesday, and during that time will consider HR 185, the Regulatory Accountability Act; HR 37, the Promoting Job Creation and Reducing Small Business Burdens Act; and legislation to fund the Department of Homeland Security. The Senate will resume consideration of S.1, the Keystone XL Pipeline Act.

December 19, 2014

The House wrapped up their work and adjourned last week while the Senate had a few pieces of unfinished business to complete keeping them in session this week. In a typical end-of-session flurry of activity, the Senate passed the FY15 CR/Omnibus (cromnibus) and HR 5771, the tax extenders legislation, in addition to confirming numerous nominations. The Senate did not complete action on S 2244, the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2014, which had passed the house the previous week by a vote of 417 to 7.

FY15 Appropriations

On Friday, December 12, 2014, the President signed into law H.J. Res. 130, which provided FY15 appropriations for the Federal Government through Saturday, December 13, 2014. Then on On Saturday, December 13, 2014, he signed into law H.J. Res. 131, which provided FY15 appropriations through Wednesday, December 17, 2014. On Saturday, the Senate passed HR 83, the $1.014T FY15 CR/omnibus spending bill by a vote of 56 to 40. The President signed this final FY15 spending bill into law on December 16. The bill provides FY15 appropriations through September 30, 2015 for all agencies except the Department of Homeland Security, which is funded through February 27, 2015. The bill was finally cleared with broad mainstream support from the more moderate members of both parties. It passed in the House with yea votes from 162 Republicans and 57 Democrats. And in the Senate it passed with the support of 31 Democrats, 24 Republicans, and 1 Independent.

Links to the report language for each section of the “cromnibus” conference report:

Introduction:

http://rules.house.gov/sites/republicans.rules.house.gov/files/113-1/PDF/113-HR83sa-ES-Intro.pdf

Agriculture:

http://rules.house.gov/sites/republicans.rules.house.gov/files/113-1/PDF/113-HR83sa-ES-A.pdf

Commerce Justice Science:

http://rules.house.gov/sites/republicans.rules.house.gov/files/113-1/PDF/113-HR83sa-ES-B.pdf

Defense:

http://rules.house.gov/sites/republicans.rules.house.gov/files/113-1/PDF/113-HR83sa-ES-C.pdf

Energy and Water:

http://rules.house.gov/sites/republicans.rules.house.gov/files/113-1/PDF/113-HR83sa-ES-D.pdf

Financial Services:

http://rules.house.gov/sites/republicans.rules.house.gov/files/113-1/PDF/113-HR83sa-ES-E.pdf

Interior:

http://rules.house.gov/sites/republicans.rules.house.gov/files/113-1/PDF/113-HR83sa-ES-F.pdf

Labor HHS:

http://rules.house.gov/sites/republicans.rules.house.gov/files/113-1/PDF/113-HR83sa-ES-G.pdf

Legislative branch:

http://rules.house.gov/sites/republicans.rules.house.gov/files/113-1/PDF/113-HR83sa-ES-H.pdf

MilCon/Veterans Affairs:

http://rules.house.gov/sites/republicans.rules.house.gov/files/113-1/PDF/113-HR83sa-ES-I.pdf

State/Foreign Operations:

http://rules.house.gov/sites/republicans.rules.house.gov/files/113-1/PDF/113-HR83sa-ES-J.pdf

Transportation/HUD:

http://rules.house.gov/sites/republicans.rules.house.gov/files/113-1/PDF/113-HR83sa-ES-K.pdf

Committee Rosters

Senate committee rosters began to take shape this week, but Senate committee chairmen have yet to be named. In the 114^th Congress, the tax panels were more popular than the appropriations committees. No freshman members were appointed to the Senate Finance or House Ways and Means committees, while some freshman members were able to get seats on the appropriations committees. And, Sen. Dan Coats (R-IN) gave up his seat on Appropriations for a seat on the Senate Finance Committee.

Senate Committee rosters can be found at:

https://www.vantagepointstrat.com/?p=320

Tax Extenders

The Senate passed HR 5771, the tax extenders bill by a vote of 76 to 16. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) had held off the vote on the bill in order to keep Senators in DC for consideration of nominations. The House passed two tax measures before they adjourned – HR 647, the ABLE Act of 2014 and HR 5771, the Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2014. HR 5771 is a short-term tax extenders package retroactively reviving more than 50 expired tax breaks for 2014 only. HR 647 is a tax measure designed to provide families who care for people with disabilities with tax-preferred savings accounts. Before transmitting the bill to the Senate, the House added the text of HR 647 as Division B to HR 5771. The bill now goes to the President for his signature.

FY15 National Defense Authorization Act Conference Agreement

The Senate passed the FY15 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) last Friday by a vote of 89 to 11. The House passed the bill on Dec. 4 by a vote of 300 to 119. The $584.2 billion measure was named after the retiring chairmen of the House and Senate Armed Services Committee – “Carl Levin and Howard P. ‘Buck’ McKeon National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015.”The bill authorizes $521.3 billion in base discretionary spending ($495.5B for the Department of Defense and $17.9 billion for the defense activities of the Department of Energy and the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board) and $63.7 billion for Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO).

The bill text can be found here:

http://armedservices.house.gov/index.cfm/files/serve?File_id=926D63B6-5E50-49FC-99EF-A59B98825265

The joint explanatory statement can be found here:

http://armedservices.house.gov/index.cfm/files/serve?File_id=78ED7A79-9066-43FD-AA75-1D8F14B4B4A2

State of the Union Address

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) issued a formal invitation to President Barack Obama to deliver his State of the Union address on Tuesday, January 20.

Political Updates

Republican Martha McSally prevailed in Arizona’s 2nd Congressional District over Democratic Rep. Ron Barber following a recount. McSally, the first the first female fighter pilot to fly a combat mission and command a fighter squadron, edged out Barber by only 167 votes. The result of this recount adds to the majority for the Republican Party in the House of Representatives, with the party holding 247 seats when the new Congress convenes in January.

The Senate confirmed Vivek Murthy as surgeon general, Sarah Saldana to be an Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security, Antony Blinken to be Deputy Secretary of State, Colette Dodson Honorable to be a Member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Chris Smith to be assistant Energy secretary for fossil fuels, Robert Scher to be assistant secretary of defense for strategy, plans and capabilities, and David Berteau to be assistant secretary of defense for logistics and materiel readiness.

USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah announced this week that he would be stepping down next month after serving in this position for five years.

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has selected Chris Brose to be the new staff director of the Senate Armed Services Committee when McCain assumes the chairmanship in the 114^th Congress in January.

President Obama selected Avril Haines as his Deputy National Security Advisor. Haines has served as the National Security Council’s Legal Advisor and Vice President Biden’s counsel on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. She most recently was the Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency.

Next Week

The House and Senate have adjourned for the year. The new 114^th Congress will convene on January 6. Incoming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has said that his first course of business bill be to pass legislation that will approve the Keystone XL pipeline. The Senate Republican conference will also have to quickly decide if they will change back filibuster rules with the so-called nuclear option.

December 12, 2014

The House and Senate completed action on a number of bills this week and are poised to adjourn for the year pending action on some final key measures. In addition to passing a short-term (two day) FY15 continuing resolution, the end of year flurry of activity included passage of HR 4681, the FY15 Intelligence Authorization bill; S 1691, the Border Patrol Agent Pay Reform Act of 2013; HR 4007 the Protecting and Securing Chemical Facilities from Terrorist Attacks Act of 2014; S 2444, the Howard Coble Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2014; HR 5057, the EPS Service Parts Act of 2014; and HR 2640, the Central Oregon Jobs and Water Security Act. Both chambers also passed four cybersecurity bills – S 2519, the National Cybersecurity Protection Act of 2014; S 2521, the Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 2014; HR 2952, the Cybersecurity Workforce Assessment Act; and S 1353, the Cybersecurity Act of 2013. All of these bills will be sent to the President for his signature. The Senate is expected to pass the FY15 National Defense Authorization Act this afternoon and then take up the FY15 “cromnibus.” The Senate is also expected to vote on S 2244, the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act before adjourning. If the Senate passes these measures, they will also be sent to the President for his signature. The Senate also passed S 2828, the Ukraine Freedom Support Act of 2014 and S 2785, the Safe and Secure Drinking Water Protection Act of 2014, both of which have not been considered by the House. 

FY15 Appropriations

House and Senate Appropriations staff worked through last weekend to iron out final details of a year-end FY15 spending package, which was released late Tuesday evening. The final $1.013T omnibus/continuing resolution (CR), or cromnibus, included full-year funding for 11 appropriations bills and a short-term CR for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in protest of the president’s recent executive orders on immigration. The CR maintains DHS funding at the current FY14 level, and expires on February 27, 2015. The bill meets the $521 billion defense and $492 billion non-defense budget caps. The bill also includes $64 billion in Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) funding to combat ISIL, to train and equip Iraqi allies, and to reinforce European countries facing Russian aggression; and a total of $5.4 billion in emergency funding to address the domestic and international Ebola crisis.

With the current CR expiring on Thursday, December 11, Congress had to act quickly to get a new spending agreement in place to avoid a government shutdown. The House faced some opposition from conservative Republicans over funding levels and Democrats over policy riders, and had to delay final passage of the measure until later Thursday evening. The measure finally passed by a vote of 219 to 206 with 162 Republicans and 57 Democrats voting in favor of the bill. If the bill had not passed, House Republicans were prepared to offer a three month CR setting themselves up to re-write the bills to their liking next year when they control both chambers. Less than three hours away from a government shutdown the House also passed a two-day CR that was also approved by the Senate and signed into law by the President last night. The short-term CR gives the Senate a few extra days to consider and pass the cromnibus package. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) cannot call up the bill until after finishing the FY15 defense authorization bill. Absent a consent agreement, a cloture vote would take place under the rules on Sunday with a final vote on Monday. However, the two-day CR expires Saturday at midnight. The President has indicated that he will sign the cromnibus.

Links to the report language for each section of the “cromnibus” conference report:

Introduction:

http://rules.house.gov/sites/republicans.rules.house.gov/files/113-1/PDF/113-HR83sa-ES-Intro.pdf

Agriculture:

http://rules.house.gov/sites/republicans.rules.house.gov/files/113-1/PDF/113-HR83sa-ES-A.pdf

Commerce Justice Science:

http://rules.house.gov/sites/republicans.rules.house.gov/files/113-1/PDF/113-HR83sa-ES-B.pdf

Defense:

http://rules.house.gov/sites/republicans.rules.house.gov/files/113-1/PDF/113-HR83sa-ES-C.pdf

Energy and Water:

http://rules.house.gov/sites/republicans.rules.house.gov/files/113-1/PDF/113-HR83sa-ES-D.pdf

Financial Services:

http://rules.house.gov/sites/republicans.rules.house.gov/files/113-1/PDF/113-HR83sa-ES-E.pdf

Interior:

http://rules.house.gov/sites/republicans.rules.house.gov/files/113-1/PDF/113-HR83sa-ES-F.pdf

Labor HHS:

http://rules.house.gov/sites/republicans.rules.house.gov/files/113-1/PDF/113-HR83sa-ES-G.pdf

Legislative branch:

http://rules.house.gov/sites/republicans.rules.house.gov/files/113-1/PDF/113-HR83sa-ES-H.pdf

MilCon/Veterans Affairs:

http://rules.house.gov/sites/republicans.rules.house.gov/files/113-1/PDF/113-HR83sa-ES-I.pdf

State/Foreign Operations:

http://rules.house.gov/sites/republicans.rules.house.gov/files/113-1/PDF/113-HR83sa-ES-J.pdf

Transportation/HUD:

http://rules.house.gov/sites/republicans.rules.house.gov/files/113-1/PDF/113-HR83sa-ES-K.pdf

Tax Extenders

The House passed two tax measures last week – HR 647, the ABLE Act of 2014 and HR 5771, the Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2014. HR 5771 is a short-term tax extenders package retroactively reviving more than 50 expired tax breaks for 2014 only. HR 647 is a tax measure designed to provide families who care for people with disabilities with tax-preferred savings accounts. Before transmitting the bill to the Senate, the House added the text of HR 647 as Division B to HR 5771. It’s still not clear if the Senate will take up this one-year extension or take no action before they adjourn for the year. Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) is not a fan of the legislation and has not decided yet if he will object to a unanimous consent agreement.

FY15 National Defense Authorization Act Conference Agreement

The Senate is expected to pass the FY15 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) this afternoon around 3 pm. The House passed the bill last week by a vote of 300 to 119. The $584.2 billion measure was named after the retiring chairmen of the House and Senate Armed Services Committee – “Carl Levin and Howard P. ‘Buck’ McKeon National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015.”The bill authorizes $521.3 billion in base discretionary spending ($495.5B for the Department of Defense and $17.9 billion for the defense activities of the Department of Energy and the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board) and $63.7 billion for Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO).

The bill text can be found here:

http://armedservices.house.gov/index.cfm/files/serve?File_id=926D63B6-5E50-49FC-99EF-A59B98825265

The joint explanatory statement can be found here:

http://armedservices.house.gov/index.cfm/files/serve?File_id=78ED7A79-9066-43FD-AA75-1D8F14B4B4A2

A summary from HASC Republicans can be found here:

http://armedservices.house.gov/index.cfm/files/serve?File_id=F477F464-90AE-4B7A-AD7A-438065807D04

A summary from HASC Democrats can be found here:

https://www.vantagepointstrat.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/govdoc-4581940.pdf

Political Updates

The Senate confirmed Franklin Orr, Jr. to be Under Secretary for Science at the Department of Energy and Ellen Dudley Williams to be Director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy.

Next Week

The House is expected to adjourn for the year. The Senate may be in session completing action on appropriations, tax extenders, and TRIA. The new 114^th Congress will convene on January 6.

December 5, 2014

The House passed two tax measures this week – HR 647, the ABLE Act of 2014 and HR 5771, the Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2014. The House also passed HR 5759, the Executive Amnesty Prevention Act of 2014; HR 3979, the Protecting Volunteer Firefighters and Emergency Responders Act of 2014; and HR 5769 a bill reauthorizing the Coast Guard. HR 5759 is a largely symbolic bill disapproving of President Obama’s executive action in immigration, as it will not be considered in the Senate. The Senate approved a number of nominations and passed HR 2203, a bill awarding the congressional gold medal to Jack Nicklaus and HR 5739, the No Social Security for Nazis Act. The oath of office was administered to Senators Brian Schatz (D-HI) and Tim Scott (R-SC) as both won special elections Nov. 4 after earlier being appointed to their seats.

Tax Extenders

The House passed two tax measures this week – HR 647, the ABLE Act of 2014 and HR 5771, the Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2014. HR 5771 is a short-term tax extenders package retroactively reviving more than 50 expired tax breaks for 2014 only. A list of the tax breaks can be found at: http://rules.house.gov/sites/republicans.rules.house.gov/files/113-2/PDF/113-HR5771-SxS.pdf.

HR 647 is a tax measure designed to provide families who care for people with disabilities with tax-preferred savings accounts. It’s still not clear if the Senate will accept this one-year extension, try to pass a two-year framework forcing the House in its last few days in session to accept a longer bill, or take no action. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said Thursday night that the Senate might not be able to pass the House tax extenders bill before the end of the year. Reid had tried to negotiate an agreement with the House making a number of the tax extenders permanent; including ones allowing companies to write off investments and costs associated with research and development programs. The president threatened to veto the agreement because “it would help well-connected corporations while neglecting working families.” The Administration indicated that it would not veto a clean, short-term extension of the tax extenders in the absence of a broader agreement.

FY15 Appropriations

House and Senate Appropriations staff will be working through the weekend ironing out final details of a year-end FY15 spending package, which could be released on Monday morning. The final omnibus/continuing resolution (CR) is expected to include full-year funding for 11 appropriations bills and a short-term CR for the Department of Homeland Security in protest of the president’s recent executive orders on immigration. However, any policy fights that cannot be resolved by House and Senate Appropriations Chairmen Hal Rogers (R-KY) and Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) could result in a CR for the agency in which the issue resides. The bill will also include emergency funding for combating the Islamic State as well as fighting the Ebola virus. The current CR expires on Thursday, December 11.

FY15 National Defense Authorization Act Conference Agreement

The House on Thursday passed the FY15 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) by a largely bipartisan vote of 300 to 119. The bill now heads to the Senate where it is expected to be approved before they adjourn for the year. The $584.2 billion measure was named after the retiring chairmen of the House and Senate Armed Services Committee – “Carl Levin and Howard P. ‘Buck’ McKeon National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015.”The bill authorizes $521.3 billion in base discretionary spending ($495.5B for the Department of Defense and $17.9 billion for the defense activities of the Department of Energy and the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board) and $63.7 billion for Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO).

The bill text can be found here:

http://armedservices.house.gov/index.cfm/files/serve?File_id=926D63B6-5E50-49FC-99EF-A59B98825265

The joint explanatory statement can be found here:

http://armedservices.house.gov/index.cfm/files/serve?File_id=78ED7A79-9066-43FD-AA75-1D8F14B4B4A2

A summary from HASC Republicans can be found here:

http://armedservices.house.gov/index.cfm/files/serve?File_id=F477F464-90AE-4B7A-AD7A-438065807D04

A summary from HASC Democrats can be found here:

https://www.vantagepointstrat.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/govdoc-4581940.pdf

National Counterintelligence Security Center

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) announced the establishment of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC) within ODNI. Effective Dec. 1, Bill Evanina, the current National Counterintelligence Executive will be dual hatted as he takes on an additional role as NCSC director. The NCSC will become the parent organization of the Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive (ONCIX), which was created by the Counterintelligence Enhancement Act of 2002 to carry out counterintelligence and security responsibilities for the Director of National Intelligence. The NCSC will integrate and align counterintelligence and security mission areas, and carry out counterintelligence and security responsibilities under a single organizational model. The creation of the NCSC was predicated by the destructive growth and complexity of cyber threats, economic espionage, insider threats, and supply chain threats.

Political Updates

Following Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel’s announcement last week that he was resigning, President Obama today nominated Ash Carter for the position. Carter is a physicist who has served as deputy secretary of defense, undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, and assistant secretary of defense for international security policy. Carter has also been a senior partner at Global Technology Partners, an advisor to Goldman Sachs on global affairs, and a professor at Harvard’s Kennedy School. He has served on the boards of the MITRE Corporation, Mitretek Systems, and MIT’s Lincoln Laboratories. He has been a member of the Draper Laboratory Corporation, the Defense Policy Board, the Defense Science Board, and the Secretary of State’s International Security Advisory Board. While Carter is a highly regarded technocrat who was unanimously confirmed for his last position, his nomination could face some hurdles in the new GOP Senate.

The Justice Department announced this week that it will create a special unit to combat cyber attacks, Assistant Attorney General Leslie Caldwell announced that the unit will be part of the Criminal Division and will serve as a central hub for law enforcement officials to provide legal guidance regarding the criminal electronic surveillance statutes that cover cyber investigations. The unit will also share information with the private sector about how to protect their networks and advise Congress on cybersecurity legislation.

The Senate voted on the following confirmations this week: Joseph Hezir to be Chief Financial Officer at the Department of Energy, Nani Coloretti to be Deputy Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and Robert Adler to be Commissioner of the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Next Week

The House will take up HR 5781, the California Emergency Drought Relief Act of 2014; an FY15 appropriations omnibus/continuing resolution; and a Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) reauthorization bill. The Senate will also consider the FY15 appropriations bill as well as the tax bills and the FY15 National Defense Authorization Act conference agreement that were passed by the House this week. The Senate could also take up the TRIA reauthorization, HR 1163, the Federal Information Security Amendments Act of 2013 and HR 3696, the National Cybersecurity and Critical Infrastructure Protection Act, both of which have already passed the House. Both the House and Senate are expected to complete their work and adjourn for the year on Thursday, December 11.

November 21, 2014

The House this week passed three bills that would change Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rules: HR 1422, the EPA Science Advisory Board Reform Act (modifies the process for choosing members of the EPA’s Science Advisory Board); HR 4012, the Secret Science Reform Act of 2014 (requires EPA to publicly release all of the data it uses to justify regulations); and HR 4795, the Promoting New Manufacturing Act (changes requirements on EPA air regulations). The Senate passed S 1086, the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 2014, sending it to the President for his signature. The Senate then took up S 2280, a bill to approve the Keystone XL Pipeline, but failed to get the 60 votes needed for passage as the final vote was 59 to 41. The Senate also fell short of the 60 needed votes for S 2685, the USA Freedom Act.

Immigration Reform

President Obama unveiled his Immigration Accountability Executive Actions last night. The actions will extend the “surge of resources” to protect the border and expand the existing deferred action program for undocumented immigrants. More specifically, the Executive Actions are as follows:

Strengthen Border Security

DHS will implement a Southern Border and Approaches Campaign Strategy that will employ three task forces of various law enforcement agencies. The first will focus on the southern maritime border. The second will be responsible for the southern land border and the West Coast. The third will focus on investigations to support the other two task forces. In addition, DHS will continue the surge of resources including additional Border Patrol agents, ICE personnel, criminal investigators, additional monitors, and working with DOJ to reorder dockets in immigration courts, along with reforms in these courts.

Link to Executive Action: http://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/14_1120_memo_southern_border_campaign_plan.pdf

Revise Removal Priorities

DHS will implement a new department-wide enforcement and removal policy that places top priority on national security threats, convicted felons, gang members, and illegal entrants apprehended at the border; the second-tier priority on those convicted of significant or multiple misdemeanors and those who are not apprehended at the border, but who entered or reentered this country unlawfully after January 1, 2014; and the third priority on those who are non-criminals but who have failed to abide by a final order of removal issued on or after January 1, 2014. Under this revised policy, those who entered illegally prior to January 1, 2014, who never disobeyed a prior order of removal, and were never convicted of a serious offense, will not be priorities for removal. This policy also provides clear guidance on the exercise of prosecutorial discretion.

Link to Executive Action:

http://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/14_1120_memo_prosecutorial_discretion.pdf

End Secure Communities and Replace it with New Priority Enforcement Program

DHS will end the Secure Communities program, and replace it with the Priority Enforcement Program (PEP). The program will continue to rely on fingerprint-based biometric data submitted during bookings by state and local law enforcement agencies and will identify to law enforcement agencies the specific criteria for which DHS will seek an individual in their custody. The list of largely criminal offenses is taken from Priorities 1 and 2 of DHS’ new enforcement priorities. In addition, DHS will formulate plans to engage state and local governments on enforcement priorities and will enhance Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) ability to arrest, detain, and remove individuals deemed threats to national security, border security, or public safety.

Link to Executive Action:

http://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/14_1120_memo_secure_communities.pdf

Personnel Reform for ICE Officers

Related to these enforcement and removal reforms, DHS will support job series realignment and premium ability pay coverage for ICE ERO officers engaged in removal operations bringing ICE agents and officers pay in line with other law enforcement personnel.

Link to Executive Action:

http://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/14_1120_memo_pay_reform_ice_officers.pdf

Expand Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Program

DHS will expand eligibility for DACA to encompass a broader class of children. DACA eligibility was limited to those who were under 31 years of age on June 15, 2012, who entered the U.S. before June 15, 2007, and who were under 16 years old when they entered. DACA eligibility will be expanded to cover all undocumented immigrants who entered the U.S. before the age of 16, and not just those born after June 15, 1981. They will also adjust the entry date from June 15, 2007 to January 1, 2010. The relief (including work authorization) will now last for three years rather than two.

Link to Executive Action:

http://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/14_1120_memo_deferred_action.pdf

Extend Deferred Action to Parents of U.S. Citizens and Lawful Permanent Residents

DHS will extend eligibility for deferred action to individuals who (i) are not removal priorities under their new policy, (ii) have been in this country at least 5 years, (iii) have children who on the date of this announcement are U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents, and (iv) present no other factors that would make a grant of deferred action inappropriate. These individuals will be assessed for eligibility for deferred action on a case-by-case basis, and then be permitted to apply for work authorization, provided they pay a fee. Each individual will undergo a thorough background check of all relevant national security and criminal databases, including DHS and FBI databases. With work-authorization, these individuals will pay taxes and contribute to the economy.

Link to Executive Action:

http://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/14_1120_memo_deferred_action.pdf

Expand Provisional Waivers to Spouses and Children of Lawful Permanent Residents

The provisional waiver program DHS announced in January 2013 for undocumented spouses and children of U.S. citizens will be expanded to include the spouses and children of lawful permanent residents, as well as the adult children of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents. At the same time, DHS will further clarify the “extreme hardship” standard that must be met to obtain the waiver.

Link to Executive Action:

http://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/14_1120_memo_i601a_waiver.pdf

Revise Parole Rules

DHS will begin rulemaking to identify the conditions under which talented entrepreneurs should be paroled into the United States, on the ground that their entry would yield a significant public economic benefit. DHS will also support the military and its recruitment efforts by working with the Department of Defense to address the availability of parole-in-place and deferred action to spouses, parents, and children of U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents who seek to enlist in the U.S. Armed Forces. DHS will also issue guidance to clarify that when anyone is given “advance parole” to leave the country – including those who obtain deferred action – they will not be considered to have departed. Undocumented aliens generally trigger a 3- or 10-year bar to returning to the United States when they depart.

Link to Executive Actions:

http://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/14_1120_memo_business_actions.pdf

http://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/14_1120_memo_parole_in_place.pdf

http://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/14_1120_memo_arrabally.pdf

Promote the Naturalization Process

To promote access to U.S. citizenship, DHS will permit the use of credit cards as a payment option for the naturalization fee, and expand citizenship public awareness. The naturalization fee is $680, currently payable only by cash, check or money order. DHS will also explore the feasibility of expanding fee waiver options.

Link to Executive Action:

http://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/14_1120_memo_naturalization.pdf

Support High-skilled Business and Workers

DHS will take a number of administrative actions to enable U.S. businesses to hire and retain highly skilled foreign-born workers and strengthen and expand opportunities for students to gain on-the-job training. They will amend current regulations and make other administrative changes to provide flexibility to workers with approved employment-based green card petitions.

Link to Executive Action:

http://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/14_1120_memo_business_actions.pdf

CBO Scores Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2014

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released their scoring analysis of S 2588, the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA) of 2014. CBO estimates that implementing the bill would have a discretionary cost of about $20 million over the 2015-2019 period. Their official cost estimate on the Senate Intelligence Committee’s information sharing bill largely comes from personnel costs. The staffing needed to administer the program and manage the exchange of information between government and the private sector would cost about $4 million annually. The CBO analysis can be found at: https://www.cbo.gov/publication/49791

National Defense Authorization Act

The FY15 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) is considered must-pass legislation, however there are a few remaining outstanding issues that could affect the timing of its consideration. Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) Chairman Carl Levin (D-MI) said that it is his hope that a conference report can be finalized and passed by both chambers during the first week of December.

The first outstanding issue is the disagreement over whether to increase pharmacy copays for the non-active duty beneficiaries of TRICARE. The language originated as a proposal from DOD to help control the costs of their defense health care spending. The proposal would raise the copays for generics next year from $6 to $7 and then to $9 by 2017. The SASC included a provision in its bill to allow for the increase, but the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) bill doesn’t address the issue at all. HASC Chairman Buck McKeon (R-CA) opposes the inclusion of this provision in the final NDAA conference report while SASC Chairman Levin insists on its inclusion as well as a provision to reduce troop housing benefits. SASC republicans are siding with their chairman on this issue.

Another issue to be resolved is the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA), which was included in the HASC NDAA. The Senate doesn’t like FITARA the way it is currently written, and the Department of Defense (DOD) wants to be exempted from the requirements in FITARA as they claim they are already doing many of these things administratively such as data center consolidation. The SASC bill includes a provision to change the role of the DOD Deputy Chief Management Officer to improve the way DOD purchases IT systems and services, which could possibly conflict with the House FITARA language. While the FITARA provision may not make it into the final bill, there could be some final language on IT acquisition reform.

There are also a few unresolved issues around contracting, including language that extends the test program for negotiation of comprehensive small business subcontracting plans. The final conference report may extend the current requirement for two years rather than three as proposed by the House, and add some reporting requirements. And there is some House language that would increase small business participation goals from 23% to 25%. There is no language in the Senate on this issue.

And finally, they’ll have to work out language from the House bill that would require a cost comparison of services from contractors vs. in-house. Congress could use this information to say that DOD is using contractors too often for inherently governmental functions.

House Democratic Leadership Elections

House democrats held their leadership elections this week reelecting Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) as Minority Leader for another two years. Pelosi was unopposed in the election. Democrats also reelected Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) as Minority Whip, Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-CA) as Democratic Caucus chairman, Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-NY) as caucus vice chairman, and Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC) as assistant to the leader. Reps. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and Donna Edwards (D-MD) were appointed as co-chairwomen of the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee. Minority Leader Pelosi also named Rep. Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM) to serve as the next Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chair.

House Committee Chairs

The House Republican Steering Committee made its official recommendations for House committee chairmanships for the 114^th Congress and the whole House Republican conference ratified the recommendations this week. The House democratic caucus also approved their ranking democrats for the next Congress. The committee chairmen and ranking democrats for the 114^th Congress are as follows:

Committee	Chairman	Ranking Democrat
Agriculture	Michael Conaway, TX	Collin Peterson, MN
Appropriations	Harold Rogers, KY	Nita Lowey, NY
Armed Services	Mac Thornberry, TX	Adam Smith, WA
Budget	Tom Price, GA	Chris Van Hollen, MD
Education and the Workforce	John Kline, MN	Bobby Scott, VA
Energy and Commerce	Fred Upton, MI	Frank Pallone, NJ
Ethics	Charlie Dent, PA	Linda Sanchez, CA
Financial Services	Jeb Hensarling, TX	Maxine Waters, CA
Foreign Affairs	Ed Royce, CA	Eliot Engel, NY
Homeland Security	Michael McCaul, TX	Bennie Thompson, MS
House Administration	Candice Miller, MI	Bob Brady, PA
Intelligence	Devin Nunes, CA	Dutch Ruppersberger, MD* (term limited, waiver?)
Judiciary	Robert Goodlatte, VA	John Conyers, MI
Natural Resources	Rob Bishop, UT	Raul Grijalva, AZ
Oversight and Government Reform	Jason Chaffetz, UT	Elijah Cummings, MD
Rules	Pete Sessions, TX	Louise Slaughter, NY
Science, Space, and Technology	Lamar Smith, TX	Eddie Bernice Johnson, TX
Small Business	Steve Chabot, OH	Nydia Velazquez, NY
Transportation and Infrastructure	Bill Shuster, PA	Peter DeFazio, OR
Veterans’ Affairs	Jeff Miller, FL	Corrine Brown, FL
Ways and Means	Paul Ryan, WI	Sander Levin, MI

Over in the Senate, decisions on chairmen and ranking democrats will wait until after the Dec. 6 runoff in Louisiana.

House Appropriations Cardinals and New Republican Members

House Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers (R-KY) announced this week that the Republican Steering Committee approved the 12 Appropriations Subcommittee Chairs (or “Cardinals”) for the 114th Congress.

The Subcommittee Chairs are as follows:

Agriculture and Rural Development – Robert Aderholt, AL

Commerce, Justice, and Science – John Culberson, TX

Defense – Rodney Frelinghuysen, NJ

Energy and Water Development – Mike Simpson, ID

Financial Services – Ander Crenshaw, FL

Homeland Security – John Carter, TX

Interior, Environment – Ken Calvert, CA

Labor, Health and Human Services, Education – Tom Cole, OK

Legislative Branch – Tom Graves, GA

Military Construction, Veterans Affairs – Charles Dent, PA

State, Foreign Operations – Kay Granger, TX

Transportation, Housing and Urban Development – Mario Diaz-Balart, FL

The House Republican Steering Committee also approved four new Republican Members to serve on the House Appropriations Committee in the 114th Congress:

Rep. David Jolly (FL-13)

Rep. Scott Rigell (VA-02)

Rep. Evan Jenkins (WV-03)

Rep. David Young (IA-03)

2015 Schedules

The House and Senate have released their schedules for the first session of the 114^th Congress. Both convene on January 6 and have target adjournment dates of December 18.

The Senate calendar can be found at:

https://www.vantagepointstrat.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Senate-Schedule-2015.pdf

The House calendar can be found at:

http://www.majorityleader.gov/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/114thCongressFirstSession.pdf

Next Week

The House and Senate are both in recess next week and will reconvene on December 1.