April 10, 2015
The House and Senate were in recess this week.
House April Schedule
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) circulated a memo to House Republicans this week that outlined the House agenda for the next three weeks. Each week focuses on a different theme:
April 13th – 16th | Tax Freedom and Financial Independence
Bills to be considered:
- R. 299, Capital Access for Small Community Financial Institutions Act of 2015 (Stivers)
- R. 601, Eliminate Privacy Notice Confusion Act (Luetkemeyer)
- R. 1195, Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection Advisory Boards Act (Pittenger)
- R. 1259, Helping Expand Lending Practices in Rural Communities Act (Barr)
- R. 1265, Bureau Advisory Commission Transparency Act (Duffy)
- R. 1367, Applying the Expedited Funds Availability Act to American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands (Radewagen)
- R. 1480, SAFE Act Confidentiality and Privilege Enhancement Act (Dold)
- R. 650, Preserving Access to Manufactured Housing Act of 2015 (Fincher)
- R. 685, Mortgage Choice Act of 2015 (Huizenga)
- R. 1058, Taxpayer Bill of Rights Act of 2015 (Roskam)
- R. 1152, Prohibiting officers and employees of the Internal Revenue Service from using personal email accounts to conduct official business (Marchant)
- R. 1026, Taxpayer Knowledge of IRS Investigations Act (M. Kelly)
- R. 1314, Providing for a right to an administrative appeal relating to adverse determinations of tax-exempt status of certain organizations (Meehan)
- R. 1295, Improving the process for making determinations with respect to whether organizations are exempt from taxation under section 501(c)(4) of such Code (Holding)
- R. 709, Prevent Targeting at the IRS Act (Renacci)
- R. 1104, Fair Treatment for All Donations Act (Roskam)
- R. 1563, Federal Employee Tax Accountability Act of 2015 (Chaffetz)
- R. 1562, Contracting and Tax Accountability Act of 2015 (Chaffetz)
- R. 1105, Death Tax Repeal Act of 2015 (K. Brady)
- R. 622, Permanent State & Local Tax Deduction (K. Brady)
April 21st – 23rd | Cybersecurity
Several House committees are working on legislation to secure cyber networks and prevent data breaches. The bills focus on facilitating greater information sharing about cyber-threat information between the private sector and government while protecting civil liberties and promoting best practices.
April 28th – May 1st | Appropriations
The first two FY16 appropriations bills the House will consider will be:
- Military Construction / Veterans Affairs (Dent)
- Energy and Water Development (Simpson)
The House will also continue to work toward completion of a FY16 budget conference report and will bring it to the floor when the conference committee has completed its work. And they may consider reauthorization of key provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act, which expire at the end of May.
A copy of the Majority Leader’s memo can be found at:
https://www.vantagepointstrat.com/?p=382
DHS Science and Technology Directorate Strategic Plan
The Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology (S&T) Directorate released its Strategic Plan for fiscal years 2015-2019. The Strategic Plan outlines strategic objectives, initiatives, and activities for the S&T Directorate for the next five years.
Part I of the plan introduces the directorate and characterizes the strategic context it operates within. Part II of the strategic plan details the specific objectives, initiatives, and activities S&T will conduct in the next five years. And, Part III of the plan details S&T’s R&D Capability Roadmaps, which will guide investments in the years to come.
A copy of the strategic plan can be found at:
http://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/st/ST_Strategic_Plan_2015_508.pdf
DOD Better Buying Power 3.0 Implementation Directive
Assistant Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Frank Kendall released an implementation directive for Better Buying Power (BBP) 3.0 this week. Warning that “our technological superiority is at risk” from other nations rapidly modernizing their militaries, BBP 3.0’s goal is to reestablish our technological advantage by making it possible for the Pentagon to be able to buy new generations of weapons and systems as quickly and cheaply as possible, using competition, cost controls and other reforms.
DOD circulated a draft version of BBP 3.0 last year. This new implementation directive contains two new additions to that original draft – cybersecurity and reducing unnecessary paperwork regulations imposed on DOD suppliers.
New Emphasis Areas in BBP 3.0:
- Long-range research and development
- Cybersecurity
- Commercial technology
- Prototyping and experimentation
- Modular Open System Architecture (MOSA)
- Global technology
- Organic engineering capabilities
- Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education
Link to the implementation directive memo:
http://bbp.dau.mil/docs/BBP3.0ImplementationGuidanceMemorandumforRelease.pdf
Link to the Fact Sheet:
http://bbp.dau.mil/docs/BBP3.0FactSheetFINAL.pdf
Fiscal Year 2016 Appropriations and Subcommittee Vice Chairs
The House Appropriations Committee is expected to begin work on its FY16 appropriations bills next week with subcommittee markups in Military Construction-Veterans Affairs and Energy & Water.
House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers also announced this week the Republican Members who will serve as Vice Chairs of the 12 Appropriations subcommittees for the 114th Congress. These Members will serve as Chair of the subcommittee in the absence of the Chairperson, and assist them in official Committee duties.
The Subcommittee Vice Chairs are as follows:
Agriculture: David Valadao, California
Commerce, Justice, Science: Robert Aderholt, Alabama
Defense: Kay Granger, Texas
Energy and Water: Chuck Fleischmann, Tennessee
Financial Services: Jaime Herrera Beutler, Washington
Homeland Security: Rodney Frelinghuysen, New Jersey
Interior and Environment: Mike Simpson, Idaho
Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education: Steve Womack, Arkansas
Legislative Branch: Mark Amodei, Nevada
Military Construction and Veterans Affairs: Jeff Fortenberry, Nebraska
State and Foreign Operations: Charlie Dent, Pennsylvania
Transportation, Housing and Urban Development: Kevin Yoder, Kansas
Political Updates
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) announced earlier this week that he’s running for President in 2016.
Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) was officially elevated to Ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, stepping in for Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) after he was indicted on corruption charges. While Menendez stepped aside on this committee, he is not giving up his ranking position on the Senate Banking Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation, and Community Development.
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) announced this week that he intends to run for re-election in 2016. McCain is currently the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and is a member of the Indian Affairs and Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committees. He will be 80 years old when he runs for re-election.
Rep. Lois Capps (D-CA) announced her intention to retire at the end of the 114th Congress via a YouTube message. Capps has served in Congress since March 1998 and is on the Energy and Commerce and Natural Resources Committees.
Keith Hall officially took over as Director of the Congressional Budget Office on April 1, replacing Doug Elmendorf who had served in the role for six years.
Former Representative Brad Carson was named acting Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness. Prior to this appointment, Carson was serving as Undersecretary of the Army and Army Chief Management Officer. Carson served in the House of Representatives from 2001-2005. He earned a Bronze Star during a deployment to Iraq in 2009-2010 as an active-duty Navy intelligence officer.
The President nominated Gabriel Camarillo to be Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Manpower and Reserve Affairs. Camarillo is currently the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisitions, Logistics, and Technology.