The Week in Review
The House and Senate were on recess last week in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday. Both chambers are scheduled to return to Washington tomorrow.
Month: November 2015
Financial Services Report
Our Take
Last week a bipartisan bill, H.R. 1737, which had been reported out of the Financial Services Committee with a majority of Democrats in support, passed the House by a vote of 332-96. (more on this bill below)
By all accounts, this bill should be hailed as an example of how Congress should work. Initially drafted as an overly broad attack on the CFPB, a group of moderate Democrats worked with their Republican colleagues to reach a limited solution to specific issue with the CFPB. Instead of praising their efforts, the debate surrounding this bill (both in private and public) exposed serious fissures in the Democratic Party, with the far left effectively calling out by name the supporters of the bill.
Health Policy Report
The Week in Review
After the shocking terrorist attacks in Paris, political discourse in Washington centered on crafting an appropriate response and whether any policy changes should be made regarding the Syrian refugees already set to come to the United States. Many Republicans, joined by some Democrats, expressed fear that members of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) would use the refugee program as cover for entry into the United States, leading the House to pass legislation (H.R. 4038) on Thursday that would require an extraordinarily high level of vetting for every refugee entering the US from Iraq or Syria. The bill, and the general calls from Republicans for the US to reverse its refugee program, was fiercely rebuked by President Obama, who has already issued a veto threat on the measure. Nonetheless, the bill passed by a margin of 289-137, with dozens of Democrats facing public pressure to clamp down on the refugee program, voting in favor.
This Week on the Hill: Highway Deadline; House Targets CFPB Rules; Senate Eyes EPA Regs
With the current stop-gap authorization for highway funding expiring on Friday, it is now crunch time for the surface transportation bill. House-Senate conferees will work against a Friday deadline to try to quickly iron out differences on H.R. 22 and enact the first multi-year highway authorization law since 2012. However, it is likely that they will first act on another short-term extension to bide time until House and Senate negotiators can reconcile the differences in their versions of the bill. The transportation policy bill would renew highway and surface transportation programs for six years while paying for just three years. The House has expressed concerns over some of the pay-fors used to finance the Senate version of the bill, however. Further complicating matters is the recent passage of the Budget Agreement, effectively taking some of those offsets off the table. This will be the key area of negotiation in the conference committee and the result could be a much narrower bill that only extends funding into 2017 but requires Congress to revisit funding under a new President. If that happens, Congress will likely return its focus to repatriation and other tax measures to then fund a longer transportation measure.
Health Policy Report
The Week in Review
While the House enjoyed a week-long recess, the Senate was in session for Monday and Tuesday before heading home early after passing a pair of defense bills and naming highway bill conferees. On Tuesday, the Senate overwhelmingly approved (91-3) a revised defense authorization bill (S. 1356), clearing it for President Barack Obama’s signature. The House passed the same bill on November 5, which reflects the budget deal that increased fiscal year (FY) 2016 spending caps for defense and non-defense activities by $25 billion each. The revised measure authorizes about $5 billion less than original defense policy bill (H.R. 1735) that President Obama vetoed because it sidestepped budget caps. President Obama is expected to sign the revised measure despite opposition to some provisions in the bill, which continues prohibition on closing the military prison at Guantanamo Bay and on transferring detainees to the United States.
Financial Services Report
Looking Ahead
Near Term
- The Senate is in for an abbreviated session and will take up the revised NDAA as well as the Military Construction-Veterans Affairs spending bill.
- The House in Recess, returning for votes on the 17th
Further Out
- House calendar for next year released.
- Senate calendar for next year released.
- Funding for the Federal government runs out December 11th
- HFSC hearing on CFPB arbitration rulemaking when the House returns.
- HFSC oversight hearing on FSOC in December.
Health Policy Report
The Week in Review
Speaker Paul Ryan’s first full week on the job was a successful one as the House successfully advanced a highway funding measure (H.R. 22) that would renew highway and surface transportation programs for six years – paying for three years and leaving Congress to find funding for the second three years at a later juncture. Conferees from both chambers will attempt to hammer out differences between the two versions this week, with the lower chamber expected to take issue with some of the pay-fors included in the Senate version. The bill, which the House passed on Thursday, includes language to revive the Export-Import Bank, despite opposition from some conservative members. Lawmakers are hopeful that a long-term deal will be agreed to before the most recent short-term highway authorization expires on November 20, but another extension may be necessary if negotiations are drawn out.
Financial Services Report
Looking Ahead
Near Term
On Tuesday the Financial Services Committee Meets to mark-up the following bills
- H.R. 1309, the “Systemic Risk Designation Improvement Act of 2015”
- H.R. 1478, the “Policyholder Protection Act of 2015”
- An Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute expected to be offered by Mr. Posey is being distributed with this notice. Members wishing to offer amendments are counseled to do so with reference to this text.
- H.R. 1550, the “Financial Stability Oversight Council Improvement Act of 2015”
- H.R. 1660, the “Federal Savings Association Charter Flexibility Act of 2015”
- H.R. 2209, to require the appropriate Federal banking agencies to treat certain municipal obligations as level 2A liquid assets, and for other purposes
- H.R. 3340, the “Financial Stability Oversight Council Reform Act”
- H.R. 3557, the ‘FSOC Transparency and Accountability Act”
- H.R. 3738, the “Office of Financial Research Accountability Act of 2015”
- H.R. ____, the “Small Business Credit Availability Act”
- H.R. 3857, To require the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Financial Stability Oversight Council to carry out certain requirements under the Financial Stability Act of 2010 before making any new determination under section 113 of such Act, and for other purposes.
Health Policy Report
The Week in Review
A busy week in Washington was highlighted by the changing of the guard in the top post of the House. Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) was elected to replace John Boehner (R-OH) by the Republican Conference on Wednesday and secured the House floor’s approval on Thursday, with just 9 Republicans voting against him. In his acceptance speech, the newly-minted Speaker struck a courteous tone and buoyed hopes of more bipartisan work being completed in the House for the remainder of the Obama Administration.