While the defeat of the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) on Friday was either “a procedural snafu” or the greatest victory for organized labor in recent memory, we think the real story of the TPA / TAA fight is part of a larger picture. That we are at an inflection point in how the power in Washington, DC is shifting away from the old guard of entrenched interests to (the hackneyed Silicon Valley term) disruptors who are using a combination of the Internet, relaxed campaign finance rules and hyper-partisan congressional districts to successfully influence policy.
Author: Thornrun
Health Policy Report
The Week in Review
In a week dominated by discussion of trade, debate raged in Congress over whether or not to grant President Obama “fast track” authority on trade negotiations through a specific pair of measures known as Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) and Trade Promotion Authority (TPA). The debate boiled down to a highly anticipated vote on Friday, with the TAA measure—dedicated to helping workers displaced by trade deals—failing in the House by a vote of 126-302, with majorities of both parties voting against the measure in spite of a personal lobbying effort by President Obama on Friday morning. TPA was then passed by a vote of 219-211, but without TAA, it is likely to flounder in the Senate. Friday’s vote came as a massive blow for the White House, where they were hoping to add the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) to President Obama’s emerging legacy.
TRP Financial Services Report
June may be the month that the scales fell off the eyes of those who thought that previous success (i.e., SGR) would be indicative of smoother sailing in Congress in 2015. While the reauthorization of the Patriot Act created a bumpy road for McConnell, it may have just been a precursor for the fall. And, based on the attention the media paid to Senator Rand Paul for bucking Leader McConnell on the Patriot Act reauthorization, the other Republican Senators running for President might be licking their chops at the possibility of generating similar attention on their pet issues. That is when Senator Cruz and others will seek to maximize their negotiations on renewing the debt ceiling (assuming that once again raising the debt limit and funding the government are conjoined legislatively.) Complicating this is the fact that currently Democrats intend to block the Senate from considering all spending bills in an effort to increase domestic spending in the same way Republicans have attempted to get around the sequester caps on military spending. With the far left and the far right starting to take names on Ex-IM and TPA, everything is pointing to significant turbulence as Congress tries to complete its business for the year.
TRP Health Policy Report (6/8)
Last week, the Senate returned a day early from their Memorial Day recess, and worked throughout the week to reform the National Security Agency’s (NSA’s) controversial surveillance powers – eventually passing House-passed legislation (H.R. 2048) two days after the legal authority for the programs expired. The 67-32 vote for the USA Freedom Act came more than 36 hours after three parts of the Patriot Act expired, forcing the NSA to wind down its bulk collection of U.S. phone data. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) suffered a political blow during the bruising fight over the legislation, after he and other hawkish Republican senators opposed the bill—and failed to pass a series of amendments—even after the House approved it in a broad, bipartisan vote. In the House, Members passed a $51.4 billion Commerce-Justice-Science (C-J-S) appropriation bill (H.R. 2578), which provides an increase of $1.3 billion from the current fiscal year, $661 million less than President Obama’s budget request. The House also passed legislation (H.R. 1335) to reauthorize fishery oversight activities of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
TRP Health Policy Report
The House and Senate were in recess last week for the Memorial Day holiday.
The Week Ahead
The Senate returned a day early from their Memorial Day recess for a rare Sunday session to continue working to resolve their differences over renewing phone data-gathering provisions of the Patriot Act. Lawmakers remain divided over whether to continue, rein in, or abolish the National Security Agency’s (NSA) ability to gather the bulk telephone call data as part of its effort to hunt terrorists. While the Senate was unable to prevent the programs from at least temporarily expiring, Republican leaders will try to make changes to House-passed legislation and quickly restore surveillance authorities that lapsed today. Later this week, Senators are expected to take up a $612 billion fiscal 2016 defense authorization bill (H.R. 1735), which was recently approved by the House.
The Hill: TRP Shows ‘Massive Growth’ in 2015
A new article in The Hill highlights Thorn Run Partners (TRP) as one of Washington's fastest growing lobbying shops, pointing to the firm's "massive growth" over the last year. Citing recent analysis from Bloomberg Government, the article notes that TRP has shown a relatively high rate of client retention, and since 2010 "has grown from a two-person shop into a 20-person firm." As TRP founding Partner Andy Rosenberg explains in the article, "our firm is largely made up of refugees from bigger firms, and what we love about our boutique mentality is that we're not locked into a cost structure that requires that we look at every challenge as a nail just because we've got a really expensive hammer."
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Bloomberg Government: TRP Displays ‘Impressive Performance’ in 2015
According to the latest analysis from Bloomberg Government, Thorn Run Partners (TRP) is among 10 elite lobbying firms that displayed "impressive performance" in the first quarter of 2015. Bloomberg's analysis spanned hundreds of lobbying firms and over 2,000 data points, comparing information ranging from "accretive growth" to "solid client servicing." Since it's founding in 2010, TRP has consistently ranked among Washington's fastest growing lobbying firms according to analysis from Politico, The Hill, Bloomberg Government, and others.
Continue reading “Bloomberg Government: TRP Displays ‘Impressive Performance’ in 2015”
TRP Financial Services Report
The update comes to you a day late as we were quiet observing the Memorial Day Holiday. With both the House and Senate in Recess this week, lobbyist and staff get a chance to catch their breaths and prepare for the next five weeks – which are shaping up to be busy on a number of fronts, but especially for those involved in the Ex-Im battle as the June 30th deadline is fast approaching.
TRP Health Policy Report
Last week, the Senate voted to pass fast-track trade legislation by a vote of 62-37, handing President Obama a major policy victory. Senate approval sets up a bruising fight next month in the House, where the fate of the President’s “trade promotion authority” is far from assured. During debate in the Senate, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) won the support of several pro-trade Democrats by promising them a vote next month on an amendment reauthorizing the Export-Import bank, which expires on June 30. Also, before adjourning for the Memorial Day recess, the upper chamber approved a House-passed measure that would give Congress additional time to identify a long-term solution to fund federal highway projects. The bill authorizes infrastructure projects until July 31, at which point the Highway Trust Fund will have exhausted all of its funds.
TRP Financial Services Report
Looking Ahead
Near Term
- The Senate will continue to debate Trade Promotion Authority as it races to complete consideration of the bill by the end of the week. Will the jet fumes of a Memorial Day recess week be enough incentive to smooth out any outstanding bumps in a bill that continues to divide Democrats?
- The House will take up a series of suspension bills before turning to a short-term fix for the Transportation bill as well as another uncontroversial spending bill.
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FSOC meets on Tuesday to consider its 2015 annual report and then in a closed session focused on resolution plans for bank holding companies.