The Latest on the Government Shutdown

Senators today will try to break a partisan impasse that has held up the Energy and Water Development spending bill (H.R. 2028) before leaving for a week-long recess. The controversy comes over an amendment submitted by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) that would thwart a recently struck deal for the United States to purchase heavy water […]

The Senate is moving toward finishing an Energy and Water Development spending measure, with a cloture vote scheduled on a substitute amendment (#3801) to the legislative vehicle for the bill (H.R.2028). The underlying measure would provide $37.5 billion for the Energy Department, Army Corps of Engineers, parts of the Interior Department and other agencies. That’s $355 […]

The Senate is set to resume consideration of a $37.5 billion fiscal 2017 appropriations bill that would fund the Energy Department and government water projects, including the operations of the Army Corps of Engineers. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) moved to wrap up debate on the measure, filing cloture yesterday on the substitute amendment and […]

Looking Ahead Near Term The House will consider a series of Financial Services related measures this week, including H. J. Res. 88, that would disapprove of the Department of Labor’s (DOL) recently finalized conflict of interest rule for financial advisers. Additionally, a bill to help startup companies enjoy greater access to angel investors (H.R. 4498), […]

Both chambers are in session this week, with the House looking to roll back the Labor Department’s recently finalized fiduciary rule and the Senate continuing its early work in the appropriations process. The latest fight between the lower chamber and the Administration comes over a new Department of Labor (DOL) regulation intended to ensure that […]

The Week in Review After two weeks of negotiation, the Senate finally finished work on a reauthorization measure for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) last week, before moving on to a comprehensive energy bill and the first appropriations bill – Energy and Water Development – to reach the floor of either chamber. The House, meanwhile, […]

Our Take Because of a quirk in the calendar, millions of Americans will be rushing to the Post Office today to file their taxes.  Without getting into a political discussion about whether our taxes are too high, or not high enough, it is worth noting that many defenders of the federal income tax often quote […]

With today marking the annual income-tax filing deadline, the House starts the week with a series of bills intended to reform the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The four pieces of legislation would freeze IRS hiring until it certifies no IRS employee has a “seriously delinquent” tax debt (H.R. 1206), bar the rehiring of employees who […]

The Week in Review   Last week both chambers were in session, with the House returning from recess to pass a trio of financial services bills and the Senate continuing to deliberate on legislation to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Both chambers are back in session this week for what is essentially the start of a four-month period of intense work on a “three weeks in, one week out” schedule until the party conventions in late July. This week, the House looks to tackle a series of financial and broadband regulatory bills, while the Senate […]

Near Term The House is scheduled to take up a bill, H.R. 3340 that would require the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) to be funded through the congressional appropriations process.   Speaking of spending issues, the House Financial Services Committee has a mark-up scheduled for its budget estimates.  If past precedence is prologue for future […]

The Week in Review   While the House remained in recess, the Senate returned to approve a bill related to trade secrets and begin negotiations on a reauthorization for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). On Monday, senators approved a measure (S. 1890) addressing the misappropriation of trade secrets that would allow effected companies to seek […]