The Latest on the Government Shutdown

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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? […]

In the past weeks Congress has passed the SGR fix, the budget resolution and the House is roughly 1/6th of the way finished with getting through its appropriations work.  To the casual observer it might seem like the institution is finally working.  However, perhaps the better analogy is that Congress is like a duck.  On […]

Last week, Congress opened debate on an Iran nuclear deal, created a unified budget blueprint, passed two appropriations bills and introduced legislation to repeal the ‘Cadillac Tax.’ Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has brought to the Senate floor an Iran nuclear bill for amendment consideration. Separately, the House passed a Republican Party budget blueprint […]

Looking Ahead Near Term: It’s “Insurance Week” in DC with three hearings, two in Senate Banking and one over in the House. Also, there will be a joint Financial Services – Government Reform subcommittee hearing on Ex-Im. The House will take up two Appropriations bills – Military Construction and Veterans Affairs and also the Energy […]

Last week, Congress turned its attention to a series of lingering legislative issues. Republican Whip Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) reached a compromise regarding abortion language in a long-stalled human trafficking bill (S. 178), leading to its passage by a vote of 99-0. The legislation now moves to the House. The […]

The Book of Job tells us that the “Lord Giveth and the Lord Taketh away.”  While far be it from us to compare the current occupant of the White House with Almighty, this past week offered a classic example of how the White House, and therefore to some extent the Democratic party, is trying to […]

After a two-week break, Congress returned to confront an expired deadline on Medicare payments to doctors and other unfinished business. On Wednesday, the Senate passed a bill (H.R. 2) to prevent a 21 percent cut in Medicare payments set to begin on April 1 and extended the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) through 2017.  The […]

After seventeen years (eight months, 9 days…), over a dozen acts of Congress and enumerable reams of debate and conjecture about its fate, it’s time to say goodbye to the Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula. As a proper wake, let’s take a moment to reflect on this enigma of health care economic theory. And […]