MONDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2012
THE WEEK AHEAD
The Senate convened at 2:00 p.m. today and is expected to hold roll call votes on the FAA conference report. Tuesday, and for the remainder of the week, the Senate is tentatively scheduled to work on surface transportation reauthorization.The Senate is scheduled to start the February 6 week debating the conference report for the FAA reauthorization measure (H.R. 658), with a vote for adoption scheduled for 5:30 p.m. The measure would keep funding flat for the next four years and contains no earmarks, while upgrading the agency and the nation’s air traffic control system. The House approved the conference report February 3 on a vote of 248-169. The Senate may also take up surface transportation reauthorization (S. 1813) and a postal reform bill (S. 1789) that would reimburse the U.S. Postal Service for billions of dollars of overpayments to the Federal Employees Retirement System while requiring the Postal Service to refrain from moving to five-day delivery.
The House convened at 2:00 p.m. today for legislative business and to take up three measures under suspension of the rules and one measure subject to a rule. Tuesday, and for the balance of the week, the House is set to consider four measures subject to a rule and a motion to instruct conferees on payroll tax legislation. The House is not in session Friday.
The House is set to continue working on budget reform legislation, including a bill regarding line-item veto power (H.R. 3521). The proposal would give the president the power to send a list of individual spending items in a bill he had signed back to Congress for reconsideration. Under current law, the president can ask Congress to rescind previously-approved spending authority, but lawmakers are under no obligation to act. Another budget bill, The Budget and Accounting Transparency Act of 2012 (H.R. 3581), would would make certain items not currently counted in the federal budget an explicit part of the process, including government-sponsored enterprises and the Postal Service. The House Rules Committee is scheduled to meet February 7 to formulate a rule for floor debate on both measures.
The House is also expected to take up the STOCK Act (S. 2038) which would end insider trading based on non-public information available to members of Congress and staff. The Senate approved its version of the bill February 2 on a 96-3 vote.
KEY HEARINGS & MARKUPS
Banking: The Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee will hold a hearing titled “The State of the Housing Market: Removing Barriers to Economic Recovery.”Thursday, February 9 at 10:00 a.m., 538 Dirksen Building.
Budget: The Senate Budget Committee will hold a hearing on the outlook for U.S. monetary and fiscal policy.
Tuesday, February 7 at 10:00 a.m., 608 Dirksen Building.
Conference Committee: House and Senate conferees will meet to consider resolving differences on payroll tax relief, unemployment insurance, Medicare physicians’ payment fix and other items.
Tuesday, February 7 at 10:00 a.m., 1100 Longworth Building.
Energy & Commerce: The Communications and Technology Subcommittee of the House Energy & Commerce Committee will hold a hearing titled “Cybersecurity: Threats to Communications Networks and Private Sector Responses.”
Wednesday, February 8 at 9:30 a.m., 2322 Rayburn Building.
The Energy and Power Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee will hold a series of hearings titled “The American Energy Initiative.”
Wednesday, February 8 at 10:00 a.m., 2322 Rayburn Building.
Financial Services: The Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Subcommittee of the House Financial Services Committee will hold a hearing on legislation concerning the accountability and transparency at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Wednesday, February 8 at 10:00 a.m., 2128 Rayburn Building.
Homeland Security: The Border and Maritime Security Subcommittee of the House Homeland Security Committee will hold a series of hearings titled “Balancing Maritime Security and Trade Facilitation: Protecting Our Ports, Increasing Commerce and Securing the Supply Chain.”
Tuesday, February 7 at 10:00 a.m., 311 Cannon Building.
Indian Affairs: The Senate Indian Affairs Committee will hold a hearing titled “The Future of Internet Gaming: What’s at Stake for Tribes?”
Thursday, February 9 at 2:00 p.m., 628 Dirksen Building.
Joint Economic: The Joint Economic Committee will hold a hearing titled “Bolstering the Economy: Helping American Families by Reauthorizing the Payroll Tax Cut and UI Benefits.”
Tuesday, February 7 at 2:30 p.m., 216 Hart Building.
Oversight & Government Reform: The Technology, Information Policy, Intergovernmental Relations and Procurement Reform Subcommittee of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will hold a hearing titled “Jobs for Wounded Warriors: Increasing Access to Contracts for Service Disabled Veterans.”
Tuesday, February 7 at 10:00 a.m., 2154 Rayburn Building.
Ways & Means: The Health Subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee will hold a hearing on the Medicare physician payment system.
Tuesday, February 7 at 10:00 a.m., 1100 Longworth Building.
AIR FORCE RELEASES STATE-BY-STATE IMPACT OF FORCE STRUCTURE CHANGES
The Air Force began briefing Congressional staff on Friday regarding the FY 2013 budget request. Included in the briefing materials is information regarding the impact of force structure changes by state. For instance, in FY 2013, the Air Force proposes to eliminate all C-27J aircraft that are either based in or planned for Maryland, Michigan, North Dakota, Ohio, Montana, Connecticut and Mississippi. In an accompanying strategic guidance document, the Air Force states that the programmed force reductions will affect over 60 installations. These changes will have a direct impact in 33 states but corresponding mission and staffing realignments will affect additional units in all 54 states and territories. Please visit the following links to view the strategic guidance document and state-by-state information.PRESIDENT ANNOUNCES VETERANS JOB CORPS INITIATIVE
President Obama announced details of a new Veterans Job Corps on Friday; an initiative aimed at helping returning veterans find pathways to civilian employment. The initiative, initially announced in the President’s State of the Union address, includes $1 billion to develop a conservation program intended to hire 20,000 veterans over the next five years for projects such as maintenance of federal, state, local and tribal lands including jobs rehabilitating trails, roads, levees and recreation facilities.
The proposal includes an expansion of training opportunities for separating service members, including a two-day entrepreneurship program as part of the Transition Assistance Program (TAP) being developed by the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs and the Small Business Administration (SBA). The SBA will also start offering veterans a comprehensive 8-week online training program that will teach the fundamentals of small business ownership.
Additionally, the proposal announced the distribution of $166
million in FY 2012 Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Hiring
Grant funding and $320 million for the Staffing for Adequate Fire and
Emergency Response (SAFER) grant program. The President announced that
his FY 2013 budget request will include $4 billion for COPS funding and
$1 billion for SAFER grants. Under the initiative, preference for these
grants will be given to communities that recruit post-9/11 veterans to
serve as police officers and firefighters. More information can be found
here.
UNEMPLOYMENT RATE DROPS IN JANUARY
The U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics has unveiled January’s unemployment numbers. Total non-farm payroll employment increased by 243,000 jobs in January and the unemployment rate decreased to 8.3 percent, a decline of 0.2 percent. The total number of unemployed individuals dropped to 12.8 million. The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) stayed relatively the same at 5.5 million and accounted for 42.9 percent of the unemployed. For more information, please see the Bureau of Labor Statistics website.
HOUSE AND SENATE TAKE ACTION ON SURFACE TRANSPORTATION
Early Friday morning, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee completed a marathon 18-hour work session to approve the Committee majority's proposed surface transportation reauthorization bill (H.R. 7), 29-24. The bill, as introduced, is a five-year, $262 billion reauthorization of federal highway and mass transit program together with new titles for rail and marine transport. The Committee worked through approximately 100 amendments; a final list of approved amendments is not yet available.
Also last week, the House Ways & Means Committee introduced the tax
and revenue title (H.R. 3864) to H.R. 7. The title proposes to
supplement Highway Trust Fund revenues with revenues from certain
domestic oil and gas leases and by redirecting the 2.86 cents per gallon
of the federal gasoline and diesel fuel taxes that are currently
deposited in the Mass Transit Account of the Highway Trust Fund. The
bill would change the name of the Mass Transit Account to the
Alternative Transportation Account and would fund the account instead
with a $40 billion up front transfer from the general fund, subject to
an as-yet-specified $40 billion offset. The House Ways and Means
Committee is set to consider H.R. 3864 on Friday.
The Senate Banking Committee yesterday approved a transit title for inclusion into the Senate’s surface transportation reauthorization bill (S.1813). The transit title would maintain current funding levels at $8.36 billion for FY12 and FY13. It would also broaden federal oversight and enforcement powers over safety at public transit agencies, streamline the fixed guide ways grant programs (New Starts/Small Starts) and establish a “state-of-good-repair” program to aid public transit agencies address maintenance backlogs.
Finally, the House today is expected to move to adopt the Federal
Aviation Administration reauthorization conference report. The Senate
may take up the conference report as early as Monday. Once completed,
Senate Majority Leader Reid (D-NV) indicated that he would begin the
procedural process to start Senate debate on S. 1813.
HOUSE PASSES LEGISLATION TO ADDRESS FRAUDULENT USE OF TANF FUNDS
Last week, by a vote of 395-27, the House passed H.R. 3567, “the Welfare Integrity Now for Children and Families Act of 2011.” The legislation would require states to prevent Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) cash benefits from being used in any transaction in a liquor store, a casino or an adult-entertainment establishment. The bill gives a state two years to comply or lose five percent of its family assistance grant.
The House passed similar legislation, H.R. 3569, in December which also included a one-year extension of the TANF program. The text of H.R. 3569 has been included in the House-passed version of H.R. 3660, the payroll tax extension. The House and Senate are currently in conference on H.R. 3660. The Senate version of H.R. 3660 includes a two-month extension of TANF.
FEDERAL JUDGE RULES AGAINST FURTHER PROTECTION FOR SAGE GROUSE
A federal judge in Montana has ruled in favor of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and several western states, rejecting efforts by environmental groups to immediately extend federal protections to the greater sage grouse. The judge upheld the 2010 determination by the FWS that the sage grouse's listing as threatened or endangered was "warranted but precluded" effectively acknowledging that the sage grouse needs protection, but there are other issues that need to be dealt with first.
The sage grouse's natural habitat has been significantly decreased in size due to wildfires, oil drilling and other encroachments. However, states have argued that they are already taking steps to improving the habitat of the bird, and a ruling for the protection of the bird could have huge economic ramifications.
The Nevada Weekly is published when Congress is in session.
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