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Week of 5-11-15
Volume 15 | Issue 14
Congressional Overview
Congress was thinking globally this week. Fresh off of a Senate victory last week clearing the way for Congress to
review a final Iran nuclear deal, lawmakers in both chambers went to work authorizing the country's armed forces
while the bulk of the week on the Senate floor was devoted to international trade.
On Thursday, the Senate approved a procedural motion to bring the Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) fast-track bill
forward by a vote of 65 to 33 (60 votes were needed). That same motion failed to pass on Tuesday, forcing the
Senate Leadership to forge a compromise that would allow votes on separate bills regarding currency manipulation
and worker protections under free trade agreements. This compromise paved the way for a separate vote on the
motion to bring the TPA legislation forward. A simple majority of 51 votes is now needed to pass the bill in the
Senate. There is no word yet on when the House will vote on TPA. If passed, the “fast track” measure would give
President Obama a significant advantage in finalizing a massive trade deal currently under negotiation with 11 Pacific
and Asian countries.
Meanwhile, the House spent the week debating immigration, abortion, Iran and the Patriot Act.
Immigration Dominates Debate over National Defense Authorization Act
This week, immigration dominated the debate over the National Defense Authorization Act as the House considered
whether illegal immigrants should be allowed to enlist in the military – more specifically, those illegal immigrants
shielded from deportation by President Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The House
Armed Services Committee adopted two Democratic amendments during its markup of the bill last month that edged
toward allowing immigrants without documentation to serve in the military.
One of the controversial provisions of the legislation would have established a sense in Congress that the Secretary of
Defense should review allowing DACA recipients to serve in the military, while the other would direct the Pentagon to
evaluate how DACA recipients would affect the pool of recruits and military readiness.
Reps. Mo Brooks (R-AL) and Paul Gosar (R-AZ) submitted amendments to eliminate those provisions, warning that
they could tank the entire defense authorization bill. The House passed Rep. Brooks’ amendment on Thursday,
eliminating the provision that would allow DACA recipients to serve in the military. Meanwhile, Rep. Jeff Denham (RCA), a Republican who represents a large Hispanic population, pushed for a vote on his proposal that would allow
illegal immigrants to enlist in exchange for legal status outright. However, just as they did last year, GOP leaders
denied him a vote.
House Passes Annual Defense Authorization Bill
The biggest issue facing the House this week was an annual defense authorization bill to authorize funding for the
military, including operations in Europe, Iran and the Middle East. The House passed the bill with a 269-151 vote,
despite the President’s veto threat. The bill now heads to the Senate, who is working on its own version, for vote.
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While the bill originally passed the House Armed Services Committee overwhelmingly on a 60-2 vote, that did not
mean there were not some significant spats on the House floor. The most closely watched debate was over use of the
Pentagon's war account to fund its strategic operations. House Democrats and some conservatives did not believe
the "slush fund" should be used for basic military needs, but the Overseas Contingency Operations Fund has been
seen by defense hawks as a way around the punishing budget caps the Pentagon must comply with as a result of
sequestration.
In the Senate, the Armed Services Committee began deliberations on its own defense authorization bill with new
chairman John McCain at the helm. The bulk of the Senate's committee debate was closed to the public, despite the
House Armed Services Committee markup being open. McCain claims, however, that with just one week to finish the
massive bill, it is too difficult to clear everyone out of the room for the classified portions of the debate and then
bring them back when those talks are over. The Senate committee's markups of readiness, emerging threats and
personnel will be open to the public and the press.
Senate Democratic Buy-in May Prove to be Difference Maker in FY 16 Appropriations Negotiations
As the Senate prepares to start marking up the FY 16 appropriations bills, questions remain regarding Democratic
cooperation and participation in the process. Last week, Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) gave some indication on the
minority party’s intentions, and she softened earlier remarks by Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who had indicated that
Senate Democrats would be offering little help on Republican bills. When specifically asked whether Democrats will
engage in writing bills in committee, Sen. Mikulski did not immediately rule out the possibility.
“We’ll take it one bill at a time,” said the Senator. In regard to Republicans, she added, “We believe their basic
premises are so flawed, it will present a really complicated process, but we’ll go one bill at a time.” Democratic buy-in
will be important down the road in reaching agreement on a potential omnibus package to keep the government
open if appropriations bills are not enacted for the new fiscal year.
OMB Tells Federal Departments to Plan 5 Percent Cuts in their FY 17 Budget Requests
In a May 1 letter, Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Shaun Donovan told the heads of federal
departments and agencies that they should plan on cutting their upcoming budget requests 5 percent from what
they proposed for FY 17 in the current White House spending blueprint. The letter tells officials to focus on reducing
areas of fragmentation, overlap and duplication as recommended by the Government Accountability Office. Per the
OMB, such proposals will provide the President with the options needed to sustain or augment critical investments
and support effective programs.
Donovan’s letter separately asks agencies to identify additional funding for programs with strong evidence of
effectiveness that support their missions. It also directs leaders to make room for paying for ongoing administration
priorities, such as freezing or reducing the government’s property footprint, improving shared services and
supporting the use of digital service teams.
The guidance the OMB has given to agencies in developing their FY 17 budget requests is similar to guidance given in
previous years. This guidance represents the starting point in the budget process. Finally, in the absence of
congressional action, both defense and non-defense discretionary funding in FY 16 will be at the lowest levels in a
decade (adjusted for inflation), even though the need for pro-growth investments in infrastructure, education and
innovation has only increased.
U.S. Economy Added 223,000 Jobs in April
The U.S. economy added 223,000 jobs in April, bringing the jobless rate to a seven-year low after a dismal March that
punctuated slow growth in the first three months of the year. The unemployment rate fell slightly to 5.4 percent from
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5.5 percent last month, but the economy shed 41,000 more jobs in March than previously reported, a sign that the
economy might have contracted in the first quarter after an anemic .2 percent gain in the first estimate.
Congress Adopts Budget Resolution for First Time in Six Years
On May 7, the Senate voted 51-48 to adopt the budget resolution, and the House adopted the compromise last
week. GOP Senators trumpeted the fact that it marked the first time since 2009 that Congress adopted a budget
resolution. All 44 Democrats and the two independents (who caucus with Democrats) opposed the plan. The fiscal
blueprint assumes that Congress would cut spending by more than $5 trillion over the next decade, eliminating the
deficit and creating a surplus in 2024, but Congress would have to pass separate legislation to implement any of the
spending cuts.
Beyond the usual arguments for and against the tax and spending framework, Senators from both parties used the
budget debate to press for Congress to negotiate another deal that would raise the statutory caps on discretionary
spending. The budget resolution reflects the current post-sequester caps of $523 billion for defense and $493.5
billion for non-defense programs in FY 16. Raising the caps would require a change in law. The budget contains
reconciliation instructions, directing the committees with jurisdiction over taxes and health care to draw up
legislation to repeal the healthcare law and deliver their recommendations to the Budget committees by July 24.
Sen. Hatch Pushing for Surface Transportation Funding Patch
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT) is leading a quiet push for an $11 billion patch to continue
surface transportation funding through the end of December, as liberals push to avert spending cuts and jump start a
multi-year bill. While a number of Democrats (including Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL)) were cold to the plan, Sen. Patty
Murray (D-WA) stopped short of ruling out a short extension. Sen. Hatch made it clear that floor action on a potential
patch would likely slip until June. Republicans have argued for a number of spending cuts to help pay for a long-term
measure, while Democrats argue for revenue-raising options including a higher gasoline tax, a bipartisan proposal to
use revenue from the repatriation of foreign corporate profits at a reduced rate or a potential tax on vehicles based
on miles traveled.
OSHA Issues Final Construction Confined Spaces Rule
OSHA issued a final rule on May 5 to increase protections for construction workers in confined spaces. Manholes,
crawl spaces, tanks and other confined spaces are not intended for continuous occupancy, and they are difficult to
exit in an emergency. People working in confined spaces face life-threatening hazards, including toxic substances,
electrocutions, explosions and asphyxiation.
Last year, two workers asphyxiated while repairing leaks in a manhole, the second when he went down to save the
first, which is not uncommon in confined spaces asphyxiation cases. The rule will provide construction workers with
protections similar to those manufacturing and general industry workers have had for more than two decades, with
some differences tailored to the construction industry. These include requirements to ensure that multiple employers
share vital safety information and to continuously monitor hazards; a safety option made possible by technological
advances after the manufacturing and general industry standards were created. This rule emphasizes training,
continuous worksite evaluation and communication requirements to further protect workers' safety and health.
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