CQ Weekly

Political Economy: The Real Sequester

Mon, 14 May 2012 00:00:00 -0400

Senate Democrats have no interest in considering the House bill, which suggests that the GOP-controlled chamber was just talking to itself. Still, there are real fears about what will happen if the sequester’s across-the-board spending cuts are allowed to bite.

Editor's Notebook: Snake Pit

Mon, 14 May 2012 00:00:00 -0400

The most infuriating thing about Congress is not that it does nothing. Rather, it’s that it does nothing while proclaiming loudly that something must be done.

Hit the Big Data Time

Mon, 14 May 2012 00:00:00 -0400

Members of Congress most often hear about the massive amount of information that’s stored on government and industry computers when there is a security breach or when someone complains that personal information has been used without permission. The Obama administration, though, in alliance with technology companies, is trying to change the terms of the debate. In addition to privacy and cybersecurity, they say, lawmakers need to consider the potential value of all that information in making government more efficient.

The Few, the Proud, the Equal?

Mon, 14 May 2012 00:00:00 -0400

If Rep. Walter B. Jones gets his way, the Navy and the Marine Corps will soon have equal billing at the Pentagon.

Drawing Maps, Districts Tussle

Mon, 14 May 2012 00:00:00 -0400

In this, the 200thanniversary year of the term “gerrymander,” the process of designing new congressional districts is almost over, having produced in some states citizens commissions, line-drawing contests and colorful cartography. Some intensity was missing, though: In 2003, a group of Texas Democrats fled the legislature and the state to prevent Republicans from adopting a second redistricting plan. Then-U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, himself a Texas Republican, wanted to send the FBI after them.

Lott's Sea Change Raises Eyebrows

Mon, 14 May 2012 00:00:00 -0400

Like many of his Republican colleagues, Trent Lott of Mississippi vigorously opposed the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea when he was a senator, including when he was majority leader in the final years of the Clinton administration. The 1982 treaty, he once said, would create a “U.N. on steroids” that could threaten U.S. national security and the ability of U.S. companies to search for oil and minerals in the seabed. Because of such objections, the United States has never ratified the convention, which outlines the rights and responsibilities for nations in using the sea.

Flack: Whack the Snack Tax

Mon, 14 May 2012 00:00:00 -0400

In the debate over how to pay for subsidized student loan interest rates, House Republicans have proposed raising some of the money by eliminating a government fund for public health programs. And that plan has big support from convenience stores and the snack food and soda industries.

Obama Warming To Global Rules

Mon, 14 May 2012 00:00:00 -0400

The conventional wisdom has it that the Obama administration is eager to impose regulations on business. But for the second time this spring, the administration has issued a directive to reduce regulatory complexity, something that has won plaudits from business but concern from environmental and public health groups.

Helium Reserve Fate Is Up in the Air

Mon, 14 May 2012 00:00:00 -0400

The United States has maintained a reserve supply of helium beneath the north Texas prairie since the mid-1920s, when it was considered critical for military dirigibles and blimps of that day. Sixteen years ago, Congress decided the reserve was no longer necessary and ordered it closed by 2015.

Watchdog: Hilzenrath, Wheeler

Mon, 14 May 2012 00:00:00 -0400

The Project on Government Oversight, also known as POGO, was founded in 1981 to keep watch on military spending. In 1990, after POGO exposed excessive spending in military contracting, symbolized by a $436 hammer for the Navy, the organization’s investigative mission expanded to include waste throughout the federal government.

Advocacy: Crawford

Mon, 14 May 2012 00:00:00 -0400

Consulting firm Hamilton Place Strategies is launching a grass-roots advocacy practice to help clients get their messages out beyond the Beltway. It’s led by Lauren Crawford, who recently joined the firm as a partner. Crawford, 28, previously ran her own grass-roots advocacy firm, the Locus Street Group.

White House: Colfax

Mon, 14 May 2012 00:00:00 -0400

The White House Office of National AIDS Policy, which is part of the Domestic Policy Council, coordinates administration efforts to reduce the number of new HIV infections. President Obama has named his second director of the office, California physician Grant Colfax, to succeed Georgetown University scholar Jeffrey S. Crowley.

House: Allen

Mon, 14 May 2012 00:00:00 -0400

The Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition, a caucus of House Democrats, has hired Kara Allen as executive director. She was a lobbyist for Vanderbilt University and replaces Sam Ricketts, now an aide to Democrat Jay Inslee , who quit the House in March to run for governor of Washington. Inslee co-founded the coalition, also called SEEC, in 2009.

Associations: Maccabe

Mon, 14 May 2012 00:00:00 -0400

After four years as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s liaison to the Food and Drug Administration on outbreaks of food-borne illness, Andrew Maccabe has returned to the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges, where he was associate executive director until joining the CDC in 2008. He is now executive of the group that represents 28 U.S. veterinary schools and five in Canada.

Authors Feel Heat For Blaming GOP

Mon, 14 May 2012 00:00:00 -0400

As veteran congressional scholars Thomas Mann and Norman Ornstein wrapped up a recent book signing at the Brookings Institution, Ornstein rattled off what’s scheduled next as the two promote their new book, “It’s Even Worse Than It Looks.”

A Statesman Left Behind As Party Ground Shifts

Mon, 14 May 2012 00:00:00 -0400

When the voting ended in Indiana last week, many reasons were cited for the primary defeat of Indiana Sen. Richard G. Lugar, the six-term Republican stalwart: The tea party movement, which backed challenger Richard Mourdock, was just too strong. Lugar’s votes supporting the positions of President Obama alienated the party’s base. And then there was the fact that Lugar did not have a home in Indiana.

Can Lawmakers Sell Liability-Free Gas?

Mon, 14 May 2012 00:00:00 -0400

Even “the hammer” — at the height of his clout in the mid-2000s — couldn’t protect makers of the fuel additive MTBE from a barrage of lawsuits over groundwater contamination. Texas Republican Tom DeLay, then the House majority leader, was among the powerful lawmakers who came up short in an effort to enact a “safe harbor” provision that would have voided product liability claims over the substance methyl tertiary butyl ether. Without a shield from liability, mounting litigation fears and later policy shifts ultimately led to a phaseout of MTBE from U.S. motor fuel supplies.

Cybersecurity: Rushing to Stall?

Mon, 14 May 2012 00:00:00 -0400

When 2012 dawned, cybersecurity legislation was bathed in a glow of congressional harmony rare during an election year, particularly this one. On both sides of the aisle and on both ends of Capitol Hill, there was broad consensus that the cyberthreat was so severe that Congress had to act immediately. Not acting, officials from two administrations insisted, risked potentially trillions of dollars worth of economic damage from data theft or even a catastrophic attack on computer networks that could, say, push a nuclear power plant into meltdown.

Case Study No. 1: Industry Derails Panel's Cybersecurity Measure

Mon, 14 May 2012 00:00:00 -0400

On April 18, the House Homeland Security Committee marked up its version of cybersecurity legislation. That same day, the GOP’s cybersecurity task force leader, William M. “Mac” Thornberry of Texas, said that it would be one of five scheduled for the House floor the following week. But on April 20, when GOP leaders announced which cybersecurity bills they had scheduled for floor votes, the Homeland Security-approved bill had vanished from the agenda.

Case Study No. 2: Winning Over Privacy Advocates a Tough Job

Mon, 14 May 2012 00:00:00 -0400

Leaders of the House Select Intelligence Committee were looking for ways to refine their cybersecurity legislation amid online protests against it from a host of civil liberties and privacy groups. So they reached out to one group in particular in the week leading up to a floor vote: the Center for Democracy and Technology, a fixture in Capitol Hill hearings.

Major Cybersecurity Bills

Mon, 14 May 2012 00:00:00 -0400

House bills

The Week Ahead: May 14-18

Mon, 14 May 2012 00:00:00 -0400

May 14 Senate to vote on cloture on Export-Import Bank reauthorization (HR 2072).

House GOP Passes Reconciliation

Mon, 14 May 2012 00:00:00 -0400

Setting up a battle of words likely to last until late in the year, House Republicans pushed forward last week with legislation that would replace across-the-board spending cuts scheduled for next year with reductions to mandatory social programs. Democrats responded that the GOP proposals unfairly target the poor and others in need of government help.

Still No Agreement on Student Loans

Mon, 14 May 2012 00:00:00 -0400

Opposed to a revenue-raising offset, Senate Republicans last week blocked floor consideration of legislation to prevent federal student loan interest rates from doubling, while Democrats pushed for more votes on the issue to score political points. By week’s end, the two sides appeared still to be far apart on how to offset the cost.

Domestic Violence Legislation Heads to House Floor; GOP Presents Narrower Alternative to Senate Measure

Mon, 14 May 2012 00:00:00 -0400

Quick renewal of a domestic violence law is uncertain after a House panel last week sent to the floor GOP-backed legislation narrower in scope than the bill the Democratic Senate passed last month.

After Passage in House, Commerce-Justice-Science Bill Faces Senate Rejection Over Republican Policy Proposals

Mon, 14 May 2012 00:00:00 -0400

The first of the 12 annual spending bills won House endorsement last week. But the Commerce-Justice-Science measure contains a number of GOP policy riders expected to be rejected by the Senate when it takes up its version, making for a potential battle over at least that part of the appropriations process.

Panel Sidesteps Cuts in Defense Spending

Mon, 14 May 2012 00:00:00 -0400

The House panel that oversees defense spending agreed last week on a $607.7 billion draft bill, ignoring caps set in last year’s deficit reduction law and setting up a conflict with Senate Democratic appropriators.

Homeland Security Measure Would Increase Border Security Funding

Mon, 14 May 2012 00:00:00 -0400

A draft fiscal 2013 spending bill approved by a House panel last week would cut the Homeland Security Department’s funding by $484 million from current levels while boosting spending for first-responder grants, an account Republicans had sought to trim in recent years.

'No Drama' in Bill for VA, Military Construction

Mon, 14 May 2012 00:00:00 -0400

House appropriators last week endorsed a $71.7 billion fiscal 2013 draft bill for military construction and veterans’ affairs, providing an amount equal to fiscal 2012 spending.

Democratic Opposition Expected To GOP Proposals on Foreign Aid

Mon, 14 May 2012 00:00:00 -0400

If discussion at the subcommittee level is any guide, familiar disagreements over foreign policy appropriations are likely to erupt again when the full committee debates the fiscal 2013 spending bill that funds the State Department and foreign operations.

Pentagon Policy Bill Advances in House

Mon, 14 May 2012 00:00:00 -0400

In a strongly bipartisan vote, the House Armed Services Committee last week approved a fiscal 2013 defense policy bill that would reverse some of the Obama administration’s security policies and authorize unrequested funds for Pentagon weapons. But the panel deferred until floor debate discussion on some controversial issues, such as military detainee policy at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.

House Passes Ex-Im Reauthorization; Senate Still Working on Agreement

Mon, 14 May 2012 00:00:00 -0400

Congress appeared on the verge last week of sending President Obama legislation that would reauthorize the U.S. Export-Import Bank after a critical House vote that reflected the renewed influence of pro-bank business lobbies. But Senate leaders’ efforts to clear the legislation were stalled, delaying final action until at least this week.

FDA User Fees Bill Advances On Bipartisan Vote

Mon, 14 May 2012 00:00:00 -0400

A House panel last week unanimously voted to advance legislation that would reauthorize Food and Drug Administration user fees, which are used by the agency to help fund its reviews of prescription drugs and medical devices.