The Senate HELP Committee met in an Executive Session today and approved several Presidential nominations including Dr. Frances Cordova to be the Director of NSF.
The HELP Committee approved Dr. Cordova’s nomination last year (December 18, 2013). With a new year, the Committee must approve her nomination once again. From here, Dr. Cordova’s nomination will need to be approved by the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee and the whole Senate as well.
Tonight President Obama will deliver the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress at 9:00pm ET/6:00pm PT. He is expected to talk about a package of largely recycled proposals that would, among other things, raise the minimum wage, overhaul immigration laws, and authorize new infrastructure spending. He’ll also use the State of the Union to serve notice he’s ready to use executive orders and the bully pulpit to revive his second term and end run Congress on such issues as environmental regulations. There will be sharp focus on the middle class, the economy, and income inequality, and another chance to sell the public on the merits of the health care overhaul. And Obama is certain to highlight issues related to college costs and access that may or may not be viable with Congress.
Washington state’s own Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers will provide the GOP response to the President’s SOTU. We are hoping that she doesn’t fall victim to the State of the Union Curse that has plagued so many before her.
After two years of negotiating, Farm bill conferees announced a sweeping, bipartisan five-year farm bill late Monday. The measure costs an estimated $1.1 trillion and is filled with trade-offs and an estimated savings of nearly $23 billion.
The bulk of savings comes from cutting $19 billion from farm programs, including an end to direct payments to farmers — money that often went to farmers who don’t actually farm. An additional $6 billion is saved by merging 23 separate conservation programs into 13, which is a move supported by conservation groups nationwide. There are $8 billion in cuts tied to the food stamp program which will come largely from increasing the state heating assistance requirement.
The House Rules Committee met late Monday night to fast-track the bill to the House Floor. The bill will come up on Wednesday, before House Republicans depart for their annual policy retreat. The House will consider the conference report well in advance of the House’s Three Day Rule, which requires introduced legislation pend at least three calendar days before it is considered and voted upon by the House. The rule is designed to give Members of Congress and staff time to read and analyze bills.
The text of the bill runs 949 pages and s accompanied by a 186-page managers’ statement.
Already the American Meat Institute and the National Meat Association, who represent cattle, hog and poultry producers, have announced opposition to the conference report and will whip against the bill.
If the House adopts the report, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, said his chamber could take up the legislation sometime during the current three-week work period.
The Office of Federal Relations is tracking this issue and will continue to provide updates.
Last night, University of Washington Tacoma Chancellor Debra Friedman passed away after a long battle with lung cancer. She was 58.
In just two-and-a-half years at UW Tacoma, Chancellor Friedman brought into sharp focus an identity for UW Tacoma as an urban-serving campus, building on the substantial investment the region has always made in its university. That identity and investment is rooted in her unyielding passion: the transformational impact of education—that changes the lives of individuals and the communities of which they are a part. In those two-and-a-half years, she became a key leader in the South Sound region.
Chancellor Friedman was a true daughter of the University of Washington. She received her graduate degrees from UW – a Master’s in Sociology in 1978 and a Ph.D. in Sociology in 1983, during which time she received an Excellence in Teaching award. Her daughter Eliana graduated from UW in 2006 as a Rhodes Scholar.
Debra was a teacher, a scholar and a gifted administrator. She was known for her constant energy, her tenacity, and her persistence.
A formal event to memorialize Chancellor Friedman will be held in the coming days. More information will be available soon.