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News and updates

News and updates

This week in Congress, Feb. 27-Mar. 3

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U.S. SENATE COMMITTEE MEETINGS

 

Senate Select Intelligence

COATS NOMINATION

Feb. 28, 2 p.m., 106 Dirksen Bldg.

Full Committee Hearing

 

 

Senate Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs

BORDER INSECURITY/LAX IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT

March 1, 10 a.m., 342 Dirksen Bldg.

Full Committee Hearing

 

Senate Commerce, Science & Transportation

RURAL INFRASTRUCTURE ACCESS ISSUES

March 1, 10 a.m., 106 Dirksen Bldg.

Full Committee Hearing

 

Senate Armed Services

CYBER STRATEGY AND POLICY

March 2, 9:30 a.m., 216 Hart Bldg.

Full Committee Hearing

 

 

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES COMMITTEE MEETINGS

 

House Financial Services

BUDGET VIEWS AND ESTIMATES

Feb. 28, 10 a.m., 2128 Rayburn Bldg.

Full Committee Markup

 

House Judiciary

HEALTH CARE LEGISLATION/TRUMP’S FINANCIAL DOCUMENTS INQUIRY

Feb. 28, 10 a.m., 2141 Rayburn Bldg.

Full Committee Markup

 

House Agriculture

FARM BILL

Feb. 28, 10 a.m., 1300 Longworth Bldg.

Subcommittee Hearing

 

House Education & the Workforce

STRENGTHENING CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION

Feb. 28, 10 a.m., 2175 Rayburn Bldg.

Subcommittee Hearing

 

House Appropriations

MEMBER’S DAY

Feb. 28, 10:30 a.m., H-309, U.S. Capitol

Subcommittee Hearing

 

MEMBER’S DAY

March 1, 9:30 a.m., 2008 Rayburn Bldg.

Subcommittee Hearing

 

MEMBER’S DAY

March 8, 2 p.m., TBA

Subcommittee Hearing

 

House Budget

MEMBER’S DAY

March 2, 10 a.m., 1334 Longworth Bldg.

Full Committee Hearing

An Increase of $54 Billion for Defense and Corresponding Cuts to Non-Defense Programs Sought

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In its initial proposal outlining the Administration’s budget goals for FY2018, the White House is seeking an increase of $54 billion to $603 billion overall for defense programs. To maintain the overall topline budget number, the Administration is seeking offsets in non-defense related programs.

Federal Relations continues to monitor developments on this front.

Administration Budget Proposal to Call for Increase in Defense, Cuts to Domestic Programs

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The Trump White House will send today to the federal agencies its draft FY2018 budget proposal that will seek increases for defense and veterans’ programs while looking to cut domestic programs. The proposal being shared with the agencies today will only address the discretionary programs — those that must be funded through the annual appropriations process—and will not touch the mandatory programs, like Social Security and Medicare. Those issues will be handled in the larger budget request that will be released later in March.

The call for increases in defense and veterans’ programs, as well as funding for a new border wall, without raising the overall level of discretionary spending would force sizable cuts to non-defense discretionary (NDD) programs. Under the current law, the overall FY2018 discretionary spending level is set at $1.064 trillion, with $549 billion for defense and $515.4 billion for NDD programs. Democrats have insisted on “parity” with respect to budget increases, arguing that increases to defense must be tied to increases in NDD programs, and are likely to raise serious objections to this budget outline. As noted above, a budget framework containing proposals on mandatory programs will be released in March.

Federal Relations will provide further details as they become available.

What We’re Reading This Week, February 20 – 24

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Here is a selection of articles that the Federal Relations Team is reading this week:

Former House Speaker Boehner’s Interesting Take – Former House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), who was replaced as Speaker by Paul Ryan (R-WI), continues to offer up views and statements on issues that he likely would not have made were he still in office.  For example, take a look at his take on immigrants and their views on Trump  here in Politico and his assessment of the Republican push to repeal Obamacare, also in Politico.

Transgender Bathroom Protections Rescinded – President Trump on Wednesday rescinded protections for transgender students that had allowed them to use bathrooms corresponding with their gender identity, overruling his own education secretary and placing his administration firmly in the middle of the culture wars that many Republicans have tried to leave behind. Read more from the New York Times. 

Immigration Raids and Students – An immigration-law expert chimes in on how the recent detention of Daniel Ramirez Medina could affect students around the country who still benefit from the Obama-era policy. Read more from The Atlantic.

Research Today, Innovation Tomorrow – Federal agencies, with bipartisan support, are the primary investor of cutting-edge basic research that fuels industry’s ability to harness that knowledge into innovative products and business. But federal budgets, in real terms, have shrunk. Excellent research proposals, given the highest rankings by peer-reviewed scientists, go unfunded. Read more from Rush Holt, CEO of The American Association for the Advancement of Science, and Maria T. Zuber, chair of the National Science Board, on The Hill.

Anti-immigrant Sentiments and Violence Not Limited to the West – Anti-immigrant sentiments and violence, most often associated with the West, are not limited to that part of the world.  Other parts of the world are dealing with such events as well. Read more here on BBC.

DeVos Takes on “Education Establishment”

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In a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Feb. 23, the new Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos stated that higher education faculty tell students what to say and what to think.  Her prepared speech reads, in part:

The faculty, from adjunct professors to deans, tell you what to do, what to say, and more ominously, what to think. They say that if you voted for Donald Trump, you’re a threat to the university community. But the real threat is silencing the First Amendment rights of people with whom you disagree.

The entire speech is available on the Department of Education website.