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News and updates

President’s FY 2017 Budget Delayed

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The Office of Management and Budget announced that the President’s FY 2017 Budget proposal will be delayed until February 9th. The President’s budget is statutorily required to be presented to Congress the first Monday of February, which this year is February 1st.

A delay on the budget transmission is not a new event for the Administration, and nearly all of the Obama Administration Budgets have been just or well past the first Monday deadline.

Federal Relations will continue to monitor the progress of the budget as well as the release and the resulting impacts.

Lobbying Disclosure Forms Due Wednesday, January 13

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If you engaged in federal lobbying activities between October 1 and December 31, 2015, please complete the federal lobbying disclosure form and return it to the Office of Federal Relations (McKinzie Strait – mckinzie@uw.edu) by close of business Wednesday, January 13. 

Background

According to the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007, which became effective 1/1/08, the UW Office of Federal Relations is required to report lobbying activities on behalf of the University of Washington to both the Senate and the House of Representatives on a quarterly basis.

UW faculty and staff are not considered lobbyists; however, some do spend time in Washington, DC lobbying Capitol Hill and the Administration for specific projects and funding. The Office of Federal Relations is required to report the total amount of money the University spends each quarter in support of those lobbying efforts, which is why UW staff and faculty are asked to supply that information to this office. Specific names and other information do not appear anywhere on the form that is submitted—all that appears is a dollar figure. The information provided is kept on file to provide supporting documentation should our records be audited by the General Accounting Office.

The paragraphs below detail who lobbying contacts are, and what activities are defined as lobbying. Please use the following criteria to determine what information to report to our office (in order to complete the form correctly):

Lobbying contacts includes communications about legislation, government policy, programs, contracts or nominations with:

  • Members of Congress
  • Elected officers of either House of Congress
  • Employees of a Member of Congress
  • Employees of either House of Congress
  • Leadership staff of either House of Congress
  • Employees of a joint committee of Congress
  • Employees of a working group or caucus organized to provide assistance to Congress
  • Schedule “C” employees (political appointees)
  • Any other legislative branch employees/officers who occupy a position for at least 60 days for which the pay is 120 percent or more of the lower GS-15 level pay
  • The President and Vice President
  • Any officer or employee serving in a position in Level I-V of the Executive Schedule
  • Any member of the uniformed services whose pay grade is at or above 0-7

 

Federal lobbying activities you must report to UW Federal Relations includes:

  • The formulation, modification, or adoption of Federal legislation;
  • The administration or execution of a Federal program or policy;
  • The formulation, modification or adoption of a Federal rule, regulation, Executive order, policy or position of the United States government;
  • The nomination or confirmation of a person subject to confirmation by the Senate.

 

Please do NOT include:

  • Speeches or articles available to the public through the mass media;
  • Request for a meeting or status information on an issue;
  • Testimony given before Congress or submitted to be included in the public record;
  • Information provided by a request from Congress or subpoena.

You must file your report with our office by close of business (PDT) on WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13. If there was no lobbying activity done for this period please disregard this notice.

More Questions?

Contact McKinzie Strait in UW Federal Relations mckinzie@uw.edu / 202.624.1420

 

Happy New Year!

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The 114th Congress is back in action this week for the second legislative session. The House reconvenes tomorrow and the Senate will return on Monday, January 11th. The 2016 Congressional calendar boasts roughly 110 legislative voting days with plenty of 4-day weekends and an early summer recess – beginning in July and running through Labor Day.

Congress will begin the New Year with a busy agenda. First, as a reminder, all legislation that was in play last year carries over to this second session of Congress. That means that there are plenty of existing bills to consider, with more on the way.

Second, it appears that Congress will attempt to take action on FY 2017 appropriations bills early this year. With funding for the current fiscal year finally behind them, albeit three months late, Republican leaders have pledged to restore the regular budget process by clearing the 12 annual appropriations bills to fund the government by October 1st, the start of the new fiscal year. House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) has indicated that he wants to begin considering spending bills on the House floor by mid-March, an unusually early schedule for bills that often don’t reach the floor until the summer or later. The task could be made easier this year because of a two-year bipartisan budget agreement passed in October that already established overall spending levels for defense and domestic programs for FY 2017. That means lawmakers can begin their work this year with the top-line spending limits already settled.

And finally, there are plenty of policy issues to watch for in 2016 – mostly carryover issues from last year. We expect to hear more about Syrian refugees and homeland security, criminal justice reform, taxes, and gun control. We also expect to see some movement on FDA reforms, similar to those already approved in the House approved 21st Century Cures bill, as well as efforts to reauthorize the Higher Education Act.

Other than those pressing issues, Congress will be overshadowed by the Presidential campaign. The National Journal has a great article out today that poses 11 questions that will define Congress in 2016 – many of which revolve around Presidential politics.

What We’re Reading This Week, December 21-25

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Happy Holidays! Here’s a selection of articles the Federal Relations team is reading this week.

Tax 2.0 – Congressional leadership is saying that passage of a major tax deal has increased the chances that Congress will tackle tax reform in 2017. Read more at The Hill. 

Big Boost – Congress passes a 2016 spending and tax bill that blows away caps on discretionary spending to fund more student aid and health research. Read more at Inside Higher Ed.

Bernie v. DNC – The Sanders campaign took advantage of a down firewall to access Clinton campaign voter data. The DNC subsequently barred the Sanders campaign from any of the DNC data. Politico has an overview, and the New York Times has why voter data is important.

5 Myths – Here are the five most common myths (and some tips) about wine for your holiday season. Tip: put your wine in the blender for 30 seconds..Who knew? Read more at Food 52. 

Diary of Air Travel – A visual diary documenting a flight from New York to Berlin (with a layover in London). Read it at The New York Times. 

Congress Passes $1.8 Trillion FY 2016 Spending and Tax Extension Bill

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This morning the House & Senate approved a $1.8 trillion fiscal year 2016 omnibus spending bill, averting a government shutdown and funding the federal establishment through September 2016. The measure passed with a 316-113 vote in the House followed by a 65-33 vote in the Senate. President Obama is said to sign the measure into law imminently. We encourage you to review our FY2016 Omnibus Analysis. Please let Christy Gullion, UW Director of Federal Relations (cgullion@uw.edu), or Sarah Castro, UW Associate Director of Federal Relations (smcastro@uw.edu), know if you have questions.

 

As noted in a previous post, highlights of the bill include:

  • The National Institutes of Health received $32 billion, $2 billion above current levels.
  • The National Science Foundation is funded at $7.5 billion, an increase of $119 million, and directorates such as Social and Behavioral Sciences were funded at FY 2015 levels.
  • NASA is funded at $19.3 billion, an increase of $1.3 billion above the fiscal year 2015 enacted level to advance America’s leadership in space and science. Within this total, $4 billion is provided for Exploration, including funding to keep the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle and Space Launch System on schedule, and $5.6 billion is provided for science programs.
  • Defense research was funded at $69.8 billion for research, development, testing, and evaluation of new defense technologies, which was minor increases.
  • The maximum Pell Grant award is increased to $5,915.
  • Title VI International Education programs were held at FY 2015 levels.
  • NOAA received $5.8 billion, which is $325 million above the fiscal year 2015 enacted level. Funding was included for the National Weather Service to provide critical weather information to the public, and investments in new and existing weather satellites that are essential to maintain and improve weather forecasts, including the Polar Follow On program.
  • Maximum Pell Grant award to $5,915, funded by a combination of discretionary and mandatory funds.

 

In addition to omnibus appropriations, the bill includes a $680 million tax package, which makes permanent several tax provisions that were previously subject to extensions including the research and experimentation tax credit and several charitable donation tax breaks. More information on this can be found here.