DRIVING THE WEEK
- Both the House and Senate are in session this week, but votes have been canceled in the House on Wednesday and Thursday as the Reverend Billy Graham will lie in honor in the Capitol Rotunda. The Senate will remain in session and will continue to work on the backlog of nominations and confirmations - including five judges and a number of high-ranking sub-Cabinet posts.
- Gun control will continue to drive the debate and narrative in Washington. Legislation is not expected this week, but expect a measure sponsored by Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) strengthening the background check system to get more airtime in the coming days and weeks. That timeline could be accelerated given President Trump’s behind-the-scenes lobbying for action. Trump is meeting with Governors in Washington for the National Governors Association confab and will be meeting with House and Senate Republicans tomorrow at the White House. Indications of where Trump and his allies on Capitol Hill intend to take the issue will likely emerge mid-to-late week.
- Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell will testify before the House Financial Services Committee on Tuesday and then the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday. Powell will deliver his first semi-annual monetary policy report since succeeding Janet Yellen as Chairman in early February.
- With the seventh round of NAFTA re-negotiations now underway in Mexico City and new strains emerging with Canada, progress is still expected on a number of minor and technical fronts paving the way for the most contentious issues to be addressed before the upcoming elections in Mexico on July 1. Join us for a call today with one of Washington’s top trade advisors as we preview the topics on the docket for this round and what to expect leading into the next round in Washington in March. Details below.
- Emerging trade disputes with China including tariffs on steel and aluminum will dominate the latter part of the week as Liu He, the senior economic advisor to Chinese President Xi Jinping, will meet with U.S. trade officials led by Trade Rep Robert Lighthizer.
- The SEC plans to propose scaling back rules slated to take effect in 2019, and finalized during the Obama administration, that require mutual funds to disclose to shareholders the liquidity of assets that are difficult to sell.
- The House Energy and Commerce Committee will launch the first in a series of opioid hearings. The Republican leadership is expected to make this a legislative priority by mid-to-late spring.
- A special primary election will be held Tuesday in Arizona's 8th District for the House seat that was vacated by Republican Rep Trent Franks (R), who resigned in December. The seat is expected to remain in Republican hands.
Monday, February 26, 2018
HOUSE:
Committee on Small Business | Hearing: Workforce Development: Closing the Skills Gap
Committee on Rules | Hearing: H.R. 4296To place requirements on operational risk capital requirements for banking organizations established by an appropriate Federal banking agency. Comprehensive Regulatory Review Act as reported by the Committee on Financial Services.
Committee on Rules | Business Meeting | Full Committee Business Meeting: Adoption of the Committees FY 2019 Budget Views and Estimates.
TUESDAY, February 27, 2018
HOUSE:
Committee on Foreign Affairs | Hearing: The FY 2019 Foreign Affairs Budget
Committee on Natural Resources | Hearing: Legislative Hearing on HR 2947 and HR 4880
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform | Hearing: Federalism Implications of Treating States as Stakeholders
Committee on Small Business | Hearing: Occupational Hazards: How Excessive Licensing Hurts Small Business
Committee on Financial Services | Capital Markets, Securities, and Investment | Hearing: Hearing entitled “Oversight of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement”
Committee on Energy and Commerce | Subcommittee on Energy | Hearing: State of the Nations Energy Infrastructure
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure | Hearing: The State of Aviation Safety
Committee On The Budget | Hearing: CBO Oversight: The Role of Behavioral Modeling in Scoring and Baseline Construction
Committee on the Judiciary | Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations | Hearing: Implementation of the Survivors' Bill of Rights Act
Committee on Financial Services | Monetary Policy and Trade Hearing: Hearing entitled “H.R. 4311, the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2017”
Committee on Foreign Affairs | Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade Hearing: Womens Role in Countering Terrorism
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform | Subcommittee on Healthcare, Benefits, and Administrative Rules Hearing: An Obamacare Failure: The Multi-State Plan Program
Committee on Natural Resources | Hearing: Oversight Hearing, “Liquefied Natural Gas and U.S. Geopolitics"
Committee on the Judiciary | Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial, and Antitrust Law | Hearing: Competition in the Pharmaceutical Supply Chain: The Proposed Merger of CVS Health and Aetna
Wednesday, February 28, 2018
HOUSE:
Committee on Energy and Commerce | Subcommittee on Health | Hearing: Combatting the Opioid Crisis: Helping Communities Balance Enforcement and Patient Safety
Committee on Armed Services | Hearing: Terrorism and Iran: Defense Challenges in the Middle East
Committee on Financial Services | Full Committee | Hearing: Hearing entitled “Monetary Policy and the State of the Economy”
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure | Hearing: America’s Water Resources Infrastructure: Projects and Policies
Committee on Energy and Commerce | Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations | Hearing: Update on the Restoration of Puerto Ricos Electric Infrastructure
Committee on Small Business | Hearing: How Red Tape Affects Community Banks and Credit Unions: A GAO Report
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform | Subcommittee on National Security | Hearing: Bureaucratic Challenges to Hurricane Recovery in Puerto Rico
Committee on Armed Services | Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities | Hearing: A Review and Assessment of the Department of Defense Budget Strategy Policy and Programs for Cyber Operations and U.S. Cyber Command for Fiscal Year 2019
SENATE:
Committee on Foreign Relations | Hearings to examine the President's proposed budget request for fiscal year 2019 for the Department of State and redesign plans.
Thursday, March 01, 2018
HOUSE:
Committee on the Judiciary | Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice Hearing: Examining Class Action Lawsuits Against Intermediate Care Facilities for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities ICFIID
Committee on Appropriations | State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs | Hearing: FY19 Budget Hearing - Department of State and Foreign Assistance
SENATE:
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions | Hearings to examine the nomination of John F. Ring, of the District of Columbia, to be a Member of the National Labor Relations Board.
WHAT'S NEXT FOR NAFTA?: Join us for a call today at 3:30 pm with one of Washington's top trade advocates as the 7th round of NAFTA talks commences in Mexico City. Call details here.
SUPREME COURT ANTITRUST CASE DRAWS BIG TECH INTEREST:(AXP, GOOGL, AMZN, FB): Today's Supreme Court hearing could have implications for dominant tech platforms as big tech antitrust anxiety deepens. Read Paul Glenchur's piece here.
GOOD START BUT JUST A START: If you missed General Emo Gardner's overview abnd analysis of the Pentagon's FY19 budget submission, you can access it here.
AT&T/Time Warner: Pretrial Strategy and Case Insights (T, TWX): White House meddling in DOJ's merger review may be irrelevant to the case but AT&T finds value in pushing it. Glenchur's insights on DOJ's case here.
Court Denies AT&T Request for White House Documents in Time Warner Deal Litigation (T, TWX): Our Senior telecom and media analyst Paul Glenchur weighs in on AT&T losing an uphill battle to force production of documents involving possible White House meddling in the T/TWX merger case. Read his piece here.
