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Video of the Day
3/8/17: White House Press Briefing


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Today’s Hill Action
Senate Floor Schedule
The Senate reconvenes at 10 a.m. and is expected to resume consideration of a disapproval resolution (H J Res 57) that would nullify an Education Department rule regarding accountability measures for school performance. The Senate is scheduled to vote on passage of the joint resolution at noon. The chamber will then resume consideration of the nomination of Seema Verma to be administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, with a cloture vote scheduled for 1:45 p.m.
H J Res 57 – A joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Department of Education relating to accountability and State plans under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.
Committee Hearings
9:30 a.m.: Duke Nomination
10:00 a.m.: FCC Oversight
10:00 a.m.: Funding Transportation Infrastructure
10:00 a.m.: Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization
10:00 a.m.: Pending Legislation
10:30 a.m.: Medical Research
2:15 p.m.: Administration’s Indian Affairs Priorities
2:30 p.m.: Global Nuclear Weapons Environment
2:30 p.m.: Cybersecurity
House Floor Schedule
The House reconvenes at noon for legislative business. The chamber is expected to consider a bill (HR 725) that would establish new federal judicial proceedings for determining whether a defendant has been fraudulently joined to a lawsuit and a bill (HR 985) that would group proposed classes of individuals for a class-action lawsuits into groups that have suffered the same type and degree of injury and requires quarterly reports by asbestos trusts of claims.
HR 725 – Innocent Party Protection Act
HR 985 – Fairness in Class Action Litigation Act
Committee Hearings
9:00 a.m.: Member’s Day
9:30 a.m.: EPA Science Reform Legislation
10:00 a.m.: Member’s Day
10:00 a.m.: Veterans Service Organizations
10:00 a.m.: State/Foreign Operations Programs Oversight
10:00 a.m.: Farm Bill – Rural Development and Energy
10:00 a.m.: Labor-HHS-Education-SSA Management
10:00 a.m.: Pending Business
10:00 a.m.: Pending Business
10:00 a.m.: Healthcare Reform Legislation
10:30 a.m.: Tribal/Insular Community Infrastructure Improvement
10:00 a.m.: DHS-Private Sector Cybersecurity Engagement
10:00 a.m.: Water Infrastructure
10:00 a.m.: Flood Insurance Reform
10:00 a.m.: ATF Failures/Death of ICE Agent Jaime Zapata
10:00 a.m.: Russian Disinformation
11:00 a.m.: SBA Loan Guarantee Program Overview
11:30 a.m.: National Science Foundation Oversight
1:00 p.m.: Member’s Day
1:30 p.m.: Pending Business
2:00 p.m.: Member’s Day
2:00 p.m.: Farm Bill – Specialty Crops
2:00 p.m.: Democracy Threat in Ethiopia
2:00 p.m.: Committee Organization
3:30 p.m.: Nuclear Deterrence
TBA: Pending Business
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Trump Woos Lawmakers With Flattery and White House Bowling
Less than two months on the job, President Donald Trump is showing that when it comes to wooing members of Congress, he’s no Barack Obama. Where Obama was usually reserved and met sparingly with lawmakers, Trump has launched a full-out charm offensive, much of it aimed at bolstering the beleaguered Republican Obamacare plan. Trump “was talking about how we all got to work together,” said Representative Tom Cole of Oklahoma, who was part of a group of House Republican vote-counters who met Trump Tuesday in the White House. “He even said at one point, ‘Maybe we should meet once a week. Maybe we should meet every four days!'”
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Vulnerable Republicans feel the heat on ObamaCare replacement bill
While different factions of the GOP wrangle over the details of the newly unveiled ObamaCare repeal-and-replace plan, vulnerable Republican lawmakers face another choice: whether to talk about it at all. Republicans facing challenging reelection races in 2018 have so far been largely silent on the legislation, which has sparked backlash from Democrats and conservative Republicans alike.
Nevada’s Dean Heller, the most vulnerable GOP senator up for reelection, has yet to comment on the House bill even as pressure mounts on him from both sides of the aisle. Heller is the only senator facing reelection in a state that chose Hillary Clinton for president in November. Democrats have already set their eyes on him as a top target in a year when their own party will mostly be on defense, with 10 senators up for reelection in states President Trump won.
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Russia Has Deployed Missile Barred by Treaty, U.S. General Tells Congress
A senior American general told Congress on Wednesday that Russia has deployed a prohibited cruise missile, the first public confirmation by the United States that the Kremlin had fielded the weapon in violation of a landmark arms control agreement. The missile is believed to have been moved in December from a test site in southern Russia to an undisclosed operational base. “We believe that the Russians have deployed a land-based cruise missile that violates the spirit and intent of the Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty,” Gen. Paul Selva, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the House Armed Services Committee. “The system itself presents a risk to most of our facilities in Europe,” he added. “And we believe that the Russians have deliberately deployed it in order to pose a threat to NATO and to facilities within the NATO area of responsibility.” The New York Times reported last month that Russia had deployed a battalion of the prohibited missiles. A typical battalion has four launchers, each of which is equipped with six missiles.
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