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Video of the Day
President Trump Signs S. 442


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Today’s Hill Action
Senate Floor Schedule
The Senate reconvenes at 10:30 a.m. and may proceed to a joint resolution (H J Res 83) that would disapprove and nullify an Occupational Safety and Health Administration rule regarding workplace injury and illness records.
H J Res 83 – A joint resolution disapproving the rule submitted by the Department of Labor relating to “Clarification of Employer’s Continuing Obligation to Make and Maintain an Accurate Record of Each Recordable Injury and Illness”.
Committee Hearings
9:00 a.m.: Acosta Nomination
9:30 a.m.: Gorsuch Nomination
10:00 a.m.: Veterans Service Organizations
10:00 a.m.: DHS Staffing Resources and Requirements
10:00 a.m.: Emerging Cybersecurity Technologies
10:00 a.m.: Global Humanitarian Affairs
10:00 a.m.: Nuclear Energy Regulation Modernization
10:30 a.m.: Defense Readiness/Budget Update
2:30 p.m.: State of the Coast Guard
3:30 p.m.: Army Modernization
House Floor Schedule
The House reconvenes at noon for legislative business. The chamber is expected to consider measures under suspension of the rules and to complete consideration of a bill (HR 372) that would eliminate the federal antitrust exemption for health insurance providers. The chamber is also expected to consider a bill (HR 1101) that would authorize the creation of association health plans that would be exempt from most of the minimum health insurance requirements of state laws.
HR 1101 – Small Business Health Fairness Act
HR 1302 – Terrorist and Foreign Fighter Travel Exercise Act
HR 1238 – Securing our Agriculture and Food Act
HR 1365 – Department of Homeland Security Acquisition Innovation Act
HR 372 – Competitive Health Insurance Reform Act
Committee Hearing
9:30 a.m.: Law Enforcement Facial Recognition Technology
10:00 a.m.: Veterans Service Organizations
10:00 a.m.: Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority Restructuring
10:00 a.m.: Farm Bill-Dairy Policy
10:00 a.m.: VA Inspector General Oversight
10:00 a.m.: Hybrid Warfare
10:00 a.m.: Defending Against Cyber Threats
10:00 a.m.: Ground-level Ozone Standards Implementation
10:00 a.m.: International Space Station Outlook
10:00 a.m.: World Bank Accountability
10:00 a.m.: Anti-semitism Across Boarders
10:00 a.m.: American Health Care Act
10:15 a.m.: FDA Prescription Drug User Fee Program
11:00 a.m.: Federal Small Business Policies
11:00 a.m.: Pending Legislation
2:00 p.m.: VA Health Provider Recruiting/Retainment
2:00 p.m.: JOBS Act Review
2:00 p.m.: State of the Air Force
2:00 p.m.: U.S. Policy Toward the Baltic States
2:00 p.m.: Voluntary Restricted Pharmaceutical Distribution Systems
4:00 p.m.: Committee Organization
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Ryan Meets Familiar Foe in Health-Care Fight: Conservatives
A familiar group of conservative rebels stands between House Speaker Paul Ryan and his goal of passing an Obamacare repeal measure on Thursday: the House Freedom Caucus.The group says it has enough votes to block the measure, arguing that it’s not a complete enough repeal of the health-care law, and Thursday’s vote could be the first sign of whether the caucus will be able to enforce its conservative principles in the age of President Donald Trump.

“I do not see the votes there to pass it,” Representative Jim Jordan, an Ohio Republican and former chairman of the Freedom Caucus, told MSNBC Wednesday morning. “We want the president to succeed,” he added, but “that doesn’t change what’s in the legislation.”

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Joviality at Neil Gorsuch’s Hearing Masks Drama Behind the Scenes
Judge Neil M. Gorsuch will continue to be questioned Wednesday at his confirmation hearing, but the real struggle over his nomination to the Supreme Court is already well on its way to the Senate floor. Republicans are reveling in the nominee’s so far gaffe-free performance – one Democrats find a tad too scripted and stuffed with a lot of gollys and gees – and are ready to move ahead as quickly as they can.

The Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky, was emphatic Tuesday that Mr. Gorsuch would be seated on the Supreme Court before the Senate leaves for its April recess in two weeks. At the same time, Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader, accused Judge Gorsuch of being evasive in his testimony, which stretched more than 10 hours. He insisted that the nomination would require 60 votes for approval when Republicans hold just a 52-seat majority and not a single Democratic senator has yet committed to supporting him.
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Manafort worked to ‘benefit Putin government’: report
Paul Manafort, who worked as President Trump’s campaign manager in 2016, secretly worked to advance the interests of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s government a decade ago, according to a new report. Manafort partnered with a Russian billionaire and crafted a political strategy for undermining anti-Russian sentiment across former Soviet republics, according to The Associated Press.

The AP reported that Manafort proposed the strategy as early as June 2005, ultimately signing a $10 million annual contract with Russian aluminum magnate Oleg Deripaska in 2006. The news outlet added that it confirmed Manafort’s ties with Deripaska, a close Putin ally, with several people familiar with payments to Manafort and business records it obtained.

“We are now of the belief that this model can greatly benefit the Putin Government if employed at the correct levels with the appropriate commitment to success,” Manafort wrote in the 2005 memo to Deripaska. “[The effort] will be offering a great service that can re-focus, both internally and externally, the policies of the Putin government.”
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Until tomorrow,
Lobbyit.com