Lobbyit Weekly Newsletter

 

What’s Happening in Washington: Week of June 17th, 2023

Headlines to Know

 

First GOP Presidential Debate to be Held on Aug. 23rd

Twelve candidates have entered the race to date, but some are unlikely to make the stage for the first debate. To participate, candidates must meet a mix of fundraising and polling criteria set by the Republican National Committee. They must also pledge to support the party’s eventual nominee. So far, Chris Christie, Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy, Tim Scott, and Donald Trump are qualified. 

The fundraising criteria set by the RNC require candidates to have:

  • At least 40,000 unique donors to their principal campaign committee
  • At least 200 unique donors in each of 20 or more states or territories 

 

Biden Invites Netanyahu to U.S., Easing Tensions: 

President Biden invited Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to a meeting in the United States for the first time since Mr. Netanyahu re-entered office in December. The invite reversed President Biden’s decision in March to avoid meeting the Israeli PM “in the near term.”

 

House Committee Targets U.C. Berkeley Program for China Ties: 

A House select committee is requesting more information about a university collaboration that it said could help China gain access to cutting-edge research.

 

Hearings


Monday July 17th 

  • H.R. 3935 – Securing Growth and Robust Leadership in American Aviation Act; H.R. 3941 – Schools Not Shelters Act


Tuesday July 18th 

  • House Armed Services Hearing: Cyber, Information Technologies, and Innovation Subcommittee. Man, and Machine: Artificial Intelligence on the Battlefield
  • House Small Business
  • House Foreign Affairs: Achieving Peace through Strength in the Indo-Pacific: Examining the FY24 Budget Priorities
  • House Veterans’ Affairs Hearing: Legislative Hearing on: H.R. 705, Veterans 2nd Amendment Protection Act; and, Discussion Draft: Ernest Peltz Accrued Veterans Benefits Act
  • House Judiciary Hearing: Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet
  • House Judiciary: Hearing on Compliance with Committee Oversight: Subcommittee on Responsiveness and Accountability to Oversight
  • House Financial Services: Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Monetary Policy
  • House Financial Services Hearing: Capital Markets Subcommittee: Oversight of the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance
  • House Homeland Security Hearing: Transportation and Maritime Security Subcommittee: “Strategic Competition in the Arctic”
  • House Oversight and Accountability Hearing: Economic Growth, Energy Policy, and Regulatory Affairs Subcommittee: “Cancelling Consumer Choice: Examining the Biden Administration’s Regulatory Assault on Americans’ Home Appliances”
  • House Energy and Commerce Hearing: Energy, Climate and Grid Security Subcommittee: “American Nuclear Energy Expansion: Updating Policies for Efficient, Predictable Licensing and Deployment”
  • House Education and the Workforce Hearing: Indo-Pacific Task Force Oversight Hearing on “The Biden’s Administration’s Proposed Compact of Free Association Amendments Act of 2023.”
  • House Education and the Workforce Hearing “Cutting Corners at WHD: Examining the Cost to Workers, Small Businesses, and the Economy”
  • House Foreign Affairs Hearing: Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations Subcommittee: The Dire State of Religious Freedom Around the World
  • House Appropriations Markup: Fiscal Year 2024 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Bill
  • House Energy and Commerce Meeting: Innovation Saves Lives: Evaluating Medicare Coverage Pathways for Innovative Drugs, Medical Devices, and Technology
  • House Oversight and Accountability Hearing: “Getting Nowhere: DoD’s Failure to Replace the Defense Travel System”
  • Joint Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (U.S. Helsinki Commission Meeting) :Hearings to examine Russia’s alpine assets, focusing on money laundering and sanctions evasion in Switzerland.
  • House Natural Resources Hearing: Water, Wildlife, and Fisheries Subcommittee: Oversight Hearing on “ESA at 50: The Destructive Cost of the ESA”
  • House Veterans’ Affairs Markup: H.R. 3520, Veteran Care Improvement Act of 2023; H.R. 3581, COPE Act; H.R. 1278, DRIVE Act; H.R. 1639, VA Zero Suicide Demonstration Act of 2023; H.R. 1774, VA Emergency Transportation Act; H.R. 1815, Expanding Veterans’ Options for Long Term Care Act; H.R. 2683, VA Flood Preparedness Act; H.R. 2768. PFC Joseph P. Dwyer Peer Support Program Act; and H.R. 2818, Autonomy for Disabled Veterans Act.
  • House Foreign Affairs Hearing: Europe Subcommittee: Stability and Security in the Western Balkans: Assessing U.S. Policy
  • House Financial Services Hearing: National Security, Illicit Finance, and International Financial Institutions Subcommittee: Potential Consequences of FinCEN’s Beneficial Ownership Rulemaking
  • House Homeland Security Hearing: Border Security and Enforcement Subcommittee: “Opening the Flood Gates: Biden’s Broken Border Barrier”
  • House Foreign Affairs Hearing: Africa Subcommittee: Great Power Competition Implications in Africa: The Russian Federation and its proxies.
  • House Oversight and Accountability Hearing: Health Care and Financial Services Subcommittee: “Why Expanding Medicaid to DACA Recipients Will Exacerbate the Border Crisis”
  • House Energy and Commerce Meeting: Examining Emerging Threats to Electric Energy Infrastructure


Wednesday July 19th 

  • House Veterans Affairs: H.R. 3848, HOME Act of 2023; H.R. 3874, Veterans Education Assistance Improvement Act; H.R. 3898, Transcript Assurance for Heroes Act; H.R. 3900, To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish certain rights for spouses of members of the uniformed services; H.R. 3933, TAP Promotion Act; H.R. 3943, Servicemember Employment Protection Act of 2023; and H.R. 3981, Veterans Education Oversight Expansion Act
  • House Judiciary Markup: H.R. 1631, the Protecting and Enhancing Public Access to Codes Act; H.R. 4250, the Protect Reporters from Exploitative State Spying (PRESS) Act; and H.R 4639, the Fourth Amendment Is Not For Sale Act
  • House Natural Resources: FC MU of: • H.R. 1607 (Rep. Schweikert), To clarify jurisdiction with respect to certain Bureau of Reclamation pumped storage development, and for other purposes; • H.R. 2839 (Rep. Hoyle), To amend the Siletz Reservation Act to address the hunting, fishing, trapping, and animal gathering rights of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, and for other purposes; and • H.R. 4374 (Rep. Crane), “Energy Opportunities for All Act.”
  • House Small Business Hearing: “Burdensome Red Tape: Overregulation in Health Care and the Impact on Small Businesses”
  • Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Meeting: Business meeting to consider S.1253, to increase the number of U.S. Customs and Border Protection Customs and Border Protection officers and support staff and to require reports that identify staffing, infrastructure, and equipment needed to enhance security at ports of entry, S.1444, to increase the pay and enhance the training of United States Border Patrol agents, S.2251, to improve the cybersecurity of the Federal Government, S.2248, to require a pilot program on the use of big data analytics to identify vessels evading sanctions and export controls and to require a report on the availability in the United States of emerging and foundational technologies subject to export controls, S.1332, to require the Office of Management and Budget to revise the Standard Occupational Classification system to establish a separate code for direct support professionals, S.1524, to ensure that whistleblowers, including contractors, are protected from retaliation when a Federal employee orders a reprisal, S.2032, to require the reduction of the reliance and expenditures of the Federal Government on legacy information technology systems, S.1973, to require the purchase of domestically made flags of the United States of America for use by the Federal Government, an original bill entitled, “Northern Border Coordination Act”, an original bill entitled, “Mitigating Foreign Influence in Classified Government Contracts Act”, an original bill entitled, “Border Enforcement, Security, and Trade Facilitation Act”, an original bill entitled, “Wildland Firefighter Paycheck Protection Act”, an original bill entitled, “PUMP Technical Corrections Act”, an original bill entitled, “Purchased Data Inventory Act”, an original bill entitled, “Streamlining Federal Grants Act”, an original bill entitled, “PFAS-Free Procurement Act”, an original bill entitled, “Government Ethics Transparency Act”, an original bill entitled, “AI Leadership To Enable Accountable Deployment Act”, an original bill entitled, “Eliminate Useless Reports Act”, an original bill entitled, “Federal Cybersecurity Workforce Expansion Act”, an original bill entitled, “Grant Transparency Act”, and the nomination of Fara Damelin, of Virginia, to be Inspector General, Federal Communications Commission.
  • House Appropriations Markup: Fiscal Year 2024 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Bill
  • House Oversight and Accountability Hearing: “Hearing with IRS Whistleblowers About the Biden Criminal Investigation”
  • Senate Energy and Natural Resources Meeting: To receive a closed briefing on the Department of Energy’s capabilities, research, and infrastructure for Artificial Intelligence, and to discuss how the Department can respond to emerging risks and capabilities from the development of AI.
  • House Homeland Security Hearing: “Biden and Mayorkas’ Open Border: Advancing Cartel Crime in America”
  • House Veterans’ Affairs Markup: H.R. 592, Department of Veterans Affairs Electronic Health Record Modernization Improvement Act; H.R. 608, To terminate the Electronic Health Record Modernization Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs; H.R. 1659, Department of Veterans Affairs IT Modernization Improvement Act; H.R. 2499, VA Supply Chain Management System Authorization Act; H.R. 4278, Restore Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability Act; H.R. 196, Expediting Temporary Ratings for Veterans Act; H.R. 4461, Modernizing Department of Veteran Affairs Disability Benefit Questionnaires Act; H.R. 3504, VA Medical Center Security Report Act; H.R. 2733, Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General Training Act; and H.R. 4225, VA Acquisition Review Board Act
  • Committee on House Administration Hearing: Oversight of the U.S. Capitol Police Office of Inspector General
  • House Ways and Means Hearing: Biden’s Global Tax Surrender Harms American Workers and Our Economy
  • Senate Energy and Natural Resources Meeting: An oversight hearing to examine of the Bureau of Reclamation, including S.461, to make certain irrigation districts eligible for Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program pumping power, S.482, to amend the Klamath Basin Water Supply Enhancement Act of 2000 to provide the Secretary of the Interior with certain authorities with respect to projects affecting the Klamath Basin watershed, S.739, to clarify jurisdiction with respect to certain Bureau of Reclamation pumped storage development, S.1118, to establish the Open Access Evapotranspiration (OpenET) Data Program, S.1215, to require assessments of opportunities to install and maintain floating photovoltaic solar panels at Bureau of Reclamation and Corps of Engineers projects, S.1521, to amend the Federal Power Act to modernize and improve the licensing of non-Federal hydropower projects, S.1662, to direct the Secretary of the Interior to convey to the Midvale Irrigation District the Pilot Butte Power Plant in the State of Wyoming, S.1955, to amend the Central Utah Project Completion Act to authorize expenditures for the conduct of certain water conservation measures in the Great Salt Lake basin, S.2102, to provide for drought preparedness and improved water supply reliability, S.2160, to amend the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 to authorize certain extraordinary operation and maintenance work for urban canals of concern, S.2161, to provide financial assistance for projects to address certain subsidence impacts in the State of California, S.2162, to support water infrastructure in Reclamation States, S.2166, to amend the Reclamation States Emergency Drought Relief Act of 1991 and the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 to provide grants to States and Indian Tribes for programs to voluntarily repurpose agricultural land to reduce consumptive water use, S.2169, to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to carry out watershed pilots, S.2202, to amend the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 to authorize the modification of transferred works to increase public benefits and other project benefits as part of extraordinary operation and maintenance work, and S.2247, to reauthorize the Bureau of Reclamation to provide cost-shared funding to implement the endangered and threatened fish recovery programs for the Upper Colorado and San Juan River Basins.
  • Senate Indian Affairs Meeting: Business meeting to consider pending calendar business; to be immediately followed by a hearing to examine S.2088, to direct the Secretary of the Interior to complete all actions necessary for certain land to be held in restricted fee status by the Oglala Sioux Tribe and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe.
  • Senate Intelligence Meeting: To receive a closed briefing on certain intelligence matters.
  • Senate Appropriations Meeting: Hearings to examine the FY 2024 budget for the Securities and Exchange Commission.
  • Senate Judiciary Meeting: Hearings to examine trends in vertical merger enforcement.
  • Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Meeting: Business meeting to consider S.38, to amend the Small Business Act to codify the Boots to Business Program, S.77, to reauthorize the State Trade Expansion Program of the Small Business Administration, S.609, to establish a pilot program awarding competitive grants to organizations administering entrepreneurial development programming to formerly incarcerated individuals, and other purposes, S.673, to allow nonprofit child care providers to participate in certain loan programs of the Small Business Administration, S.936, to amend the Small Business Act to include requirements relating to graduates of career and technical education programs or programs of study for small business development centers and women’s business centers, S.943, to increase the minimum disaster loan amount for which the Small Business Administration may require collateral, S.1156, to establish an Office of Native American Affairs within the Small Business Administration, S.1345, to amend the Small Business Act to enhance the Office of Credit Risk Management, to require the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to issue rules relating to environmental obligations of certified development companies, S.1352, to amend the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 to improve the loan guaranty program, enhance the ability of small manufacturers to access affordable capital, S.1370, to reauthorize and limit the pre-disaster mitigation program of the Small Business Administration, S.1396, to improve commercialization activities in the SBIR and STTR programs, S.1402, to require the Administrator of the Small Business Administration, in consultation with the Under Secretary of Commerce for Minority Business Development, to establish a grant program to create or expand programs at minority-serving institutions and historically Black colleges and universities that promote minority business ownership and entrepreneurship, S.1458, to require the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to establish a program to assist small business concerns with purchasing cybersecurity products and services, S.1739, to require the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to establish an Innovation Voucher Grant Program, S.1763, to include smoke in the definition of disaster in the Small Business Act, S.2094, to reauthorize the Interagency Committee on Women’s Business Enterprise, S.2099, to establish an Office of Community Financial Institutions within the Small Business Administration that will strengthen the ability of Community Financial Institutions to support the development of small business concerns in underserved communities, S.2100, to amend the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 to modify fees and funding for certain small business refinancing loans and loans to qualified State or local development companies, S.2146, to amend the Small Business Act to increase the Governmentwide goal for participation in Federal contracts by small business concerns owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans, S.2184, to amend the Small Business Act to improve the Women’s Business Center Program, S.2185, to amend the Small Business Act to require an annual report on entrepreneurial development programs, S.2206, to increase the guarantee amount under the Surety Bond Program of the Small Business Administration, S.2209, to establish a veteran Federal procurement entrepreneurship training program, S.2212, to require the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to establish an SBIC Advisory Committee, and an original bill entitled, “Community Advantage Loan Program Act”.
  • Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Meeting: Hearings to examine rural water, focusing on modernizing our community water systems.


Thursday July 20th 

  • House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party Hearing: “The Biden Administration’s PRC Strategy”
  • House Natural Resources Hearing: Legislative Hearing on: • Discussion draft of H.R. ____ (Rep. Kiggans), “Military and Veterans in Parks (MVP) Act”; • H.R. 1786 (Rep. Levin), “GROW Act”; • H.R. 1829 (Rep. Crane), To require the Secretary of Agriculture to convey the Pleasant Valley Ranger District Administrative Site to Gila County, Arizona; and • H.R. 2468 (Rep. Owens), “Mountain View Corridor Completion Act”.
  • House Judiciary Hearing: Hearing on the Weaponization of the Federal Government
  • Senate Armed Services Meeting: Hearings to examine the nomination of Lieutenant General Timothy D. Haugh, USAF, to be general and Director, National Security Agency/Chief, Central Security Service Commander, United States Cyber Command.
  • House Veterans Affairs Hearing: VA Contracting: Challenges in Competition and Conflicts of Interest
  • Senate Environment and Public Works Meeting: Hearings to examine the Water Resources Development Act, focusing on non-Federal stakeholder views.
  • Senate Aging: Hearings to examine housing accessibility and affordability for older adults and people with disabilities.
  • Senate Judiciary Meeting: Business meeting to consider S.359, to amend title 28, United States Code, to provide for a code of conduct for justices of the Supreme Court of the United States, and the nomination of Julia Kathleen Munley, to be United States District Judge for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.
  • Senate Commerce Science, and Transportation Meeting: An oversight hearing to examine the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration budget.
  • Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Meeting: Hearings to examine America’s supply chain security, focusing on understanding and mitigating threats.
  • Senate Finance Meeting: Hearings to examine the urgent need to reform the U.S. transplant system, focusing on the cost of inaction.
  • Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Meeting: Hearings to examine perspectives on deposit insurance reform after recent bank failures.
  • Senate Appropriations Meeting: Business meeting to markup an original bill entitled, ¿Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act¿, an original bill entitled, ¿State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act¿, and an original bill entitled, ¿Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act”.
  • Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Meeting: Business meeting to consider an original bill entitled, “Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness and Response Act”, and other pending calendar business.


Friday July 21st

House Natural Resources Hearing: Oversight field hearing titled “Securing Supply Chains: Access to Critical Minerals in the American Southwest.” The hearing will examine the vast mineral potential of the American Southwest, including the local and national benefits of tapping into mining in the region, ranging from national security to economic advantages.