U.S. Sen. Jeff

U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions

Sessions and U.S. Rep. Martha Roby were special guests of the BCA Federal Affairs Committee earlier today. The committee, which is in the process of finalizing BCA's Federal Legislative Agenda for the second session of the 112th Congress, met by conference call this morning.

Also joining the call were members of the Chamber of Commerce Association of Alabama as well as BCA's Manufacturing Advocacy Council.

U.S. Rep. Martha Roby

Sessions and Roby are both sponsors of the Honest Budget Act, S. 1651 and H.R. 3844, which target accounting techniques in the federal budget process. Among other provisions, the Honest Budget Act would make it harder for Congress to pass spending bills without first passing a budget, would reveal the real cost and commitment of federal government spending, and would prevent Congress from claiming savings unless those savings are real and genuine.  
 
Sessions, the top Republican on the Senate Budget Committee, shared with the committee that President Barack Obama will be releasing his budget on Monday. It has been more than 1,000 days since Congress passed a budget, and Sessions said that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has indicated this budget will not be brought to the Senate floor for a vote.

Roby discussed the 27 bills passed by the House that are now stalled in the Senate, and during this election year, she does not foresee any of that legislation moving forward. Roby also indicated that the multi-year transportation reauthorization bill, the American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act of 2012 (H.R. 7), is expected to be brought up for a vote in the House next week.
    
Sessions are Roby are strong advocates for Alabama's business community, and we appreciate the time they spent with us today.

The House on Thursday voted 417-2 to approve an ethics reform package that would prohibit insider trading by members of Congress and their staff, as well as executive branch officials.

The bill largely remains intact from the bill passed by the Senate last week, applying insider-trading laws to apply to members of Congress and their aides as well as senior advisors in the executive branch. However, the House-passed version of the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act (STOCK Act) does not contain several provisions that the Senate included and, therefore, will head to a House-Senate conference to reconcile the differences.

The House-passed version does not include the Senate-approved amendment that would require "political intelligence" practitioners to adhere to the same requirements as lobbyists. These consultants provide inside information to Wall Street - hedge funds and other information houses - which use the information to make money. The House version replaces this provision with a mandated federal study of the industry to recommend legislative action next year.

The House version also includes a provision that would restrict members of Congress from recieiving access to initial public offerings of stock.

The Senate on Monday passed a four-year, $63 billion compromise bill to renew and extend federal aviation programs through 2015. The Senate voted 75-20 to pass the measure.

The House approved the measure last Friday by a vote of 248-169. President Obama is expected to sign it into law.

The Federal Aviation Administration's authorization expired in 2007. Since then, there have been 23 stopgap measures as lawmakers worked on an agreement toward a multi-year bill.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee on Tuesday voted 33-20 to pass the North American Energy Access Act (H.R. 3548), which would require the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to approve TransCanada Corp.'s proposed Keystone XL pipeline thus removing the authority from President Barack Obama. The bill would give FERC the authority to approve the project in 30 days.

The legislation now heads to the full House where it will be attached to the $260 billion transportation bill. The bill's chances in the Democratic-controlled Senate remain unclear.

Gulf Coast lawmakers: Time may be running out for RESTORE Act
The Press-Register reports, "Members of Congress from the Gulf Coast, joined by local officials in Washington to push for an oil spill fine bill, worried Wednesday that time could be running short for legislation to send what could be billions of dollars in spill fines to the Gulf."

Frustrated GOP freshmen target gimmicks that make it hard to cut the budget
The Washington Post reports, "Before winning a spot in the House Republican freshman class, Rep. Tim Griffin was a high-ranking GOP political operative and a top aide to strategist Karl Rove. But despite his extensive Washington experience, Griffin said he was blindsided last year by budget 'gimmicks' that blocked a clear victory for his top priority: cutting federal spending."

Official: 10 states get No Child Left Behind waiver
The Associated Press reports, "President Barack Obama on Thursday will free 10 states from the strict and sweeping requirements of the No Child Left Behind law, giving leeway to states that promise to improve how they prepare and evaluate students."

202.224.5744
U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions

202.224.4124
U.S. Rep. Jo Bonner

202.225.4931
U.S. Rep. Martha Roby

202.225.2901
U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers

202.225.3261
U.S. Rep. Robert Aderholt

202.225.4876
U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks

202.225.4801
U. S. Rep. Spencer Bachus

202.225.4921
U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell

202.225.2665