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Table of Contents
REPUBLICANS FIND NEW CONSUMER BUREAUR TOO POWERFUL
HOUSE APPROVES 3 WEEK SPENDING BILL
NEVADA REPUBLICANS SKEPTICAL OF ANGLE BID
Congressional 
Climate Bill Tracking 
Keyhole Image H.R.658 - FAA Reauthorization and Reform Act of 2011
Keyhole Image H.R.164 - Damaged Vehicle Information Act
Keyhole Image H.R.514 - FISA Sunsets Extension Act of 2011
Keyhole Image H.R.1 - Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2011
Keyhole ImageH.R.4 - Small Business Paperwork Mandate Elimination Act of 2011
Keyhole Image H.R.96 - Internet Freedom Act
Keyhole Image H.R.605 - Patients' Freedom to Choose Act
Keyhole Image S.244 - State Health Care Choice Act

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Greetings!  
Please enjoy today's issue of the Congressional Climate newsletter, brought to you by Lobbyit.com!
Today's Hill Action: 

 

THE SENATE:

 

The Senate will meet at 10:00 a.m. today for morning business. Afterwards, they will begin consideration of S.493, the SBIR/STTR Reauthorization Act of 2011.

 

SENATE COMMITTEES:
 
Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (TBA): Organizational business meeting to consider subcommittee assignments and the nominations of Kelvin K. Droegemeier, of Oklahoma, to be a Member of the National Science Board, National Science Foundation, and Jonathan Andrew Hatfield, of Virginia, to be Inspector General, Corporation for National and Community Service. TBA.
 
Senate Foreign Relations (9:00 a.m.): Receiving a closed briefing on Libya. SVC-217. 
 
Senate Veterans' Affairs (9:30 a.m.): Joint hearings to examine the legislative presentations from AMVETS, Jewish War Veterans, Military Officers Association of America, Gold Star Wives, Blinded Veterans Association, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, and the Fleet Reserve Association. SDG-50. 
 
Senate Budget (10:00 a.m.): Joint hearing with the Task Force on Government Performance to examine modernizing performance, focusing on using the new framework. SD-608. 
 
Senate Commerce, Science & Transportation (10:00 a.m.): Hearing to examine the state of online consumer privacy. SR-253. 
 

Senate Environment & Public Works (10:00 a.m.): Hearing to examine the report to the President from the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling. SD-406.

 

Senate Finance (10:00 a.m.): Hearings to examine health reform, focusing on lessons learned during the first year. SD-215. 

 

Senate Foreign Relations (10:15 a.m.): Hearings to examine the nomination of Joseph M. Torsella, of Pennsylvania, to be Representative to the United Nations for U.N. Management and Reform, with the rank of Ambassador, Dept. of State. SD-419. 

 

Senate Appropriations (10:30 a.m.): Subcommittee on Department of Defense - Hearings to examine proposed budget estimates for fiscal year 2012 for the Department of the Navy. SD-192. 
 
Senate Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs (10:30 a.m.): Business meeting to consider the nominations of Heather A. Higginbottom, of the District of Columbia, to be Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget, Executive Office of the President, and Carolyn N. Lerner, of Maryland, to be Special Counsel, Office of Special Counsel. S-216.
 
Senate Appropriations (2:00 p.m.): Subcommittee on Department of the Interior, Environment, & Related Agencies - Hearings to examine proposed budget estimates for fiscal year 2012 for the Environmental Protection Agency.

 

Senate Aging (2:00 p.m.): Hearing to examine securities lending in retirement plans. SH-216.

 

Senate Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (2:00 p.m.): Hearings to examine Northern Ireland, focusing on justice in individual cases and accountability for past abuses by security services in the region. CHOB-210.

 

Senate Armed Services (2:30 p.m.): Set to receive a closed briefing on the updated National Intelligence Estimate on Iran and other related matters. SVC-217.

 

Senate Foreign Relations (2:30 p.m.): To receive a closed briefing on Afghanistan, focusing on progress and expectations. SVC-217.

 

Senate Judiciary (2:30 p.m.): Hearings to examine the nominations of Bernice Boule Donald, of Tennessee, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Sixth Circuit, J. Paul Oetken, and Paul A. Engelmayer, both to be United States District Judge for the Southern District of New York, and Ramona Villagomez Mangiona, to be Judge for the District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands. SD-226.

 

THE HOUSE: 

 

The House will meet at 10:00 a.m.

 

HOUSE COMMITTEES:
 
House Agriculture (10:00 a.m.): Conservation, Energy & Forestry Subcommittee - Hearing to review the Chesapeake Bay total maximum daily loads, agricultural conservation practices, and their implications on national watersheds. 1300 LHOB. 
 
House Appropriations (10:00 a.m.): Agriculture, Rural Development, & FDA Subcommittee - Hearing to examine the fiscal year 2012 budget request for the Dept. of Agriculture research, education, and economic programs. 2362-A RHOB.
 
House Appropriations (10:00 a.m.): Commerce, Justice & Science Subcommittee - Hearing to examine the fiscal year 2012 budget request from the Drug Enforcement Agency. H-309 Capitol. 

House Appropriations (10:00 a.m.): Defense Subcommittee - Hearing to examine the fiscal year 2012 budget request from the Army. John McHugh, Secretary of the U.S. Army, and George Casey, Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army, will be present. H-140 Capitol. 
 
House Appropriations (10:00 a.m.): Energy & Water Development Subcommittee - Hearing to examine the fiscal year 2012 budget request for the Dept. of Energy science programs. 2362-B RHOB.

House Appropriations (10:00 a.m.): Homeland Security Subcommittee - Hearing to examine the fiscal year 2012 budget request from the Southwest Border Enforcement. 2359 RHOB.

House Appropriations (10:00 a.m.): Labor, Health & Human Services, & Education Subcommittee - Hearing to examine the fiscal year 2012 budget request for the Dept. of Labor. Hilda Solis, Secretary of the Dept. of Labor, will be present. 2358-C RHOB.
 
House Appropriations (10:00 a.m.): State & Foreign Operations Subcommittee - Hearing to examine the fiscal year 2012 budget request from the United Nations and other international organizations. B-308 RHOB.
 
House Appropriations (1:00 p.m.): Interior & Environment Subcommittee - Hearing to examine the fiscal year 2012 budget request from the Fish and Wildlife Service. B-308 RHOB.
 
House Appropriations (2:00 p.m.): Financial Services & General Government Subcommittee - Hearing to examine the fiscal year 2012 budget request from the Dept. of the Treasury. Timothy Geithner, Secretary of the Dept. of the Treasury, will be present. 2359 RHOB.
 
House Appropriations (2:00 p.m.): Military Construction & Veterans Affairs Subcommittee - Hearing to examine the fiscal year 2012 budget request from the Dept. of Veterans Affairs. Eric Shinseki, Secretary of the Dept. of Veterans Affairs will be present. H-140 Capitol.
 
House Armed Services (8:00 a.m.): Military Personnel Subcommittee - Hearing to examine the military health system and defense health program cost efficiencies. 2212 RHOB.

House Armed Services (10:00 a.m.): Hearing to examine developments in Afghanistan. Michelle Flournoy, Undersecretary of Defense for Policy; Gen. David Petraeus, Commander, International Security Assistance Force and U.S. Forces Afghanistan will be present. 2118 RHOB.

 

House Armed Services (2:00 p.m.): Seapower & Projection Forces Subcommittee - Hearing to examine amphibious military operations. 2118 RHOB.

House Armed Services (3:30 p.m.): Emerging Threats & Capabilities Subcommittee - Hearing to examine the fiscal year 2012 budget request from the U.S. Cyber Command. 2212 RHOB.

House Energy & Commerce (9:30 a.m.): Energy & Power Subcommittee and Environment & the Economy Subcommittee - Joint hearing on the fiscal year 2012 budget request from the Dept. of Energy and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Steven Chu, Secretary of the Dept. of Energy, and Gregory Jaczko, Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, will be present. 2123 RHOB. 
 
House Energy & Commerce (10:00 a.m.): Commerce, Manufacturing, & Trade Subcommittee - Hearing to examine increasing jobs through exports and trade. 2322 RHOB.

 

House Financial Services (10:00 a.m.): Financial Institutions & Consumer Credit Subcommittee - Hearing to conduct oversight of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. 2128 RHOB.

House Financial Services (2:00 p.m.): Capital Markets & Government Sponsored Enterprises Subcommittee - Hearing to examine legislative proposals to promote job creation, capital formation, and market certainty. 2128 RHOB.

 

House Foreign Affairs (10:00 a.m.): Hearing to examine the fiscal year 2012 budget request from the Agency for International Development & the Millennium Challenge Corporation. 2172 RHOB.
 
House Homeland Security (10:00 a.m.): Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, & Security Technologies Subcommittee - Hearing to examine the cyber threat to critical infrastructure and the American economy. 311 CHOB.
 
House Judiciary (10:00 a.m.): Hearing to conduct oversight of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Robert Mueller, Director of the FBI, will be present. 2141 RHOB.
 
House Natural Resources (10:00 a.m.): Hearing to examine the community and economic impacts of the drilling moratorium in the Gulf of Mexico. 1324 LHOB.

House Oversight & Government Reform (9:30 a.m.): National Security Subcommittee - Hearing to conduct oversight of whole body imaging at the TSA. 2154 RHOB.
 
House Oversight & Government Reform (1:30 p.m.): Regulatory Affairs Subcommittee - Hearing to examine labor costs in the construction industry. 2154 RHOB.
 
House Rules (3:00 p.m.): Hearing on H.R. 1076 - To prohibit Federal funding of National Public Radio and the use of Federal Funds to acquire radio content. . H-T2 Capitol.

 

House Small Business (1:00 p.m.): Hearing to examine the Small Business Innovation Research program. 2360 RHOB.
 
House Transportation & Infrastructure (10:00 a.m.): Hearing to markup the committee's "Views and Estimates" report for the fiscal year 2012 budget and other pending legislation. 2167 RHOB.

House Ways & Means (1:00 p.m.): Hearing to markup the committee's "Views and Estimates" report for the fiscal year 2012 budget and H.R. 1034 - Airport and Airway Trust Fund Financing Reauthorization Act. 1100 LHOB.  
 
House Ways & Means (2:00 p.m.): Select Revenue Measures Subcommittee - Hearing to examine proposed changes in the tax treatment of expenses related to abortion services in H.R. 3 - The No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act. 1100 LHOB.

Republicans say new consumer bureau too powerful

 

3-15revolt

House Republicans said Wednesday that a new government agency designed to protect consumers from problems with mortgages and other financial products has too much power. They also criticized it for participating in a federal-state effort to force mortgage servicers to change the way they foreclose on troubled homeowners.

 

But testifying to Congress, the White House official assembling the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau made no apologies. Elizabeth Warren said the agency was badly needed, long overdue and might have helped the country avoid the housing and financial crises of the last several years had it been created earlier.

 

"If there had been a consumer agency in place, the problems in mortgage servicing would have been exposed early and fixed while they were still small, long before they became a national scandal," the Harvard law professor told the financial institutions subcommittee of the House Financial Services Committee.

 

Financial Services Chairman Spencer Bachus, R-Ala., said the agency will likely be "the most powerful agency that's ever been created in Washington." He and other Republicans have complained that Congress doesn't control the bureau's budget, that it will be headed by a director and not a bipartisan commission, and that it has strong leeway to decide which financial products it will curb.

 

"You have a lot of discretion and a lot of power, but I see very little accountability," Bachus said.

 

GOP lawmakers also challenged the bureau's role in a push by federal agencies and the 50 state attorneys general to force five large U.S. banks to agree to make it easier for struggling homeowners to avoid foreclosure and rework their mortgages.

 

They complained that the new agency will not go into business until July 21, meaning it has no authority until then. The bureau was created by last year's financial markets overhaul law.

 

Warren said the agency will play no role in any formal settlement with the banks. But she said the bureau has been asked to give advice to government officials involved in the effort and has done so, since it will eventually have authority to set mortgage servicing standards.

 

"We are not only glad to be helpful, we are proud to be helpful," she said.

US House approves 3-week spending bill

 

3-15tsunami

The US House of Representatives, held by President Barack Obama's Republican foes, approved a three-week stopgap spending bill on Tuesday that cuts some $6 billion in government funds.

 

With a current temporary spending bill due to expire at midnight on Friday, lawmakers voted 271-158 in favor of the Republican-crafted measure, which headed to the US Senate where it was expected to pass.

 

The White House and polarized lawmakers have been battling over long-term funding of the US government amid near-universal agreement that Washington needs to tighten its belt to reduce its swollen deficit and national debt.

 

Fifty-four House Republicans -- including many backed by the archconservative "Tea Party" movement -- broke with their leaders to oppose the measure, joining 104 Democrats.

 

Eighty-five Democrats joined 186 Republicans to muscle the legislation -- which funds the US government to April 8 -- to passage.

 

House Republicans have already approved a measure cutting some 61 billion dollars in spending, but Senate Democrats and some Republicans have said it goes too far, notably in slashing foreign aid programs.

 

"It's up to the Senate and the White House to offer a credible plan to fund the government for the rest of the fiscal year while delivering the spending cuts Americans are demanding," said Republican House Speaker John Boehner.

 

At the White House, spokesman Jay Carney said the measure would give "breathing room" to "find common ground" and negotiate a longer-term compromise and urged Democratic-led senate to approve the short-term bill.

 

"There is no disagreement on whether to cut spending to put us on a path to live within our means, but we can't sacrifice critical investments that will help us out-innovate, out-educate, and out-build our global competitors to win the future," said Carney.

Nevada Republicans Wary of Angle House Bid

 

 

3-15korusNevada Republicans want Sharron Angle to sit this one out. 

The 2010 Senate candidate is rumored to be strongly considering a bid for Rep. Dean Heller's 2nd district seat now that he is officially running for Senate, and party operatives worry she could put the most Republican district in the state at risk.

"Sharron needs to sit back and regroup," Republican National Committeewoman Heidi Smith said. "Most people are looking at Mark Amodei and Brian Krolicki."

Along with Angle, Nevada GOP Chairman Mark Amodei and Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki would be considered frontrunners if they jump into the House race, as expected. But a few more people are interested in the seat as well.

Among the other possible GOP candidates mentioned is state Sen. Greg Brower, who said he is considering the race. 

"I've received a number of calls from party people in the state urging me to consider running. And I plan to do just that," Brower said Tuesday. 

Heller announced his Senate candidacy in an e-mail to supporters Tuesday - a move that had been expected for some time but was accelerated by GOP Sen. John Ensign's retirement announcement last week - and at least a half-dozen Republicans are already considering running for the House seat. 

"The more people that get in, the easier it is for Angle to win that primary, and that scares a lot of Republicans," GOP strategist Robert Uithoven said. "I think of the major candidates looking at that [2nd district] race, the one that can lose a general election is Sharron Angle." 

Republican consultant Jim Denton said he could "create a path to victory [in the primary] for almost anyone in this seat. The scenario for Angle is to have a four- or five-way Republican primary. I think she would win that."

Angle, a former state Assemblywoman, has previously shown an interest in the 2nd district, but she and a spokesman did not return messages left by Roll Call on Tuesday.

Amodei and Krolicki considered running against Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D) last year, but Angle went on to win the GOP nomination with 40 percent of the vote against 11 opponents.

However, she suffered a 5-point loss in November to one of the most vulnerable Senators in the country, and Republicans worry about the same result even in a district that the party should have little trouble holding. 

Reid ran a strong campaign, and that was reflected at last week's Pollie awards, when the American Association of Political Consultants doled out several accolades to his team. But he was aided by Angle's polarizing candidacy, which split the state GOP.

"Conservatives as well as centrist Republicans are looking at Amodei because he appeals to both groups," Smith said. "Angle does not appeal to both groups."

Amodei is a former state Senator from the Carson City area. Krolicki is in his second term as lieutenant governor after serving two terms as state treasurer.

If she runs, it would be Angle's second attempt to win this seat. She lost to Heller by just 421 votes in the 2006 GOP primary. Angle won Reno's Washoe County - by far the most populous in the district - by more than 2,000 votes. Against Reid in 2010, however, Angle lost Washoe County by more than 7,000 votes.

Democrats looking at the House race include state Treasurer Kate Marshall, who is also looking at the Senate race; Jill Derby, who lost to Heller in 2006 and 2008; and Assemblywoman Debbie Smith.

"Debbie's name is on the tip of the tongue of all the operatives and political consultants in the area," said Shaun Gray, executive director of the Washoe County Democratic Party.

A source close to Smith said she is not thinking about the race. "She's focused on her job as Ways and Means chairman and closing the enormous state deficit," the source said.

The expansive district, which is the largest in the country besides at-large districts, leans Republican. It covers much of the state, while the other two districts lay within Las Vegas' Clark County in the lower corner of Nevada.

While the 2nd district could remain largely intact in redistricting, it could also be sliced up to make room for the new 4th district, which was added through reapportionment. The state Legislature redistricting panels began meeting last week, and they hope to have legislative and Congressional districts drawn before the legislative session ends in early June.

"Historically, that's where it's been," state Assemblyman Tick Segerblom (D), chairman of the chamber's redistricting panel, said of the district remaining largely in rural Nevada. "All things being equal, Northern Nevada and rural Nevada like to have their own seat," 

Should it remain largely intact, Segerblom said, it would be "a very strong Republican seat."
Until tomorrow,


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