During the month of October, Congress was largely quiet as Members were campaigning vigorously in their State and Districts for the November 4 election. Most senior staff were similarly engaged, trying to ensure that their bosses were victorious, and their jobs protected for at least another electoral cycle.
Despite this lull, Lobbyit continued to maintain communication with important Congressional committees to determine what legislation might be considered during the lame duck and before the 113th Congress comes to an end.

Senate Majority Leader Reid has indicated that he still intends to bring the "USA Freedom Act" to the floor during the lame duck, which is legislation further restricting the government's ability to conduct surveillance and gather information on individuals in the US and abroad (this bill was the subject of an NCISS/Lobbyit issue alert in October).

The Senate Judiciary Committee indicated that Chairman Leahy supports the legislation, and would like to see it addressed this Session, but the primary question is whether the GOP will allow a vote on it, or will choose to push it until next session.

Regardless of whether it passes, sources on Senate Judiciary do not intend for the restrictions to extend to non-state actors, i.e. private investigators. Lobbyit has engaged in active communications with the Committee to ensure that private investigators are not inadvertently included.

Lobbyit also composed an NCISS Issue Alert concerning Supreme Court oral arguments in the case pitting the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) against the North Carolina Board of Dental Examiners. NCISS Members will recall that this case involves an FTC challenge of regulatory overreach by North Carolina's dental licensing board, restricting teeth whitening only to licensed dentists.

NCISS and Lobbyit populated the Advocacy Hub with related correspondence to the FTC, and encouraged NCISS members to raise with the FTC examples of state regulations which served no purpose other than to protect incumbent practitioners. We still encourage NCISS members (and, currently, non-members) to utilize this tool to contact the FTC with appropriate examples, of which we know there are many.

In this same vein, NCISS/Lobbyit composed a Member Reminder in October, encouraging NCISS members to utilize the Advocacy Hub to make your voiced hears. This dispatch included Deen Beers's step-by-step guide to engaging with officials on through our advocacy portal. It is a useful guide, and we thank Dean for composing it!

2014 Elections

With the GOP taking the majority in the Senate, and strengthening their hold in the House, we can expect a busy 114th Congress, with the House and Senate likely clearing a great deal more legislation than the 113th Congress did. We can also expect that this agenda will be more friendly to business and law enforcement perspectives.

It remains to be seen, however, how the new majority will impact privacy legislation, for instance with respect to Federal prohibitions on the use of drones for surveillance, GPS devices, data brokers, etc. As we saw in the last Congress, privacy advocates come from both ends of the political spectrum - far left and far right. With a more active legislative schedule, we can expect the consideration and movement of more such legislation.

Other than the USA Freedom Act, which is up for a Senate vote tonight, it is unlikely that the 113th Congress will pass any legislation harming the interests or practices of private investigators or security service companies. We will have to watch bill introduction and Committee action closel in the 114th Congress, however, to stay abreast of developments.

On a separate track, the new GOP majority in the Senate, and the strengthened GOP hold on the House, bode well for increased Congressional intervention in regulatory matters. 

Lobbyit has been tracking numerous rules for NCISS - typically involving labor/management relations and workplace safety. The new GOP majority has already indicated that it will be seeking to legislatively stop the rules it doesn't like.

As such, this new atmosphere provides NCISS a great deal of opportunity to be involved in Federal legislation and rulemaking, and Lobbyit will ensure that Lobbyit is prepared with the necessary information and guidance to make an impact.