WASHINGTON, DC UPDATE
Guns
Control Reform Difficulty Among Anti-Terror Legislation
After an unprecedented 26 hour demonstration on the House floor,
Democrats in the House continue to push for increased gun
control. The provision within the counterterrorism package that
is up for a vote in the House would allow the Justice Department
to prevent a gun sale to a suspected terrorist if a court order
is obtained within three days. Democrats in Congress hope to vote
on two amendments to the package that would expand background
checks to internet sales and gun shows along with a means at
preventing people on terrorist watch lists from purchasing guns.
The Homeland Safety and Security Act, H.R. 5611 would also
attempt to address “radical Islamic terror.” The bill calls for
the potential withholding of passports to suspected terrorists
and requires the FBI to do annual reviews on their screening
database and lists. The Department of Homeland Security would
also open a new office specifically geared to prevent terrorism
and money would be allocated to local communities in order to
counter radical Islamic campaigns.
Health
Spending Bills
The health spending bills in the House and Senate are moving
through the legislative process, despite several differences
between the two. The House bill has been met with strong
opposition from Democrats over the lack of funding for opioid
abuse programs and Zika virus suppression. The House bill also
includes provisions to defund a part of the ACA implementation.
In contrast, the Senate’s version of the bill largely has
bipartisan support.
Whole
Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt
On June 27, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled (5-3)
that parts of a Texas law regarding abortion are
unconstitutional. The 2013 law required abortion clinics to meet
hospital-like standards for outpatient surgery and also required
doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at
nearby hospitals. The Court found that these requirements offered
little to no health benefits for women.
The Court found that the Texas law placed an “undue burden” on
women seeking legal abortions and was therefore
unconstitutional. The decision was a direct ruling to the
law in Texas only, however it will have a nationwide impact as
other states’ laws with similar provisions are more susceptible
to being challenged as also being unconstitutional.
Crowdsourcing
Investment
The House of Representatives voted 394-4 in favor of the Fix
Crowdfunding Act on Tuesday, July 5, 2016. This legislation
encourages investments in startups by raising the cap for
crowdsourcing investment from $1 million to $5 million. This
GOP-backed bill is expected to pass in the Senate and no veto
threat has been issued by President Obama.
Congressional
Appropriations
- Senate
Democrats blocked a McConnell cloture motion on the
conference report on H.R. 2577, which has $1.1 billion in
Zika funding and a Military Construction-VA compromise, over
“poison-pill” insertions into the Zika funding which
prohibit Planned Parenthood from receiving Zika funding and
provisions which defund a part of the Affordable Care Act.
- The
State-Foreign Operations bill, S. 3117, was approved by full
committee on June 29.
- Congress’
priority remains the marking up and passage of the Federal
Budget Resolution H.Con.Res.125, and appropriations
measures. The House Budget Committee approved the
resolution. Below is where each of the 12 discretionary
spending bills currently stand in the process:
Congress
in Session
Senate
Week of July
4:
6, 7, 8
Week of July
11:
11, 12, 13, 14, 15
House
Week of July
4:
6, 7, 8
Week of July
11:
11, 12, 13, 14, 15
After the July 15 summer recess, both Houses will be back in
session on September 6.
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