The House passed a series of small appropriations bills on Oct. 2 that provides funding for the National Institutes of Health, the National Park Service and the District of Columbia, among other areas of government. The administration previously rejected the legislation and Senate Democrats are expected to vote down the measures (see 13100212). But Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., urged (here) the Senate to adopt the legislation in an Oct. 3 press release.
Recent trade-related bills introduced in Congress include:
The House-passed Drug Quality and Security Act would prevent disease outbreaks by ensuring all drugs sold in the U.S. are manufactured with Food and Drug Administration consent, said Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., following the Sept. 28 passage (here) of the legislation. The Senate sister bill (here) may be taken up in the Senate in the coming days, said a HELP press official. The Drug Quality and Security Act would not have to go through conference because of the bicameral support, said the HELP official.
The Senate debated House-passed H.J. Res. 59, the stopgap government funding measure that withdraws Affordable Care Act appropriations, on Sept. 27. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., intends to hold a series of votes at 12:30 on Sept. 27 to send an amended bill back to the House. Should lawmakers fail to pass funding legislation prior to the outset of Fiscal Year 2014 on Oct.1, government-wide agencies will face varying levels of shutdown (see 13092521).
The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) should include a dispute settlement body mechanism for state-owned or state-controlled commercial enterprises (SOEs) disputes that provides accessible, timely and effective relief for U.S. businesses and workers, Rep. Mike Michaud, D-Maine, said in a Sept. 25 letter (here) to U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman. USTR should implement explicit transparency requirements for SOE disclosure and provide a registry of SOEs that includes detailed information on specific subsidies received, said Michaud.
Recent trade-related bills introduced in Congress include:
The user fee tacked onto inland waterways commercial transportation should be increased as part of the Water Resources Reform and Development Act (WRRDA) in order to address the immediate need for waterway modernization, said the Waterways Council in a Sept. 24 letter that was endorsed by dozens of U.S. companies and associations, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers. The letter was delivered to House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp, R-Mich., and committee ranking member Sander Levin, D-Mich. The bill, HR-3080, passed through mark-up at the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Sept. 19. The 26-cents-per-gallon user fee, matched by the General Treasury Funds, should be increased to 29-cents-per-gallon, the Waterways Council letter said. U.S. farmers depend on the efficiency of domestic waterways to compete with foreign producers, the letter said. “This user fee increase is supported by those who pay it -- just 300 commercial operators -- while the entire nation benefits, from hydropower, municipal water supply, recreational boating and fishing, flood control, national security, and waterfront property development,” read the letter. Email ITTNews@warren-news.com for a copy of the Waterways Council letter.
The UN Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) will establish a common international standard for conventional weapons transfers and strengthen U.S. national security, said Secretary of State John Kerry (here) Sept. 25 after signing the treaty at the UN. But some Senate Republican leaders and gun rights activists dismissed the possibility of ratification in the days leading up to Kerry’s expected endorsement. The Senate needs a two-thirds majority to ratify the treaty.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, continued an hours-long speech on the Senate floor on Sept. 25 in support of a House-passed continuing resolution (CR) that would strip the Affordable Care Act of funding, while leading Senate Democrats criticized the move as fueling economic peril. The Republican-majority House passed on Sept. 10 a CR that would provide government appropriations through Dec. 15 (see 13092031). Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., encouraged Congress to pass a continuing resolution (CR) that retains health care appropriations before the Fiscal Year 2014 outset on Oct. 1, saying a government shutdown would cost the economy $30 billion a week (here). The Senate may vote on a CR in the coming days that must be sent back to the House for passage before Oct. 1 in order to avoid government shutdown.
Recent trade-related bills introduced in Congress include: