On August 24, 2011, Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Hatch (R) sent a letter to the President demanding that the Administration fully brief Congress on its proposal to reorganize federal agencies involved in trade and exports.
The House Homeland Security Committee has announced that its Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Management will be holding a field hearing entitled “Preventing an Economic Shock Wave: Securing the Port of Houston from a Terrorist Attack.” The Subcommittee will meet at 10:00 a.m. on the 4th floor of the Port of Houston Authority located at 111 East Loop North, Houston, Texas, 77029.
Representative Kucinich (D) has issued a press release announcing that he and Representative Michaud (D), both members of the House Trade Working Group, have sent a “Dear Colleague” letter to members of the House of Representatives urging opposition to free trade agreements, such as the Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS), when they come up for a vote in the House (currently expected in September 2011).
On August 15, 2011, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Camp (R) and Trade Subcommittee Chairman Brady (R) issued statements regarding the August 15, 2011 entry into force of the Canada-Colombia free trade agreement in which they state that the Canada-Colombia FTA puts U.S. workers and exporters at a disadvantage as they seek to export U.S. goods and services to Colombia. Camp urges the President to submit the pending free trade agreements to Congress without delay. Brady notes that Congress stands ready to act on the pending FTAs as soon as they are submitted.
On September 7, 2011, the Senate Finance Committee will hold a hearing to consider the following nominations:
On August 12, 2011, the President signed into law H.R. 2715, a bill to provide the Consumer Product Safety Commission with greater authority and discretion and to reform aspects of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008.
On August 5, 2011, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ros-Lehtinen (R), Ranking Member Berman (D), and a bipartisan group of 221 Representatives sent a letter to the President urging the tightening of sanctions on the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad.
On Aug 5, 2011, the following trade-related bills were introduced:
On August 5, 2011, the President signed into law H.R. 2553 (now Public Law 112-27), the "Airport and Airway Extension Act of 2011, Part IV." P.L. 112-27 extends through September 16, 2011, authorities to collect taxes that fund the Airport and Airway Trust Fund (including the tax on domestic air cargo (freight) transportation), make expenditures from the Airport and Airway Trust Fund, and make grants to airports under the Airport Improvement Program and limits eligibility for the Transportation Department's Essential Air Service program, which provides subsidies to maintain commercial air service in small communities.
On August 5, 2011, the Justice Department announced that it joined the Treasury and Homeland Security Departments in welcoming the recent introduction of a bill that would require disclosure of beneficial ownership information in the company formation process. This legislation would facilitate the transparency of the financial system by closing loopholes and making it more difficult for criminal organizations to hide behind front companies and shell corporations, an objective referenced in the President’s Strategy to Combat Transnational Organized Crime.