Michael Drobac

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Firm/Organization: McGuireWoods LLP
Blogs: Take Stock: Federal Policy Watch

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Congressional Delegations Travel to Argentina, Brazil and U.K. The House and Senate are in a two-week recess, set to return to Washington the week of April 29. In the meantime, a congressional delegation visited Argentina and Brazil this week for bilateral discussions on issues of mutual interest. House Minority Leader McCarthy (R-CA), House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Thornberry (R-TX), House Homeland Security Committee Ranking Member Rogers (R-AL), as well as Senator Scott (R-SC), were…
Two Week Recess Both the House and the Senate will be in recess for the next two weeks and will return to Washington the week of April 29. During the recess, the House Administration Subcommittee on Elections will hold a series of field hearings on voting rights, including sessions in North Dakota and North Carolina. Looking further ahead, the Senate Armed Services Committee will begin marking up the FY20 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) the…
Department Shake-ups Following his decision to rescind Ronald Vitiello’s nomination to serve as Director of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the President announced on Sunday evening that Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen would resign and that Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin McAleenan would step in as Acting Secretary. Secret Service Director Randolph ‘Tex’ Alles, who reports to the Secretary of Homeland Security, was also removed from his position. Career USSS officer James Murray…
FY20 Budget Request Support Continues Next week, Cabinet secretaries and agency heads will continue to appear before the Appropriations and authorizing committees to support the President’s FY20 budget request. Drug Pricing Congress will also continue to examine drug pricing; on Tuesday, the Senate Finance Committee will hold the third in a series of hearings, this one focused on pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations will also have…
Disaster Aid A $13.5 billion disaster supplemental continued to stall in the Senate this week as Democrats press for more funds for Puerto Rico’s hurricane recovery efforts, failing twice to attract the 60 votes needed to move forward. House Judiciary Authorizes Subpoena On the other side of the Capitol, the House Judiciary Committee voted along party lines on Wednesday to authorize Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-NY) to issue a subpoena to obtain the full report prepared…
The House and Senate are scheduled to be in session for the first two weeks of April before adjourning for a two week recess. Members will return to Washington on April 29. FY20 Budget Request Next week, Cabinet secretaries and agency heads will continue to appear before the House and Senate Appropriations and authorizing committees to support the President’s FY20 budget request. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, and FCC Chairman Ajit…
Sen. Udall, Rep. Serrano Not Seeking Reelection This week, Senator Tom Udall (D-NM) and Rep. Jose Serrano (D-NY) announced they will not seek reelection in 2020. Udall is a member of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee. Serrano chairs the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Science, and Justice. Veto Override Fails, Paycheck Fairness Act and SAFE Banking Act Advance On Tuesday, the House voted 248-181, short of the two-thirds required, to override the President’s…
Save the Internet Act Looking ahead, House Democratic leaders plan to hold a floor vote on the Save the Internet Act (H.R. 1644) during the second week of April. The bill has yet to clear the House Energy and Commerce Committee, but Technology and Communications Subcommittee Chairman Doyle (D-PA) has noted a Subcommittee markup could take place as early as next week. Cannabis The House Financial Services Committee will also consider legislation on…
The House and Senate were both in recess this week. White House Activity On Tuesday, the President hosted Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro at the White House for bilateral meetings. He also announced he will nominate Steve Dickson to be administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration. Dickson is a former airline pilot and would replace FAA Acting Administrator Dan Elwell. American Artificial Intelligence Initiative Elsewhere, the White House launched a website dedicated to artificial intelligence built…
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FY20 Budget Proposal On Monday, the White House rolled out the President’s $4.7 trillion FY20 budget proposal, which includes $8.6 billion for a border wall and increases defense spending by $750 billion, or 5%. It also proposes a 9% cut to all non-defense programs, including a $845 billion cut to Medicare. Over the coming weeks, Cabinet secretaries and agency heads will testify in support of the request before the House and Senate Appropriations Committees and…