This Week In Washington DC, Dec 18, 2014

This Week In Washington DC

Top 5 Stories

1.      The Obama administration announced the US will normalize relations with Cuba, opening its first embassy in Havana in more than 50 years, following 18 months of secret negotiations between the two countries and the release of prisoners held by both nations.

Look ahead: Republicans have threatened to impede efforts to confirm an ambassador to Cuba and provide funding for an embassy.

2.      The omnibus appropriations bill cleared the Senate on a 56-40 vote, after stalling due to demands from Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Mike Lee, R-Utah, for a vote to defund President Obama's executive action on immigration.

Look ahead: While Republicans intend to return to a regular budget process, the return of sequestration-induced cuts could spur contentious debates over funding in the next Congress.

3.      On a 76-16 vot, the Senate granted final approval to a short-term extension of 54 tax breaks, retroactive to Jan. 1, 2014, which is expected to add $42 billion to the federal deficit.

Look ahead: Lawmakers expect to resume negotiations on a long-term agreement in the new year.

4.      Federal investigators have linked North Korea to the cyberattack and terrorism threats against Sony Pictures Entertainment, who then canceled the release of The Interview.

Look ahead: This sets a bad precedence of succumbing to cyber threats and will embolden others to make more cyber attacks—look for an increase in cyber attacks.

5.      A six-year extension of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act, which is designed to provide a federal backstop for insurers in the event of a terrorist attack, died in the Senate amid opposition from Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., after passing the House on a 417-7 vote.

Look ahead: While the TRIA program is expected to lapse now that the 113th Congress has adjourned, Senate Republican leaders hope to take up legislation early in the 114th Congress.

This Week In Washington DC, Dec 11, 2015

This Week In Washington DC

Top 5 Stories This Week

1.      House and Senate appropriators released an omnibus appropriations bill to fund most of the federal government through Sept. 2015.   

Look ahead: House Republican leaders passed the bill, and now all that is left is for the Senate to pass it Friday.

2.      The Senate Intelligence Committee released its long-awaited, 500-page summary of a classified report on CIA interrogation practices after 9/11, concluding that the controversial methods failed to produce valuable information, despite the agency's continued assurances.

Look ahead: While the Senate panel's report may dim public opinion of the CIA, it is unlikely to dull the agency's influence.

3.      The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 321,000 positions were added to nonfarm payrolls in November, marking the strongest monthly job growth since January 2012, while unemployment held steady at 5.8%. The jobs report reflected a larger-than-expected increase in average hourly earnings.

Look ahead: Despite the gains, economists are concerned Americans remain reluctant to change jobs, a sign of lingering weakness in the labor market.

4.      Attorney General Eric Holder announced a set of draft policy changes for federal law enforcement that will ban the use of religion, gender, national origin, sexual orientation, and gender identity as the basis for enforcement actions such as traffic stops, with some exceptions for certain Homeland Security agencies.

Look ahead: The new policy, while binding only on federal agencies, is intended to serve as guidance for state and local law enforcement agencies.

5.      The White House announced $750 million in federal grants to improve early childhood education, coupled with more than $330 million in private commitments and donations.

Look ahead: $200 million will be distributed directly to 18 states working to improve their preschool offerings, and $500 million will go to Early Head Start and Child Care Partnership programs.

This Week In Washington DC, Dec 4, 2014

This Week In Washington

Top 5 Stories

1.      The House is expected to pass the $585 billion National Defense Authorization Act, following a compromise reached by Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich., and House Armed Services Committee Chairman Buck McKeon, R-Calif.

Look ahead: The legislation grants the president the authority to expand the military effort against ISIS militants in Iraq and Syria.

2.      President Obama is expected to nominate Ashton Carter, former deputy Defense secretary, to succeed Chuck Hagel in the Pentagon's top post. The Pentagon veteran, who has maintained a low Beltway profile while serving at at some of the leading policy minds in the defense community, has drawn praise from both sides of the aisle.

Look ahead: Carter, a theoretical physicist and former academic who has served in neither Congress nor the military, offers a stark contrast to outgoing Secretary Hagel, but he could face skepticism over his ability to oversee the war against ISIS. Like his predecessors in the role, Carter may not like the White House's micromanagement of Pentagon affairs.

3.      House Republican leaders are finalizing an agreement to avert a government shutdown on Dec. 11, and expect to hold a vote on the legislation early next week.

Look ahead: Speaker John Boehner is relying on limited Democratic support for passage, as a bloc of conservative Republicans is expected to reject the deal.

4.      Attorney General Eric Holder announced the Justice Department will launch a civil-rights investigation into the death of Eric Garner, after a Staten Island grand jury declined to indict NYPD officer Daniel Pantaleo, sparking protests in New York and around the country.

Look ahead: The department's Civil Rights Division and the office of Loretta Lynch, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York and the president's nominee to succeed Holder, will lead the investigation.

5.      The White House announced a three-part "plan to strengthen community policing," and Holder previewed an announcement "in the coming days" of updated federal guidelines to "help end racial profiling, once and for all."

Look ahead: The president assured a diverse group of community leaders Monday he will work to advance race relations for the remainder of his term—"not to solve every problem, not to tear down every barrier of mistrust that may exist, but to make things better."