This Week In Washington DC, March 6, 2014

This Week In Washington

Top 5 Stories This Week

1.      The Crimean Parliament requested to join the Russian Federation; the E.U. has frozen the assets of ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and the U.S. has imposed visa restrictions on Russians and Ukrainians suspected of involvement in the matter.

Look ahead: The U.S. and E.U. joined the Ukrainian government in refusing to recognize the Crimean parliament vote, but a referendum on the move is set for March 16. The E.U. is weighing economic sanctions against Russia.

2.      The White House released the president's FY 2015 budget, which calls for an expansion of the earned-income tax credit for the working poor, as well as additional funding for antipoverty programs.

Look ahead: The administration estimates the plan would yield a $564 million deficit for the fiscal year.

3.      The administration released a host of final regulations that ease reporting requirements for businesses and allow insurers to keep selling individual policies that don't meet Obamacare's requirements.

Look ahead: Officials said the two-year extension should prevent a mass cancellation of policies, a prospect that could have harmed Democratic candidates this cycle.

4.      Leaders on the political right are gathering at the Conservative Political Action Conference, where opening day speakers include Sens. Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, as well as Rep. Paul Ryan and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

Look ahead: A number of key story lines to watch at CPAC involve 2016 contenders.

5.      The National Archives and Records Administration released the first batch of documents from the Clinton administration, which had been withheld under the Presidential Records Act.

Look ahead: Observers are mining the records for information that could impact a Hillary Clinton presidential bid in 2016.

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This Week In Washington, Feb 13, 2014

This Week In Washington

Top 5 Stories

1.      The debt-ceiling standoff ended this week after the House and Senate passed a measure to suspend the nation's borrowing limit until March 2015, without attaching any conditions.

Look ahead: Several Republican lawmakers concede debt-limit brinksmanship is here to stay, but are accepting the political reality in the short term.

2  2.      Lawmakers voted by wide margins in the House and Senate to reverse cuts to pension benefits for working-age military retirees.

Look ahead: The $6 billion cost of restoring the benefits will be offset by extending automatic reductions to reimbursements for Medicare providers for one year.

3  3.     Obamacare:  The Treasury Department further delayed the employer mandate, saying businesses with 50-99 full-time workers—those working at least 30 hours a week—will not be subject to the penalty until 2016.

Look ahead: Companies with more than 100 workers, which had been required to provide coverage for 95% of full-time employees by 2015 to avoid a penalty, now must extend it to just 70% by next year.

4  4.    The White House unveiled its highly anticipated cybersecurity framework, which is intended to help businesses defend themselves from hackers.

Look ahead: The guidelines are voluntary, and it is unclear how much the government can do to encourage compliance.

5  5.      Roughly 3.3 million people have obtained coverage under the Affordable Care Act, including 1.1 million people who selected plans on the health insurance exchanges in January, according to figures released this week by the Department of Health and Human Services.

Look ahead: While young people are gaining coverage in greater numbers, the number of enrollees between the ages of 18 and 34 continues to lag expectations.

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Meyers Group Welcomes Newest Principal

Washington, D.C. – George Meyers, founder and managing partner of the Meyers Group is pleased to welcome the newest principal Deborah Gunn, to the firm.

Ms. Gunn has over fifteen years of experience working in all levels of the government and in the private sector on a global scale. Throughout her career she honed her ability to analyze marketplaces and recognize new opportunities.

“I am pleased to have Deborah join the firm,” Mr. Meyers said. “Her wide range of experience will be an asset to our clients in assessing opportunities in the Intelligence Community and State Department. Over the course of her career she has increased profits and exposure for organizations; something she will also do for our clients.”

While working for the CIA, her work brought her to the Middle East, Europe and in rotation with the military.  As an Executive Aide to the Governor of Connecticut she worked as the governor’s key organizer and liaison for key projects

Deborah received her M.A. in Security Studies from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University in Washington, DC and graduated Magna Cum Laude from Simmons College in Boston with a B.A. in political science with a focus on the Middle East.

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George Meyers Speaks at AFCEA NOVA on the Federal Fiscal Environment

Washington, D.C. - Today George Meyers, Managing Partner of the Meyers Group, shared his optimistic view of the federal budget as a panelist at the Air Forces Communications & Electronics Association’s Women in Northern-Virginia Chapter’s FY14 Federal Landscape event.

Mr. Meyers was joined by Lucian Niemeyer, a retired Senior Staffer of the Committee on Armed Services for the U.S. Senate and Sharon Jones, the Director of Small Business Programs at DISA.  

“I was delighted to discuss the opportunities and areas of growth my team and I have identified within the Federal budget with the members of this prominent organization,” Mr. Meyers said. “With our shared intimate knowledge of the federal acquisition process, Lucian, Sharon and I were able to touch on all the factors that impact a company’s federal sales. After the passage of the omnibus spending bill, we all agree it’s a great time to be working with the federal government.”

Among the topics discussed included how the budget process is far from returning to the regular order of individual appropriation bills.  Mr. Meyers said that his firm has successfully used Congress’ unorthodox budget measures, such as continuing resolutions, to their clients’ advantage.  For instance, continuing resolutions give businesses the time to shape opportunities before the come to fruition, thereby increasing the chance that they will win the award.

The private event was attended by nearly 40 members and perspective members, which range in business size from 8a(s) to some of the largest defense contractors.  NOVA is the largest chapter of this international nonprofit professional association. 

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What NSA Reform Means for Business

Washington, DC – George Meyers, Managing Partner of the Meyers Group, released the following statement in response to President Obama’s speech on reforming the National Security Agency.

“After the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks people called for the government to use extraordinary measures to prevent another attack. Now, more than 12 years later Americans and politicians are changing their minds.  However, it’s going to be nearly impossible to stop an agency with as much momentum as the National Security Agency.”

“Cyber business will thrive in 2014 regardless of any changes to NSA policy from the President or Congress. If done correctly changes to NSA storage of metadata would offer new opportunities for industry.  As a result, the private sector should be largely represented in further talks on NSA reform to ensure the system becomes as efficient as possible and that the economy is strengthened in the process.

“In addition, the cyber industry will prosper from the lawmakers who allocated more fiscal resources in the federal budget to the U.S. Cyber Command, which actually falls within the jurisdiction of the NSA. The federal budget doubles the U.S. Cyber Command’s funding from the Department of Defense and increases the amount allocated to the Department of Homeland Security for defending government networks.”

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Statement on Senate Passage of the Omnibus Spending Bill

Washington, DC – George Meyers, Managing Partner of the Meyers Group, released the following statement in response to the Senate’s passage of the Omnibus Spending Bill.

“The passage of the omnibus spending bill means the Department of Defense community can finally breathe a sigh of relief.  Congress did their job by producing a bill that properly supports the men and women in the United States military. Through this bipartisan move Congress earned back a little bit of trust from the Defense Department and related industries.”

“As a retired Air Force Colonel, I know that there is nothing worse than when something beyond your control is negatively affecting those in your unit. The sequestration and government shutdown placed an unnecessary strain on the Pentagon’s moral, and efficiency. I saw first hand how through defense leaders’ resourcefulness the military’s readiness remained. However the general consensus was that it was only a matter of time when this too would be endangered.”

“For businesses this bill means that for the next two years the Department of Defense is a great place to be. The $85 billion allocated for the overseas contingency operations essentially negates the impacts of sequestration. In addition, with the increase in money for procurements, innovation and industry will thrive simultaneously and companies will be hiring more people to go after the additional opportunities.  This change from the days when sequestration cuts hung over the heads of defense and business leaders will be felt across a broad spectrum of economic platforms.”

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This Week In Washington, Jan 16, 2014

This Week In Washington
 
Top 5 Stories
 
1.      On a 359-67 vote the House passed the omnibus spending bill appropriators completed earlier this week, which will ease some of the cuts imposed by budget sequestration.
 
Look ahead: A Senate vote on the omnibus package should come Friday, Jan 17th.
 
2.      President Obama will outline his plans to reform the National Security Agency during an event Friday at the Justice Department.
 
Look ahead: Obama is expected to add new restrictions to the NSA's surveillance authority, but will not adopt all of the recommendations of the advisory panel.
 
3.      An effort to extend emergency unemployment compensation stalled in the Senate this week, with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's effort to limit debate rejected on a 55-45 vote, as Democrats and Republicans sparred over the amendments process.
 
Look ahead: Lawmakers are unlikely to resume consideration of the legislation until late January.
 
4.      President Obama huddled with Senate Democrats at the White House in an effort to align the administration's agenda with the upper chamber's leadership.
 
Look ahead: The administration is urging Democrats to delay action on increased sanctions against Iran, allowing time to evaluate the multilateral agreement on the country's nuclear program.
 
5.      This week saw a flurry of retirement announcements in the House, with Reps. George Miller, D-Calif., Bill Owens, D-N.Y., Jim Moran, D-Va., and Buck McKeon, R-Calif., declining to seek reelection this fall.
 
Look ahead: These departures leave Democrats in a vulnerable position in the House this fall.
 
 
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