Top 5 Stories This Week in Washington DC, April 17, 2014

Top 5 Stories This Week in Washington DC, April 17, 2014

1. Representatives from Ukraine, Russia, the US and the European Union reached agreement on measures to ease tensions, with the Ukrainian interim government offering concessions in exchange for a Russian pullback, after Russian President Putin asserted his "right" to deploy troops in the country.

Look ahead: The deal places on hold any additional U.S. or European sanctions against Russia.

2. Fundraising does matter in an off year, but it matters more with an election in November, and candidates already are distinguishing themselves—in ways both good and bad—in the first financial disclosures of 2014.

Look ahead: Winners so far include Georgia Senate candidate Michelle Nunn and the two Democratic congressional super PACs;   Sens. Mark Begich, D-Alaska, and John Walsh, D-Mont., are among the losers.

3. HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, who spent much of her tenure defending the Affordable Care Act rather than touting its successes, tendered her resignation, and the president named OMB Director Sylvia Mathews Burwell to replace her.

Look ahead: Democrats have mentioned Sebelius as a possible challenger to Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., though friends and former colleagues have dismissed the idea.

4. The Republican establishment is seeking a truce with the tea party in a bid to secure Senate control, using its considerable financial resources and making diplomatic overtures in a bid to ensure the nomination of the most electable candidates.

Look ahead: While the GOP has been successful in persuading tea party candidates to exit key Senate races in favor of the establishment choice, challenges remain.

5. The Congressional Budget Office said the president's fiscal year 2015 budget would increase revenues by nearly $1.4 trillion over the next decade and reduce deficits by $1.05 trillion over the same period.

Look ahead: While the White House budget is unlikely to pass Congress in its entirety, the CBO report could bolster Democratic messaging ahead of the midterms.


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This Week in Washington DC, March 27, 2014

This Week In Washington

Top 5 Stories This Week

1.      President Obama and international leaders moved to further isolate Russia, with the G-7 members agreeing to suspend their participation in the G-8, and NATO countries committing to bolster the alliance's security operations.

Look ahead: The leaders vowed to impose stricter economic sanctions against Russia in the event of further military incursions into Ukraine, but budget constraints could reduce NATO's role as a deterrent.

2.      The administration is seeking an overhaul of the NSA's bulk data-collection practices, which would leave records in the hands of phone companies and require the agency to obtain a court order for searches.

Look ahead: Administration officials and congressional leaders are nearing consensus on a plan to reform the NSA program—a proposal from House Intelligence Committee leaders would require retroactive, rather than prior, judicial consent.

3.      The Supreme Court heard oral arguments this week in Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores and Conestoga Wood Specialties v. Sebelius, which address the question of whether for-profit corporations may gain a religious exemption from the legal requirement to provide coverage for contraception.

Look ahead: A ruling in the case could have broad implications, including laws prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

4.      The White House, which has previously declined to extend the March 31st open-enrollment deadline, will allow individuals to sign up for coverage until mid-April if they are able to demonstrate that they began the enrollment process before the deadline.

Look ahead: Individuals may seek an extension for a range of reasons, and the government will grant it on an honor system.

5.      The House passed a temporary "doc fix" bill on a voice vote, preventing a 24% reduction in physician reimbursements under Medicare.

Look ahead: The Senate is expected to take up and past the measure later today.

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This Week in Washington, March 20, 2014

This Week In Washington
Top 5 Stories This Week

1.      President Obama authorized expanded sanctions against Russia after Vladimir Putin signed a treaty annexing Crimea, while the Ukrainian government announced plans to withdraw its troops and relocate them to the mainland.

Look ahead: NATO is considering deeper involvement in Ukraine, while the E.U. weighs additional sanctions. Obama vowed the US will not mount a "military excursion" in the country.

2.      Following its first meeting since Janet Yellen took over as Federal Reserve chair, the Federal Open Market Committee announced plans to reduce its monthly asset purchases by $10 billion, as expected, and eliminated the 6.5% unemployment threshold from its forward guidance on interest rates.

Look ahead: The Fed will rely on additional metrics to gauge the economy's health.

3.      House Speaker John Boehner described a bipartisan Senate deal to extend emergency unemployment benefits as "unworkable" after the National Association of State Workforce Agencies warned that some states could attempt to opt out due to the bill's additional costs and strict requirements.

Look ahead: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid characterized the issues raised by NASWA as "resolvable," and urged Boehner to work toward solutions.

4.      With two weeks remaining in the open enrollment period that ends March 31, Health and Human Services Department announced a "weekend wave" sent the total enrollment number over 5 million.

Look ahead:  The White House is pulling out all the stops to enroll as many young people in coverage as possible before the deadline.

5.      The search continues for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, as authorities consider satellite footage of possible debris from the aircraft, amid reports Malaysian officials waited days to release information gleaned from British satellite company Inmarsat on the plane's potential flight path.

Look ahead: Experts warn the items could be unrelated to the jetliner, and even if a link can be established, the passage of time since a crash would complicate efforts to find the rest of the wreckage.

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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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