- On March 16, 2020, the U.S. House of Representatives passed an amended version of the FFCRA.
- The FFCRA includes two different coronavirus-related paid leave requirements for employers with fewer than 500...more
3/18/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Paid Leave ,
Pending Legislation ,
Public Health ,
Sick Leave ,
Tax Credits ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
Trump Administration – President Donald Trump and his senior economic advisers are considering several additional measures to address the economic impact of the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) after signing an $8 billion...more
3/10/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Crisis Management ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Federal Funding ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Public Health ,
Sick Leave ,
Tariffs ,
Tax Planning ,
Trump Administration ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
The 116th Congress has officially reached the halfway point as members return this month after a productive December. For the first time since Fiscal Year (FY) 2016, Congress completed all 12 appropriations bills prior to the...more
Congress returns to Washington this week after the Thanksgiving recess to find a feast of leftover legislative items still on the table. Congress has a limited number of days remaining on the 2019 legislative calendar to...more
12/5/2019
/ Appropriations Bill ,
Banking Sector ,
Broadband ,
China ,
Consumer Privacy Rights ,
DACA ,
Data Privacy ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Drug Pricing ,
EB-5 ,
Export-Import Bank of the US ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Green Cards ,
H-1B ,
Health Care Providers ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Reform ,
Investors ,
L-1 Visas ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Privacy Laws ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Reauthorization ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Robocalling ,
Surprise Medical Bills ,
Tariffs ,
Tax Credits ,
Tax Liability ,
Tax Planning ,
Telecommunications ,
Trade Relations ,
TRIA ,
Trump Administration ,
United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) ,
Visas
Congress returns to D.C. this week for a short three-week sprint to a series of important deadlines on September 30. Chief among them is funding the federal government for Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 which begins on October 1,...more
9/13/2019
/ Appropriations Bill ,
Data Privacy ,
Drug Pricing ,
Federal Budget ,
Federal Funding ,
Foreign Policy ,
General Assembly ,
Government Agencies ,
Gun Laws ,
Income Taxes ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Natural Disasters ,
NDAA ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Privacy Laws ,
Retirement ,
Surprise Medical Bills ,
Tariffs ,
Tax Credits ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ,
Tax Extenders ,
Tax Reform ,
Trade Relations ,
Trade Wars ,
Trump Administration ,
United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA)
The summer season has arrived in Washington and things are heating up in the halls of Congress. A number of high priority legislative proposals ranging from health care to appropriations to patent reform to defense...more
6/12/2019
/ Appropriations Bill ,
Budget Control Act of 2011 ,
Cannabidiol (CBD) oil ,
Congressional Budget Office ,
Congressional Committees ,
Congressional Investigations & Hearings ,
Fiscal Year ,
Impeachment ,
Legislative Agendas ,
NDAA ,
Political Parties ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. House ,
United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) ,
USTR
The 2018 Midterm Elections are over and the lame duck session of Congress has begun. Americans across the country cast their ballots for candidates for the House of Representative and the Senate in what was widely perceived...more
11/16/2018
/ Election Results ,
Federal Elections ,
General Elections ,
Lame Duck Session ,
Political Campaigns ,
Political Candidates ,
Political Parties ,
Polling ,
Popular ,
Public Policy ,
Senate Committees ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. House
With Election Day 2018 just two weeks away, political forecasters are searching for any and every clue as to the ultimate outcome of the congressional election during President Trump’s first midterm in office. With all House...more
On Sunday, September 30, President Trump reached an agreement with the governments of Canada and Mexico to revise and modernize the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Publishing the text of the new agreement just...more
10/10/2018
/ Agricultural Sector ,
Aluminum Sales ,
Automotive Industry ,
Canada ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Dairy Farmers ,
Dispute Resolution ,
Exchange Rates ,
Exports ,
Forced Labor ,
Foreign Relations ,
Free Trade Agreements ,
Imports ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) ,
Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) ,
Mexico ,
NAFTA ,
Section 232 ,
Steel Industry ,
Sunset Provisions ,
Tariffs ,
TPA Agreement ,
Trade Relations ,
Trump Administration ,
United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) ,
US Trade Policies ,
USTR
Following a truncated August recess, the House and the Senate returned to Washington after Labor Day with a full plate of legislative items to address prior to the end of the fiscal year on September 30. That list includes...more
10/4/2018
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Appeals ,
Broadband ,
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Clean Water Rule ,
Comment Period ,
Data Breach ,
Data Privacy ,
Delays ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Drug Approvals ,
Drug Pricing ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Farm Bill ,
FCC ,
Federal Funding ,
Federal Pilot Programs ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Generic Drugs ,
Health Care Providers ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Manufacturers ,
Medicare Advantage ,
Medicare Part B ,
NAFTA ,
Notice of Inquiry ,
OMB ,
Pesticides ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) ,
Political Candidates ,
Primary Elections ,
Privacy Laws ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
Rebates ,
Risk Management ,
Safe Harbors ,
SNAP Program ,
State and Local Government ,
Telehealth ,
Trade Promotion Authority ,
Trump Administration ,
United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) ,
Vacated ,
Waters of the United States
As talks between the parties rapidly approach a conclusion, the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement is expected to reach a new milestone. President Trump notified Congress of his intent to sign a new...more
9/5/2018
/ Canada ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Deadlines ,
Foreign Relations ,
Free Trade Agreements ,
Mexico ,
NAFTA ,
Trade Agreements ,
Trade Policy ,
Trade Promotion Authority ,
Trump Administration
As talks between the parties rapidly approach a conclusion, the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement is expected to reach a new milestone. President Trump pledged to notify Congress on August 31st of his...more
9/4/2018
/ Canada ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Deadlines ,
Foreign Relations ,
Free Trade Agreements ,
Mexico ,
NAFTA ,
Trade Agreements ,
Trade Policy ,
Trade Promotion Authority ,
Trump Administration
In less than three months, the public will go to the polls to select representation for the 116th Congress, which begins in January 2019. All 435 seats in the House of Representatives and a third of the seats in the Senate...more
Lawmakers returned from their Independence Day recess prepared for more legislative fireworks over a slew of outstanding agenda items, including a showdown over the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to replace...more
7/18/2018
/ Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) ,
Appropriations Bill ,
CFIUS ,
China ,
Drug Pricing ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Exports ,
Farm Bill ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
FIRRMA ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
NDAA ,
Presidential Appointments ,
Section 340B ,
Steel Industry ,
Tariffs ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ,
Tax Reform ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies ,
USTR
Lawmakers have returned from the Memorial Day recess and are facing a packed legislative agenda over the summer. With the announcement this week of a shortened August recess, the Senate will have more time to address...more
6/13/2018
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Appropriations Bill ,
Bipartisan Budget Act ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Farm Bill ,
FCC ,
Federal Election Commission (FEC) ,
Federal Funding ,
Final Rules ,
FIRRMA ,
Foreign Policy ,
Hazardous Waste ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Legislative Agendas ,
NAFTA ,
NDAA ,
Net Neutrality ,
North Korea ,
Opioid ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Presidential Nominations ,
Repeal ,
Spectrum ,
Tariffs ,
Telecommunications ,
Trade Policy ,
Tribal Lands ,
Trump Administration ,
Water Resources Development Act
Washington saw a flurry of bipartisan activity over the last few weeks. Most notably, Republican and Democratic negotiators reached a long-awaited deal on sequestration budget caps. The compromise, announced on February 7 as...more
6/7/2018
/ Add-ons ,
Aluminum Sales ,
Banking Sector ,
Bipartisan Budget Act ,
Capital Requirements ,
Congressional Review Act ,
CRA ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
DACA ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Drones ,
Drug Pricing ,
FCC ,
Federal Budget ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Gun Laws ,
Imports ,
Infrastructure ,
Internet ,
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Part D ,
National Security ,
Open Internet Rules ,
Opioid ,
Petition for Rulemaking ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Popular ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Section 201 ,
Section 232 ,
Section 340B ,
Solar Panels ,
Steel Industry ,
Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ) ,
Tariffs ,
Tax Credits ,
Tax Extenders ,
Tax Relief ,
Technology Sector ,
Trade Act of 1974 ,
Trade Expansion Act of 1962 ,
Trade Remedies ,
Trump Administration ,
Unmanned Aircraft Systems
The current news coverage of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) negotiations has touched heavily on the tight deadlines set around reaching an agreement. There is, however, a lot of unnecessary confusion—even...more
Congress returned from its spring recess with a host of issues to address—trade, Trump administration nominations and opioid legislation sitting atop the priority list. Given the ongoing data scandal at Facebook, privacy...more
4/12/2018
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Appropriations Bill ,
Bipartisan Budget Act ,
Broadband ,
Department of Agriculture ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Drug Pricing ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Exports ,
Farm Bill ,
FCC ,
Foreign Agents ,
Fuel Standards ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Health Care Providers ,
HELP ,
Infrastructure ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Lobbying Disclosure Act ,
NAFTA ,
NHTSA ,
Omnibus Guidance ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Public Policy ,
Registration Requirement ,
Rural Areas ,
Secretary of HHS ,
Section 232 ,
Section 301 ,
Section 340B ,
Senate Finance Committee ,
Telecommunications ,
Trade Expansion Act of 1962 ,
Trade Policy ,
Trade Promotion Authority ,
Trump Administration
December is often the busiest time in Washington, and this year is no different as Congress races toward the holiday finish line. There is still a multitude of problems to solve before members can head back to their...more
12/12/2017
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge ,
Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) ,
DACA ,
FCC ,
Federal Budget ,
H-1B ,
Individual Mandate ,
International Trade Commission (ITC) ,
IPAB ,
Israel/Palestine ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Middle East ,
Natural Resources ,
Ownership Requirements ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Repeal ,
Section 232 ,
Tax Reform ,
Trade Remedies ,
Trump Administration ,
Visas
This week, President Trump announced his decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement, describing it as “disadvantaging the United States” and indicating that the United States will “cease implementation”...more
6/3/2017
/ Climate Change ,
Energy Policy ,
Energy Sector ,
Global Warming ,
Investment Funds ,
Oil & Gas ,
Paris Agreement ,
Popular ,
Renewable Energy ,
Trade Relations ,
Trade Retaliation ,
Trump Administration
On Tuesday, May 23, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative issued a Federal Register notice asking for public comments on what the negotiating objectives should be for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)...more
Yesterday morning, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) formally notified Congress that the administration intends to initiate renegotiations with Mexico and Canada on the North American Free Trade...more
After several years of consideration of possible civil federal trade secret legislation in Congress, the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 (S. 1890) passed with significant bipartisan support in the Senate on April 4, 2016...more