Tea Party Patriots Weekly Report from Washington for 1/3/16

January 4, 2016

Citizens Fund News | Legislative Updates

CALENDAR:

The House returns Tuesday, and will stay in session through Friday.

The Senate will remain in recess through the course of this week, and won’t be back until next week.

THIS WEEK ON THE HOUSE FLOOR:

No votes will take place before 6:30 PM Tuesday. At that point, we expect a quorum call to establish that a quorum exists in the House of Representatives for the Second Session of the 114^th Congress.

On Wednesday, the House will vote to concur in the Senate Amendment to H.R. 3762, the budget reconciliation bill – officially, the Restoring Americans’ Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act of 2015. This is the reconciliation bill that originated in the House, passed, and then went to the Senate, where it also passed, but only after it was strengthened significantly, thanks to the determination of Senators Cruz, Lee, and Rubio. It includes repeal of several key elements – but not all – of the Affordable Care Act, including effective repeal of the individual and employer mandates, repeal of the Medicaid expansion, repeal of the taxpayer subsidies, and repeal of the Cadillac and medical device taxes. It also includes repeal of taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood.

It is widely expected to pass on Wednesday, and then be sent to the President. It is also widely expected that the President will veto it at his earliest convenience.

THIS WEEK ON THE SENATE FLOOR:

The Senate will remain in recess until Monday the 11^th.

On Tuesday, January 12, the Senate is expected to conduct a cloture vote on the motion to proceed to S. 2232, Sen. Rand Paul’s bill to audit the Federal Reserve. There will be 60 votes required to invoke cloture and begin debate on the legislation.

IRAN:

Last Wednesday morning, in the wake of two Iranian ballistic missile tests conducted in October and November, the White House notified congressional offices that at 10:30 AM the Treasury Department would release a statement announcing new U.S. sanctions against nearly a dozen companies and individuals in Iran, Hong Kong, and the United Arab Emirates for their roles in developing Iran’s ballistic missile program. These sanctions would have been the first new U.S. sanctions imposed since the JCPOA negotiations were concluded last July.

But then, at 11:12 AM, the White House sent a second email to congressional offices, declaring that the sanctions announcement would be “delayed for a few hours.” “A few hours” stretched to after 10 PM, when, in its final email for the day on the subject, the White House said the sanctions had been delayed, and didn’t say anything specific about when they might actually be imposed.

The following morning, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani announced on Twitter that he had ordered the Iranian Ministry of Defense to accelerate the ballistic missile program in response to news of the impending U.S. sanctions.

SUGGESTED READING:

JENNY BETH MARTIN/TPP:

WT: Jenny Beth Martin: Failures Of The Obama Doctrine

WT: Jenny Beth Martin: Political Correctness Now Trumps National Security

AGENDA:

Hill: Congress Speeding Toward Battle Over Puerto Rican Debt

Hill: Reid Lists Minimum Wage, Visa Programs As Goals For 2016

LAT: For 2016, House Speaker Paul Ryan Sets Sights On Crafting A GOP Campaign Vision

Hill: Six Fights Set To Erupt in Congress

BENGHAZI:

WE: Emails Suggest Pentagon had Troops Ready During Benghazi Siege

CLINTON EMAILS: