Capitol View V O L U M E 5 , N U M B E R 1 J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 8 HALFTIME IN THE 110 TH Upcoming Agenda The Second Session of the 110 th Congress is underway, with the House returning on January 15 and the Senate reconvening on January 22. This Session will have a somewhat limited window for legislative accomplishments. There will be a lengthy Summer Recess with the usual August break, as well as the Democratic and Republican Conventions. In addition, because it is an election year, Congress will likely attempt to leave as early as possible for the campaign season. The House has already tentatively scheduled the date of its final adjournment for the end of September. Senate Republicans are particularly concerned with the potential impact of the upcoming elections on the number of seats they control in that body. Twenty-three of the 49 seats the Republicans currently control are up for election this year, while the Democrats will only have to defend 12 of their 51 seats. Senators Joe Lieberman of Connecticut and Bernie Sanders of Vermont are Independents, but caucus with the Democrats. The first significant item on the Administration’s agenda for Congress is the renewal of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act which is currently due to expire on February 1. The President will also be seeking more money for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the renewal of his No Child Left Behind education reform law, the permanent enactment of his first term tax cuts, and the passage of free trade agreements for Colombia, Panama and South Korea. Because of concerns regarding the overall state of the economy – particularly the recent problems with the housing market – the Administration may also propose an economic stimulus package to include tax rebates for individuals and tax breaks for businesses to encourage investment. Congressional Democrats will seek to pass legislation to reduce global warming by regulating carbon dioxide emissions. In December, the Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works reported the American Climate Security Act (S.2191). The Act establishes a “cap and trade” program within the Environmental Protection Agency, allowing for the creation of an annual cap on greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, in addition to the issuance of credits to allow covered source of pollutants to emit prescribed levels. The credits can be traded, purchased or sold. The Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality, Representative Rick Boucher (D-VA), has said his Subcommittee will produce similar legislation early this year. The Democratic Leadership is also expected to introduce its version of an economic stimulus package. V A L U E A D D E D , V A L U E S D R I V E N. M S
C A P I T O L V I E W J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 8 In November, the House passed the Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act (H.R.3915) to better regulate the subprime lending markets. The Senate will have to consider its version of a housing market reform bill. The House has also passed the Patent Reform Act of 2007 (H.R.1908). The Senate Leadership would like to set aside some time to debate and vote on its Patent Reform Act (S.1145) Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) will also renew her efforts to pass legislation to compel the Administration to withdraw U.S. forces from Iraq. There were numerous efforts to do this in the First Session, but a combination of the President’s veto and the need for producing 60 votes in the Senate to invoke cloture prevented these efforts from succeeding. First Session The First Session of the 110 th Congress saw a flurry of activity on the Floors of both the Senate and the House. Before leaving in December, the Senate conducted its 442 nd Roll Call vote of the year and the Members of the House cast their 1,186 th vote, the most Floor votes ever cast in a single session of Congress. While the Congress passed 155 bills last year, more than one-third involved naming post offices or courthouses. However, among the more significant legislative accomplishments of the First Session are the following: Omnibus Appropriations – Before leaving for the year, Congress passed an Omnibus Appropriations bill which combined 11 appropriation bills calling for $555 billion in spending for FY 2008, including 8,993 earmarks for Member-sponsored spending programs. When funds from the already enacted Defense Department Appropriations Bill are included, the overall discretionary spending level for FY 2008 amounts to $932.8 billion. Energy Legislation – Congress enacted the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (P.L. 110- 140), which enhanced the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards for automobiles and strengthened renewable fuel standards. Terrorism Risk Insurance – Congress passed the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2007 (P.L. 110-160), which will extend the Federal backstop for terrorism risk insurance through December 31, 2014. Minimum Wage – Congress raised the minimum wage to $5.85. Ethics and Lobbying Rules – Congress passed the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 (P.L. 100-81), which strengthened ethic standards for Members of Congress, staff and lobbyists. Alternative Minimum Tax – Congress enacted the Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2007 (P.L. 100-166), which extends the exemptions for individuals to the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) through 2007. Without this bill, the AMT would have applied to about 2.3 million more families in the 2007 tax year. 9/11 Commission – Congress passed the Implementing the 9/11 Commission Recommendations Act of 2007 (P.L. 110-53), which enacted into law 23 recommendations of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States. V A L U E A D D E D , V A L U E S D R I V E N. M S
C A P I T O L V I E W J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 8 The State of the Union Address is scheduled for January 28. It will be the final State of the Union speech of the Bush Presidency. Kevin Faley is the Editor of Capitol View and a partner in Venable’s Legislative Practice Group. Mr. Faley can be reached at 202-344-4706. __________________________________________________________________________________________ ECONOMIC FACTORS PLACE SPOTLIGHT ON BANKING ISSUES More often than not, major banking bills are passed by Congress and sent to the President as the two-year Congressional cycle winds down in even-numbered years. Generally the seeds for legislative action are sown and nurtured during the First Session; if they bear fruit, then they are acted upon in the Second Session. As Members of Congress return to Washington for the Second Session of the 110 th Congress, it seems likely that the pattern will be repeated. Economic factors are unquestionably going to be primary forces driving the legislative agenda on Capitol Hill, and nowhere is that likely to be more evident than in both the Senate Banking and the House Financial Services Committees. House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) impressed many of his colleagues with his ability to forge bipartisan alliances and report out consensus legislation. During the First Session, the House approved and sent to the Senate a number of bills that originated in the House Financial Services Committee, including bills dealing with GSE reform, FHA reform, predatory lending, and industrial loan companies (ILCs). The Presidential aspirations of Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd (D-CT), which some believe impeded action on many of the House-passed bills that were sent to the Senate, will not be a factor in the Second Session. It is not impossible that the presidential aspirations of other members of Congress – particularly Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) – will impact the Senate Banking Committee’s agenda. On December 3, 2007 Senator Clinton wrote to Treasury Secretary Paulson outlining steps that she believes are needed to end the foreclosure crisis. They are: • Impose a foreclosure moratorium of at least 90 days on subprime, owner-occupied homes • Freeze the monthly rate on subprime adjustable rate mortgages, with the freeze lasting at least 5 years or until the mortgages have been converted into affordable, fixed-rate loan • Require the mortgage industry to provide status reports on the number of mortgages it has modified. Senator Clinton has also called for the establishment of a fund of up to $5 billion to help hard-hit communities and distressed homeowners weather the foreclosure crisis. FHA Reform : One area primed for action in 2008 is FHA reform. On September 18, the House passed and sent to the Senate the “Expanding American Homeownership Act of 2007” (H.R. 1852), a bill reforming a number of aspects of the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). Among other things, the House-passed bill: V A L U E A D D E D , V A L U E S D R I V E N. M S
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