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FY 2016 National Defense Authorization Act Set for Final Passage

November 4, 2015Tim CanslerBudget & Appropriations, Govt NewsBudget, Congress, defense, House, Lobbying, Lobbyist, National Defense Authorization Act, NDAA, Senate, Washington, Washington DC

Procedural action in the House and Senate on November 3 has cleared the path for final passage of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). On October 22, the President vetoed the previously adopted NDAA, H.R. 1735 stating, “While there are provisions in this bill that I support, including the codification of key interrogation-related reforms from Executive Order 13491 and positive changes to the military retirement system, the bill would, among other things, constrain the ability of the Department of Defense to conduct multi-year defense planning and align military capabilities and force structure with our national defense strategy, impede the closure of the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, and prevent the implementation of essential defense reforms.“…

Defense Procurement Continues Evolving

October 13, 2015Tim CanslerBudget & Appropriations, Govt NewsAppropriations Committee, Budget, defense, House, Lobbying, Lobbyist, procurement, Washington

While President Obama decides on whether or not to veto the FY 2016 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), it remains certain that more changes in defense procurement practices are on the way. The House and Senate Armed Services Committees are focused on improving the structure and process of the military acquisition systems by providing business reforms that reduce overhead and achieve needed efficiency.…

US House Agriculture Committee Takes Aim at Dodd-Frank

February 13, 2015Tim CanslerAgricultureAgriculture, Congress, House

With the Senate now under Republican control, the odds of passing reauthorization of Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) targeting Dodd-Frank has increased considerably. The Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Timothy Massad testified on Thursday, February 12 for the second time this week, before the US House Committee on Agriculture. Earlier this week Massad testified before the US House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee. To download a copy of Chairman Masssad’s testimony click on:

U.S. House Appropriations testimony.

US House Agriculture testimony. …

Preliminary Rosters For US Senate Agriculture & Appropriations Committees

December 18, 2014Tim CanslerGovt NewsAgriculture, Appropriations Committee, Appropriations Committees, Budget, Congress, House, Lobbying, Lobbyist, Senate, US Senate Agriculture, Washington DC

The U.S. Senate has announced the preliminary rosters for Committee assignments in the upcoming 114th Congress. 06507_StabenowHearingRoom05142013 Below is the membership list for the Agriculture Committee and the Appropriations Committee. The rosters for the U.S. House remain only partially complete. The Senate committee chairmen will be officially named in January after the 114th Congress is sworn in however it is widely believed that the chairmen of these two committees are set. These rosters are preliminary and are subject to change.…

Ch-ch-changes! 2014 Election Wave

November 6, 2014Tim CanslerGovt NewsCongress, Congressman, Democrats, election, House, Lobbying, Lobbyist, Republicans, Senate, Senators, Washington, Washington DC

Ohio, Wisconsin & Kansas! Oh My!

Republicans were able to hold onto several hotly contested governorships, as in Wisconsin and Kansas. For weeks, many have thought Ohio would re-elect incumbent John Kasich and they did. He bested his opponent by just over 30 points, winning every county but two. He even won in Democrat strongholds like Youngstown and Cleveland. This coupled with his record of bringing jobs to Ohio will certainly place him high on the list of republican presidential contenders for a 2016 run. Perhaps, most surprisingly, the very blue states of Maryland, Massachusetts, and Illinois elected Republican governors. There are now 31 Republican governors and 16 Democrat governors; Alaska, Connecticut, and Vermont are still undecided.…

U.S. House Vote on Limited Immigration Reform Measure

November 25, 2012Tim CanslerGovt NewsHouse, Immigration, Republican

Upon their return from Thanksgiving recess, House Republican leaders plan to vote on a limited immigration reform measure that would expand visas for foreign science and technology students and make it easier for those with green cards to bring their immediate families into the U.S.

Different from STEM Act

The legislation planned for a vote this week is different from the failed Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Jobs Act attempted back in September. This legislative proposal would allow family members to come to the U.S. one year after they apply for their green cards. However, they would not be able to work until their green card is issued. Language will be added to the legislation that expands a program allowing spouses and minor children of persons with permanent residence to wait in the United States for their own green cards to be issued.…

2012 Farm Bill: Long Row to Hoe! ’08 Farm Bill Extension?

June 25, 2012Tim CanslerAgriculture, Farm BillAgriculture, Farm Bill, House, Lobbyist, Senate, Washington, Washington DC

Amidst 73 germane and non-germane amendments offered in the U.S. Senate, the passage of the Farm Bill, a half-trillion dollar bill containing farm and nutrition policies for the next five-years was an incredible feat accomplished by Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Ranking Member Pat Roberts (R-KS) and Senate leadership last week. Many pundits are now proclaiming that passage of the Farm Bill in the US Senate will build pressure in the US House to complete their version so that the new law will be in place prior to the current law expiring on September 30.…

Biotech Congressional Hearing Showcases Need For Reform Pt2

January 25, 2011Tim CanslerGovt NewsAgriculture, biotech, Corporate, House, Lobbying, Lobbyist, reform, USDA, Washington DC

While incoming Chairman of the U.S. House Agriculture Committee, Oklahoma’s Frank Lucas, agreed with Vilsack’s tenor on producers being able to choose their individual cropping system, Lucas stated that the Plant Protection Act, which grants USDA authority to regulate biotech crops, is a pure science statute and that decisions should remain based on sound science. Moreover, Lucas pressed USDA on their recent consideration of the possible coexistence of herbicide-tolerant biotech alfalfa co-existing with non-biotech fields is “a political objective and is outside the scope of (USDA’s) legal authority.”…

First Major Action of 112th Congress

January 21, 2011Tim CanslerGovt NewsBudget, Congress, Corporate, House, Lobbyist, Obma, Washington DC

On the House floor Thursday, fourteen Democrats joined House republicans to adopt a measure, 253-175, that instructs four Committees; the Committee on Education and the Workforce, the Committee on Energy and Commerce, the Committee on the Judiciary, and the Committee on Ways and Means, to each report legislation to the House of Representatives proposing changes to the health care law within each committee’s jurisdiction. The legislation must…

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Biotech Congressional Hearing Showcases Need For Reform Pt1

January 21, 2011Tim CanslerGovt Newsbiotch, Corporate, House, Lobbying, Lobbyist, reform, USDA, Washington, Washington DC

The U.S. House Committee on Agriculture held its first hearing of the new 112th Congress on Thursday and continued its tradition of tackling difficult issues by addressing the complex issues plaguing biotechnology and USDA-APHIS’ role in regulating it.

Biotechnology in agriculture has been rapidly adopted by farmers throughout the world as the industry addresses how to feed a growing world population with limited resources. In fact the 2009 report, The Global Status of Commercialized Biotech/GM Crops continues to show that global adoption of agricultural biotechnology continues to increase with a record 14 million farmers in 25 countries around the world planting biotech crops on 330 million acres last year, up from 13.3 million farmers and 308 million acres in 2008. The U.S. accounted for 158 million acres of the total, or 48% of the world’s biotech crop plantings.…