TRP is Hiring: Legislative Assistant (Health Portfolio)

Political attention will shift away from Washington and towards Virginia and New Jersey today as those states’ voters head to the polls for a gubernatorial election. The Virginia race in particular is anticipated to be a close contest between current Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam and former Republican National Committee (RNC) Chair Ed Gillespie. Political observers […]

Tax reform is still the talk of the town in Washington as Republicans kick their legislative effort into overdrive this week. The tax reform frenzy kicks off with a highly anticipated markup in the House Ways and Means Committee beginning at noon today. The markup is expected to go into the late evening hours today […]

The Week in Review A busy week in Washington was highlighted by the release of the House Republicans’ plan to overhaul the nation’s tax code (detailed below), the naming of the next chair of the Federal Reserve, and the indictment of President Trump’s former campaign chair as part of Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russia’s interference […]

Washington is still rifling through the details of the tax package released by House Republicans yesterday, with House Ways and Means Chair Kevin Brady (R-TX) aiming to start a markup for the bill on Monday. The bill — which is detailed in full in the attached TRP note — was warmly received by most Republicans […]

Our Take Short Termism.   A term usually associated with concerns about the perspective of corporate executives willing to sacrifice long term growths for short term gains.   Whether the capital markets suffer from excessive short termism is open for debate.  However, it appears that this phenomenon is not confined to the business world, and it may […]

The Week in Review A whirlwind week in Washington saw Congress take a significant step towards tax reform, the President declare a public health emergency for the opioid epidemic, and a staunch conservative senator announce that he will not seek re-election due to irreconcilable differences with President Trump and the Republican Party. 

News out of the Senate came fast and furiously yesterday, led by the announcement from Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) that he would not seek re-election in 2018. In a stirring speech on the Senate floor, Sen. Flake said that his beliefs in limited government, free trade, and immigration reform presented a “narrower and narrower path […]

The House returns today after a week in recess, and both chambers are looking at a hefty legislative agenda this week. The lower chamber starts with six suspension bills to consider today, including a bill (H.R. 2141) to authorize $9 million for Customs and Border Protection to prevent unlawful importation of fentanyl and certain other […]

The Week in Review With the House out of town, the Senate used most of the week’s floor time to approve a budget resolution (H. Con. Res. 71) for the 2018 fiscal year that would provide reconciliation instructions for tax reform legislation that could circumvent a possible Democratic filibuster. The vote was by a 51-49 […]

The Senate is prepping for a vote-a-rama today on proposed amendments to the 2018 budget resolution (H. Con. Res. 71) that includes reconciliation instructions to facilitate a tax reform package. The process may keep the Senate in session late into the night, with a final up-or-down vote on the underlying resolution expected before the upper […]

Our Take With just under a month of scheduled legislative days remaining before funding for the Federal Government runs out, we are now fully ensconced in the high drama of the calendar.  Loyal readers may recall that we initially encouraged people to look at this year as a play in four parts.   Perhaps a soap […]

The Senate returns to Washington today while the House is out for an in-district work period until Oct. 23. The primary agenda item for Senate lawmakers will be mirroring their House counterparts in advancing a FY2018 budget resolution that includes reconciliation instructions to be used for a Republican-backed tax reform package. Given the partisan nature […]