This Week on the Hill: With House in Recess, Senate to Consider Bipartisan Bills on Trade Secrets, FAA Reauthorization

After a two-week recess, the Senate reconvenes today and hopes to enjoy a week of bipartisanship through the consideration of two bills that are unlikely to meet serious opposition from either party on the chamber floor. Senators plan to first vote this evening on a measure (S. 1890) that would provide American businesses with new legal remedies to combat the theft of trade secrets. While current law dictates that owners of misappropriated trade secrets must rely on law enforcement agencies or state courts for recompense, the measure would allow owners to sue for damages directly in federal courts. The bill was passed by the Judiciary Committee on a voice vote, signaling that it will likely pass on the chamber floor with limited debate.

Passing the trade secrets bill will allow Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to bring up the upper chamber’s version of a measure (S. 2658) to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) later this week. The bill – approved by the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee on a voice vote last month – would extend FAA operations through Sept. 30, 2017. Congress passed a temporary extension for the aviation agency earlier this year, after a longer-term authorization (H.R. 4441) was withdrawn in the House due to partisan differences on the privatization of air-traffic control operations. With the FAA’s new authorization deadline set for July 15, Senate Democrats may allow Leader McConnell to bring the less controversial Senate bill directly to the chamber floor without requiring a cloture vote on limiting debate, which is typically needed to thwart a filibuster.
 
In significant committee action this week, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee has scheduled the last of its series of three medical innovation bill markups for Wednesday, with measures addressing antibiotics policy, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) workforce, and the promotion of biomedical research all set to be considered. For a full breakdown of Wednesday’s markup and the Senate’s ‘Innovation’ package, refer to this week’s Health Policy Report on the TRP Blog.  
 
The House remains on its two-week spring break and plans to reconvene next Tuesday, April 12.
 

‘This Week on the Hill’ includes updates provided by the House and Senate majority leaders, as well information derived from publications including Bloomberg Government, The Hill, CQ HealthBeat, Inside Health Policy, Kaiser Health News, Modern Healthcare, and Morning Consult.