November 28, 2017
The tax bill passed out of the Senate Budget committee today, and will be on the floor for a vote later this week. Tax reform was a bumpy road in 1986, and few thought it would be a 6-lane freeway in 2017. But there’s a way forward, and Steve Gordon discusses the way the tax bill could turn into law. Larry Smith provides the latest on NAFTA re-negotiations, and Al Jackson brings us up to date on defense appropriations. We believe that the tax reform legislation is critical to Arizona’s economic future, so we’ll provide an abbreviated update version of This Week in Washington later this week once the Senate floor schedule is clear.
Read MoreOctober 25, 2017
We had planned to run an extensive article on the process and the thinking around the tax reform – but Senator Flake’s speech on Tuesday hit Washington like an earthquake. We decided to let Steve Gordon tackle the mood in Washington and the future of tax reform in Heard on the Hill. Mike Joyce delves into the importance of trade to trucking and what would happen if NAFTA fell apart. Dana Marston shares an updated list of President Trump’s executive orders and memoranda, some detail on ramifications of a NAFTA exit, the latest bipartisan bill to stabilize Obamacare, and the difference in tax liabilities for mortgage interest handling. We’ll provide a first cut of the proposed tax reform legislative language from as soon as it’s available, and we will analyze the process and the problems next week.
Read MoreOctober 18, 2017
The House of Representatives was in session last week. This coming week the Senate is in session. It’s been calmer than usual – and that means that there is a storm on the horizon. Steve Gordon gets the cover slot this week. He participated in last weekend’s National Republican Senatorial Committee retreat held in Sea Island, Georgia, so his Heard on the Hill column has been renamed - for this week only - to Heard in Sea Island. Larry Smith provides an alarming but factual update on the lack of progress in NAFTA discussions, and Jake Ostenso’s Agency Watch provides the latest in the Trump Administration’s efforts to affect regulation. Dana Marston shares this week’s calendar of hearings and markups, as well as a look at fuel taxes, drunk driving and other traffic fatalities, heroin’s role in opioid epidemic, and of course, recent executive actions impacting Obamacare. We’ll provide a very early copy of the House Ways and Means Committee’s draft tax legislation as soon as we get it. Thanks again for your notes and suggestions, and your continued interest in Washington, D.C.
Read MoreSeptember 28, 2017
The much-anticipated GOP tax reform framework released yesterday does not offer much detail on how the cuts will be funded, leaving credit unions a bit concerned. "The section that deals with 'rules affecting specific industries' tells me we need to remain on our toes a little longer,” said John McKechnie, senior partner at Total Spectrum and long-time advocate for credit unions. “This is a process that is ongoing, and even though I'm optimistic and confident that credit unions will be unscathed, this is too important of an issue to sleep on."
Read MoreSeptember 27, 2017
As a follow up to our This Week in Washington coverage of earlier today, the much-anticipated Republican tax reform proposal has been released. Download it by clicking the link below.
Read MoreSeptember 20, 2017
The cover story this week is an article on the outlook for an infrastructure bill. It’s written by Mike Joyce, a new partner at Total Spectrum. Mike was most recently the Senior Vice President and Chief of Government Affairs for the American Trucking Association, and worked previously as a chief of staff or legislative director for three congressmen who served either on the Transportation and Infrastructure or the Ways and Means Committees. Larry Smith provides an update on trade and NAFTA renegotiation. Jake Ostenso reports on regulatory changes in Agency Watch. Steve Gordon returns with a very timely update on healthcare reform and the pending tax reform work in Heard on the Hill, and Dana Marston takes a look at global corporate tax rates and this week’s schedule on Capitol Hill. We always welcome your comments and suggestions. Please stay in touch and thanks again for reading This Week.
Read MoreAugust 9, 2017
Congress’s August recess came late this year, but it did come last Thursday night. Steve Gordon summarizes the news and the noise from last week, and adds few of his reflections from the last seven months in Heard on the Hill. Larry Smith summarizes NAFTA and trade, Al Jackson updates on the Defense Authorization Bill, and Jake Ostenso continues looking at the Trump Administration’s efforts to provide regulatory relief in his Agency Update. Dana Marston looks into potential changes in U.S.-China trade policy, latest in unemployment reports, solutions sought by centrist lawmakers in the continuing health care debate, and the economic sanctions process. We’re off for a few weeks, and we’ll return on September 5th.
Read MoreJuly 26, 2017
The key story this week of course was unfortunately Senator John McCain’s illness. The announcement impacted everyone in Washington, D.C. – but it hit especially hard his colleagues, current and former staff, and friends from both sides of the aisle. Steve Gordon was a consultant to his campaign committee during the 1990’s, and wrote about his thoughts and reflections in Heard on The Hill. The healthcare agenda was center stage, and will continue to be for the next few weeks. Steve also summarizes where Congress is on repealing Obamacare, tax reform, the debt ceiling, the budget, and infrastructure. Larry Smith brings us up to date on activities in the NAFTA/Trade area. Dana Marston provides this week’s legislative calendar, as well as a look at the multiple GOP health care proposals, the coming debt limit, President Trump’s executive orders to date, and US-owned and operated satellites. The House is expected to recess on or around July 28th. The Senate is still planning to stay in session through the first two weeks of August. We’ll continue reporting this week and every week Congress is in session.
Read MoreJuly 19, 2017
Our goal is to be both accurate and current – which means that last week’s review can be impacted by this week’s developments. We have come to expect the unexpected, especially on Mondays. There was every reason to believe that health care was hanging by a thread. Health Care Proposals 1.0 and 2.0 were both opposed by two senators, and the Majority Leader needed to get every remaining Republican senator. Monday started with Senator McConnell moving back activity on health care in response to Senator McCain’s surgery, and ended when two Republican senators announced their opposition to 2.0. Steve Gordon responded by updating this week’s edition of Heard on the Hill to include all of the changes that occurred yesterday and today in healthcare, and covers tax reform, the budget, and the debt ceiling. Blake Fulenwider gives us a view of what was in Health Care Proposal 2.0. There was significant activity on NAFTA/trade – including the release of our trade negotiating objectives, and Larry Smith reports on them all in his update. Agency Watch, a new column debuting today, will focus on activity in the Executive Departments and Agencies, and will be written by Jake Ostenso. Dana Marston lends a look ahead at the Hill hearing and meeting schedule, more on health care – details on Health Care 2.0, and how ACA is weighing on voters’ minds as the 2018 midterm election draws closer. She also provides insights into the opioid crisis and potential cuts in mandatory spending.
Read MoreJune 28, 2017
The theme for today’s edition of This Week is health care. We prepared last week for the release of the draft bill, the report from the Congressional Budget Office, and deliberations building up to a vote in the Senate prior to July 2nd. We visited last week with a number of folks on the Hill, and their view was that passing the bill was going to be hard – the odds were a little less than 50-50 – but that if anyone could get it over the line, Senate Majority Leader McConnell would be the man to get it done. The bill was released late last week and early deliberations quickly exposed concerns from Republican Senators who represent all sides of the health care issue. It was clear by Monday night that Senators McConnell and Cornyn needed more time to work with members of their caucus -- and perhaps just as clear that Republican Senators needed to get the perspective of Republican Governors. Tuesday afternoon Senator McConnell said he would continue working with his caucus, but moved the vote to after the July 4th recess. The theme for this week is still health care. We have elected to stay away from the details of the draft legislation for the time being because they will continue to change as the Majority Leader works to get fifty Senators on board. Steve Gordon in Heard on the Hill gives us his notes from a meeting last week with a member of the Republican Senate leadership on a number of legislative issues. He also shares what he has heard on tax reform, the budget, immigration, and describes how politics impacts policy. Steve also reports on the Arizona Association of Health Care’s meetings last week in Washington, D.C. supporting Arizona’s Medicaid program, and Glenn Hamer’s follow-up letter. Jake Ostenso reports on two congressional hearings held last week on the topic of NAFTA/trade. Dana Marston takes a closer look at the Senate’s health care proposal, at states’ experiments in health care reform, budget shortfalls at the state level, and Republicans’ narrow wins in recent special elections.
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