December 15, 2017
Both the Senate Finance Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee just released jointly the highlights of the Tax Cut and Jobs Act. Senator Marco Rubio received additional revenue for child care. Both Senators Rubio and Corker are on board. There may be a small hiccup between now and next week, but it’s hard to imagine a situation that would derail this effort. We’ll forward the text of the conference committee report as soon as it’s available.
Read MoreDecember 14, 2017
Thanks for your continued interest in Washington, and for reading This Week in Washington. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) wisely said that failure on the tax bill is not an option. There has been great progress, and votes on the conference report are tentatively scheduled for early next week. A hiccup developed early Thursday afternoon… and there may be a few more before the vote. Steve Gordon has reports on the road to tax reform, concern about NAFTA, and the possibility of infrastructure on the agenda next year – leading up to probable adjournment next Friday. Larry Smith reports on TRADE/NAFTA, Jake Ostenso’s Agency Watch brings us the latest in regulatory reform, and Dana Marston provides a look just who is participating in the ongoing tax conference, and potential changes to the Antiquities Act. Next week will be our year-end special report. We’ll report on activities during the week, we will look back throughout 2017 and look ahead to 2018 with reports by Total Spectrum partners and strategic consultants.
Read MoreDecember 7, 2017
Thanks for your continued interest in Washington, and for reading This Week in Washington. We’ll be doing a little different format for the next few weeks. Steve Gordon explains: “It is going to be a race to the wire for the next three weeks… Tax Reform. A continuing resolution. An omnibus spending bill, renewing CHIP (The Children’s Health Care Program). A tax corrections bill and then a tax bill to deal with extenders. Our colleagues are devoting almost every hour they have to the needs of their clients – as they should be. I’ve asked them to write as their time permits, and to send information to me for inclusion in “Heard on the Hill”. We’ll publish in December whenever there’s important news – but at least once a week.” Dana Marston shares a calendar of this week’s hearings and mark ups, as well as several infographics with different perspectives on the tax reform legislative process, and another on American’s view of the opioid crisis. We appreciate your questions and emails.
Read MoreNovember 30, 2017
Over the last 24 hours, my business partner Andy Ehrlich and I have attended a few ’background briefings’ with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and other Republican Senators regarding efforts to pass tax reform legislation. This special edition is an amalgamation of the thoughts provided us.
Read MoreNovember 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 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.
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