CD111: Fall 2015 Overview

Three months of Congress condensed into under one hour. In this episode, we take a look at our new laws, some controversial bills, and the most interesting hearings from September, October, and November. This episode is also a call for feedback: Which hearings sound most interesting to you?

 

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Hearings Worth Watching

Please email your top 2 hearing requests to Jen at congressional dish dot com or Tweet them to @JenBriney

House Ways and Means Committee: Trading Views: TPP Hearing - Environment Chapter, November 17, 2015.

Witnesses Dr. Joshua Meltzer, Senior Fellow in Global Economy and Development, Brookings Institution Alexander von Bismarck, Executive Director, Environmental Investigation Agency Ilana Solomon, Responsible Trade Program Director, Sierra Club Dr. Rashid Sumaila, Professor, Fisheries Economics Unit of the University of British Columbia

House Ways and Means Committee: Trading Views: Real Debates on Key Issues in TPP, December 2, 2015

Witnesses: Matt Porterfield, Deputy Director and Adjunct Professor, Harrison Institute, Georgetown University Law Center Ted Posner, Partner, Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP Michael Smart, Vice President, Rock Creek Global Advisors LLC Thea Lee, Deputy Chief of Staff, AFL-CIO

House Committee on Armed Services: Outside Views on the Strategy for Iraq and Syria

Witnesses: John McLaughlin, Former Acting Direction of Central Intelligence Ambassador Ryan Crocker, former Ambassador to Syria and Iraq

House Committee on Foreign Affairs: Charting the Arctic: Security, Economic, and Resource Opportunities, November 17, 2015

Witnesses Admiral Robert Papp, Jr., USCG, Retired: U.S. Special Representative for the Arctic, U.S. Department of State Rear Admiral Timothy C. Gallaudet, USN: Oceanographer and NavigatorU.S. Department of Defense Vice Admiral Charles D. Michel, USCG: Vice CommandantU.S. Department of Homeland Security

Senate Armed Services Committee: The Future of Warfare, November 4, 2015.

Witnesses: Keith B. Alexander Director (Former) National Security Agency Bryan Clark Senior Fellow Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments Paul Scharre Senior Fellow and Director Center for a New American Security->20YY Warfare Initiative Peter W. Singer Senior Fellow New America

House Committee on Agriculture: American Agriculture and Our National Security, November 4, 2015.

Witnesses John Negroponte, Vice-Chairman, McLarty Associates Dr. Tammy Beckham: Dean, College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University

House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform: Examining Law Enforcement Use of Cell Phone Tracking Devices, October 21, 2015

House Committee on Energy and Commerce: Update on Low Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Issues, October 28, 2015.

Witnesses: The Honorable Michael Lumpkin, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict The Honorable Matthew Armstrong, Broadcasting Board of Governors Brigadier General Charles Moore, Joint Staff, J-39

House Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Strategic Petroleum Reserve and Energy Security, October 6, 2015.

House Committee on Armed Services: Countering Adversarial Propaganda: Charting an Effective Course in the Contested Information Environment, October 22, 2015.

Committee on Energy & Commerce: Broadcasting Ownership in the 21st Century, September 25, 2015.

National Emergencies Extended

National Emergency in respect to Sudan, originally declared in November 1997

National Emergency in respect to the attacks of September 11, 2001, originally declared on September 14, 2001

National Emergency in respect to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, originally declared in October 2006.

Links to Laws, Bills, & Hearings November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 Campaign Contribution Info Rep. Garland "Andy" Barr of Kentucky Rep. French Hill of Arkansas Rep. Ann Wagner of Missouri Rep. Todd Rokita of Indiana Rep. Mark Amodei of Nevada Rep. Tom Marino of Pennsylvania Rep. Don Young of Alaska Rep. Joe Barton of Texas Additional Reading

IMF document: Republic of Congo: Letter of Intent, Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies, and Technical Memorandum of Understanding, International Monetary Fund, June 29, 2006.

Article: Ward in Congo: U.S. Military will Continue Supporting Security Assistance Activities by Kenneth Fidler, US AFRICOM Public Affairs, April 27, 2009.

Article: Joseph Kabila and Where the Election in Congo Went Wrong by Mvemba Phezo Dizolele, Foreign Affairs Magazine, November 28, 2011.

Research Paper: Toward Comprehensive Reform of America's Emergency Law Regime by Patrick Thronson, University of Michigan's Journal of Law Reform, March 23, 2013.

Article: NSA Snooping Was Only the Beginning. Meet the Spy Chief Leading Us Into CyberWar by James Bamford, Wired Magazine, June 12, 2013.

Article: U.S. Repeals Propaganda Ban, Spreads Government-Made News to Americans by John Hudson, Foreign Policy Magazine, July 14, 2013.

Article: Special Report: America's perpetual state of emergency by Gregory Korte, USA Today, October 23, 2014.

Article: Tiger Resources' Congo copper mine gets $160 million investment Reuters, October 23, 2015.

Article: Congress Acts to Avoid Commuter Rail Shutdown by Daniel Vock, Governing, October 29, 2015.

Article: The Best Way to Prevent Drunk Driving? That's Debatable by Daniel Vock, Governing, November 17, 2015.

Article: Congress approves $305B highway bill by Bart Jansen, USA Today, December 3, 2015.

Article: After a Decade, Congress Passes Transportation Funding by Daniel Vock, GovTech.com, December 3, 2015.

Article: Cyber bill's final language likely to anger privacy advocates by Cory Bennett, The Hill, December 7, 2015.

Website: Private, For-Profit Demo Project for the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE), Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

Music Presented in This Episode Intro & Exit: Tired of Being Lied To by David Ippolito (found on Music Alley by mevio) Cover Art

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