blog posts

• Federal Relations E-Newsletter- 7.13.2015

  Jul 13, 2015 3:30 pm6 views

  With only three weeks remaining until August recess, Congress is hastening its pace to pass bills that will resonate well with constituents, including a medical innovation bill...

• Federal Relations E-Newsletter - 7.2.2015

  Jul 2, 2015 3:30 pm1 views

  After being in session last week, Congress spent this week in a district work-period. Both the House and Senate will return in full force on Tuesday to consider appropriations and other matters...

• Federal Relations E-Newsletter- 6.19.2015

  Jun 19, 2015 3:30 pm1 views

  Although no appropriations bill made it to the House or Senate floor this week, there was ample movement at the committee level. University of Illinois President Tim Killeen was in DC to meet with other institution presidents and chancellors, as well as the leader of the the world’s largest general scientific society.

• Federal Relations E-Newsletter- 6.12.2015

  Jun 12, 2015 3:30 pm4 views

  Both chambers were in session to deliberate appropriations and a major trade bill. However, Members took a quick break Thursday night to engage in a friendly game of baseball...

• Federal Relations E-Newsletter- 6.5.2015

  Jun 5, 2015 3:30 pm1 views

  The House and Senate returned to DC this week. There was movement on two items of interest to universities: appropriations and patent reform...

• Federal Relations E-Newsletter- 5.22.2015

  May 22, 2015 3:30 pm1 views

  After wrestling with appropriations, authorization bills, and other measures over the past couple of weeks, Congress has adjourned for its Memorial Day recess. Both the House and the Senate will reconvene on June 1...

• Federal Relations E-Newsletter- 5.1.2015

  May 1, 2015 3:15 pm2 views

  There was a lot of contention on Capitol Hill this week, between partisan debates surrounding appropriations bills in the House and Senate consideration of an Iran nuclear agreement oversight bill. On a more bipartisan note, the 21st Century Cures initiative took a big step forward...

• Federal Relations E-Newsletter- 4.27.2015

  Apr 27, 2015 3:15 pm3 views

  Last week, Vice President Joe Biden visited the Urbana campus to highlight student leadership surrounding the "It's on Us" campaign. In the nation's capital, the House moved forward on legislation to reauthorize the America COMPETES Act...

• Federal Relations E-Newsletter- 4.10.2015

  Apr 10, 2015 3:15 pm1 views

  With Congress in recess these past two weeks, the University of Illinois seized several significant opportunities to interact with members of the Illinois Congressional delegation...

• Federal Relations E-Newsletter - 3.27.2015

  Mar 27, 2015 3:15 pm1 views

  Before heading into a two-week Easter and Passover recess, Congress tackled two significant items: Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 budget resolutions and a Medicare "Doc Fix"...

• Federal Relations E-Newsletter- 3.20.2015

  Mar 20, 2015 3:15 pm2 views

  Although all the action was at the committee level, the focus this week in Congress revolved around the Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 budgets introduced by House and Senate Republican...

• Federal Relations E-Newsletter - 3.13.2015

  Mar 13, 2015 3:15 pm1 views

  With several Member submission deadlines for appropriations right around the corner, Congressional offices are now in the process of reviewing external programmatic requests. Meanwhile, House and Senate Republicans are putting final touches on their fiscal year 2016 budget resolutions, which are expected to be unveiled and marked up by budget committees next week. Majority leadership in both chambers intend to bring the budget blueprints to their respective floors the last week of March before adjourning for a two-week Easter and Passover recess...

• Federal Relations E-Newsletter- 3.6.2015

  Mar 6, 2015 3:15 pm2 views

  After months of Republican infighting, funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is finally on solid ground. Before adjourning early to beat a snowstorm, the House approved a nine-month DHS appropriations bill without attaching any conditions to block the President's executive actions on immigration. Now that this stalemate is over, Congress can turn to other items, such as budget resolutions, appropriations, and addressing the Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR)...

• Federal Relations E-Newsletter- 2.27.2015

  Feb 27, 2015 3:15 pm1 views

  Fallout from President Obama's immigration action casts a long shadow over DC this week. As the final seconds tick away on both the work week and Homeland Security funding, the House and Senate have so far not been unable to identify a compromise to keep the agency funded. The Senate passed a clean bill that would keep funding secure through September, while the House has proposed, but so far not passed, a continuing resolution for a few more weeks...

• OGR Announces Staff Changes

  Feb 24, 2015 3:15 pm6 views

  I wanted to share with you the news that I am leaving the Office of Governmental Relations (OGR), effective this Friday, February 27. I will return to Capitol Hill next month...

• Federal Relations E-Newsletter- 2.13.2015

  Feb 13, 2015 4:30 pm3 views

  UI President-designate Tim Killeen returned to Washington this week for more engagement with our delegation and big thinkers.

  With Homeland Security funding expiring soon, congressional Republicans appear no closer to finding an endgame with both chambers...

• Federal Relations E-Newsletter- 2.6.2015

  Feb 6, 2015 4:30 pm2 views

  The President released his much anticipated budget this week, while UIC's next Chancellor made his Washington debut.House Republicans voted again to repeal Obamacare, while Senate Republicans struggled to undo President Obama's executive actions on immigration ahead of a key deadline...

• Federal Relations E-Newsletter- 1.30.2015

  Jan 30, 2015 4:30 pm3 views

  The Senate passed legislation to advance the Keystone XL pipeline after three weeks of debate, while House Republicans continued their rocky start by pulling an immigration bill from the Floor. Homeland security and immigration funding expires in one month...

• Federal Relations E-Newsletter - 1.23.2015

  Jan 23, 2015 4:15 pm4 views

  President Barack Obama commanded the bully pulpit this week with his annual State of the Union (SOTU) address. He then barnstormed across the country promoting initiatives from his speech

• Federal Relations E-Newsletter - 1.16.2015

  Jan 16, 2015 4:00 pm3 views

  This week was all about raising the University of Illinois' profile in the nation's capital. Urbana's senior leaders and prominent researchers fanned out across Capitol Hill, the federal funding agencies, the White House, recording studios—and partnered with an esteemed scientific association—to demonstrate Illinois thought leadership across a wide range of disciplines...

• Federal Relations E-Newsletter - 1.9.2015

  Jan 9, 2015 4:00 pm2 views

  The 114th Congress has officially kicked off! The week was dominated by swearing-in events, but there is already a lot of legislative activity underway, with the House authorizing the Keystone Pipeline and tweaking the Affordable Care Act...

• Federal Relations E-Newsletter - 12.19.2014

  Dec 19, 2014 4:00 pm8 views

  Washington has gone home for the holidays.

  The House adjourned after President Obama signed the year-end appropriations bill, while the Senate remained in session this week to finish its "must do" items that included tax extenders and judicial nominations...

• Federal Relations E-Newsletter - 12.12.2014

  Dec 12, 2014 4:00 pm1 views

  It's been a climactic final week of session, and we have not quite reached the finish line...

• Federal Relations E-Newsletter - 12.5.2014

  Dec 5, 2014 4:00 pm24 views

  Lawmakers returned to Washington either frustrated or energized by President Obama's executive action on immigration. How would that order impact the path forward for the end of the year?

• Federal Relations E-Newsletter - 11.21.2014

  Nov 21, 2014 4:00 pm9 views

  The lame duck session kicked off last week, with more than 60 newly-elected Members in town for New Member Orientation. Representatives-Elect Bob Dold and Mike Bost got a crash course on Hill operations so they can hit the ground running in January...

• Federal Relations E-Newsletter - 11.7.2014

  Nov 7, 2014 3:00 pm6 views

  Tuesday's blowout election was a clear rebuke of President Obama, who has now witnessed the loss of more of his party's House seats than any president since Harry Truman...

• Federal Relations E-Newsletter - 10.31.2014

  Oct 31, 2014 3:00 pm2 views

  The election is days away, and DC is a ghost town. Elected officials are either back in their home districts fighting for survival or criss-crossing the country to help others...

• Federal Relations E-Newsletter - 10.24.2014

  Oct 24, 2014 3:45 pm0 views

  Only ten days remain until the election, and the Senate majority hangs in the balance. A strong anti-incumbent mood permeates the country...

• Federal Relations E-Newsletter - 9.26.2014

  Sep 26, 2014 3:45 pm4 views

  This week, another University of Illinois voice joined SCIENCE 2034, the national messaging initiative by The Science Coalition that looks 20 years into the future to predict what might be possible so long as the federal government sustains strong funding for basic scientific research...

• Federal Relations E-Newsletter - 9.19.2014

  Sep 19, 2014 3:45 pm2 views

  With the end of the fiscal year looming on September 30 and not a single appropriations bill signed into law, Congress took just enough action to avoid a government shutdown before the elections...

• Federal Relations E-Newsletter - 8.1.2014

  Aug 1, 2014 3:45 pm0 views

  The final week of session before the August recess is always a frenetic time. This year marked no exception, with research and education priorities taking a backseat to pressing national crises. Pressure mounted on both the House and Senate...

• Federal Relations E-Newsletter - 7.25.2014

  Jul 25, 2014 3:45 pm0 views

  Next week marks the final week before both chambers recess for the August work period. The focus: red meat for each party's base. The House is expected to take up its highly publicized lawsuit...

• Federal Relations E-Newsletter - 7.18.2014

  Jul 18, 2014 3:45 pm4 views

  Both the House and the Senate will be in session next week. While the government remains funded until Sept. 30—the end of the fiscal year—only two legislative weeks remain before...

• Federal Relations E-Newsletter - 7.11.2014

  Jul 11, 2014 3:45 pm0 views

  The House was in session and considered a spending bill for energy and water programs as well as legislation to strengthen federal workforce development programs. The Senate was also in session...

• Federal Relations E-Newsletter - 7.3.2014

  Jul 3, 2014 3:45 pm2 views

  Both chambers were out of session this week, but will return early next week. With last Thursday marking the one-year anniversary since the Senate passed its comprehensive immigration reform bill...

• Federal Relations E-Newsletter - 6.27.2014

  Jun 27, 2014 3:45 pm0 views

  Both chambers were in session this week. Members will remain in their districts next week for the 4th of July holiday. After an abundance of hearings, the House and Senate education committees...

• Federal Relations E-Newsletter - 6.20.2014

  Jun 20, 2014 3:45 pm2 views

  The House and Senate were both in session this week. While appropriations bills dominated the legislative agenda in both chambers, most of the oxygen on the Hill was squeezed out...

• Federal Relations E-Newsletter - 6.13.2014

  Jun 13, 2014 3:45 pm0 views

  President Barack Obama and Senate Democrats joined forces this week to elevate student debt as a top midterm pocketbook issue. On Monday, the president signed an executive order...

• Federal Relations E-Newsletter - 6.6.2014

  Jun 6, 2014 3:45 pm0 views

  The House was in recess this week. The Senate was in session and confirmed Sylvia Burwell to be the next Health and Human Secretary by a surprisingly bipartisan vote, 78-17...

• Federal Relations E-Newsletter - 5.30.2014

  May 30, 2014 3:45 pm4 views

  The House and Senate are both in session next week, with the Senate expected to take up student loan interest rate legislation...

• Federal Relations E-Newsletter - 5.23.2014

  May 23, 2014 3:45 pm1 views

  Next week, the Senate is out for a district work period. The House is in and will consider an NSF spending bill, as well as other matters...

• Federal Relations E-Newsletter - 5.16.2014

  May 16, 2014 3:45 pm1 views

  Next week, the Senate is expected to continue its consideration of a tax extenders bill, which contains the deduction for tuition and fees, IRA charitable rollover, and the research and development tax credit...

• Federal Relations E-Newsletter - 5.9.2014

  May 9, 2014 3:45 pm1 views

  Next week, the Senate will be in and will consider wind energy tax credits. The House will be in recess...

• Federal Relations E-Newsletter - 5.2.2014

  May 2, 2014 3:30 pm0 views

  This week, a House Appropriations subcommittee pleased the university community with an opening mark of $7.4 billion for the National Science Foundation (NSF)...

• Federal Relations E-Newsletter - 4.25.2014

  Apr 25, 2014 3:30 pm0 views

  Both the Senate and House were in recess this week and will return to session on Monday...

• Federal Relations E-Newsletter - 4.18.2014

  Apr 18, 2014 3:30 pm8 views

  The House and Senate were not in session this week. Both chambers will be in recess again next week...

• Federal Relations E-Newsletter - 4.11.2014

  Apr 11, 2014 3:30 pm1 views

  The House narrowly approved Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan's FY 2015 budget resolution along highly partisan lines...

• Federal Relations E-Newsletter - 4.4.2014

  Apr 4, 2014 3:30 pm0 views

  Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) announced she will hold a hearing on innovation and budget cuts on April 29...

• Federal Relations E-Newsletter - 3.28.2014

  Mar 28, 2014 3:30 pm2 views

  The House passed a one-year delay to the “sustainable growth rate” (SGR)—the rate at which Medicare reimburses physicians, averting a 24 percent cut to doctors...

• Federal Relations E-Newsletter - 3.21.2014

  Mar 21, 2014 3:30 pm0 views

  Both the House and the Senate were on recess this week. The House returns on Monday...