National Security Legislative Calendar

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August 9, 2010 update

[New information bolded and italicized]

The Senate has recessed until September 14, but the House returns one day this week to pass assistance for schools and states. The New START treaty consideration scheduled by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last week has been postponed until September.

KEY FISCAL YEAR 2011 NATIONAL SECURITY BILLS

NEW START NUCLEAR REDUCTIONS TREATY

Presidents Obama and Medvedev signed the New START agreement on April 8.

On April 29, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee began hearings on the New START agreement. Former Defense Secretaries James Schlesinger and William Perry provided a surprisingly strong endorsement of the treaty, particularly Dr. Schlesinger. Read here.

On May 18, the Committee heard strong endorsements for the treaty from Secretary of State Clinton, Secretary of Defense Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mike Mullen. On May 19, former Secretary of State James Baker gave a somewhat less full-throated endorsement. On May 25, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger strongly endorsed the treaty. On June 10, former National Security Advisors Brent Scowcroft and Stephen J. Hadley supported the treaty. Rose Gottemoeller, Chief U.S. Negotiator in the treaty Negotiations, along with Edward L. Warner, III, the Pentagon's representative to the talks testified on June 15 and the Pentagon's James Miller, Jr., General Kevin P. Chilton, USAF and Lt. Gen. Patrick O’Reilly, USA testified on June 16.

After 21 hearings and briefings before Foreign Relations, Armed Services and Intelligence committee, the Foreign Relations Committee scheduled and then postponed a voted on the treaty until mid-September. A number of Republican Senators have not been ready to vote.

FISCAL YEAR 2011 ENERGY AND WATER APPROPRIATIONS BILL

On July 15, the House Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee approved $34.6 billion for Fiscal Year 2011, an increase of $1.2 billion from last year's enacted level and $675 million less than the Administration's request. The Subcommittee approved full funding for both nuclear non-proliferation programs and nuclear modernization. The Subcommittee rejected a series of Republican amendments to cut the level of funding in the bill. The full committee is scheduled to take up the bill on July 20.

On July 20 and 22, the Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee and full Appropriations Committee completed action on the Senate version of the Fiscal Year 2011 bill, appropriating a total fo $34.7 billion. The Committee approved $1.5 billion for nuclear non-proliferation work, an increase of about 27%, and $7 billion for nuclear weapons activities, an increase of about 10% from last year. The non-proliferation increase is consistent with Pres. Obama's pledge to secure to secure all fissile material worldwide in four years.

FISCAL YEAR 2011 DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS BILL

The House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee marked up or wrote its bill on July 27. The Subcommittee approved $681.8 billion, including $157.9 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The bill is $15.7 billion over the Fiscal Year 2010 enacted level and $7 billion less than requested by Pres. Obama. On an 11 – 5 vote, the Subcommittee approved a second F-35 engine over the objections of the Pentagon..

FISCAL YEAR 2011 FOREIGN OPERATIONS APPROPRIATIONS BILL

The two Appropriations Subcommittees that oversee the International Affairs Budget approved their bills the week of the week of June 28 -- Agriculture and State-Foreign Operations. The two subcommittees approved $54.9 billion for the Fiscal Year 2011 International Affairs Budget, a $3.3 billion (6%) cut from the President’s request. Mitigating the cut to some extent was the inclusion in the House Fiscal Year 2010 supplemental of about $500 million in “forward funding” for the Fiscal Year 2011 bill.

On July 29, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved the FY 2011 State-Foreign Operations Appropriations bill, which funds about 96% of the International Affairs Budget. The measure provides a total funding level of $54.06 billion, $2.6 billion or 4.6%, less than the President’s request.

FISCAL YEAR 2011 DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION BILL

On May 13, the House Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee marked up or wrote its bill. The Subcommittee approved $10.3 billion for missile defense, an increase of about $362 from the Obama Administration's request. The bill includes $7 billion for the Department of Energy's nuclear weapons activities.

On May 19, the House Armed Services Committee unanimously approved H.R. 5136, the Fiscal Year 2011 Defense Authorization Bill. The bill authorized $567 billion for the Pentagon plus another $159 million for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan for a total of $726 billion (plus $34 billion for Fiscal Year 2010 war costs). It funded a second engine for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter opposed by the Pentagon. It approved $10.3 billion for missile defense and fully funds the Cooperative Threat Reduction program. The Committee also took some pot shots at the Administration’s Nuclear Posture Review.

On May 27, the House refused to eliminate funds for the second F-35 Joint Strike Fighter engine by a vote of 193 - 231 and voted to overturn Don't Ask Don't Tell by a vote of 234 - 194. On May 28, the House approved the bill 229 - 186.

On May 27, the Senate Armed Services Committee approved $725.7 billion for defense, including $550.3 billion for the base budget, $157.6 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and $17.7 billion for Department of Energy nuclear activities. The Committee voted for $10.2 billion for missile defense, an increase of $338.6 million from the Administration request, $522.5 million for Cooperative Threat Reduction programs and $2.7 billion for Department of Energy non-proliferation programs. By a vote of 18 - 12, it voted to overturn Don't Ask Don't Tell. It is not clear when the full Senate will consider the bill, in part because the bill tends to take a week or two of Senate floor time.

LEGISLATIVE ACTION COMPLETED IN CALENDAR 2010

IRAN SANCTIONS LEGISLATION

On October 28, 2009, the House Foreign Affairs Committee approved by voice vote H.R. 2194, the Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act of 2009. The bill was slightly modified from its original introduction. The bill had 330 co-sponsors. It imposes sanctions against companies that supply Iran with gasoline or other refined petroleum products. The President would have some discretion on imposing the sanctions. On October 29, the Senate Banking Committee unanimously approved the Dodd - Shelby bill that would impose sanctions on companies that help Iran acquire refined petroleum products.

On December 15, 2009, the House approved the Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act of 2009: H.R. 2194, by a vote 412 - 12, with four Members voting present.

On January 28, 2010, in surprise timing, the Senate suddenly passed by voice vote S. 2799 - the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2009, which includes the Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act. It was passed after all of five minutes of debate.

On April 22, the House appointed conferees on the bill, indicating that agreement was close. However, on May 25, House Foreign Affairs Chairman Howard Berman announced that the issue would be put off until after the Memorial Day recess. After the United Nations Security Council approved additional sanctions against Iran on June 9, congressional leaders promised to complete action on tougher penalties on Iran by the end of June.

On June 24, Congress passed the conference report on the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 on Thursday. The Senate vote was unanimous, 99 - 0; the House vote was 408 - 8. The bill targets Iran's energy and banking sectors, and demands that Iran cease support of international terrorism and the pursuit of nuclear, biological, chemical, and ballistic weapons.

FISCAL YEAR 2011 BUDGET RESOLUTION

On April 22, the Senate Budget Committee approved the FY 2011 budget resolution by a 12 - 10 vote. The measure sets the overall budget cap at $1.122 trillion, $4 billion below the Administration's request. The entire cut was taken out of the international affairs budget. In a marked departure from past practice, the committee lumped into the security spending category defense, international affairs, veterans and homeland security and approved $728.1 billion. Non-security spending came to $396.2 billion. A Feingold (D-WI) amendment to require that addition spending on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan be offset over the next 10 years was approved 15 - 8.

Neither the full Senate nor the House will consider a budget resolution this year, as Members of Congress do not want to be voting for perpetual deficits.

Instead, on July 1, the House passed a budget enforcement resolution, also called a “deeming resolution.” The resolution, attached to the Fiscal Year 2010 supplemental, sets an overall limit of $1.121 trillion for Fiscal Year 2011 discretionary spending, $7 billion below President Obama’s request and $3 billion below the resolution passed by the Senate Budget Committee in April The Senate took similar action. The resolution allows the 2011 appropriations process to move forward with enforceable spending limits.

SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS BILL LARGELY TO PAY FOR THE IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN WARS

Notwithstanding the Constitutional requirement that all money bills start in the House, the Senate acted first on the Fiscal Year 2010 supplemental appropriations bill. By a unanimous 30 - 0 vote on May 13, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved $58.8 billion, of which $33.45 billion is for the Pentagon, mostly for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Also included in the bill is $13.4 billion for the Department of Veterans Affairs to cover disability compensation for Vietnam veterans exposed to Agent Orange, $5.1 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and $6.2 billion for the State Department.

On May 27, the Senate approved the bill by a vote of 67 - 28 after rejecting 18 - 80 a Feingold (D-WI) amendment to request a timetable for withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan.

Late on July 1, the House approved the supplemental bill by a vote of 239 - 182, with 1 voting present. With this vote, the House added more than $22 billion for schools and other domestic programs. By a vote of 162 – 260, it rejected an Obey (D-WI)-McGovern (D-MA)-Jones (R-NC) amendment that would have required the president to develop rapidly a plan for the redeployment of U.S. troops from Afghanistan. 153 Democrats backed the amendment, while 98 opposed it. Nine Republicans voted for it. It rejected 100 – 321 a Lee (D-CA) amendment to fully fund a withdrawal plan and turned down 25 - 376, 22 present an amendment to strike Afghanistan funding from the supplemental bill.

On July 22, the Senate rejected the House add-ons by a vote of 46-51, well-short of the 60 votes needed. On July 27, the House approved the Iraq and Afghanistan war supplemental -- without the domestic spending add-ons -- by vote of 308-114, with 102 Democrats and 12 Republicans opposing war funding. The bill has been signed by the President.

2010 Congressional Recess Schedule

Friday, Feb. 12 - Monday, Feb. 22: Congressional President's Day recess

Friday, March 26 - Monday, April 12: Congressional Easter/Passover recess

Friday, May 28 - Monday, June 7: Congressional Memorial Day recess

Friday, July 2 - Monday, July 12: Congressional Independence Day recess

Friday, August 6 - Monday, Sept. 14: Congressional summer recess

Friday, October 8: House and Senate adjourn (tentative)

Monday, November 15: House and Senate return for lame-duck session