GAVEL DOWN: Closing out the Week in Congress

House and Senate were on recess this week, working back home. C-SPAN II celebrated 30 years of Senate coverage, and we welcomed three interns to the Hill for the summer!

Top Search on POPVOX this week: gun

Most Active Bill on POPVOX this week:
H.R. 5090 To ensure that air transportation between the United States and the European Union complies with the intent of article 17 bis of the United States-European Union-Norway-Iceland Air Transport Agreement of June 21, 2011

Cheers to 30 years of seeing the U.S. Senate from your living room!

This week marked 30 years of Senate coverage on C-SPAN II.

In 1986, the U.S. Senate voted to televise its debates, and C-SPAN II began, with the purpose of televising "unfiltered, gavel-to-gavel access" of the U.S. Senate. In the first televised speech from the Senate floor, Sen. Bob Dole [R, KS] said "I think today we in effect sort of catch up with the 20th century."

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, then a freshman senator, recollected voting against opening up the U.S. Senate Floor to the public, saying he feared senators would preach to the cameras and be less concerned about debate.

"There's been nowhere near the amount of grandstanding as one would've thought," said Sen. Patrick Leahy [D, VT], the Senate's longest-serving senator. Leahy recalls pre and post TV days, the installation of the bright TV lights and at least one colleague with a terrible toupee who hated the cameras.

C-SPAN compiled Senate highlights from 1986-2016, including debates regarding:

Don't Ask, Don't Tell, 2010
Campaign Finance Reform, 2002
September 11 terrorist attacks, 2001
Defense of Marriage Act, 1996
Crime Bill, 1994
Clarence Thomas Supreme Court nomination, 1991
Robert Bork Supreme Court nomination, 1987

C-SPAN kicked off in 1979, the first day the House allowed televised coverage of its floor debates. At the time there were only four employees working to open up government proceedings to households across the U.S.

Contrary to popular belief, C-SPAN receives no government money or underwriting support. In fact, there is no contract with Congress to broadcast its proceedings. The channels are instead funded by cable, satellite, and telecom companies that then distribute the channels to their viewers.

POPVOX Summer interns take the Hill

We welcomed three Summer interns to join our D.C. team! They spent the week exploring Capitol Hill, researching bills, and preparing to attend hearings and markups next week as Congress returns for legislative business.

Check out their posts on their first impressions of the Hill…and why it's so confusing getting around this place.

"As we traversed from the House side to the Senate side of the Capitol, I couldn’t help but think, “Here I am, doing what I had dreamed of doing for so long—interning in DC with an awesome organization, walking across the Hill with the Capitol on my left and the Supreme Court and the Library of Congress on my right.”
—Hannah Gourdie, Legislative Affairs Intern

"Interestingly, it doesn’t seem to matter how confident you are or look, when walking in a fleet of interns, people will still ask if you are lost or need help. But, as Maddie so astutely put it, just because we are young interns doesn’t mean we can’t read arrows and signs."
—Holly Stokes, Government Relations Interns

"Before coming to Washington for this internship, I assumed that Congress worked in the Capitol just like the Supreme Court works in the Supreme Court Building. And yet like many facets of American government, the neat picture at the surface belies a far more complicated structure underneath."
—Maddie Burton, Government, New Media Intern

New Bills on the Block

Lawmakers are considering adding Cassidy-Murphy mental health bill to resulting product from opioid conference committee. House has Murphy mental health bill, with Energy & Commerce Committee set to markup later this month.
Rep. Barbara Lee [D, CA-13] introduced resolution calling for increased access to computer science education, to encourage minorities to pursue careers in tech industry.
New DelBene bill would extend U.S. Digital Service (technology fix-it squad launched post HealthCare.gov) beyond Obama administration.

#DataDrop

U.S. added only 38k jobs in May, worst performance in six years. Sharp slowdown that could push back move by Fed to raise interest rates.
Saudi Arabia invested $3.5B in Uber, marking largest single investment in history of startups and further evidence the country is pivoting its economy away from oil.
House Science Committee is investigating how hackers diverted $101M from Bank of Bangladesh accounts held at the Federal Reserve in New York.

Legislative Lowdown: States Edition

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley [R] signed bill that would ban abortion after 20 weeks. A few days earlier, Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin [R] vetoed a bill that would have made abortion a felony punishable by prison time.
Massachusetts House passed bill that would expand protections for transgender individuals, allowing them to use bathrooms and locker rooms that match their gender identity.
Hawaii legislature passed bill that would enter firearm owners into the FBI “Rap Back” database, which would alert local police if a gun owner or applicant is arrested elsewhere in the country.
Illinois state senator Terry Link [D] introduced an amendment to the state’s Biometric Information Privacy Act that would exempt photo-tagging technologies common on social media from laws that compel companies to get a user’s consent before turning on features that scan and store faces for identification.
California Assembly passed bill that would authorize the state to apply for a federal waiver that would allow immigrants living in the state illegally to purchase a Covered California health care plan with their own funds.

#ICYMI

Top lawmakers on Senate Commerce are calling on House Transportation & Infrastructure Chairman Bill Shuster to take up Senate-passed Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization measure. FAA funding runs out July 15.
Federal judge ruled Obama administration distributed $7B to insurance companies to offset out-of-pocket costs for eligible consumers without congressional approval.
Department of Defense cited undisclosed files to defend sexual assault testimony, in response to Associated Press investigation that found the military misled Congress about sexual assault cases to decrease support for Gillibrand legislation.
Rep. Tom Cole [R, OK-4] chatted about what Congress is really like, in response to recently released book from anonymous congressman.
Official confirmation of Prince's death by opioid overdose brings attention to lawmakers' opioid legislation efforts.
Sens. Blumenthal and Markey proposed eliminating baggage fees for the summer in hopes of reducing long airport security lines.
Baby girl delivered in New Jersey is the first in the U.S. to be born with Zika-related microcephaly.
Department of Justice is backing Sharon Helman, fired Veterans Affairs official at center of 2014 VA scandal over long wait times and secret lists. Helman is suing the VA to win her job back.
Fed updates: Chairwoman Janet Yellen will deliver semiannual monetary policy report to Congress June 21-22, week after central bank's next policy meeting, amid speculation over the bank's next interest rate increase.
FDA issued new guidelines on salt, looking to decrease Americans' sodium intake. Guidelines are voluntary, but it's the first time the government has issued specific sodium recommendations.
Department of Justice moved to fight federal order's order that its lawyers undergo mandatory ethics training, after the DOJ was accused of misleading the courts over President Obama's immigration executive actions.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has a new book out this week — here are the 7 must-read passages.
White House is upping its AI game.
House and Senate alike are debating measures to address California drought.
Check out Dugout Dish, a series to share lawmakers' stories surrounding annual congressional baseball game. Rep. Kevin Brady [R, TX-8] and Sen. Joe Donnelly [D, IN] are in agreement: baseball's the greatest game ever.
Stopgap measure to extend Federal Aviation Administration funding is increasingly likely, as disagreements persist over reauthorization bill.
Latest GOP healthcare proposal doesn't repeal the Affordable Care Act, allowing people to remain in Obamacare exchanges or receive tax credit to purchase health insurance on private market or put in health-savings account.
Informal survey from Legislative Branch Capacity Working Group says Congress is not equipped to do its job.
House Financial Services Chairman Jeb Hensarling announced speech on June 7, set to unveil plans to replace Dodd-Frank.
Sen. Rob Portman [R, OH] discussed opioid bill and efforts to prevent border language from being introduced.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Speaker Ryan are pursuing different strategies on spending bills, spurring all too familiar question do you move appropriations bills sans ideological statements?
TSA shifted resources to PreCheck, expedited screening program that too few travelers use.
New from Government Accountability Office: airport perimeter and access control security would benefit from risk assessment and strategy updates.
Resolutions to disapprove rules are on the rise, with 18 proposed this Congress.
Former US Attorney General Eric Holder spoke about National Security Agency's mass surveillance program, saying Edward Snowden both performed "public service" and "harmed American interests."
Federal insurance fund protecting pensions is running out of cash. Related bill from Rep. Marcy Kaptur [D, OH-9] would provide government assistance.
Per U.S. Court of Appeals, government may access citizens' phone location data without a warrant, overturning last year's divided opinion and reducing likelihood Supreme Court of the US will take up the case.
Superintendent of Oregon Public Schools apologized, acknowledging schools' continued use of contaminated water, despite tests indicating dangerous levels of lead.
Supreme Court of the US denied request to review case challenging the constitutionality of the death penalty.
What ever happened to the Do Not Call list? Technology to block robocalls exists, but it is not widely available or easy to use. See related Speier bill.