• Government Funding
• GOP Health Bill
• Acosta Confirmed
• Tax Reform
• North Korea
• Michael Flynn
• Ninth Circuit
• Net Neutrality
• ICYMI

No Government Shutdown (this week) 

No Vote on House GOP Health Bill

Like a queen-sized fitted sheet on a king-sized mattress, the proposed MacArthur Amendment to the House GOP Health bill drew support from more conservative lawmakers but did not win over moderates.

The proposed change to the American health Care Act would have allowed “Essential Benefits” to continue while allowing states to apply for “limited waivers,” to eliminate or reduce these requirements on a state-by-state basis.

While the White House had pushed for a vote to occur before the Trump administration's "100 Day" mark a vote was never scheduled.

Acosta confirmed. Cabinet now at 100%.

Trump Tax reform outline released

On Wednesday, President Trump released an outline of his tax plan. While the plan contained few details, some of the policy changes include:

• Streamlining existing brackets to three: 10%, 25% and 35%.
• Decreasing the corporate tax rate to 15%
• Eliminate most deductions, but leave the mortgage interest and charitable contribution deductions in place
• A one-time lowered repatriation rate for the trillions of dollars companies are currently keeping offshore
• Eliminate the estate tax
• Move to a "territorial" tax system, which would not tax income Americans' overseas income
• Repeal the alternative minimum tax (AMT) and Obamacare penalties 

House Ways and Means chairman, Kevin Brady, called the plan "bold," and said House Republicans are 80% in agreement with the president's outline. The Ways and Means ranking member Richie Neal, said the plan was "more of a tax cut than tax reform."

Senators briefed on North Korea; Trump remarks on South Korea agreements

In a somewhat unusual scene, senators boarded a bus for a short drive to the White House, where they were escorted to makeshift secure room for a briefing on North Korea.

While senators did not share the content of the discussion, the focus remained on the Korean peninsula later in the week, as President Trump told Reuters that a "major, major" conflict was possible.

The president also suggested that the Korean trade agreement should be renegotiated and said that South Korea should pay for the new Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile system, which the U.S. is installing in South Korea. (The current agreement is that South Korea provides the land and the U.S. provides the missile system.)

House Oversight Committee weighs in on Michael Flynn inquiry

There were new revelations this week that Retired Lt. General and former Trump official, Michael Flynn, accepted payments from Russia and Turkey in contravention of the explicit instructions of the Defense Department.
 

House Oversight committee leaders, Chairman Jason Chaffetz and Ranking Member Elijah Cummings, said there is "no evidence that General Flynn complied with the law," a violation that could bring criminal charges.

On Wednesday Ranking Member Cummings released documents related to the Flynn investigation, including a letter from the Office of General Counsel at the Defense Intelligence Agency instructing him to not accept payment from foreign governments.

On Thursday, Chairman Chaffetz wrote a letter to the Acting Secretary of the Army, Robert Speer, to request a final determination of whether Lt. General Flynn violated the law.
 

Proposed Changes to the Federal Appeals Court

On Tuesday, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals blocked the Trump administration's attempt to block federal money for so-called "sanctuary cities," (those that refuse to cooperate with federal authorities to enforce immigration rules).

President Trump then told the Washington Examiner that "there is interest in 'breaking up' the Ninth Circuit," the nation's largest court of appeals. Its 29 judges hear cases on appeal from lower federal courts in Arizona, Alaska, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Guam, and the Northern Marianas Islands.

 
Like all federal courts, the 9th circuit is a part of the judicial branch, led by the Supreme Court, and subject to checks and balances by the legislative and executive branch.
 
The president can impact the composition of the courts through appointments (with the advice and consent of the Senate). Any significant change to the appeals court structure would have to happen through a law passed through Congress.
 
Several bills impacting the structure of the Appeals Courts have been introduced this Congress:

• Ninth Circuit Court Modernization and Twelfth Circuit Court Creation Act of 2017 from Rep. Louie Gohmert [R, TX-1]
• Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Judgeship and Reorganization Act of 2017 from Rep. Michael Simpson [R, ID-2]
• Circuit Court of Appeals Restructuring and Modernization Act from Sen. Steve Daines [R, MT]
• Judicial Administration and Improvement Act of 2017 from Sen. Jeff Flake [R, AZ]
• Judicial Administration and Improvement Act of 2016 from Rep. Andy Biggs [R, AZ-5]
• Federal Courts of Appeals Modernization Act from Sen. Dan Sullivan [R, AK]

FCC Chairman proposal to roll back Title II Net Neutrality Rules

On Thursday, the new chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Ajit Pai, in a speech at the Newseum, announced his proposal to repeal the 2015 Open Internet Order. The order, put in place by former FCC chairman, Tom Wheeler, prevents internet service providers (ISPs) from prioritizing certain traffic, and classifies providers as “common carriers.” 

The proposal is now open for public comment.

#ICYMI: (In Case you Missed It)

• State Dept. plans to cut 9% of its workforce.
• Why folks are smuggling butter into Wisconsin.
• President Trump said being president is harder than he thought it would be.
• Coca-Cola at the press of a button.
• Trump said he was set to "terminate NAFTA" but received mixed reviews from his team. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue brought along a map to demonstrate the effects.
• Democratic lawmakers introduced bill to ban conversion therapy.
• Lots of talk about this one-page bill in Tennessee. 
• Remember that GoFundMe to buy lawmaker's internet histories? Here's why it didn't (and can't) deliver.
• State Dept. wants U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley to pre-clear her official public statements.
• House Intelligence will hold closed hearing on May 2 concerning Russian active measures during the 2016 presidential campaign.
• Senate Judiciary will hold May 8 hearing on Russia probe with former acting Attorney General Sally Yates and former Director of National Intelligence (DNI) James Clapper.
• Senate Intel's Russia probe is significantly smaller than previous intelligence investigations.
• Art of bill name abbreviations.
• President Trump set to sign series of executive orders this week. By Friday, Trump will have signed 32 executive orders, the most signed by a president in the first 100 days since WWII.
• Trump administration is eyeing summer deadline to unveil president's $1 trillion infrastructure package.
• Jeb Bush and Derek Jeter joined forces.

This week's Q&As

POPVOX sends out a daily email of Congressional happenings and answers your questions about government, legislative procedure, obscure bills, and anything else you throw our way.
 

• Why am I hearing about coal miner benefits?
• Can the President dissolve an appeals court circuit?
• What is an "offset"?

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Please keep in mind that highlighting specific legislation does not imply POPVOX endorsement in any way. As always, our goal is to offer one more way to help you stay informed about the complex U.S. legislative system.