A publication of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association
Issue link: http://natca.uberflip.com/i/1056689
o Majority Leader: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) o Majority Whip: Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) o Conference Chairman: Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) o Policy Chairman: Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) o Conference Vice Chair: Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) o National Republican Senate Committee (NRSC) Chairman: Sen. Todd Young (R- Ind.) • Senate Democratic Leadership: o Minority Leader: Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) o Minority Whip: Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) o Assistant Minority Leader: Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) o Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) Chairwoman: Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) PREPARING FOR 116 TH CONGRESS: The new Congress will convene on Jan. 3, 2019. This term "116 th Congress" applies to the session of Congress, which is comprised of the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate, which will last until Jan. 3, 2021. This session will coincide with the third and fourth years of President Trump's current term. • New Members of Congress: Members newly elected to Congress have been in Washington, D.C. for two weeks of New Member Orientation. There will be many new faces in Congress, and Government Affairs staff will visit all new members' offices on the first day they are sworn in with information to introduce them to NATCA and begin building new relationships. LEGISLATIVE WATCHLIST: Once the new Congress is gaveled into session in January, any bills from the 115 th Congress will die, and will have to be reintroduced in the new Congress in order to be considered. With a divided Congress – Democrats in control of the House, Republicans in control of the Senate – the lame duck Congress is a competition between parties to control the agenda and messaging. President Trump will also continue to drive his own legislative agenda and work to shore up political support from his base in preparation for 2020. GA staff is anticipating a number of curveballs during the lame duck session of Congress, and we are working hard with supportive members and staff to keep a watchful eye on any anti-federal employee legislation and other actions that impact our membership, including those that would attack the use of official time and negatively impact federal employee pay and benefits.