A publication of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association
Issue link: http://natca.uberflip.com/i/770043
GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT CONGRESSIONAL SCHEDULE The new 115th Congress began on Jan . 3 when the House an d Senate were sworn in. President - elect Donald Trump and Vice President - elect Mike Pence wil l be sworn in on Friday, Jan. 20. ANTI - FEDERAL EMPLOYEE MEASURE KICKS OFF NEW CONGRESS On Monday, Jan . 2, House Republicans voted on an updated "Rules Package" fo r the 115th Congress. The rules package establishes the procedural and operating rules for the House. This version included a modified version of "The Holman Rule," which allows amendments on the House floor to cut federal spending by reducing the number a nd salaries of government employees, and allowing the addition of legislative language to appropriations bills to accomplish this goal. NATCA worked hard to defeat inclusion of the Holman Rule in the rules package by urging support for an amendment offered by Reps. Tom Cole (R - OK) and Rob Bishop (R - UT) that would have struck the language. Unfortunately, the amendment was not agreed to and the Holman Rule is now included in the first session of the 115th Congress House Rules. Action Taken : NATCA GA staff w orked closely with Rep. Cole's office and immediately started contacting Republican offices over the New Year's holiday to make them aware of the Holman Rule. The NLC and NATCAvists mobilized and sent outreach emails to those offices as well. As a reminder , in order for the Cole - Bishop amendment to prevail, it would have needed a majority of the Republican caucus (approximately 120+ Republicans) to support it. We appreciate the hard work on everyone's part to urge support of the amendment, and we'll continu e to work just as hard on future anti - federal employee proposals. Impact on NATCA : The full House voted on and passed the rules package (H. Res. 5) on Tuesday, Jan . 3 by a vote of 234 - 193. It goes without saying that the Holman Rule could potentially be very harmful to federal employees, including those at the FAA. The Holman Rule will apply for only one year in the House unless it's included in next session's rule package, as well. There's no doubt that bad amendments will result from the Holman Rule on the House floor during consideration of annual appropriations bills, but NATCA will count on our allies in Congress to prevail and defeat any harmful proposals. WELCOMING NEW MEMBERS ON CAPITOL HILL The 115th Congress brings upwards of 70 new freshman me mbers in the House and Senate. The House of Representatives will consist of 241 Republicans and 194 Democrats, and the Senate will consist of 52 Republican and 48 Democrats (including two Independents). NATCA GA staff will be visiting all freshman offices to deliver NATCA materials that provide a brief overview on our legislative issues. 2017 CONGRESSIONAL CALENDAR Visit the legislative page on NATCA's website to view the 2 017 House and Senate calendars, where you'll also find leadership and committee membership. During the first session of the 115th Congress, the legislative calendar is very busy with limited recesse s — meaning legislation will like ly move fast and the GA sta ff will be busier than ever on Capitol Hill.