Washington Week at a Glance: January 17th – January 21st

Content provided by my partner: DCTripwire:

Major Actions This Week and Next:

White House

  • This week, President Obama traveled to Arizona to give remarks at a remembrance for victims of last weekend’s shootings.
  • He also met with French President Sarkozy and Pakistani President Zardari at the White House.

Senate

  • This week, the Senate was out of session. They are expected to return Tuesday, Jan. 25, at 10:00 a.m.

House

  • This week, the House was also out of session due to last weekend’s tragedy.
  • They are expected to return Tuesday, Jan. 18, at 2:00 p.m. following the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday recess.
  • Next week, the House is expected to consider the repeal of the healthcare reform law (HR 2), which is scheduled to occur Wednesday and Thursday.

Committee Highlights

Senate

Tuesday, Jan. 18

6:00 p.m. – House Ways & Means Committee

The Committee will hold an organizational meeting to adopt rules for the 112th Congress.

Wednesday, Jan. 19

10:30 a.m. – House Foreign Affairs Committee

The Committee will hold a hearing entitled, “Assessing China’s Behavior and its Impact on U.S. Interests.” Witnesses scheduled include:

  • Larry Wortzel, Commissioner, U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission
  • Yang Jianli, President, Initiatives for China, and Fellow, Harvard University

Thursday, Jan. 20

9:00 a.m. – House Ways & Means Committee

The Committee will hold the first of a series of hearings regarding revisions to the federal income tax structure. Topics on the agenda include:

  • Tax complexity;
  • Corporate tax; and
  • Impact of the tax system on the economy.

Securities and Exchange Commission

Thursday, Jan. 20

10:00 a.m. – The SEC will hold an open meeting to consider the following:

  • The use of representations and warranties in the market for asset-backed securities; and
  • Requiring an issuer of asset-backed securities to perform a review of the assets underlying the ABS and disclose such information relating to the review.

Commodity Futures Trading Commission

Thursday, Jan. 20

9:30 a.m. – The CFTC will hold the 10th meeting to consider Dodd-Frank rulemakings. Topics under discussion include:

  • Commodity Options and Agricultural Swaps;
  • Commodity Pool Operators and Commodity Trading Advisors: Amendments to Compliance Obligations; and
  • Reporting by Investment Advisers to Private Funds and Certain Commodity Pool Operators and Commodity Trading Advisors on Form.