On March 8, 2012 before the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Secretary Janet Napolitano again gave written testimony that the FY 2013 trade-related budget priorities of the Department of Homeland Security include (1) expanding the Container Security Initiative (CSI), (2) funding a CBP-private sector partnership program that aims to improve intellectual property rights (IPR) targeting by enabling CBP to identify and release shipments of authentic goods without inspection; (3) expanding Industry Integration Centers (Centers of Excellence and Expertise, CEEs), and (4) updating certain facilities on the southern border. The DHS Secretary gave the same written testimony on February 15, 2012 before the Subcommittee on Homeland Security of the House Appropriations Committee.
On February 14, 2012, President Obama signed into law H.R. 658, the FAA Air Transportation Modernization and Safety Improvement Act, which authorizes budget resources for the Federal Aviation Administration through FY 2015 and encourages acceleration of the Next Generation Air Transportation System and air traffic control modernization (NextGen).
On March 8, 2012 the following trade-related bills were introduced:
On March 7, 2012, the House Foreign Affairs Committee approved H.R. 4041, the Export Promotion Reform Act, in order to further enhance the promotion of U.S. exports of goods and services by revising the duties of the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee (TPCC) to include a review of agency budgets in support of its strategic plan for trade promotion, etc. The measure would also require the President to give the TPCC chair additional authorities to ensure that the committee's duties and its strategic plan are implemented.
On March 8, 2012, House Speaker John Boehner appointed five Representatives to the President's Export Council. The five are Mr. Reichert (R-WA), Mr. Gerlach (R-PA), Mr. Tiberi (R-OH), Ms. Sutton (D-OH) and Ms. Linda T. Sanchez (D-CA).
Press reports indicate that House Speaker John Boehner will likely have the House act on the Senate's two-year transportation reauthorization bill rather than go forward with their own five-year reform measure. However, House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman John Mica (R-FL) stated that at the March 7, 2012 GOP conference, he received the support of House leaders to continue to pass a major transportation bill through the House, noting that "House leaders and I agree that the five-year transportation measure approved by the Committee in February is the best option for a job-creating bill to improve our infrastructure." According to Mica, that measure would undergo a few changes, including the financing of transit out of the Highway Trust Fund (HTF). Mica stated that he hoped to move forward with a bill in the coming weeks. Mica press release (dated 03/07/12) available here.
On March 8, 2012, the Senate continued consideration of S. 1813, which would reauthorize the Federal-aid highway and highway safety construction programs for two years. Three amendments were adopted, including one on special measures against foreign jurisdictions that impede U.S. tax enforcement.
The following are trade-related highlights of the Executive Communications sent to Congress for February 1 - 29, 2012:
On March 7, 2012 the following trade-related bill was introduced:
The House Foreign Affairs Committee on March 7, 2012 unanimously approved the Countering Iran in the Western Hemisphere Act of 2012 (H.R. 3783), which would require the Secretary of State to use existing funds to create a tailored strategy to fight the activities of Iran and its proxies in the Western Hemisphere. See Committee Chairman Ros-Lehtinen’s press release (dated 03/07/12) here.