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The On the Hill: Breaking Down DC podcast is a collection of sharing more about what’s happening in DC without the bias, ways for you to get involved with the US government, and interviews with friends, colleagues who can help pull back the proverbial curtain of Washington, DC. Katherine Getty, host of the OTH podcast, is a 10-year Washingtonian who lives and breathes politics.
Katherine Getty 0:01
Hi, and welcome to the on the Hill podcast with me your host, Katherine Getty. Each Thursday, I'll peel back the curtain of what happens in Washington, from breaking down current events without bias, to interviews with fellow political nerds, and even and maybe most importantly, ways for you to get involved with our US government. Welcome back to another episode of The on the Hill podcast. So quick update, following up on Episode Two last week, if you're listening in real time that discuss where was US government funding, and it's satis was discussed. So as of last Thursday's episode, Congress, the House and the Senate was heading towards passing another continuing resolution that would keep the government open until March 1 and march 8. And I'm happy to report that this measure did pass and was signed into law by President Biden, the hope with extending the funding at these current levels would be the House and Senate can pass their full appropriations bill. So all 12 appropriations bills of funds, different parts of the government, I think it'll be really difficult to get across the line. But Congress never ceases to surprise me. So I guess hope springs eternal in this. And I think there's a chance though that, you know, on the opposite side that another continuing resolution for a single date post election could be in the cards. But that isn't the goal, as of now to the goal, as of now is trying to get all 12 bills across the line in the House and Senate, which would mean they would then go to basically saying, Okay, I had x number, you had y number, where can we meet in the middle? It's a lot more complicated than that. But that's kind of how it's supposed to go. We'll see what happens. I'll keep you updated on those March 1 and march 8 dates. Okay, so moving on to this week's episode, I'm going to preview some items, some laws that are expiring or will be expiring in 2024. These measures range from how the US conducts surveillance on foreign agents, which has become very hotly contested over the last few years, to the reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration, something I think we all think is important. And even the pandemic and all hazards preparedness act, a little known Bill that used to be bipartisan and not so much anymore. I'll say there are many more bills or laws that are maybe expiring this year. But these are three that I just picked, given, maybe they had more. They were more interest in the media or something that I felt more drawn to, you know, I want to give you the scoop on what's happening and what's kind of Congress's thinking about and these are three bills that are really rising to the top as of right now, or hope or rising to the top. So before we dive in, let's get on the same page. You might be asking yourself what is reauthorization reauthorization is to and I hate when we're the definition uses the same word, but sadly, it does. reauthorization is when a when you reauthorize or renew or extend the legal permission for program law or government activity. In the context of legislation, though, this term is to describe the process of reviewing and updating laws or policies that have a set expiration date or needs periodic approval. When a law or a program is initially enacted, it may include provision specify its duration, so on average are typically there five years and it it outlines it in the program, it'll say from X date to X date this program is authorized. The reauthorization progress should involve a really heavy legislative process where committees and members are reviewing the bills. Typically, if they're on the committee of jurisdiction, reviewing the bills, figuring out do changes need to be made, or things not working out, as we expected, or maybe this is really great. We want to continue this aspect of the program. I can look at effectiveness of the existing laws, it can consider necessary updates. And it really is should we continue modify or discontinue the program at the end of the day? So we now know what a reauthorization is. It's basically a periodic check in of laws, seeing if we need to continue modify or discontinue. So for the first one that I wanted to talk about FISA, the foreign intelligence and Surveillance Act. FISA, which was originally enacted in 1978, governs the surveillance of foreign intelligence and counterintelligence activities conducted by the US. It really started to rise to the top in the last few years, because FISA and its applications, particularly in the context of you US citizens can really get sticky. It's been the subject of debates and controversies related to civil liberties and privacy concerns. And, you know, I think faces started really coming around 2016 2017 2018 Because there were revelations about how these practices sparked kind of that balance between national security and individual privacy. And that's something as Americans, we constantly are trying to figure out what is the line that we are comfortable with? I think, you know, FISA in an election year is going to be difficult. I don't think it's of their own possibility they get together a five year deal, but it is going to be very difficult, because there are people on the individual liberty side that feel very strongly that FISA goes too far. And there are people on the intelligence side, that feel like fysik keeps us safe, and is maybe we need to give up a little bit of our individual liberty. I'll leave it to you to decide how you feel about it. I think it's definitely something we'll start to see percolate in the news, a few, you know, over the next few months, but something that you can kind of look out for and say, Oh, I know a little bit about FISA. Next, FAA reauthorization. Anyone who has done air travel in the last few years knows that FAA is very important, the Federal Aviation Administration, and also knows that probably the some tweaks need to be made. Maybe this is a personal feeling. But the reauthorization is also on a five year, timespan. And it really refers to the reauthorization of funding and programs for FAA. It's, you know, FAA, is the government agency responsible for the regulation and oversight of Civil Aviation within the US. We've definitely seen some things over the last few weeks that have caused us to say, Okay, how is FAA using their dollars or their needs for more oversight? Where does that kind of land and it's, you've,
you've seen in the House, the House passed a bipartisan bill, in summer 2023. The Senate has not yet come to an agreement on a package. There's a lot of debates on, you know, there's slot issues of how many slots, certain airlines can have airports do this need to be increased or training, the amount of training for different folks within the aviation workforce, and it gets really sticky. And senators are having a really hard time grappling with how do we reauthorize this program. It is currently extended through March 8, that expired as of seven, September 30 2023. And it had been extended to the end of the year and now extended to March 8. The hope is that the Senate will come together on a package we'll pass something out of the Senate. And then that kind of conference that I talked about earlier of I have this position, you have this position. So house to Senate, where can we come in the middle? So a lot is happening in that space. We'll see how it all shakes out. The last reauthorization I want to highlight for y'all is the pandemic and all hazards preparedness act. This is maybe a little bit of a selfish one because it's the area that I work with the most it's the pandemic and all hazards preparedness act is also has the acronym of Papa. It's a fantastic acronym in my opinion, and sidenote, one thing about Congress is that they love a good acronym. You've may have noticed that sometimes I speak an acronym soup. But I think Papa is fantastic. And I really enjoy talking about it. So what is Papa Papa was initially passed in 2006. And it was largely to address some failures with a natural disaster response. And at first, it sought to support states, local governments and hospitals so they'd be better prepared for future emergencies. It is grown and changed those reauthorizations that happen in 2013 and 2019, has tweaked and expanded some of their roles and responsibilities. It established the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response. So think of the Asper. This person is kind of the tip of the spear when it comes to natural disaster threats when it comes to more biological or chemical or radiological or naturally occurring. It's kind of I sometimes think of it is a medical side or medical equivalent to FEMA, if that helps. You saw them really come into kind of the the zeitgeist over the last few years. First for the response to the impacts outbreak last fall. The vaccines that were available to combat the impacts outbreak was because the US government had a program to have stockpiled back scenes, and that was able to ensure that we were able to combat that crisis. You also saw a lot of what the medical countermeasure enterprise does come to fruition during COVID-19. I know there are a lot of feelings on both sides were related to that. But you saw some advanced research and development for medicines and therapeutics happen that are truly phenomenal, truly life changing. And so, you know, this reauthorization, like I said, used to be super bipartisan, has now become something that is more political in nature. And I'm sad to see that but we'll see kind of what happened. It's currently extended in the continuing resolution that was passed last week to march 8. It'll be interesting, because our hope is that, you know, five year deal comes together, Jose are is if I have a mouse in the pocket. My hope is a five year comes together, what happens next will be really interesting. So that's it. That's some of the reauthorization is happening. That's what gives you the definition of what is a reauthorization? Why is it important to Congress? I think it's always good to know that Congress does look at laws and takes the time to continue modify or change. I will say, and I haven't acknowledged that there are over. I think it's over 1000 different programs that have haven't been reauthorized the government so funds. That's a debate for another day, but I think we really should expect our leaders to look at current laws and ensure that they are serving the people the way we think they should be served. So thank you so much for joining this week's episode. I hope you enjoyed learning a little bit more about the reauthorization process and some of the bills that are due up in 2024. As always, you can find me on Instagram. My personal handle is at Katherine Getty Heflin to learn anything about the podcast. The handle on Instagram is on the Hill DC podcast. As always, tune in next week for another episode of On the hill.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai