Weekly Washington Outlook — March 28, 2016

White House at Night

What to Watch This Week:

Congress:

House:

The House is in recess this week and next, returning Tuesday, April 12.

Senate:

The Senate is in recess this week, returning Monday, April 4.

White House:

On Monday, the president and the first lady will host the 2016 White House Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn. The event will feature live music, sports courts, cooking stations, storytelling and, of course, Easter egg rolling. In the evening, President Obama will deliver the keynote address at the awards dinner for Syracuse University’s Toner Prize for Excellence in Political Reporting, which recognizes the importance of quality, fact-based political journalism.

On Tuesday, the president will travel to Atlanta, where he will speak at the National Rx Drug Abuse & Heroin Summit, an annual summit that is the largest national collaboration of professionals and advocates impacted by prescription drug abuse and heroin use. President Obama has made clear that addressing this epidemic is a priority for his Administration and put forward a request earlier this year for $1.1 billion in new funding — most of which would go directly to States — to ensure that every American who wants treatment can get the help they need.

On Wednesday, the president will host an Easter Prayer Breakfast at the White House.

On Thursday and Friday, President Obama will host a fourth and final Nuclear Security Summit. The Summit will be held March 31-April 1, 2016, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington. The Summit will convene delegations from more than 50 nations that will continue discussion on the evolving threat and highlight steps that can be taken together to minimize the use of highly-enriched uranium, secure vulnerable materials, counter nuclear smuggling and deter, detect, and disrupt attempts at nuclear terrorism. In addition, this year’s Summit includes a special session that will focus leaders on the threat of groups like ISIL attacking urban areas across the globe.

Also this Week:

Puerto Rico – Rep. Rob Bishop (R-Utah) is expected to release a draft of legislation by Tuesday to address Puerto Rico’s financial and humanitarian crisis. There are reports that this will include a five-member financial control board modeled after the District of Columbia’s from the 1990’s. There are also indications that there will be some kind of debt restructuring, but it is not yet clear how this would be triggered. Before the recess, Speaker Ryan announced that the Natural Resources Committee would hold a hearing on the draft on April 13 and a mark-up on April 14. Puerto Rican members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus are waiting to see legislative text before officially responding, but some other Democratic members have reiterated they believe Rep. Bishop and his colleagues are working in good faith.

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