D.C. Daily: May 24, 2012

Senate
Yesterday's Action:
During business yesterday, the Senate took the following actions:

• Passed S. 2367, the "21st Century Language Act".
• Passed H.R. 4097, the "John F. Kennedy Center Reauthorization Act".
• Began consideration of S. 3187, the "Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act". The Senate reached an agreement regarding consideration of amendments and of the bill.
• Agreed to consider S. 2343, the "Stop the Student Loan Interest Rate Hike Act of 2012".

Today's Schedule:
The Senate will meet today at 9:30 AM. The Senate is expected to resume consideration of S. 3187, the "Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act". At 2:00 PM, the Senate will take a series of votes on amendments and then on passage of the bill. Following those votes, the Senate will consider S. 2343, the "Stop the Student Loan Interest Rate Hike Act of 2012", with votes on one amendment and then on passage of the bill.


House
Yesterday's Action:
The House was not in session yesterday.

Today's Schedule:
The House will not meet today. The next meeting of the House is scheduled for 10:00 AM on Friday, May 25. The House will return to conduct business on Wednesday, May 30.


Executive Agencies
Significant Proposed Rules:

• Employee Benefits Security Administration: enhanced disclosure concerning target date or similar investments. (Comment period ends 7/9/12)
• Environmental Protection Agency: amend the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) section 5(a) Significant New Use Rule (SNUR) for certain polybrominated diphenylethers (PBDEs). (Comment period ends 5/24/12)

Significant Final Rules:

• Federal Aviation Administration: correcting a final rule published on November 15, 2010, which required design approval holders of certain existing airplanes and all applicants for type certificates of future transport category airplanes to establish a limit of validity of the engineering data that supports the structural maintenance program. (Effective 5/24/12)
• Food and Drug Administration: correcting a final rule that appeared in the Federal Register of May 3, 2012, which provides manufacturers of biological products greater flexibility, as appropriate, and encourages use of the most appropriate and state-of-the-art test methods for assuring the safety of biological products.

Supreme Court
The court has concluded scheduled oral arguments for the October 2011 term. However, the court is still meeting to finalize decisions on cases it heard during the preceeding term. The court's next session of oral arguments is scheduled to begin on Monday, October 1, 2012.