Sponsors
Election 2010 – The National Perspective
I’ve asked NCISS Washington Advocate Larry Sabbath to share his thoughts this morning about how yesterday’s election results will impact private investigators and security companies:
“Although several Congressional races remain undecided Wednesday morning, it’s possible to begin to examine how the election results will affect NCISS members when the 111th Congress convenes in January.
“With Republicans taking control of the House, they will have the opportunity to choose both the leaders and members of committees. This will allow them to set the agenda and also increase legislative staff. Major changes are in store for several committees which consider relevant legislation.
“The Energy & Commerce Committee, where much privacy legislation originates, will see substantial upheaval. Politico reported that 12 members of the Subcommittee on Communications, Technology & the Internet won’t be returning. The Chairman of the Subcommittee, Rick Boucher (D-VA) was defeated. And it is not clear who will chair the full committee. There is some speculation that Cliff Stearns (R-FL) will vie for the job. Rep. Stearns is a longtime advocate for privacy legislation.
“The House Ways & Means Committee will also see an overhaul. The likely chairman will be Dave Camp (R-MI), who has been supportive of NCISS positions in the past. But Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D-ND), Chairman of the Social Security Subcommittee lost his election. He has not pushed for legislation to restrict access to Social Security numbers during his tenure.
“House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-MI) will likely become the ranking Democrat on the Committee. Lamar Smith (R-TX) currently serves as Republican leader on the Committee. However, the Republicans limit how long a leader serves on a committee and this may affect Rep. Smith.
“There will also be changes in the leadership of the Homeland Security Committee where Democratic Representative Bennie Thompson of Mississippi has pushed legislation to replace private security officers in federal buildings with federal employees.
“The Senate has stayed in Democratic hands, albeit weaker ones, as Republicans have picked up at least six seats. The GOP will now be able to stop virtually any legislation with a threat of a filibuster. It will not be possible to enact the union priority “Employee Free Choice Act” next Congress.
“Over the next two weeks, some of these possible changes will become clearer. Both parties are expected to consider these personnel issues when Congress returns for a “lame duck” session on November 15. Complicating these predictions is the possibility that the new House leadership will decide to make more radical changes. They have the ability to change the rules and reorganize the committee structure. Democrats have done that in the past when they took over
control. There is even some discussion inside the beltway that Speaker Pelosi may choose not to serve as Minority Leader..”
“This speculation is interesting, but we also have to keep an eye on developments during the “lame duck” session. As Jimmie Mesis has reported earlier, several major bills remain under consideration. We will continue to work to protect the interests of NCISS members
Keeping the profession informed,
Jimmie Mesis
NCISS Legislative Chairman
NCISS
7501 Sparrows Point Blvd.
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(800) 445-8408 . Fax: (410) 388-9746
jim@nciss.org