On September 28, 2010, the Senate agreed to a motion to proceed to consideration of H.R. 3081, making appropriations for the Department of State, foreign operations, and related programs for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2010.
On September 29, 2010, the American Apparel and Footwear Association issued a statement following the House passage of H.R. 2378, the Currency Reform and Fair Trade Act. AAFA states that as the bill moves to the Senate for consideration, the U.S. apparel and footwear industry will continue to warn about the perils of H.R. 2378.
On September 28, 2010, 36 trade and other associations sent a letter to House leaders urging them to oppose H.R. 2378, the Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act. The letter called on the Administration to develop a robust bilateral and multilateral approach to achieve tangible results not only on China’s exchange rate polices, but also on other Chinese policies that are harming U.S. businesses, workers, and farmers.
According to the Majority Leader’s House floor schedule, on September 29, 2010, the House is scheduled to consider H.R. 2378, the Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act, subject to a rule.
The Airport and Airway Extension Act of 2010 (H.R. 6190) has been passed by Congress and cleared for the President's signature. Among other things, H.R. 6190 would amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to extend through December 31, 2010 the taxes on aviation fuels and the expenditure authority for the Airport and Airway Trust Fund. It would also extend the Airport Improvement Program through December 31, 2010. Both provisions had been set to expire on September 30, 2010.
On September 28, 2010, Senator Baucus (D), Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, and 23 other Democratic and Republican Senators sent a letter urging President Obama to remove obstacles to U.S. agricultural and medical exports to Cuba.
According to a Congressional source, the House Ways and Means and Senate Finance Committees are discussing a multi-year extension of the GSP and ATPA/ATPDEA programs, which they hope to pass before the programs expire.
On September 28, 2010, Senators Lincoln (D) and Chambliss (R), Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee, issued a statement condemning the Chinese Commerce Ministry’s decision to finalize prohibitively high antidumping duties on imports of U.S. poultry products. (The duties have been in place since February 2010 on a preliminary basis but the Commerce Ministry’s announcement confirmed that rates ranging from 43% up to 105.4% will continue to be imposed.)
The House Foreign Affairs Committee has announced that it has postponed its September 29, 2010, markup of H.R. 4645, the Travel Restriction Reform and Export Enhancement Act. H.R. 4645 would remove obstacles to legal sales of U.S. agricultural commodities to Cuba and to end travel restrictions on all Americans to Cuba.