In This Issue:

- Trade Promotion Authority Bill Advances

- The U.S. Crude Oil Export Ban: An Outdated Relic Of The Past

- Rocky Road Ahead For FY2016 Appropriations Bills

- Banking Committee Chairman Introduces the Financial Regulatory Improvement Act of 2015

- Slowing President Obama's Cuban Mambo

- Patent Litigation Reform Legislation: State of Play

- Department of Energy Report Examines Wind Energy's Potential

- Excerpt from Trade Promotion Authority Bill Advances:

The Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) legislation to facilitate the consideration of trade agreements such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) continues to be considered by the U.S. Senate. The TPA bill, while moving toward passage, continues to face procedural impediments.

On Thursday, May 21, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) won a very narrow cloture vote (62-38) to end debate on Senator Orrin Hatch's (R-UT) substitute bill that bundles the TPA bill with Trade Adjustment Assistance renewal. Approval of the cloture motion was only made possible in the last minutes of the vote, when Majority Leader. McConnell reached agreement with Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Patty Murray (D-WA), and Lindsey Graham (R-SC), to have a vote to reauthorize the Ex-Im Bank in June. At least eight pending amendments will be considered, and there are on-going discussions between the leadership to include additional amendments. Nonetheless, today's vote makes final passage in the Senate all but certain. Amendments under consideration include a mechanism to punish other countries for currency manipulation, a prohibition on fast track treatment for agreements that include investor-state disputes, and an amendment related to human trafficking.