In This Issue:

Leading the Past Week; Legislative Branch; Executive Branch; International; and Upcoming Hearings.

Excerpt from Leading the Past Week -

Last week ended with a proverbial blank slate, as Friday was the deadline for lawmakers to submit proposals to reform the US tax code to the Senate Finance Committee. In response to some published reports about the unease and potential unwillingness of his colleagues’ responses, the Chairman of the Finance Committee, Max Baucus (D-MT) took to the Senate floor on July 25th to urge his colleagues to participate by sending in proposals. “Everyone needs to be involved,” said Baucus, and in an effort to spur participation, the Finance Committee circulated a memo promising that the letters received would be sealed for 50 years and not publically released until December 31, 2064. Despite these assurances, some Senators appeared hesitant to put themselves on the record slashing a favored exemption or program while others seemed content solely to highlight big picture issues. Regardless what folks thought of this exercise, Baucus continues to assert that the Committee will be marking up a tax bill this fall.