The party that holds the majority in the Senate could shift following next week's elections, bringing with it changes in committee leadership positions ahead if the balance of power shifts.
Election predicting models such as Nate Silver's FiveThirtyEight and The New York Times' Leo have been forecasting that Republicans have a slight chance or better of gaining a majority in the Senate. The party that wins control is expected to hold a majority by only a few seats.
NASBP's Grassroots Action Center offers an online resource that provides election outlooks, maps and a variety of other information in these closely watched elections.
One close race that NASBP is watching is that of Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska, and Republican challenger Dan Sullivan. Begich is a member of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs, which has jurisdiction over the individual surety provisions in H.R. 776, the Security in Bonding Act, in Congress, said Lawrence LeClair, NASBP's Director of Government Relations.
The measure is intended to minimize the risk of fraudulent bonds by ensuring that assets pledged by individual sureties are stable, capable of being liquidated easily, and in the care and custody of federal contracting authorities.
“[Begich has] indicated he is supportive of our issue, and he understands the importance of the surety bond product, having dealt with construction issues as the mayor of Anchorage, and of bonds that are backed by legitimate assets,” LeClair said.
NASBP's legislative issues tend to be nonpartisan, LeClair said, noting that support for H.R. 776 is fairly equally divided among Democrats and Republicans.
Some election forecasts also are saying that potential runoffs could delay when the balance of power in the Senate is settled.
Louisiana is one of those states where a runoff is possible in the race for the seat held by Democrat Mary Landrieu. Her main opponent is Republican Rep. Bill Cassidy, with Republican Rob Maness also in the race. Landrieu has served as chairwoman of the Senate Small Business Committee, one of key importance to NASBP, and is now chairwoman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
Arkansas Democrat Mark Pryor, meanwhile, is defending his Senate seat against Republican Rep. Tom Cotton. Pryor and Landrieu are lawmakers with whom NASBP has developed relationships, and as a result, they understand the individual surety issue, LeClair said.
A shift to a Republican majority in the Senate would shake up leadership. For example, Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee Chairwoman Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) could see her leadership spot go to ranking Republican Senator Jim Risch. LeClair said that NASBP has a good relationship with Risch and his staff, as well as others on the committee.
“We've devoted a great deal of time cultivating relationships with everyone on both sides of the aisle,” LeClair said.
Looking beyond the elections, NASBP has been working toward a construction-procurement-reform bill that has the support of 14 construction and surety groups, LeClair said. “We are working to have it introduced at the end of this Congress, so we have a “foot-in-the-door” and build awareness of these measures in the next Congress,” added LeClair.