The House and Senate return from the Independence Day recess this week facing a crowded July agenda.
The Senate will return on Tuesday and plans to vote on the nomination of Kara Farnandez Stoll to be U. S. Circuit Judge for the Federal Circuit. After this vote, the Senate is scheduled to begin consideration of S. 1177, the Every Child Achieves Act of 2015, the bill to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). The Every Child Achieves Act was unanimously approved (22-0 vote) by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee in April. The bipartisan drafting and support of the bill is a signal achievement for HELP Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA), as Congress has been trying unsuccessfully to develop a bill to reauthorize the ESEA since 2007. One of the biggest reforms in the legislation is how much control the federal government will have over states in education policy. S. 1177 would ensure that decisions related to academic standards and teacher evaluations and performance would be left largely to the states and to local school districts. States will have the authority to decide how to use federally required tests for accountability purposes and how to improve underperforming schools. The House of Representatives may also move forward with H.R. 5, its version of an ESEA authorization bill, this week. The House considered more than 40 amendments to H.R. 5 in March before House leadership postponed a vote on final passage. It was reported that there were not enough votes in support of the bill, due to opposition both from conservatives, who believe the provisions do not go far enough in curbing the federal role in education, and liberals, who oppose many provisions of the House bill. Press reports indicate House Republicans leadership has secured enough support for final passage. Action by both chambers will allow the bills to go to a conference committee to reconcile the differences between them.
Looking beyond this first week back, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has indicated that the Senate may also try to take up individual appropriations bills during this next legislative work period, although Senate Democrats remain committed to blocking all spending measures until a new budget framework is negotiated. The minority party was able to successfully filibuster consideration of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 Defense Appropriations bill. Following this filibuster, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY), Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) signed a letter to Leader McConnell requesting that Republicans begin a budget summit to discuss raising the spending limits established by the 2011 sequester. Leader McConnell rejected the request. The Senate Appropriations Committee continues to mark up its annual spending bills even though it is unclear how they will be brought to the floor for consideration. Eventually, congressional Republicans will need to negotiate with the Administration and the minority party in both chambers in order to forge a path forward on the appropriations process and avoid a government shut-down when the new fiscal year begins on October 1. Serious discussions are unlikely until September.
Also likely on the Senate agenda this month is consideration of a surface transportation authorization bill. Prior to the recess, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee unanimously approved a six-year surface transportation bill, the Developing a Reliable and Innovative Vision for the Economy Act (DRIVE Act). The bill would provide $275 billion over the next six years for transportation and infrastructure projects and roughly $42 billion in annual appropriations for the federal highway program. However, missing from the legislation is a method of paying for this transportation funding. Transportation funding has been reliant upon revenues from the federal gas tax as the main source of financing for projects, but in recent years, gas tax revenues have not kept up with annual spending, because the impact of greater fuel-efficiency standards, mandated by the federal government, has been felt. Due to disagreements over how to fund transportation projects, Congress has been unable to pass a long-term transportation authorization bill and instead has repeatedly been passing short-term temporary extensions. Congress currently faces a July 31 deadline on the expiration of the two-month surface transportation extension, which passed in May. The Senate Finance and House Ways and Means Committees have held hearings to discuss various funding proposals, but lawmakers continue to struggle with finding bipartisan agreement on a long-term solution. Among the proposals to pay for the programs are increasing the gas tax, which too many conservatives oppose, and a one-time repatriation of foreign earnings held overseas by U.S. firms, which many on the tax-writing committees want to use to help offset tax reform. Thus, the parties have been unable to reach a sufficient consensus to allow for any funding method, aside from raising the general Treasury in the course of adopting the series of short-term authorizations. If an agreement cannot be found before July 31, it is likely another short-term extension will be enacted, although Democrats have said they will not support another short-term extension.
Supporters of the Export-Import Bank, the federal export credit agency, are eyeing the must-pass highway authorization as a vehicle for reauthorizing the Bank’s charter. The authority for the Export-Import Bank lapsed on June 30. Until a new charter is signed into law, the Bank’s authority to issue new loans has expired. The Senate held a test vote on renewing the Bank and it produced a bipartisan, filibuster-proof majority. The renewal of the Bank’s charter needs to be attached to some must-pass vehicle, because House conservatives will not otherwise allow the legislation to be considered by the full House, where a majority is again expected to support the Bank’s renewal. Attaching the Bank’s renewal to the transportation bill could give Democrats sufficient reason to vote for another short-term transportation-funding bill, in the event pay-fors cannot be agreed upon by both parties and both chambers.
The House and Senate will be working through a conference committee to resolve the differences between their two versions of the National Defense Authorization Act. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain (R-AZ) and House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-TX) have indicated to the press that they are aiming to produce a final conference report before the next scheduled congressional recess in August, even though President Obama has threatened to veto the defense policy bills produced by both chambers.
Upon its return on July 7, the House will vote on three non-controversial bills under suspension of the rules. Following the Tuesday votes, members will resume consideration of the FY 2016 Interior and Environment appropriations bill, a $30 billion funding measure that passed in the House Appropriations Committee on June 16 on a party-line vote. Floor action on the bill was suspended to allow the House to complete action before the recess on the trade legislation. The Interior and Environment bill is considered controversial because of policy riders attached that are aimed at preventing many of the agency’s policies from going into effect. Among other things, this bill includes provisions that would bar the Environmental Protection Agency’s efforts to regulate greenhouse-gas emissions from new and existing power plants, amend the designation for automatic Clean Water Act protection, prevent the listing of certain animals under the Endangered Species Act, and block funding for a rule (recently blocked by a federal judge) regulating hydraulic fracturing (“tracking”) on federal lands. These riders are all opposed by congressional Democrats and the Administration.
Once consideration of the Interior Appropriations bill is finished, the House is, as noted above, expected to take up H.R. 5, its version of elementary and secondary education reauthorization bill, as discussed previously. The House is also expected to tackle a federal forest management bill to help address forest fires. Finally, the House may take up H.R. 6, the 21st Century Cures Act, a bipartisan medical research and innovation bill that Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) and Ranking Member Frank Pallone (D-NJ) of the Energy & Commerce Committee, have developed. The legislation is intended to assure U.S. leadership in biomedical research for the future and to allow drugs to get to patients in a more expedited manner, while also ensuring they are safe and effective.
The House may also take up the Financial Service and General Government appropriations bill in July. The $20 billion bill provides annual funding for the Treasury Department, the Judiciary branch, the Small Business Administration, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and several other agencies. Like the Interior Appropriations bill, the Financial Services and General Government spending measure is considered controversial because of policy riders that are opposed by most Democrats and the Administration, including a provision that would temporarily block net neutrality rules that were recently approved and implemented by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). In addition, the bill includes language that would prevent the IRS from further implementing the individual mandate under ObamaCare, prohibit financial transactions with the Cuban military, and block a law passed by the Washington, D.C. council that would prevent employers in D.C. from discriminating against workers based on their reproductive health decisions. Should the House work through both the Interior and Financial Services spending bills in July, it will have passed eight of the twelve annual appropriations bills before departing for the August recess.
In addition to the Student Success Act, the NDAA, and the Interior and Financial Services spending bills, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s memo to the Republican Caucus this month indicates other items that may be considered by the chamber in July include a trade enforcement bill, a federal drought relief measure for California, patent-litigation reform legislation, and legislation to increase transparency in the federal regulatory process. Although not reflected in the Leader’s memo to his conference, the House may also consider in July legislation to update the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986.
As noted above, the House and Senate Appropriations Committees continue to mark up FY 2016 spending bills this week. On Thursday the Senate Appropriations Committee will consider the State and Foreign Operations Appropriations bill, while the House Appropriations Committee will mark up its Agriculture spending bill.
Several hearings this week will focus on cybersecurity. The OPM data breach is the subject of a joint hearing before the House Science, Space and Technology Subcommittee on Research and Technology and Subcommittee on Oversight. On Wednesday the full Senate Judiciary Committee will consider the balance between public safety and privacy in encryption and technology, while its Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism will hold a hearing on cybercrime. Also scheduled this week is a hearing before the Senate Select Intelligence Committee on encryption issues and their impact for counterterrorism and counterintelligence, with FBI Director James Comey appearing as a witness.
A schedule of congressional hearings for this week is included below:
Tuesday, July 7, 2015
Senate Committees
ISIL Strategy
Senate Armed Services
Full Committee Hearing
9:30 a.m., G50 Dirksen Bldg.
Transportation Technologies
Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation – Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety and Security
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m., 253 Russell Bldg.
Water Management in the Yakima River Basin
Senate Energy and Natural Resources
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m., 366 Dirksen Bldg.
Unaccompanied Minors at the Border
Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m., 342 Dirksen Bldg.
Avian Flu and Poultry Sector
Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry
Full Committee Hearing
3 p.m., 328A Russell Bldg.
Fiscal 2016 Appropriations: State-Foreign Operations
Senate Appropriations – Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs
Subcommittee Markup
3 p.m., 116 Dirksen Bldg.
Intelligence Issues
Senate Select Intelligence
Full Committee Closed Hearing
3 p.m., 219 Hart Bldg.
Wednesday, July 8, 2015
House Committees
Crude Oil Exports and Rural Economics
House Agriculture
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m., 1300 Longworth Bldg.
Fiscal 2016 Appropriations: 302(b) Allocations
House Appropriations
Full Committee Markup
10:15 a.m., 2359 Rayburn Bldg.
Fiscal 2016 Appropriations: Agriculture
House Appropriations
Full Committee Markup
10:15 a.m., 2359 Rayburn Bldg.
Internet Governance Transition Update
House Energy and Commerce – Subcommittee on Communications and Technology
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m., 2123 Rayburn Bldg.
Medicaid Program Assessment
House Energy and Commerce – Subcommittee on Health
Subcommittee Hearing
10:15 a.m., 2322 Rayburn Bldg.
DHS and Climate Change
House Homeland Security – Subcommittee on Oversight and Management Efficiency
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m., 311 Cannon Bldg.
Helium Law Implementation
House Natural Resources – Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources
Subcommittee Oversight Hearing
10 a.m., 1324 Longworth Bldg.
SBA Disaster Loans and Superstorm Sandy
House Small Business
Full Committee Hearing
11 a.m., 2360 Rayburn Bldg.
OPM Data Breach Incident
House Science, Space and Technology – Subcommittee on Research and Technology; House Science, Space and Technology – Subcommittee on Oversight
Subcommittees Joint Hearing
2 p.m., 2318 Rayburn Bldg.
Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment
House Veterans’ Affairs – Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity
Subcommittee Hearing
2 p.m., 334 Cannon Bldg.
Senate Committees
Role of Financial Stability Board
Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m., 538 Dirksen Bldg.
Threat of Avian Influenza
Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m., 342 Dirksen Bldg.
International Climate Agenda
Senate Environment and Public Works
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m., 406 Dirksen Bldg.
Encryption and Technology Issues
Senate Judiciary
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m., 226 Dirksen Bldg.
Legal Framework for Cyber Crime
Senate Judiciary – Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism
Subcommittee Hearing
2:15 p.m., 226 Dirksen Bldg.
Indian Land Issues
Senate Indian Affairs
Full Committee Hearing
2:15 p.m., 628 Dirksen Bldg.
Threats and Encryption Issues
Senate Select Intelligence
Full Committee Hearing
2:30 p.m., 216 Hart Bldg.
South China Sea Defense Activities
Senate Foreign Relations
Full Committee Closed Briefing
5 p.m., TBA.
Thursday, July 9, 2015
House Committees
U.S. International Food Assistance
House Agriculture – Subcommittee on Livestock and Foreign Agriculture
Subcommittee Hearing
9:30 a.m., 1300 Longworth Bldg.
EPA Regulations
House Science, Space and Technology
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m., 2318 Rayburn Bldg.
Veterans Affairs Legislation
House Veterans’ Affairs – Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs
Subcommittee Markup
2 p.m., 334 Cannon Bldg.
Senate Committees
Fiscal 2016 Appropriations: State-Foreign Operations
Senate Appropriations
Full Committee Markup
10:30 a.m., 106 Dirksen Bldg.
Joint Chiefs of Staff Nomination
Senate Armed Services
Full Committee Confirmation Hearing
9:30 a.m., 216 Hart Bldg.
Federal Lands Issues
Senate Energy and Natural Resources
Full Committee Oversight Hearing
10 a.m., 366 Dirksen Bldg.
U.S. Fiscal Future
Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m., 342 Dirksen Bldg.
Friday, July 10, 2015
House Committees
International Space Station Operations
House Science, Space and Technology – Subcommittee on Space
Subcommittee Hearing
9 a.m., 2318 Rayburn Bldg.