After a five-week recess, Congress returns this week to a legislative pile-up of time-sensitive and highly controversial issues. A September schedule limited by the late Labor Day holiday, the upcoming Jewish holidays, and a visit by Pope Francis, only increases the pressure on Republican leadership to work through a number of complex measures requiring action before the end of the month. This September work period is likely to set the tone for other contentious matters that must be resolved before the end of the year.
Both chambers are scheduled to return on Tuesday, with the House expected to consider four non-controversial bills, reported out of the Energy and Commerce Committee, under suspension of the rules.
For the remainder of the week, the House and Senate will both be tackling legislation to reject the multilateral nuclear agreement with Iran. As established by the Iran Nuclear Review Act (P.L. 114-17), the House and Senate have until September 17 to review the agreement, reached by international negotiators in July, and ultimately vote for a resolution of approval or disapproval. Republicans and some Democrats believe the international agreement is inadequate to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. They also oppose the lifting of economic sanctions on Iran, arguing that the resources available to Iran will allow it to expand its support of global terrorism, promote proxy wars like the one in Yemen, and bolster its own military. Enactment of a resolution of disapproval from Congress would remove President Obama’s ability to lift sanctions on Iran. This outcome is now improbable because Senate Democrats have secured enough votes in support of the nuclear agreement to sustain a presidential veto of any resolution of disapproval, notwithstanding the likely opposition of all Republican senators (only one is undecided) and the opposition of several leading Democratic senators. The White House is now hoping Senate Democrats will secure the 41 votes necessary to block a vote on the disapproval resolution altogether and eliminate the need for the President to exercise his veto authority. Five Senators have yet to announce their position on the agreement. As noted, three senior Senate Democrats have announced their opposition to the agreement with Iran: Senator Ben Cardin (MD), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Bob Menendez (NJ), former ranking member of the Foreign Relations Committee, and Senator Charles Schumer (NY), the next expected Democratic leader of the Senate.
Debate of the Iran nuclear agreement is expected to consume floor activity in both chambers for the week. While the initial strategy for passage was for the Senate to move first with a resolution of disapproval and send it to the House, the House has scheduled its own vote this week to ensure the chamber goes on record on the nuclear agreement, regardless of a potential filibuster in the Senate. The Senate will consider the disapproval resolution as a substitute amendment to an unrelated House-passed measure, H.J.Res. 61, and the House will consider a separate disapproval measure, H.J.Res. 64.
Once the debate over the Iran agreement is resolved in both chambers, Congress is expected to focus on a funding measure that will keep the government running beyond September 30, the end of the fiscal year. Despite the efforts of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees to report all 12 of the annual appropriations bills to the floor, not a single measure has been enacted. With fewer than a dozen legislative days in September, Republican leadership has acknowledged that a temporary continuing resolution (CR) will be necessary to bridge the gap into Fiscal Year (FY) 2016. A “clean” CR, keeping agencies at current funding levels and without any policy riders attached, would guarantee swift approval from Democrats and avoid a government shutdown this fall. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) have promised there will be no government shutdown under Republican leadership. Controversy over Planned Parenthood due to videos showing organization employees freely discussing the illegal harvesting of body parts from aborted fetuses may threaten that pledge. Conservatives in the House and Senate have voiced their opposition to any CR that includes funding for Planned Parenthood, setting up a potential fiscal showdown. The release of the undercover videos has stirred up the abortion debate and has the potential to derail budget and appropriations negotiations. It is unclear how leadership will work through this impasse. Before adjourning for the August recess, Republicans in the Senate failed to pass a measure to defund Planned Parenthood, and neither chamber would have a veto-proof majority should Congress successfully manage to defund Planned Parenthood. A similar battle in February over immigration policy and funding for the Department of Homeland Security was averted, but came down to the wire.
Beyond the short-term CR, a larger debate looms over the FY 2016 budget framework and spending caps. Through the FY 2016 appropriations process, Republican majorities in both chambers worked under the spending limits established in the 2011 budget agreement and sequester. Senate Democrats have blocked the entire appropriations process from moving forward due to objections to those spending caps and so-called “budget gimmicks” that increased only defense funding for FY 2016. Further, President Obama pledged to veto any appropriations measure at current funding levels. Congressional Democrats have been pushing for a bipartisan summit to negotiate a new budget framework, one that raises both defense and non-defense spending, but Republicans had not indicated a willingness to work out a deal to increase domestic spending above the current amounts, though Senate Leader McConnell recently acknowledged that budget negotiations would have to take place in the fall to ensure enactment of both a CR and a government-funding bill for the whole fiscal year.
Cybersecurity legislation, a National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) conference report, an Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA, also now known as No Child Left Behind or NCLB) reauthorization conference report, reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration, and reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank are other legislative items that have the potential to come up during this legislative work period, but each is likely to be pushed back later into the fall and winter or even into next year due to the need to resolve the annual appropriations to keep the government running..
Adding to the busy September congressional schedule is a visit by Pope Francis. On September 24, His Holiness will be the first pontiff to address a joint session of Congress. His remarks are likely to hit on several controversial topics, such as immigration, abortion, climate change, and social justice issues. Still, there is strong bipartisan support for the Pope’s visit, and it has been reported that requests for tickets to attend the congressional address have surpassed any other head of state or dignitary.
The congressional committee schedule this week is light, but there are several hearings of importance to note. The Iran nuclear agreement will be the subject of several hearings on the House side. On Wednesday and Friday mornings, the House Foreign Affairs Committee will hold its fourth and fifth hearings on implications of the international agreement, while the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces will hold a hearing on Thursday to discuss military implications. Also on Wednesday, the House Financial Services Committee will review terrorism financing issues.
This week the House Judiciary Committee will be the first congressional committee to review Planned Parenthood and the organization’s abortion practices. Other committees are also committed to pursuing inquirers into Planned Parenthood in response to the undercover videos, discussed above, in which Planned Parenthood officials discuss selling fetal body parts.
The House Foreign Affairs Committee subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade meets on Wednesday afternoon for a hearing on agricultural trade with Cuba. Now that the United States and Cuba have restored diplomatic relations, many industries are looking towards Congress to ease the trade and investment restrictions currently in place.
Violence along the U.S. border with Mexico will be the subject of House Oversight and Government Reform hearing on Wednesday. Members will examine the efforts to ensure the safety of U.S. personnel and assets in northern Mexico and along the U.S.-Mexican border. Several violent incidents along the border this summer have involved U.S. government or contract personnel and assets. Immigration and border security, always hot- button issues for Congress, have been further amplified recently by high-octane rhetoric from the 2016 Republican presidential candidates.
A full schedule of congressional hearings for the week is included below:
Tuesday, September 8, 2015
House Committees
Terrorism Post 9/11
House Homeland Security
Full Committee Field Hearing
Sept. 8, 9 a.m., Foundation Hall, National September 11 Memorial & Museum, 180 Greenwich St., New York, N.Y.
Wednesday September 9, 2015
House Committees
Budget Issues for Young Americans
House Budget
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m., 210 Cannon Bldg.
Oversight of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
House Energy and Commerce – Subcommittee on Energy and Power; House Energy and Commerce – Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy
Subcommittees Joint Hearing
10 a.m., 2123 Rayburn Bldg.
Protecting Affordable Coverage for Employees
House Energy and Commerce – Subcommittee on Health
Subcommittee Hearing
10:15 a.m., 2322 Rayburn Bldg.
Terrorism Financing Issues
House Financial Services
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m., 2128 Rayburn Bldg.
Iran Nuclear Agreement
House Foreign Affairs
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m., 2172 Rayburn Bldg.
Planned Parenthood Practices
House Judiciary
Full Committee Hearing
10:30 a.m., 2141 Rayburn Bldg.
U.S. Border Violence and Personnel Safety
House Oversight and Government Reform
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m., 2154 Rayburn Bldg.
EPA and Western Water Pollution
House Science, Space and Technology
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m., 2318 Rayburn Bldg.
Air Force Long-Range Strike Capabilities
House Armed Services – Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces
Subcommittee Hearing
2 p.m., 2212 Rayburn Bldg.
Agricultural Trade with Cuba
House Foreign Affairs – Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade
Subcommittee Hearing
2 p.m., 2200 Rayburn Bldg
Global Water Issues
House Foreign Affairs – Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations; House Foreign Affairs – Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia and Emerging Threats
Subcommittees Joint Hearing
2 p.m., 2172 Rayburn Bldg.
Natural Resources Measures
House Natural Resources
Full Committee Markup
4 p.m., 1324 Longworth Bldg.
Thursday, September 10, 2015
House Committees
Optimized Fleet Response Plan
House Armed Services – Subcommittee on Readiness
Subcommittee Hearing
8 a.m., 2112 Rayburn Bldg.
Retirement and Investment Issues
House Financial Services – Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government Sponsored Enterprises; House Financial Services – Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
Subcommittees Joint Hearing
10 a.m., 2128 Rayburn Bldg.
PREPARE Act
House Homeland Security – Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Response and Communications
Subcommittee Markup
10 a.m., 311 Cannon Bldg.
Competition in Health Care
House Judiciary – Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m., 2141 Rayburn Bldg.
Natural Resources Measures
House Natural Resources
Full Committee Markup
10 a.m., 1324 Longworth Bldg.
Army Fee Assistance Program
House Oversight and Government Reform
Full Committee Hearing
9 a.m., 2154 Rayburn Bldg.
U.S. Power Supply Vulnerabilities
House Science, Space and Technology – Subcommittee on Oversight; House Science, Space and Technology – Subcommittee on Energy
Subcommittees Joint Hearing
10 a.m., 2318 Rayburn Bldg.
Global Cybersecurity Threats
House Select Intelligence
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m., HVC-210 Capitol Visitor Center
Iran Deal Military Implications
House Armed Services – Subcommittee on Strategic Forces
Subcommittee Hearing
2 p.m., 2118 Rayburn Bldg.
Chinese Interests in the Western Hemisphere
House Foreign Affairs – Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific; House Foreign Affairs – Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere
Committee Joint Hearing
2 p.m., 2172 Rayburn Bldg.
Commercial Drones
House Judiciary – Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet
Subcommittee Hearing
2 p.m., 2141 Rayburn Bldg.
Transportation Research
House Science, Space and Technology – Subcommittee on Research and Technology
Subcommittee Markup
2:30 p.m., 2318 Rayburn Bldg.
Licensing and Credentialing for Servicemembers and Veterans
House Veterans’ Affairs – Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity
Subcommittee Hearing
2 p.m., 334 Cannon Bldg.
Senate Committees
Judiciary Nominations and Measures
Senate Judiciary
Full Committee Markup
10 a.m., 226 Dirksen Bldg.
Intelligence Issues
Senate Select Intelligence
Full Committee Closed Briefing
3 p.m., 219 Hart Bldg.
Friday, September 11, 2015
House Committees
Federal Superfund Facility Cleanup
House Energy and Commerce – Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy
Subcommittee Hearing
9 a.m., 2123 Rayburn Bldg.
Medicaid Program Issues
House Energy and Commerce – Subcommittee on Health
Subcommittee Hearing
9:15 a.m., 2322 Rayburn Bldg.
Iran Nuclear Agreement
House Foreign Affairs
Full Committee Hearing
9 a.m., 2172 Rayburn Bldg.
World Trade Center 9/11 Memorial
House Natural Resources
Full Committee Hearing
9 a.m., 1324 Longworth Bldg.
EPA Power Plan
House Science, Space and Technology – Subcommittee on Environment
Subcommittee Hearing
9 a.m., 2318 Rayburn Bldg.