Congress is in for a very busy week before each chamber takes a one-week break for Memorial Day recess. The week is likely to showcase both instances in which Congress has been able to come together and enact important legislation and those in which contentious partisan and ideological cleavages are on display.
The Senate returns to work on Monday and will vote on legislation to reauthorize the Adam Walsh Act, legislation initially enacted in 2006 to address child sex offenses. The major work of the week on the Senate floor will commence on Tuesday when consideration begins on the annual defense authorization bill. The Senate will aim to complete the bill before departing for the week. Debate on the bill is likely to be less contentious than the House’s consideration of its companion bill. As in the House, the most significant issue will be an effort by Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain (R-AZ) to increase the funding level for the military provided in the bill. The House increased the level of authorized funding by raiding the pool of funds designated for support of overseas operations. If adopted, the House approach would lead to a shortfall in operational funds next year, requiring supplemental appropriations from Congress. The Senate does not plan to raid that account. Instead, Chairman McCain is reported to be planning simply to seek to add new funds to the bill. Democrats have contested Republican efforts to add defense funds without adding like amounts to the domestic programs they tend to support. Some Republican deficit hawks likewise oppose additional defense spending. The fact that Chairman McCain did not seek to add his amendment during the committee’s markup of the bill suggests he did not have the votes in how own committee, and he is similarly unlikely to garner sufficient support on the floor for his effort. The Senate bill would also extend the requirement that 18-year-olds register for the draft to women.
Although the defense bill is likely to consume the balance of the week, it is possible the Senate will interrupt its consideration of the bill and move to the compromise chemical-regulation bill, the reform the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), prior to the end of the week. Reform of the TSCA has been a lengthy process, and after years of deliberation, a bipartisan and bicameral consensus evolved around a compromise effort. The House will take up the bill this week, and once it does, the Senate could enter into a time agreement allowing for the bill’s consideration there as well. Enactment of the TSCA bill will be another in a series of significant accomplishments for the current Congress, a further indication that the Senate is again fulfilling its legislative role after several years in which it was failing as an institution (although Democrats point to the lack of progress on confirmations to argue that the Senate is still not performing its full set of constitutional responsibilities).
The House too returns to work on Monday with an unusually full schedule of 30 bills to be considered under suspension of the rules. Although on the surface this schedule appears very heavy, a large number of the bills simply name federal facilities, primarily post offices and Department of Veterans Affairs facilities. Among the substantive bills, the House will tackle the annual intelligence authorization bill, as well as bills from the Energy & Commerce Committee and two bills to improve the process by which the federal government disposes of excess property.
After the heavy suspension schedule, the House will turn on Tuesday to a bill to address the Zika virus under a rule. Last week, both chambers passed proposals to provide funding to address the Zika virus, but the Senate did so in the form of an amendment to an appropriations bill; the House did so as a freestanding bill. The Senate will need to take up the House-passed bill, amend it to include the Senate proposal, and request a conference before further progress can be made. In the meantime, the House will take up H.R. 897, the Zika Vector Control Act, introduced by Rep. Bob Gibbs (R-OH).
After the Zika bill, the House turns to the TSCA reform bill noted above. Following the TSCA legislation, the House plans to take up a bill to clarify the authority of Congress over the District of Columbia. Congress has authority under the Constitution to control the seat of the national government, but it ceded much of that authority when it approved home rule legislation for D.C. in the early 1970’s. Recently, D.C. voters approved a charter amendment that purports to allow D.C. to expend its own locally raised funds without congressional approval. A judge of the D.C. Superior Court upheld the proposal, but House Republicans believe the charter amendment is invalid and beyond the ability of D.C. voters to adopt. Last week, the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which oversees D.C. for Congress, reported H.R. 5233 on a party-line vote. The bill would clarify that D.C. must still obtain congressional approval before it may expend funds, even if the funds derive entirely from locally raised revenue. The bill is unlikely to get considered in the Senate, even after it passes the House, as it will.
The House then finishes the week with two energy-related bills. It will take up its version of the Energy & Water Appropriations bill. The Senate passed its version two weeks ago, and the House will aim to complete action on the bill before breaking for Memorial Day. The Energy & Water bill is one of the more popular of appropriations bills, due to the funding contained in it for local projects across the country. In addition to the appropriations bill, the House will also take up its version of the energy bill. The Senate passed a bipartisan energy bill last year. The House will take up the Senate-passed bill but will substitute its own energy-bill text in place of the Senate-approved language. Once it completes consideration of the energy bill, the House plans to move to go to conference with the Senate on the energy legislation, and will likely consider in that context a Democratic motion to instruct conferees. If a conference committee can reach agreement on an energy bill that could pass both chambers, it would be yet another major accomplishment for this Congress, and the Senate, which, despite much maligning in the media has been very productive on a variety of legislative initiatives that have been stalled for many years.
After such a heavy workload on the House floor, members will be eager for a week’s respite back in their districts, seeking to remind voters of their work thus far in this Congress. Of course, the floors of each chamber are not the only place in which Congress conducts business, and the committee schedule is likewise very busy this week. Among the highest profile items is likely to be the House Natural Resources Committee’s markup on Wednesday of the revised bill to assist Puerto Rico tackle its debt situation. After several weeks of intensive negotiations following the introduction of the first version of the bill, last Thursday evening the House introduced a new version of the bill. The negotiations were led by the Speaker’s office and the Committee’s chairman, Rob Bishop (R-UT). The revised bill has garnered cautious support from members on both sides of the aisle. Although there are provisions members of each party dislike, the urgency of the need to help Puerto Rico address its insolvency appears to have brought enough members together to allow the bill to move forward. The first step in the process will be a markup in committee on Wednesday. The full House is likely to turn to the bill when it returns following Memorial Day, and Senate action thereafter prior to the impending July 1 date when Puerto Rico faces a massive debt payment it cannot make, is likely. If Congress succeeds in enacting the bill, it will be a major victory of Speaker Ryan, who staked much on getting a bill done.
Other markups next week will see the Senate Judiciary Committee take up the E-mail Privacy Act on Thursday. The House passed its version of the bill unanimously, but what will happen in the Senate committee is uncertain. The Appropriations Committees in each chamber will be busy this week marking up additional bills for floor consideration. In the Senate, both the relevant subcommittees and the full committee plan to mark up the Defense and Homeland Security bills this week (Tuesday in the subcommittees and Thursday in full committee). On the House side, the full committee plans to mark up the Commerce, Justice, Science and Transportation-Housing and Urban Development bills on Tuesday, and on Wednesday the relevant subcommittees will mark up the Financial Services and Interior bills. Finally, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee will mark up pending legislation.
On Tuesday, the House Ways & Means Committee will hold a hearing on welfare reform. Also on Tuesday, the House Judiciary Committee will hold the first hearing it is promising to consider the impeachment of the IRS Commissioner, John Koskinen. Although Speaker Ryan has signaled his opposition to impeachment and senators have dismissed it, House conservatives, led by Freedom Caucus chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH), have been pushing for Commissioner Koskinen’s impeachment in the wake of the scandal over allegations of political targeting of conservative non-profit groups by the IRS. At the initial hearing, the Judiciary Committee expects to hear from members of the Oversight Committee who, along with the Ways & Means Committee, have led the inquiry into political manipulation by the IRS. Other hearings of note this week include a Tuesday Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on the U.S.-India relationship; hearings by the Senate Baking and House Foreign Affairs Committees on aspects of the Iran nuclear deal; and a two-day hearing on Wednesday and Thursday by the House Homeland Security Committee into the dramatic airport-screening delays being experienced across the country.
A full schedule of committee activities for the week follows:
Monday, May 23, 2016
House Committees
Navy Force Structure/Readiness
House Armed Services – Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces; House Armed Services – Subcommittee on Readiness
Committee Field Hearing
9:30 a.m., USS Eisenhower, Norfolk, VA
Pending Legislation
House Rules
Full Committee Business Meeting
5 p.m.
Senate Committees
Closed briefing on the Open Skies Treaty, focusing on managing Russia’s request to upgrade sensors
Senate Foreign Relations
Full Committee Briefing
5:30 p.m.
Tuesday, May 24, 2016
House Committees
Focus on the Farm Economy: A View from the Barnyard
House Agriculture – Subcommittee on Livestock and Foreign Agriculture
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m., 1300 Longworth HOB
FY 2017 Commerce, Justice, and Science Bill, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Bill, and Report on the Revised Interim Suballocation of Budget Allocations
House Appropriations
Full Committee Markup
10:30 a.m., 2359 Rayburn HOB
Demanding Accountability at the Corporation for National and Community Service
House Education and the Workforce – Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m.
Medicare-Medicaid Program Integrity
House Energy and Commerce – Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
Subcommittee Hearing
10:15 a.m.
Legislative Hearing on 17 FTC Bills
House Energy and Commerce – Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m., 2123 Rayburn HOB
Stopping Terror Finance: A Coordinated Government Effort
House Financial Services – Investigate Terrorism Financing Task Force
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m., 2128 Rayburn HOB
Enhancing Preparedness and Response Capabilities to Address Cyber Threats
House Homeland Security – Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Response and Communications; House Homeland Security – Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection and Security Technologies
Committee Joint Hearing
10 a.m., 311 Canon HOB
Examining the Allegations of Misconduct Against IRS Commissioner John Koskinen Part 1
House Judiciary
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m., 2141 Rayburn HOB
Legislative Hearing on H.R. 3480, H.R. 4202, H.R. 4789 and H.R. 5244
House Natural Resources – Subcommittee on Federal Lands
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m., 1324 Longworth HOB
Legislative Hearing on Water Settlements
House Natural Resources – Subcommittee on Water, Power and Oceans
Subcommittee Hearing
10:30 a.m., 1334 Longworth HOB
H.R. ____ the Networking and Information Technology Research and Development Modernization Act of 2016
House Science, Space and Technology
Full Committee Markup
10 a.m., 2318 Rayburn HOB
The Sharing Economy: A Taxing Experience for New Entrepreneurs, Part I
House Small Business
Full Committee Hearing
11 a.m.
Improving the Safety and Reliability of the Washington Metro
House Transportation and Infrastructure – Subcommittee on Highways and Transit
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m.
Legislative Hearing on draft legislation to establish a permanent Veterans Choice Program and H.R. 5083, the VA Appeals Modernization Act of 2016
House Veterans’ Affairs
Full Committee Hearing
10:30 a.m., 334 Cannon HOB
Welfare System Reform
House Ways and Means
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m.
Border Security Gadgets Gizmos and Information: Using Technology to Increase Situational Awareness and Operational Control
House Homeland Security – Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security
Subcommittee Hearing
2 p.m., 311 Canon HOB
The U.S.-Saudi Arabia Counterterrorism Relationship
House Foreign Affairs – Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade
Subcommittee Hearing
2 p.m., 2172 Rayburn HOB
Executive Overreach Task Force- The Federal Government on Autopilot: Delegation of Regulatory Authority to an Unaccountable Bureaucracy
House Judiciary – Executive Overreach Task Force
Subcommittee Hearing
3 p.m., 2141 Rayburn HOB
Oversight Hearing on Investigating the Culture of Corruption at the Department of the Interior
House Natural Resources – Subcommittee on Oversight & Investigations
Subcommittee Hearing
2 p.m.
Remaining Guantanamo Bay Detainees
House Oversight and Government Reform – Subcommittee on National Security
Subcommittee Hearing
2 p.m.
Examining the Future of Recreation.gov
House Oversight and Government Reform – Subcommittee on the Interior
Subcommittee Hearing
2 p.m., 2247 Rayburn
Senate Committees
Fiscal Year 2017 Department of Defense Appropriations
Senate Appropriations – Subcommittee on Defense
Subcommittee Markup
10 a.m., SD-192
Examine understanding the role of sanctions under the Iran Deal.
Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs
Full Committee Hearing
May 24, 10:30 a.m., SD-538
Examine the multistakeholder plan for transitioning the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority.
Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m., SR-253
Examining debt versus equity, focusing on corporate integration considerations
Senate Finance
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m., SD-215
Examine United States-India relations, focusing on balancing progress and managing expectations.
Senate Foreign Relations
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m., SD-419
“Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, Fiscal Year 2017
Senate Appropriations – Subcommittee on Homeland Security
Subcommittee Markup
11 a.m., SD-138
Examine the implementation of the definition of Waters of the United States
Senate Environment and Public Works – Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife and Water
Subcommittee Hearing
2:30 p.m., SD-406
Pending Legislation
Senate Veterans’ Affairs
Full Committee Hearing
2:15 p.m., SR-418
Wednesday, May 25, 2016
House Committees
Food Waste from Field to Table
House Agriculture
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m., 1300 Longworth HOB
Reclaiming Congressional Authority Through the Power of the Purse
House Budget
Full Committee Hearing
9:30 a.m., 210 Canon HOB
Promoting Safe Workplaces Through Effective and Responsible Recordkeeping Standards
House Education and the Workforce – Subcommittee on Workforce Protections
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m.
Examining Cybersecurity Responsibilities at HHS
House Energy and Commerce – Subcommittee on Health
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m., 2123 Rayburn HOB
Iran Nuclear Deal Oversight (Part II)
House Foreign Affairs
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m.
Long Lines Short Patience: The TSA Airport Screening Experience
House Homeland Security
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m., 311 Canon HOB
Outdated Government IT
House Oversight and Government Reform
Full Committee Hearing
9 a.m.
Science of Zika: The DNA of an Epidemic
House Science, Space and Technology
Full Committee Hearing
10:15 a.m., 2318 Rayburn HOB
IRS Abuse of Small Businesses
House Ways and Means – Subcommittee on Oversight
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m.
Tunisia’s Struggle for Stability Security and Democracy
House Foreign Affairs – Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa
Subcommittee Hearing
2:30 p.m., 2172 Rayburn HOB
Oversight Hearing on Exploring Mining Safety and Innovation in the 21st Century
House Natural Resources – Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources
Subcommittee Hearing
2:30 p.m., 1324 Longworth HOB
Tax Reform
House Ways and Means – Subcommittee on Tax Policy
Subcommittee Hearing
2 p.m.
Senate Committees
Pending Legislation
Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
Full Committee Markup
10 a.m., SD-342
Examine improvements in hurricane forecasting and the path forward
Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation – Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries and Coast Guard
Subcommittee Hearing
2 p.m., SR-253
Examine international cybersecurity strategy, focusing on deterring foreign threats and building global cyber norms
Senate Foreign Relations – Subcommittee on East Asia, the Pacific, and International Cybersecurity Policy
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m., SD-419
Understanding the role of sanctions under the Iran Deal, focusing on Administration perspectives
Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs
Full Committee Hearing
2:30 p.m., SD-538
Closed briefing on trafficking in persons, focusing on preparing the 2016 annual report
Senate Foreign Relations
Full Committee Briefing
4:30 p.m., S-116
Thursday, May 26, 2016
House Committees
The ISIS Genocide Declaration: What Next?
House Foreign Affairs – Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations
Subcommittee Hearing
Noon, 2172 Rayburn HOB
Long Lines Short Patience: Local Perspectives.
House Homeland Security – Subcommittee on Transportation Security
Subcommittee Hearing
9 a.m., 311 Canon HOB
Social Security Information Systems Review
House Oversight and Government Reform
Full Committee Hearing
9 a.m.
Impact of EPAs Clean Power Plan on States
House Science, Space and Technology – Subcommittee on Environment
Subcommittee Hearing
9:30 a.m., 2318 Rayburn HOB
The Sharing Economy: A Taxing Experience for New Entrepreneurs, Part II
House Small Business
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m.
Senate Committees
Examine a review of the United States livestock and poultry sectors, focusing on marketplace opportunities and challenges
Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m., SH-216
“Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2017”, and an original bill entitled, “Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2017
Senate Appropriations
Full Committee Markup
10:30 a.m., SD-106
Examine cartels and the United States heroin epidemic, focusing on combating drug violence and the public health crisis
Senate Foreign Relations – Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Transnational Crime, Civilian Security, Democracy, Human Rights and Global Women’s Issues
Subcommittee Hearing
9 a.m., SD-419
Examine protecting America from the threat of ISIS
Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m., SD-342
Pending Legislation
Senate Judiciary
Full Committee Markup
10 a.m., SD-226
Examine the Small Business Administration’s 7(a) loan guaranty program
Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m., SR-428A