After the most significant and dramatic week of the 115th Congress, having kept the government funded through the end of the fiscal year and passed its bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act, the House is on a scheduled district work period with members working in their districts. The Senate is the only chamber in session this week.
Senators will return to legislative business on Monday, with two roll call votes scheduled in the chamber. First, members will vote on the confirmation of Heather Wilson, a former House member from New Mexico and Air Force veteran, to be Secretary of the Air Force. Members will then vote on cloture on the nomination of Scott Gottlieb to be Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, setting up a final confirmation vote on the nominee later in the week. Leader McConnell has not announced the floor schedule beyond these two votes, although action can be expected on other nominations awaiting consideration on the Executive Calendar. Among the pending nominations are Robert Lighthizer to serve as U.S. Trade Representative, Jeffrey Rosen to be Deputy Secretary of Transportation, Rachel Brand to be Associate Attorney General, and Courtney Elwood to serve as General Counsel of the Central Intelligence Agency. In addition to the pending nominations, this week the Senate may also consider two congressional resolutions of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act. The first would overturn a final rule issued by the Interior Department regarding emissions from the flaring and venting of methane during oil and gas production activities on public and tribal lands. The second resolution of disapproval would nullify a rule issued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau last October regarding prepaid debit cards.
With House members out of town, only Senate committees are meeting this week. One of the high-profile events will be the appearance of former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and former Acting Attorney General Sally Yates before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism on Monday afternoon regarding Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and the communications between former Trump campaign advisor and initial National Security Advisor, General Michael Flynn, and the Russian Ambassador to the United States. Ms. Yates was fired from the Justice Department in January after she refused to defend President Trump’s initial Executive Order banning travel from seven Muslim-majority nations.
Relatedly, cybersecurity is a focus of Senate committee activity this week. On Tuesday, National Security Agency Director Admiral Michael Rogers will brief members of the Armed Services Committee on U.S. Cyber Command. The Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee will meet on Wednesday to hear testimony on the U.S. cybersecurity threat landscape. On Wednesday afternoon the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism is holding a hearing on law enforcement access to stored data across international borders.
Several Trump Administration nominees will be appearing on Capitol Hill this week as relevant committees review their qualifications. On Tuesday, the Foreign Relations Committee will hear testimony from John Sullivan on his nomination to be Deputy Secretary of State. Also on Tuesday the Armed Services Committee will consider three nominees to the Department of Defense. The Judiciary Committee will hear from three Justice Department nominees on Wednesday morning: Noel Francisco to be Solicitor General, Makan Delrahim to serve as Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division, and Steven Engel to be an Assistant Attorney General in the Office of Legal Counsel. Later on Wednesday afternoon, Althea Coetzee is scheduled to testify before the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship regarding her nomination to serve as Deputy Administrator of the Small Business Administration.
On Tuesday, the Finance Committee is scheduled to consider the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) reauthorization. The program, which enjoys broad, bipartisan support, is set to expire on September 30.
The Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee is set to markup to two bills on Wednesday: S.1028, the Recognize, Assist, Include, Support, and Engage (RAISE) Family Caregivers Act and S.934, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Reauthorization Act. The FDA reauthorization bill would renew and enhance the four FDA drug, medical device, biosimilar and generic drug user fee agreements. The current agreements are set to expire on September 30.
Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mel Watt, a hold-over appointee of President Obama, is scheduled to appear before the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs on Thursday morning as committee members consider reforms to the U.S. housing finance market. Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-ID) and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin have both identified housing finance reform as a priority this year.
The full details for Senate committee events during the week ahead are included below:
Monday, May 8, 2017
Senate Committees
Russian Interference in the 2016 United States Election
Senate Judiciary – Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism
Subcommittee Hearing
2:30 p.m.
Tuesday, May 9, 2017
Senate Committees
U.S. Cyber Command
Senate Armed Services
Full Committee Hearing
9:30 a.m., SD-G50
The Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP): The Path Forward
Senate Finance
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m., SD-215
Foreign Service List
Senate Foreign Relations
Full Committee Markup
10 a.m., SD-419
Deputy Secretary of State Nomination
Senate Foreign Relations
Full Committee Hearing
10:30 a.m., SD-419
Pending Nominations
Senate Armed Services
Full Committee Hearing
2:30 p.m., SD-G50
Maritime Transportation: Opportunities and Challenges for the Maritime Administration and Federal Maritime Commission
Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation – Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety and Security
Subcommittee Hearing
2:30 p.m., SR-253
Water Resources: The Role of the Public and Private Sectors
Senate Environment and Public Works – Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure
Subcommittee Hearing
2:30 p.m., SD-406
Wednesday, May 10, 2017
Senate Committees
Secondary Sanctions Against Chinese Institutions: Assessing Their Utility for Constraining North Korea
Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs – Subcommittee on National Security and International Trade and Finance
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m., SD-538
Growth Policies for the new Administration
Senate Budget
Full Committee Hearing
10:30 a.m., SD-608
Conservation, Consultation, and Capacity: State Views on the Need to Modernize the Endangered Species Act
Senate Environment and Public Works
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m., SD-406
Emerging External Influences in the Western Hemisphere
Senate Foreign Relations – Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Transnational Crime, Civilian Security, Democracy, Human Rights and Global Women’s Issues
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m., SD-419
S.1028, Recognize, Assist, Include, Support, and Engage (RAISE) Family Caregivers Act and S.934, the Food and Drug Administration Reauthorization Act
Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
Full Committee Markup
10 a.m., SD-G50
Cyber Threats Facing America: An Overview of the Cybersecurity Threat Landscape
Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m., SD-342
Pending Nominations
Senate Judiciary
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m., SD-226
Pending Legislation
Senate Energy and Natural Resources – Subcommittee on Water and Power
Subcommittee Hearing
2:30 p.m., SD-336
Pending Legislation
Senate Indian Affairs
Full Committee Hearing
2:30 p.m., SD-628
Law Enforcement Access to Data Stored Across Borders: Facilitating Cooperation and Protecting Rights
Senate Judiciary – Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism
Subcommittee Hearing
2:30 p.m., SD-226
Deputy Administrator of the Small Business Administration Nomination
Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship
Full Committee Hearing
3 p.m., SR-428A
Aging With Community : Building Connections that Last a Lifetime
Senate Special Aging
Full Committee Hearing
2:30 p.m., SD-562
Examining the Veterans Choice Program and the Future of Care in the Community
Senate Veterans’ Affairs
Full Committee Hearing
2:30 p.m., SR-418
Thursday, May 11, 2017
Senate Committees
Pesticide Registration under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act: Providing Stakeholders with Certainty through the Pesticide Registration Improvement Act
Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry
Full Committee Hearing
9:30 a.m., SR-328A
The Status of the Housing Finance System After Nine Years of Conservatorship
Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m., SD-538
Pending Business
Senate Judiciary
Full Committee Markup
10 a.m., SD-226