The Senate will continue working its way through Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 appropriations bills this week, with final consideration of the Energy & Water bill expected on Tuesday. The House will work through a number of legislative items, including several related to trade and business practices. Both chambers are scheduled to adjourn at the end of this week for a one-week district work period.
The Senate is scheduled to return to legislative business on Monday afternoon and resume consideration of the legislative vehicle (H.R. 2028) for the FY 2017 Energy and Water appropriations bill, a $37.5 billion funding measure. A vote is expected Monday evening on an amendment offered by Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), and votes on at least three other amendments are expected on Tuesday before a vote on final passage. Energy & Water Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) has indicated he expects to wrap up consideration of the bill on Tuesday. Last week the White House issued a veto threat for the bill, citing “the inclusion of problematic ideological provisions that are beyond the scope of funding legislation,” a reference to policy riders. One of the major concerns behind the veto threat was an amendment offered last week by Senator John Hoeven (R-ND) to prevent the Army Corps of Engineers from using any funds to implement its “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) rule, which extends federal jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act over a wider range of domestic wetlands and waterways. Senator Hoeven’s amendment failed, however, to receive the 60 votes that were needed for inclusion in the underlying bill. It is unclear if the White House will maintain its opposition to the Energy & Water bill, but in the wake of the failure of the Hoeven amendment, conservative groups are encouraging senators to oppose the bill. Notwithstanding this source of opposition, the legislation is expected to receive bipartisan support and pass the Senate.
Following the adoption of the Energy & Water bill, which is the first FY 2017 appropriations measure on the Senate floor, the chamber is expected to continue with consideration of one of the three other funding bills that have been reported out of the Senate Appropriations Committee over the past two weeks: the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs appropriations bill, the Commerce, Justice and Science appropriations bill, or the Transportation- Housing and Urban Development appropriations bill. The Military Construction and Veterans Affairs bill is likely next on the Senate agenda, because it was reported out of the Appropriations Committee earlier this month with the Energy and Water Development bill and is considered one of the less controversial of the 12 annual bills.
Press reports indicate that negotiations in the Senate to provide $1 billion in supplemental appropriations to combat the Zika virus in the United States are progressing. Earlier this year the White House requested $1.8 billion in emergency funding to accelerate the federal response timeline, bolster mosquito control, and support training programs and laboratory capacity to test for the virus. Several congressional Republicans rebuffed this request, suggesting Congress should instead shift unused funds allocated to fight the Ebola virus after that 2014 outbreak in West Africa subsided. Conservatives are also requesting that any allocated funds be offset with cuts elsewhere in the budget. The warmer weather of spring and summer months and reports of the virus spreading within the U.S. appear to have softened the positions of some Senate Republicans and Appropriations Committee members who are now involved in the funding negotiations, and a bill on that may hit the floor as early as this week. House Republicans are still resisting the request for emergency Zika funds, demanding that the Administration provide more specific details on how it plans to spend such funding, although House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-KY) has indicated he expects the House will eventually also pass a Zika-funding measure.
The House of Representatives will return to legislative business on Tuesday, with votes expected on 15 bills under suspension of the rules. Fourteen of these bills cover a variety of topics and come to the floor from the Homeland Security, Oversight and Government Reform, Transportation and Infrastructure, and Financial Services Committees. On the fifteenth, H.R. 1493, the Protect and Preserve Cultural Property Act, the House will vote to approve amendments made to the bill by the Senate; once approved, the bill will head to the President for signature.
On Wednesday, the House will consider an additional four bills under suspension of the rules. Included among these are H.R. 4923, the American Manufacturing Competitiveness Act of 2016, sponsored by Ways & Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX). The bill would update and reform the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill (MTB) process by which reductions or temporary suspensions of tariffs or duties on certain imports are considered. The last MTB expired in 2012, leaving many American manufacturing companies at a disadvantage in the global economy because of the costs related to the importation of covered foreign goods. The bill enjoys broad support among businesses and is expected to pass.
The House will also consider S. 1890, the Defend Trade Secrets Act, under suspension of the rules. This legislation will create a federal civil claim and remedy for trade secret misappropriation. A wide-ranging coalition of companies and businesses supports the passage of this bill, which passed the Senate earlier this month by a vote of 87-0. Once passed by the House, this bill will head to the President, who is expected to sign it.
The Wednesday suspension package also includes H.R. 699, the Email Privacy Act, legislation to update the 1986 Electronic Communications Privacy Act. The bill enjoys more than 300 cosponsors, and a compromise version was favorably reported on a unanimous vote by the Judiciary Committee two weeks ago. The bill is not expected to get Senate consideration this year, but its approval by the House will likely set the stage for a legislative enactment in 2017.
Finally on the Wednesday, the House will consider H.R. 4240, the No Fly for Foreign Fighters Act. This bill would require an independent review by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) of the federal government’s terrorist watchlists to determine whether past weaknesses with them have been addressed or whether additional changes are needed.
Following its heavy schedule of suspension bills, the House will consider three more bills, all coming to the floor under rules.
The House will first tackle H.R. 4498, the Helping Angels Lead Our Startups (HALOS) Act, introduced by Small Business Committee Chairman Steve Chabot (R-OH). This bill would require the Securities and Exchange Commission to revise its general solicitation regulations to provide carveouts for certain activities related to startup investment and financing pitches.
The House is expected to consider H.J. Res. 88, a disapproval resolution intended to block the Department of Labor’s controversial “fiduciary” rule. The rule sets new standards for investment advisors with respect to retirement accounts, but Republicans believe the rule is too burdensome and that the costs will ultimately be borne by low- and middle-income Americans, who most need the advice but will be unable to get it.
The House will also vote on H.R. 4901, the Scholarships for Opportunity and Results (SOAR) Reauthorization Act. This legislation provides scholarships to students from low-income families in the District of Columbia to attend the school of their choice, including private or charter schools, and provides money to D.C. charter and public schools to improve educational outcomes.
On the hearing front, both the House and Senate Appropriations Committees are expected to continue their consideration of FY 2017 funding bills this week. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter is scheduled to appear before the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee on Wednesday to discuss the FY 2017 budget request and Department of Defense funding.
Related to defense spending priorities, the full House Armed Services Committee will be holding a markup of its 2017 National Defense Authorization Act for 2017 on Wednesday morning, a $610 billion blueprint for the defense budget for FY 2017, following markups in the committee’s subcommittees last week.
House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) announced that the committee will be marking up 12 bills, all reported favorably by the Health Subcommittee last week, related to the domestic opioid crisis. The legislation includes measures that range from expanding access to Naloxone (medication that can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose) and providing an exemption from civil liability for trained and certified individuals who administer opioid overdose-reversing drugs, to increasing access to medication-assisted treatment. Chairman Upton has said the full House will consider the legislation during the first or second week of May. Likewise, the House Judiciary Committee is expected to mark up its portion of the opioid-response bill on Wednesday as well, though the committee will not formally notice its markup until Monday. The Senate already passed its version of opioid abuse legislation, the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA), in March. There is wide support in Congress for advancing legislation to counter the opioid abuse epidemic, and if the bills can be conferenced following successful House passage, to resolve differences between them, it may be one of the few bipartisan measures that can pass both chambers during the remainder of this Congress.
The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee will be marking up its Federal Communications Commission (FCC) reauthorization bill on Wednesday morning, along with seven other communications bills. The legislation would provide a two-year reauthorization of FCC authority and appropriations and, among other things, reform the agency’s spectrum auction procedure, enhance agency transparency by requiring the FCC to submit various reports and budget estimates to Congress, and require the GAO to provide an analysis of whether the FCC’s current regulatory fee structure correlates to the actual workload of the FCC. Also scheduled for markup is S. 421, the Federal Communications Commission Process Reform Act, to reform aspects of the FCC’s rule-making process.
Tax reform continues to be a matter of congressional focus. The Senate Finance Committee is holding a hearing on Tuesday afternoon on navigating business tax reform, with Thomas Barthold, chief of staff for the Joint Committee On Taxation, scheduled to appear as a witness.
The Finance Committee is also holding a Thursday hearing on mental health issues. Like the opioid abuse crisis, many members are eager to advance legislation to assist with mental health reform, but there remain partisan differences over how to pay for reforms and updates. The Thursday hearing is expected to cover the Medicaid Institutions for Mental Diseases (IMD) Exclusion, which restricts Medicaid reimbursements for care at inpatient mental health treatment centers.
On Wednesday, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee will be reviewing U.S.-China relations, likely driven by China’s recent activities in the South China Sea. Deputy Secretary of State Anthony J. Blinken is scheduled to provide testimony before the committee.
The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee meets Thursday to review the release of criminal aliens by the Department of Homeland Security and the impact on public safety. This hearing follows one held two weeks ago by the House Judiciary Committee on the same topic at which families and survivors of violent attacks by criminal aliens testified.
The full schedule of events for the week ahead is detailed below:
Monday, April 25, 2016
Senate Committees
Pending Nominations
Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
Full Committee Markup
5:30 p.m., S-216
Tuesday, April 26, 2016
House Committees
Pending Legislation
House Energy and Commerce
Full Committee Markup
5 p.m., 2123 Rayburn Bldg.
Senate Committees
F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Program
Senate Armed Services
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m., SD-G50
Challenges and Opportunities for Oil and Gas Development in Different Price Environments
Senate Energy and Natural Resources
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m., SD-366
Navigating Business Tax Reform
Senate Finance
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m., SD-215
FY 2017 State Department Budget
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
Public Safety Officers’ Benefits Program
Senate Judiciary
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m., SD-226
Wednesday, April 27, 2016
House Committees
Focus on the Farm Economy: Farm Production Costs
House Agriculture – Subcommittee on Biotechnology, Horticulture and Research
Subcommittee Hearing
10:30 a.m., 1300 Longworth Bldg.
H.R. 4909, the FY 2017 National Defense Authorization Act
House Armed Services
Full Committee Markup
10 a.m., 2118 Rayburn Bldg.
The Persuader Rule: The Administration’s Latest Attack on Employer Free Speech and Worker Free Choice
House Education and the Workforce – Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m.
Pending Legislation
House Energy and Commerce
Full Committee Markup
10 a.m.
How Can the U.S. Make Development Banks More Accountable?
House Financial Services – Subcommittee on Monetary Policy and Trade
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m.
Examining the President’s FY 2017 Afghan/Pakistan Budget Proposal
House Foreign Affairs – Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m., 2172 Rayburn Bldg.
ISIS in the Pacific: Assessing Terrorism in Southeast Asia and the Threat to the Homeland
House Homeland Security – Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m., 311 Cannon, Bldg.
BLM’s Regulatory Overreach into Methane Emissions Regulation
House Natural Resources – Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m., 1324 Longworth Bldg.
Examining TSA Management and Misconduct (Part I)
House Oversight and Government Reform
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m., 2154 Rayburn Bldg.
NSF Research Facility Reform
House Science, Space and Technology
Full Committee Markup
10 a.m.
S is for Savings: Pro-Growth Benefits of Employee-Owned S Corporations
House Small Business
Full Committee Hearing
11 a.m., 2360 Rayburn Bldg.
South Sudan Prospects for Peace and Security
House Foreign Affairs – Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations
Subcommittee Hearing
2 p.m., 2200 Rayburn Bldg.
Funding FY 2017 Western Hemisphere Priorities
House Foreign Affairs – Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere
Subcommittee Hearing
2 p.m., 2172 Rayburn Bldg.
Potential of Hydropower as a Clean, Renewable and Domestic Energy Source
House Natural Resources – Subcommittee on Water, Power and Oceans
Subcommittee Hearing
2 p.m., 1324 Longworth Bldg.
The Best and Worst Places to Work in the Federal Government
House Oversight and Government Reform
Full Committee Hearing
2 p.m., 2154 Rayburn Bldg.
Senate Committees
Defense Budget
Senate Appropriations – Subcommittee on Defense
Subcommittee Hearing
10:30 a.m., SD-192
Examining Better Budgets and Better Results
Senate Budget
Full Committee Hearing
10:30 a.m., SD-608
Pending Business
Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation
Full Committee Markup
10 a.m., SR-253
U.S. -China Relations: Strategic Challenges and Opportunities
Senate Foreign Relations
Full Committee Hearing
10:30 a.m., SD-419
Government Reform: Ending Government Duplication
Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m., SD-342
Examining Counterfeit Products and Their Impact on Consumer Health and Safety
Senate Judiciary
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m.SD-226
Drowning in Regulations: The Waters of the U.S. Rule and the Case for Reforming the RFA
Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m., SR-428A
High-Speed Internet Access Programs on Tribal Lands
Senate Indian Affairs
Full Committee Hearing
2:15 p.m., SD-628
Valeant Pharmaceuticals’ Business Model: the Repercussions for Patients and the Health Care System
Senate Special Aging
Full Committee Hearing
3:30 p.m., SH-216
Thursday, April 28, 2016
House Committees
Reviewing the Impact of Capital and Margin Requirements on End-Users
House Agriculture – Subcommittee on Commodity Exchanges, Energy, and Credit
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m.
U.S. Challenges and Opportunities in Asia
House Foreign Affairs
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m.
Transferring Guantanamo Bay Detainees to the Homeland: Implications for States and Local Communities
House Homeland Security – Subcommittee on Oversight and Management Efficiency
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m., 311 Cannon Bldg.
Stop Settlement Slush Funds Act
House Judiciary – Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law
Subcommittee Hearing
April 28, 10 a.m.
Criminal Aliens Released by DHS
House Oversight and Government Reform
Full Committee Hearing
9:30 a.m., 2154 Rayburn Bldg.
Improving the VA Appeals Process
House Veterans’ Affairs – Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m., 334 Cannon Bldg.
Examining EPA’s Predetermined Efforts to Block Pebble Mine Action (Part II)
House Science, Space and Technology
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m., 2318 Rayburn Bldg.
Food Prices and the Consumer
House Agriculture – Subcommittee on Nutrition
Subcommittee Hearing
2 p.m., 1300 Longworth Bldg.
U.S. Policy Toward Lebanon
House Foreign Affairs – Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa
Subcommittee Hearing
2 p.m.
Pending Legislation
House Homeland Security
Full Committee Markup
2 p.m.
Discussion Draft of Federal-Local Land Management Cooperation Act
House Natural Resources – Subcommittee on Federal Lands
Subcommittee Hearing
2 p.m., 1324 Longworth Bldg.
The Consequences of Federal Land Management Along the U.S. Border to Rural Communities and National Security
House Natural Resources – Subcommittee on Oversight & Investigations
Subcommittee Hearing
2:30 p.m., 1334 Longworth Bldg.
Oversight of the False Claims Act
House Judiciary – Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice
Subcommittee Hearing
4 p.m., 2141 Rayburn Bldg.
Senate Committees
Counter-ISIL Operations and Middle East Strategy
Senate Armed Services
Full Committee Hearing
9:30 a.m., SH-216
Pending Business
Senate Judiciary
Full Committee Markup
10 a.m., SD-226
Mental Health in America
Senate Finance
Full Committee Hearing
2 p.m., SD-215
Federal Invasive Species Control and Management
Senate Energy and Natural Resources – Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests and Mining
Subcommittee Hearing
2:30 p.m., SD-366
Friday, April 29, 2016
House Committees
Nuclear Energy Legislation
House Energy and Commerce – Subcommittee on Energy and Power
Subcommittee Hearing
9:30 a.m.
Pet Medication Industry: Issues and Perspectives
House Energy and Commerce – Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade
Subcommittee Hearing
9:45 a.m.
Pending Business
House Select Intelligence
Full Committee Markup (CLOSED)
9 a.m., HVC-304
Pending Legislation
House Veterans’ Affairs – Subcommittee on Health
Subcommittee Markup
9 a.m., 334 Cannon Bldg.