Much of the attention on Capitol Hill this week will remain focused on activity surrounding the House Republican proposal to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The plan so far has been met with mixed reviews, with a number of Republican members in both chambers expressing their opposition to the legislation in its current form. The conservative members of the House Freedom Caucus and Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) held a press conference last week stating the bill did not go far enough in repealing all of the provisions of the ACA. On the other hand, four more moderate Republican senators sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to express their opposition to the House bill in its current form because of its impact on the ACA’s expansion of Medicaid. Despite this opposition, the bill is advancing through the legislative process. The House Energy and Commerce Committee and House Ways and Means Committee held marathon markups on the provisions under their jurisdictions last week, and both committees reported the legislation favorably on Thursday. This week, the House Budget Committee, under the new leadership of Chairman Diane Black (R-TN), who succeeded the former chairman and now Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price upon his confirmation to his new role, is scheduled to hold its markup of the bill on Wednesday in the form of a reconciliation measure. Once out of the Budget Committee, the bill will be ready for floor consideration of the measure. In addition to the Budget Committee markup, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is expected to produce its score of the legislation on Monday; the nonpartisan agency’s estimate of the costs and consequences of the bill on the federal budget could play a critical role in dictating the fate of the current bill and the momentum behind the repeal and replace efforts in Congress.
Meanwhile, legislative business in the Senate will resume on Monday afternoon, when a confirmation vote is expected on the nomination of Seema Verma to serve as Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The floor activity for the remainder of the week remains unclear, although the Majority Leader may move to consider other nominations awaiting consideration. Last week the Senate Intelligence Committee favorably reported the nomination of former Senator Dan Coats to serve as Director of National Intelligence. Also pending is the nomination of David Friedman to serve as U.S. Ambassador to Israel. Other measures available for Senate consideration are additional resolutions disapproving of Obama-era agency regulations pursuant to the Congressional Review Act. Majority Leader McConnell has not spelled out the Senate’s floor activities for the week after the vote on Ms. Verma.
The House will resume legislative business on Tuesday, when members will consider three measures under suspension of the rules coming from the Natural Resources Committee. On Wednesday, the House will take up another suspension package consisting of nine measures under the jurisdiction of the Homeland Security Committee.
Members will then turn to consideration of three bills related to veterans affairs. The first bill, H.R. 1181, the Veterans 2nd Amendment Protection Act, will come to the floor under a rule. The measure would modify an existing requirement that certain individuals determined to be mentally incompetent by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) be prohibited from purchasing or possessing legal firearms. Under current law, the VA is required to provide information to the Department of Justice when the agency deems individuals to be mentally incapacitated, mentally incompetent, experiencing an extended loss of consciousness, or otherwise unable to manage their own affairs. These individuals are currently included on the list of those prohibited from purchasing or possessing firearms. Under H.R. 1181, a judicial authority would have to determine that veterans are dangerous before VA would be required to report them to the Justice Department.
On Thursday, members will consider H.R. 1259, the VA Accountability First Act of 2017. The goal of H.R. 5620 is to increase accountability at the Department of Veterans Affairs by providing the VA Secretary increased flexibility to remove, demote, or suspend any VA employee for performance or misconduct. The bill would also provide improved protections for whistleblowers. Additionally, H.R. 1259 would give VA the authority to recoup all or part of bonuses and awards paid to employees and grant the authority to recoup amounts spent to relocate VA employees if the department determines the employee engaged in misconduct. A previous version of this legislation passed the House in September 2016. Consideration of H.R. 1259 will be subject to a rule.
Finally, on Friday the House will take up H.R. 1367, legislation intended to improve the authority of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to hire and retain qualified physicians and other employees. The bill would establish a recruiting database to make high-quality potential employees aware of positions at VA and create opportunities for career training and advancement for current VA employees through a fellowship program. It also would require VA to measure and collect certain information regarding hiring effectiveness. Consideration of H.R. 1367 will be subject to a rule.
Off Capitol Hill, the Federal Reserve Board is scheduled to meet next week and could well raise interest rates. Any such action is likely to provoke responses from members in support of and in opposition to the move. The Fed’s action would take place against the backdrop of the notice, overlooked amid the disputes over health care reform, sent last week by Treasury Secretary Mnuchin that the country is expected to hit its debt ceiling this week, although the Treasury is able to take extraordinary measures that should keep the government functioning until the fall.
In addition to the Senate floor activity on the Verma nomination and possibly the other ones pending, this week will see two Senate committees review the qualifications of the President’s appointees to Executive Branch agencies. On Tuesday, the Finance Committee will hear testimony from Robert Lighthizer on his nomination to serve as U.S. Trade Representative. On Wednesday, the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee is scheduled to vote on the nomination of Elaine Duke to serve as the Deputy Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. The Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee had planned to hold a hearing this week on Alexander Acosta’s nomination to be Secretary of Labor, but that hearing has been postponed until the week of March 20.
The House Armed Services Committee will hear from General Joseph Votel, Commander of U.S. Central Command, on Wednesday regarding the military assessment of operations and challenges in the Middle East. General Votel’s appearance in the House follows his testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee last week in which he outlined a number of challenges in the fight against ISIS and operations in Afghanistan.
The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee is scheduled to meet on Wednesday to examine public policy issues related to the safe integration of unmanned aircraft systems (drones) in the national airspace system. The hearing will explore practical applications for the technology, and navigating economic, privacy, and safety implications. Experts, academics, and representatives from the private sector are scheduled to provide testimony to the committee alongside Earl Lawrence, the Director of the Office of Unmanned Aircraft Systems at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Also on Wednesday, the Coast Guard Subcommittee of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee will hold a hearing on the Coast Guard. With the President’s budget submission reportedly planning to include steep cuts to the Coast Guard in order to fund more aggressive enforcement efforts against illegal immigration (both the immigration enforcement authorities and the Coast Guard are part of the Department of Homeland Security), this hearing could become a forum for Democratic criticism of that impending proposal; Republicans too have not received the proposed Coast Guard cuts warmly.
The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a Thursday hearing on fraud in the K-1, or fiancé(e), visa program. The State and Homeland Security Departments have been considering reforms to the K-1 visa since 2015 when one of the shooters in the San Bernardino, California massacre was found to have emigrated to the U.S. as the wife of the other shooter on a K-1 fiancé visa.
A number of committees continue to host hearings related to infrastructure improvements and modernization efforts throughout this week. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will meet on Tuesday to receive testimony on opportunities to improve American energy infrastructure. The witness panel includes individuals from the private sector of the energy industry as well as experts and a labor union representative. The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Power is scheduled to meet on Wednesday to discuss opportunities for hydropower expansion in the United States. On Thursday the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Federal Lands will meet to discuss innovative infrastructure ideas for the National Park Service and Forest Service. A hearing in the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy on Thursday is scheduled to cover reinvestment and rehabilitation of the nation’s drinking water systems. The House Armed Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations is scheduled for a Thursday hearing to review the infrastructure needs of the Nuclear Security Enterprise.
The House Agriculture Committee’s subcommittees continue their preparation for the 2018 Farm Bill with two hearings on Thursday morning. The Subcommittee on Biotechnology, Horticulture and Research will meet to discuss agricultural research advancements while the Subcommittee on Conservation and Forestry will meet to review forestry initiatives.
The full details for these hearings and other congressional hearings scheduled throughout this week are included below:
Tuesday, March 14, 2017
Senate Committees
Information Surrounding the Marines United Website
Senate Armed Services
Full Committee Briefing
10 a.m., SD-G-50
Reauthorization of the National Flood Insurance Program, Part I
Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m., SD-538
Improving Energy Infrastructure
Senate Energy and Natural Resources
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m., SD-366
U.S. Trade Representative Nomination
Senate Finance
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m., SD-215
Arlington National Cemetery: Current Operations and Future Plans to Honor the Fallen
Senate Appropriations – Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies
Subcommittee Hearing
2 p.m.
Continuing to Improve Truck Safety on our Nation’s Highways
Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation – Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety and Security
Subcommittee Hearing
2:30 p.m., SR-253
Wednesday, March 15, 2017
House Committees
Tax Reform and Rural America
House Agriculture
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m., 1300 LHOB
Budget Hearing – Corporation for Public Broadcasting
House Appropriations – Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m., 2358-C RHOB
Military Assessment of the Security Challenges in the Greater Middle East
House Armed Services
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m., 2118 RHOB
Improving Federal Student Aid to Better Meet the Needs of Students
House Education and the Workforce – Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m.
Modernizing Energy Infrastructure: Challenges and Opportunities to Expanding Hydropower Generation
House Energy and Commerce – Subcommittee on Energy and Power
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m., 2123 RHOB
Disrupter Series: Advanced Materials and Production
House Energy and Commerce – Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade
Subcommittee Hearing
10:15 a.m., 2322 RHOB
The JOBS Act at Five: Examining Its Impact and Ensuring the Competitiveness of the U.S. Capital Markets
House Financial Services – Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government Sponsored Enterprises
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m., 2128 RHOB
Oversight Hearing on Examining the Creation and Management of Marine Monuments and Sanctuaries
House Natural Resources – Subcommittee on Water, Power and Oceans
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m., 3124 LHOB
Legislative Proposals for Fostering Transparency
House Oversight and Government Reform
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m., 2154 RHOB
FAST Act Implementation: State and Local Perspectives
House Transportation and Infrastructure – Subcommittee on Highways and Transit
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m.
Authorization of Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Programs
House Transportation and Infrastructure – Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation
Subcommittee Hearing
10:30 a.m.
Reauthorization of the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Program
House Ways and Means – Subcommittee on Human Resources
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m., 1100 LHOB
Crafting an Information Warfare and Counter-Propaganda Strategy for the Emerging Security Environment
House Armed Services – Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities
Subcommittee Hearing
3:30 p.m., 2118 RHOB
Ending the De Novo Drought: Examining the Application Process for De Novo Financial Institutions
House Financial Services – Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit
Subcommittee Hearing
2 p.m., 2128 RHOB
Venezuela’s Tragic Meltdown
House Foreign Affairs – Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere
Subcommittee Hearing
2 p.m., 2172 RHOB
Reviewing Challenges in Federal IT Acquisition
House Oversight and Government Reform – Subcommittee on Government Operations; House Oversight and Government Reform – Subcommittee on Information Technology
Subcommittees Joint Hearing
2 p.m., 2154 RHOB
Senate Committees
STEM Education
Senate Appropriations – Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies
Subcommittee Hearing
10:30 a.m., SD-138
Ballistic Missile Defense Program Update
Senate Appropriations – Subcommittee on Defense
Subcommittee Briefing (CLOSED)
10:30 a.m., SVC-217
Unmanned Aircraft Systems
Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m., SR-253
Examining Innovative Solutions to Control Invasive Species and Promote Wildlife Conservation
Senate Environment and Public Works
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m., SD-406
Six Years of War in Syria: The Human Toll
Senate Foreign Relations
Full Committee Hearing
11 a.m., SD-419
Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Nomination/Pending Legislation
Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
Full Committee Markup
10 a.m., SD-342
Vows for Visas: Investigating K-1 Fiancé Fraud
Senate Judiciary
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m., SD-226
All Arms Warfare in the 21st Century
Senate Armed Services – Subcommittee on Airland
Subcommittee Hearing
3:30 p.m., SR-323A
The Modus Operandi and Toolbox of Russia and Other Autocracies for Undermining Democracies Throughout the World
Senate Judiciary – Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism
Subcommittee Hearing
2:30 p.m., SD-226
Raising Grandchildren in the Opioid Crisis
Senate Special Aging
Full Committee Hearing
2:30 p.m., SD-562
GAO’s High Risk List and the Veterans Health Administration
Senate Veterans’ Affairs
Full Committee Hearing
2:30 p.m., SR-418
Thursday, March 16, 2017
House Committees
The Next Farm Bill: Agricultural Research
House Agriculture – Subcommittee on Biotechnology, Horticulture and Research
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m., 1300 LHOB
The Next Farm Bill: Forestry Initiatives
Committee on Agriculture – Subcommittee on Conservation and Forestry
Subcommittee Hearing
10:00 a.m., 1300 LHOB
Investing in the Future – Early Childhood Education Programs at the Department of Health and Human Services
House Appropriations – Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m., 2358-C RHOB
Member’s Day
House Appropriations – Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m., HT-2
Oversight Hearing – Department of Transportation & Department of Housing and Urban Development
House Appropriations – Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m., 2358-A RHOB
Current State of the U.S. Navy
House Armed Services – Subcommittee on Readiness
Subcommittee Hearing
8 a.m., 2118 RHOB
Honoring Our Commitment to Recover and Protect Missing and Exploited Children
House Education and the Workforce
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m.
Disrupter Series: Smart Communities
House Energy and Commerce – Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m., 2123 RHOB
Reinvestment and Rehabilitation of Our Nations Safe Drinking Water Delivery Systems
House Energy and Commerce – Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy
Subcommittee Hearing
10:15 a.m., 2322 RHOB
Sound Monetary Policy
House Financial Services – Subcommittee on Monetary Policy and Trade
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m., 2128 RHOB
Immigration Benefits Vetting: Examining Critical Weaknesses in USCIS Systems
House Homeland Security – Subcommittee on Oversight and Management Efficiency
Subcommittee Hearing
9:30 a.m., CVC-210
Bringing Justice Closer to the People: Examining Ideas for Restructuring the 9th Circuit
House Judiciary – Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m., 2141 RHOB
Oversight Hearing on Identifying Innovative Infrastructure Ideas for the National Park Service and Forest Service
House Natural Resources – Subcommittee on Federal Lands
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m., 1324 LHOB
Cafeteria Plans: A Menu of Non-Options for Small Business Owners
House Small Business – Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Tax and Capital Access
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m.
Oversight Review of Infrastructure Needs and Projects Ready for Immediate Implementation in the Nuclear Security Enterprise
House Armed Services – Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
Subcommittee Hearing
2 p.m., 2212 RHOB
Flood Insurance Reform: A Community Perspective
House Financial Services – Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance
Subcommittee Hearing
2 p.m., 2128 RHOB
Combating Crimes Against Children: Assessing the Legal Landscape
House Judiciary – Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security and Investigations
Subcommittee Hearing
1 p.m., 2141 RHOB