Tag Archives: This Week in Congress

This Week in Congress

By Syndicated News | Published: May 24, 2010

In the House, courtesy of the Office of the Majority Leader:

First Vote of the Week... Monday 6:30 p.m.
Last Vote Predicted... Friday p.m.

MONDAY, MAY 24, 2010

On Monday, the House will meet at 12:30 p.m. for Morning Hour debate and 2:00 p.m. for legislative business with votes postponed until 6:30 p.m.

Suspensions (13 Bills):

H.Res. 1258 - Expressing support for designation of May 2010 as Mental Health Month (Rep. Napolitano - Energy and Commerce)

H.Res. 1382 - Expressing sympathy to the families of those killed by North Korea in the sinking of the Republic of Korea Ship Cheonan, and solidarity with the Republic of Korea in the aftermath of this tragic incident (Rep. Faleomavaega - Foreign Affairs)

H.Res. 584 - Recognizing the importance of manufactured and modular housing in the United States (Rep. Donnelly - Financial Services)

H.Con.Res. 137 - Expressing the sense of the Congress that the lack of adequate housing must be addressed as a barrier to effective HIV prevention, treatment, and care, and that the United States should make a commitment to providing adequate funding for developing housing as a response to the AIDS pandemic (Rep. Nadler - Financial Services)

H.R. 5330 - Antitrust Criminal Penalty Enhancement and Reform Extension Act (Rep. Johnson (GA) - Judiciary)

H.R. 1017 - Chiropractic Care Available to All Veterans Act (Rep. Filner - Veterans' Affairs)

H.Con.Res. 278 - Expressing the sense of Congress that a grateful Nation supports and salutes Sons and Daughters in Touch on its 20th Anniversary that is being held on Father's Day, 2010, at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, the District of Columbia (Rep. Halvorson - Veterans' Affairs)

H.R. 3885 - Veterans Dog Training Therapy Act (Rep. Brown (SC) - Veterans' Affairs)

H.R. 5145 - Assuring Quality Care for Veterans Act (Rep. McNerney - Veterans' Affairs)

H.Res. 1353 - Supporting the goals and ideals of Student Financial Aid Awareness Month to raise awareness of student financial aid (Rep. Bishop (NY) - Education and Labor)

H.Res. 1169 - Honoring the 125th anniversary of Rollins College (Rep. Grayson - Education and Labor)

H.Res. 1161 - Honoring the Centennial Celebration of Women at Marquette University, the first Catholic university in the world to offer co-education as part of its regular undergraduate program (Rep. Moore (WI) - Education and Labor)

H.Res. 1372 - Honoring the University of Georgia Graduate School on the occasion of its centennial (Rep. Broun - Education and Labor)

TUESDAY, MAY 25, 2010 AND THE BALANCE OF THE WEEK

On Tuesday, the House will meet at 10:30 a.m. for Morning Hour debate and 12:00 p.m. for legislative business. On Wednesday and Thursday, the House will meet at 10:00 a.m. for legislative business. On Friday, the House will meet at 9:00 a.m. for legislative business

Suspensions (5 Bills):

H.R. 2711 - FBI Families of Fallen Heroes Act (Rep. Rogers (MI) - Oversight and Government Reform)

H.Res. 1172 - Recognizing the life and achievements of Will Keith Kellogg (Rep. Schauer - Oversight and Government Reform)

H.Res. 1189 - Commending Lance Mackey on winning a record 4th straight Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race (Rep. Young (AK) - Oversight and Government Reform)

H.Res. 1316 - Celebrating Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month (Rep. Honda - Oversight and Government Reform)

H.Res. 1385 - Recognizing and honoring the courage and sacrifice of the members of the Armed Forces and veterans (Rep. Skelton - Armed Services)

Motion to Concur in the Senate Amendment with a House Amendment to H.R. 4213 - The American Jobs, Closing Tax Loopholes and Preventing Outsourcing Act (Rep. Levin – Ways and Means) (Subject to a Rule)

H.R. 5136 - National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2011 (Rep. Skelton – Armed Services) (Subject to a Rule)

Further Action on The America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 (Rep. Gordon – Science and Technology) (Subject to a Rule)

Possible Consideration of H.R. 5175 - Democracy is Strengthened by Casting Light on Spending in Elections Act (Rep. Van Hollen – House Administration) (Subject to a Rule)

Conference Reports may be brought up at any time.

Motions to go to Conference should they become available.

Possible Motions to Instruct Conferees.

In the Senate, courtesy of the Office of the Majority Leader:

Convenes: 2:00pm

There will be a period of morning business until 3:00pm with senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each.

At 3:00pm, the Senate will proceed to the consideration of H.R.4899, the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations bill.

At approximately 5:30pm, the Senate will proceed to a series of 2 roll call votes. Those votes will be in relation to the Brownback and Hutchison motions to instruct conferees with respect to Wall Street Reform.

Eighteen suspensions on the House schedule this week, plus another go at the America COMPETES Act, which was on the schedule the week before last but got pulled over a motion to recommit, then on the suspension schedule last week, where it failed, and is now back again under regular order.

Not appearing on the House schedule as yet: action on a FY11 budget or the emergency supplemental. Now, the supplemental is on the Senate radar, and technically speaking, they're considering a bill that's already passed the House, so if the Senate moves, the House can opt to accept their version and finish up before the break. And that's probably exactly what's expected to happen. Only it will mostly go unremarked upon that the House version of the bill was sent over as a disaster relief bill, and came back as a war supplemental, which we all assured ourselves wasn't going to be done anymore, but obviously is. Because here it comes.

You'll also note that the Senate will be taking up motions to instruct conferees on the Wall Street reform bill. So we're not quite done with that one in the Senate, either. But remember, motions to instruct conferees are technically non-binding.

Oh, one other thing. The House considers the FY11 Defense authorization bill, too. That'd be the vehicle Congress would use to repeal the military's infamous "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. Does the bill do that? No, it doesn't. Can that change? Yes it can.

To do it, proponents of repeal would have to offer an amendment on the floor. Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-PA) is seeking to do exactly that. But it's not a done deal yet, since the Rules Committee has yet to set the ground rules for debate of the bill, and reports are that the leadership may only want to move forward if they can be assured they have the votes to pass it.

So, you know, there's that.

And then, of course, there's the Senate. And conference.

The full committee schedule -- including seven different hearings on the Gulf oil spill -- appears below the fold.

This Week in Congress

By Syndicated News | Published: May 17, 2010

In the House, courtesy of the Office of the Majority Leader:

First Vote of the Week... Tuesday 6:30 p.m.
Last Vote Predicted... Friday p.m.

MONDAY, MAY 17, 2010

On Monday, the House is not in session.

TUESDAY, MAY 18, 2010

On Tuesday, the House will meet at 12:30 p.m. for Morning Hour and 2:00 p.m. for legislative business with votes postponed until 6:30 p.m.

Suspensions (18 Bills):

H.R. 2288 - Endangered Fish Recovery Programs Improvement Act (Rep. Salazar - Natural Resources)

H.Con.Res. 211 - Recognizing the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the East Bay Regional Park District in California (Rep. George Miller - Natural Resources)

H.R. 4491 - Buffalo Soldiers in the National Parks Study Act (Rep. Speier - Natural Resources)

H.R. 4493 - To provide for the enhancement of visitor services, fish and wildlife research, and marine and coastal resource management on Guam related to the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument (Rep. Bordallo - Natural Resources)

H.R. 3511 - Marianas Trench Marine National Monument Visitor Facility Authorization Act (Rep. Sablan - Natural Resources)

H.Res. 1327 - Honoring the life, achievements, and contributions of Floyd Dominy (Rep. Smith (NE) - Natural Resources)

H.R. 1514 - Juvenile Accountability Block Grants Program Reauthorization Act (Rep. Scott (VA) - Judiciary)

H.Res. 1325 - Recognizing National Missing Children's Day (Rep. Rooney - Judiciary)

H.Res. __ - Celebrating the Life and Achievements of Lena Mary Calhoun Horne (Reps. Conyers/Clarke - Judiciary)

S. 1782 - Federal Judiciary Administrative Improvements Act of 2010 (Sen. Whitehouse - Judiciary)

H.R. __ - Patent and Trademark Office Fee Modernization Act of 2010 (Rep. Conyers - Judiciary)

H.Res. __ - Honoring the historic and community significance of the Chatham County Courthouse and expressing condolences to Chatham County and the town of Pittsboro for the fire damage sustained by the courthouse on March 25, 2010 (Rep. Etheridge - Judiciary)

H.R. 4614 - Katie Sepich Enhanced DNA Collection Act of 2010 (Rep. Teague - Judiciary)

H.R. 5099 - To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 15 South Main Street in Sharon, Massachusetts, as the "Michael C. Rothberg Post Office" (Rep. Frank - Oversight and Government Reform)

H.Res. 1256 - Congratulating Phil Mickelson on winning the 2010 Masters golf tournament (Rep. Broun - Oversight and Government Reform)

H.Res. 403 - Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that there should be established a National Teacher Day to honor and celebrate teachers in the United States (Rep. Klein - Oversight and Government Reform)

H.Res. 1297 - Supporting the goals and ideals of American Craft Beer Week (Rep. Markey (CO) - Oversight and Government Reform)

H.Res. 792 - Honoring Robert Kelly Slater for his outstanding and unprecedented achievements in the world of surfing and for being an ambassador of the sport and excellent role model (Rep. Posey - Oversight and Government Reform)

WEDNESDAY, MAY 19, 2010 AND THE BALANCE OF THE WEEK

On Wednesday the House will meet at 10:00 a.m. for legislative business. On Thursday, the House will meet at 10:00 a.m. for legislative business and recess immediately. At approximately 11:00 a.m., the House will convene in a Joint Meeting with the Senate for the purpose of receiving an address from His Excellency Felipe Calderón Hinojosa, President of the United Mexican States. On Friday, the House will meet at 9:00 a.m. for legislative business.

Suspensions (9 Bills):

H.R. 2136 - Honorable Stephanie Tubbs Jones College Fire Prevention Act (Rep. Fudge - Education and Labor)

H.Res. 1292 - Congratulating the Emporia State University Lady Hornets women's basketball team for winning the 2010 NCAA Division II National Championship (Rep. Moran (KS) - Education and Labor)

H.Res. 1336 - Congratulating the University of Texas men's swimming and diving team for winning the NCAA Division I national championship (Rep. Smith (TX) - Education and Labor)

H.Res. 996 - Expressing support for designation of September as National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month (Rep. Fudge - Energy and Commerce)

H.Res. 713 - Recognizing the significant contributions of United States automobile dealerships, and expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that in the interest of equity, automobile dealers whose franchises have been terminated through no fault of their own be given an opportunity of first consideration once the auto market rebounds and stabilizes (Rep. Al Green - Energy and Commerce)

H.R. 2546 - Blue Star/Gold Star Flag Act (Rep. Boccieri - Financial Services)

H.R. 1177 - 5-Star Generals Commemorative Coin Act (Rep. Moore (KS) - Financial Services)

H.R. 5128 - To designate the Department of the Interior Building in Washington, District of Columbia, as the "Stewart Lee Udall Department of the Interior Building" (Rep. Heinrich - Transportation and Infrastructure)

H.Res. 1339 - Expressing support for designation of May as National Foster Care Month and acknowledging the responsibility that Congress has to promote safety, well-being, improved outcomes, and permanency for the Nation's collective children. (Rep. McDermott - Ways and Means)

Motion to Concur in the Senate Amendments with a House Amendment to H.R. 4213 - The American Jobs, Closing Tax Loopholes and Preventing Outsourcing Act (Rep. Levin – Ways and Means) (Subject to a Rule)

Further Action on The America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 (Rep. Gordon – Science and Technology) (Subject to a Rule)

Conference Reports may be brought up at any time.

Motions to go to Conference should they become available.

Possible Motions to Instruct Conferees.

In the Senate, courtesy of the Office of the Majority Leader:

Monday:

Convenes: 2:00pm

The Senate will resume consideration of S.3217, Wall Street Reform.

Votes:
A series of votes is expected to begin at 5:30pm on Monday, May 17.

In a nutshell, the House will busy itself with another heaping plateful of suspensions, then take care of some more substantive business at the end of the week. First on the block, the end of the ping-ponging for the tax extenders bill, which was passed by the House back in December of last year, amended and passed by the Senate in March of this year, and now looks to be ready for House acceptance of the latest Senate amendments, which would seal the deal and pass the bill. One of the advantages of this otherwise awkward and silly-looking procedure is that there's no opportunity for Republicans to offer a motion to recommit that would, say, ban federal funding for aborting the guns of gay oil workers in the Gulf or something, which we know from bitter experience that House Democrats have been unable to resist.

Speaking of which, the House may also take further action on a bill they were a hair's breadth from passing last week (last week's Bad Acronym of the Week, in fact), the America COMPETES Act. The bill got pulled from the floor at the last minute when -- surprise! -- Republicans tempted Democrats again with yet another motion to recommit that they couldn't resist. We'll have to wait and see how they're dealing with that, exactly. But I have a suggestion: Remind Democrats that the majority party does not vote for motions to recommit. Period. I understand the political pressures, but there's no reason in the world for the majority to allow the minority to amend legislation with language they can keep secret until it hits the floor, and which can only be debated for a total of ten minutes. That's not good legislative practice, ever. So don't do it. Problem solved.

In the Senate, the Wall Street reform bill marches on, and in so doing defies the odds and actually appears to get better as it's amended. That'll make for an interesting conference! They've already been at it for, what, two weeks now? So Harry Reid is reportedly ready to file for cloture on the bill, which would end both debate and the amendment process. That's likely to ruffle some feathers, and will give some Republicans cover to vote against cloture as a procedural objection. But ultimately, it's expected that the public pressure to curtail Wall Street's wildest and most dangerous speculative practices will just be too much for some to resist.

If only Senate Democrats could position themselves this way more often!

The week's full committee schedule appears below, thanks again to the work of Jeremy Koulish of Carrots & Sticks!

This Week in Congress

By Syndicated News | Published: May 10, 2010

In the House, courtesy of the Office of the Majority Leader:

First Vote of the Week... Tuesday 6:30 p.m.
Last Vote Predicted... Thursday p.m.

MONDAY, MAY 10, 2010

On Monday, the House is not in session.

TUESDAY, MAY 11, 2010

On Tuesday, the House will meet at 12:30 p.m. for Morning Hour and 2:00 p.m. for legislative business with votes postponed until 6:30 p.m.

Suspensions (11 Bills):

H.R. 5051 - To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 23 Genesee Street in Hornell, New York, as the "Zachary Smith Post Office Building" (Rep. Crowley - Oversight and Government Reform)

H.Res. 1294 - Expressing support for designation of the first Saturday in May as National Explosive Ordnance Disposal Day to honor those who are serving and have served in the noble and self-sacrificing profession of Explosive Ordnance Disposal in the United States Armed Forces (Rep. Brown-Waite - Oversight and Government Reform)

H.Con.Res. 268 - Supporting the goals and ideals of National Women's Health Week (Rep. Hinchey - Oversight and Government Reform)

H.Res. 1328 - Honoring the life and legacy of William Earnest "Ernie" Harwell (Rep. McCotter - Oversight and Government Reform)

H.Res. 1187 - Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives with respect to raising public awareness of and helping to prevent attacks against Federal employees while engaged in or on account of the performance of official duties. (Rep. Moran (VA) - Oversight and Government Reform)

H.Res. 1299 - Supporting the goals and ideals of Peace Officers Memorial Day (Rep. Poe - Judiciary)

S. 3333 - To extend the statutory license for secondary transmissions under title 17, United States Code (Sen. Leahy - Judiciary)

H.R. 1514 - Juvenile Accountability Block Grants Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 (Rep. Scott (VA) - Judiciary)

H.Res. 1094 - Commemorating the life of the late Cynthia DeLores Tucker (Rep. Watson - Judiciary)

H.Res. __ - Expressing Support for May as National Foster Care Month and acknowledging the responsibility that Congress has to promote safety, wellbeing, improved outcomes, and permanency for the Nation's collective children (Rep. McDermott - Ways and Means)

S.Con.Res. 62 - Congratulating the outstanding professional public servants, both past and present, of the Natural Resources Conservation Service on the occasion of its 75th anniversary (Sen. Lincoln - Agriculture)

WEDNESDAY, MAY 12, 2010 AND THE BALANCE OF THE WEEK

On Wednesday and Thursday, the House will meet at 10:00 a.m. for legislative business. On Friday, no votes are expected in the House.

Suspensions (11 Bills):

H.Res. 1261 - Recognizing National Nurses Week (Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson - Education and Labor)

H.Res. 1338 - Recognizing the significant accomplishments of AmeriCorps and encouraging all citizens to join in a national effort to raise awareness about the importance of national and community service (Rep. Matsui - Education and Labor)

H.R. 959 - Officer Daniel Faulkner Children of Fallen Heroes Scholarship Act (Rep. Murphy (PA) - Education and Labor)

H.Res. 1333 - Expressing support for the goals and ideals of Children's Book Week (Rep. Roe - Education and Labor)

S.Con.Res. 61 - A concurrent resolution expressing the sense of the Congress that general aviation pilots and industry should be recognized for the contributions made in response to Haiti earthquake relief efforts. (Sen. Begich - Transportation and Infrastructure)

H.Res. 1284 - Supporting the goals and ideals of National Learn to Fly Day (Rep. Boyd - Transportation and Infrastructure)

H.Res. __ - Expressing the sympathy and condolences of the House of Representatives to those affected by the flooding in Tennessee, Kentucky, and Mississippi in May, 2010 (Rep. Cooper - Transportation and Infrastructure)

H.Res. 1143 - Commending the Community of Democracies for its achievements since it was founded in 2000 (Rep. Quigley - Foreign Affairs)

H.Res. 1155 - Commending the progress made by anti-tuberculosis programs (Rep. Engel - Foreign Affairs)

H.Res. 1303 - Recognizing the close friendship and historical ties between the United Kingdom and the United States (Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart - Foreign Affairs)

S. 1067 - Lord's Resistance Army Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act (Sen. Feingold - Foreign Affairs)

H.R. 5116 - America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 (Rep. Gordon – Science and Technology) (Subject to a Rule)

Conference Reports may be brought up at any time.

Motions to go to Conference should they become available.

Possible Motions to Instruct Conferees.

In the Senate, courtesy of the Office of the Majority Leader:

Monday:

Convenes: 2:00pm

The Senate will convene at 2:00pm and will be in a period of morning business until 3pm.

At 3pm, the Senate will resume consideration of S.3217, Wall Street Reform.

There will be no roll call votes on Monday. We expect the next vote to occur Tuesday morning.

Friday:

There will be no roll call votes on Friday, May 14.

Another batch of time-killing suspensions in the House, and then, what's this? Good Lord, another acronym! This time it's the America COMPETES Act -- America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education, and Science Act. Ugh! An easy 8 on the BANANAS Scale! "Meaningfully Promote?" Thank God! I thought you were going to promote it pointlessly or in some purposely inferior manner!

On the Senate side, more work on the Wall Street reform bill, with a heaping side of wrangling over the Elena Kagan nomination. Also, more not doing anything about immigration or climate change, and blaming it on the time spent wrangling over Wall Street reform and Elena Kagan. With so many amendments filed and so many distractions buzzing about, it's doubtful that the Wall Street reform bill will finish up much before the end of next week, but there's always a chance that Senators will read the writing on the wall and drop their pet tweaks, coalescing instead behind some number of amendments of core importance.

The full committee schedule for the week appears below, thanks again to the work of Jeremy Koulish of Carrots & Sticks, who's still on the lookout for some interns interested in becoming intimately familiar with the meeting habits of Congressional committees. You'll still have to learn on your own how to comment dryly on them, though. But I can help you with that.

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This Week in Congress

By Syndicated News | Published: May 3, 2010

In the House, courtesy of the Office of the Majority Leader:

First Vote of the Week... Tuesday 6:30 p.m.
Last Vote Predicted... Thursday p.m.

MONDAY, MAY 3, 2010

The House will meet at 10:00 a.m. in pro forma session.

TUESDAY, MAY 4, 2010

On Tuesday, the House will meet at 12:30 p.m. for Morning Hour and 2:00 p.m. for legislative business with votes postponed until 6:30 p.m.

Suspensions (7 Bills):

H.Res. 1307 - Honoring the National Science Foundation for 60 years of service to the Nation (Rep. Gordon - Science and Technology)

H.Res. 1213 - Recognizing the need to improve the participation and performance of America's students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields, supporting the ideals of National Lab Day (Rep. Fudge - Science and Technology)

H.Res. 1310 - Recognizing the 50th anniversary of the laser (Rep. Ehlers - Science and Technology)

H.Res. 1231 - Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the United States Television Infrared Observation Satellite, the world's first meteorological satellite, launched by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration on April 1, 1960, and fulfilling the promise of President Eisenhower to all nations of the world to promote the peaceful use of space for the benefit of all mankind (Rep. Holt - Science and Technology)

H.Res. 1269 - Commemorating the 400th anniversary of the first use of the telescope for astronomical observation by the Italian scientist Galileo Galilei (Rep. Tiberi - Science and Technology)

H.R. 24 - To redesignate the Department of the Navy as the Department of the Navy and Marine Corps (Rep. Jones - Armed Services)

H.Res. 1132 - Honoring the USS New Mexico as the sixth Virginia-class submarine commissioned by the U.S. Navy to protect and defend the United States (Rep. Heinrich - Armed Services)

WEDNESDAY, MAY 5, 2010 AND THE BALANCE OF THE WEEK

On Wednesday and Thursday, the House will meet at 10:00 a.m. for legislative business. On Friday, no votes are expected in the House.

Suspensions (13 Bills):

H.R. 5160 - Haiti Economic Lift Program Act of 2010 (Rep. Rangel - Ways and Means)

H.Res. 1272 - Commemorating the 40th anniversary of the May 4, 1970, Kent State University shootings (Rep. Ryan (OH) - Education and Labor)

H.Res. 1157 - Congratulating the National Urban League on its 100th year of service to the United States (Rep. Hastings (FL) - Education and Labor)

H.Res. 1312 - Recognizing the roles and contributions of America's teachers to building and enhancing our Nation's civic, cultural, and economic well-being (Rep. Graves - Education and Labor)

H.Res. 1149 - Supporting the goals and ideals of National Charter School Week, to be held May 2 through May 8, 2010 (Rep. Bishop (UT) - Education and Labor)

H.R. 2421 - Mother's Day Centennial Commemorative Coin Act (Rep. Capito - Financial Services)

H.Res. 1295 - Celebrating the role of mothers in the United States and supporting the goals and ideals of Mother's Day (Rep. Fortenberry - Oversight and Government Reform)

H.Res. 1247 - Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that public servants should be commended for their dedication and continued service to the Nation during Public Service Recognition Week, May 3 through 9, 2010, and throughout the year (Rep. Lynch - Oversight and Government Reform)

H.R. 1722 - Telework Improvements Act (Rep. Sarbanes - Oversight and Government Reform)

H.Res. 1301 - Supporting the goals and ideals of National Train Day (Rep. Brown (FL) - Transportation and Infrastructure)

H.Con.Res. 247 - Authorizing the use of the Capitol Grounds for the Greater Washington Soap Box Derby (Rep. Hoyer - Transportation and Infrastructure)

H.Con.Res. 263 - Authorizing the use of the Capitol Grounds for the District of Columbia Special Olympics Law Enforcement Torch Run (Rep. Norton - Transportation and Infrastructure)

H.Res. 1278 - In support and recognition of National Safe Digging Month, April, 2010 (Rep. Shuster - Transportation and Infrastructure

H.R. 5019 - Home Star Energy Retrofit Act of 2010 (Rep. Welch – Energy and Commerce) (Subject to a Rule)

Conference Reports may be brought up at any time.

Motions to go to Conference should they become available.

Possible Motions to Instruct Conferees.

In the Senate, courtesy of the Office of the Majority Leader:

Convenes: 2:00pm

Resume consideration of S.3217, Wall Street Reform.

Votes:
There will be no roll call votes on Monday, May 3.

Not much to add by way of commentary on this week's schedule, at this point. The House keeps things light, with its usual raft of suspension bills. But hey, it's the 50th anniversary of the laser and the launch of the world's first meteorological satellite, and the 40th anniversary of the Kent State University shootings, which you used to just be able to just reference as "Kent State" and leave it at that. A 40th anniversary will do that to you, though.

On the Senate side, we're still on the Wall Street reform bill, and at this point, I don't think we have an end date in mind here. It sounded last week like they were nearing a possible agreement on the amendments, so it's possible they may be able to nail something down about that this week, though whether there's been any discussion about when things might wrap up and we'd see a final vote is still unclear. Republicans may have been willing to end their filibuster of the motion to proceed only because they knew they still had the opportunity to filibuster the bill itself. The next major pressure point for forcing the issue -- much as the Kentucky Derby did this past weekend -- is the Memorial Day recess. Though it's possible that the threat of a a few weekend sessions could disrupt enough commencement address plans that a vote may come sooner.

Meanwhile, what about the budget? That's one of the countervailing forces in the "make 'em filibuster" calculus. Ordinarily, you'd see some considerable reluctance to just keeping the Wall Street reform bill (or any other bill or combination of bills) on the floor and daring the Republicans to stand in the way, because important work like, you know, getting the federal budget in place, has to fall by the wayside. But that's exactly what may happen. Democrats have to keep the pressure on somewhere if they're going to break the Republican cycle of obstructionism and intransigence, and Wall Street reform is thought to be the grounds on which they'd be best off doing it. And in truth, it's not the end of the world (or even close) if there's no formal budget document adopted this year. Although the FY2010 budget didn't outline specific discretionary spending numbers for future years, the 2010 numbers would just continue in effect instead. But among other issues that would create, it'd leave us without the option of employing reconciliation, although I'd heard discussed at some point during the health insurance reform debate that parliamentarians have in the past allowed themselves to become convinced that reconciliation instructions remain valid through the end of the term of the Congress that passed them. I'm not sure whether they consider them usable just once, but in any case, they'd probably prefer to instruct some different committees this time, in order to make adjustments in different policy jurisdictions, if the option were available to them.

What if they don't pass any budget at all? Well, there are ways around that, too. We'll get into that discussion a little later, perhaps. But be aware that at least one option has the very scary name of "deeming." And you know how that makes Republicans wet their pants. Remember, though, that the budget resolution is not binding law. So even deeming a new spending outline isn't cause for any kind of freak-out. Though neither was the other kind of deeming, and that didn't stop anybody.

The full committee schedule for the week appears below, thanks again to the work of Jeremy Koulish of Carrots & Sticks. Their search for an intern is still on, and yes, the internship includes much more than just helping with these schedules -- though really, that by itself actually is a hell of an educational experience. If you're looking to get a start in DC, or maybe even some academic credit, think about it! Jeremy's launching another new effort (with my participation) that'll make the work even more netroots-on-the-Hill focused. Seriously. Think it over. But not too long!

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This Week in Congress

By Syndicated News | Published: April 26, 2010

In the House, courtesy of the Office of the Majority Leader:

First Vote of the Week... Monday 6:30 p.m.
Last Vote Predicted... Thursday p.m.

MONDAY, APRIL 26, 2010

On Monday, the House will meet at 12:30 p.m. for Morning Hour debate and 2:00 p.m. for legislative business with votes postponed until 6:30 p.m.

Suspensions (3 Bills):

H.R. 4543 - To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 4285 Payne Avenue in San Jose, California, as the "Anthony J. Cortese Post Office Building" (Rep. Lofgren - Oversight and Government Reform)

H.Res. 1103 - Celebrating the life of Sam Houston on the 217th anniversary of his birth (Rep. McCaul - Oversight and Government Reform)

H.R. 4861 - To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1343 West Irving Park Road in Chicago, Illinois, as the "Steve Goodman Post Office Building" (Rep. Quigley - Oversight and Government Reform)

TUESDAY, APRIL 27, 2010 AND THE BALANCE OF THE WEEK

On Tuesday, the House will meet at 10:30 a.m. for Morning Hour debate and 12:00 p.m. for legislative business. On Wednesday and Thursday, the House will meet at 10:00 a.m. for legislative business. On Friday, no votes are expected in the House.

Suspensions (13 Bills):

S. 3253 - To provide for an additional temporary extension of programs under the Small Business Act and the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 (Sen. Landrieu - Small Business)

H.Res. 1240 - Supporting the goals and ideals of Global Youth Service Day (Rep. DeLauro - Education and Labor)

H.Res. 1293 - Expressing support for the goals and ideals of National Child Abuse Prevention Month (Rep. Biggert - Education and Labor)

H.Res. 1131 - Expressing support for designation of the week of April 18, 2010, through April 23, 2010, as National Assistant Principals Week (Rep. Fudge - Education and Labor)

H.Res. 375 - Supporting the goals and ideals of Workers' Memorial Day in order to honor and remember the workers who have been killed or injured in the workplace (Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson - Education and Labor)

H.Res. 561 - Congratulating the Onondaga Community College Lady Lazers for winning the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division I Women's Lacrosse Tournament (Rep. Maffei - Education and Labor)

H.Res. 563 - Congratulating the Onondaga Community College Lazers for winning the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division I Men's Lacrosse Tournament (Rep. Maffei - Education and Labor)

H.Res. 1280 - Expressing the support of the House of Representatives for the goals and ideals of National Healthy Schools Day (Rep. Tonko - Education and Labor)

H.R. 5017 - Rural Housing Preservation and Stabilization Act of 2010 (Rep. Kanjorski - Financial Services)

H.R. 3808 - Interstate Recognition of Notarizations Act (Rep. Aderholt - Judiciary)

H.Res. 1259 - Recognizing and supporting the goals and ideals of Sexual Assault Awareness Month (Rep. Baldwin - Judiciary)

H.Res. 1208 - Supporting the goals of World Intellectual Property Day (Rep. Smith (WA) - Judiciary)

H.Con.Res. 264 - Authorizing the use of the Capitol Grounds for the National Peace Officers' Memorial Service (Rep. Norton - Transportation and Infrastructure)

H.R. 2499 - Puerto Rico Democracy Act (Rep. Pierluisi – Natural Resources) (Subject to a Rule)

H.R. 5013 - IMPROVE Acquisition Act of 2010 (Rep. Andrews – Armed Services) (Subject to a Rule)

Conference Reports may be brought up at any time.

Motions to go to Conference should they become available.

Possible Motions to Instruct Conferees.

In the Senate, courtesy of the Office of the Majority Leader:

Convenes: 2pm

Morning business until 3pm with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each.

Following morning business, the Senate will resume consideration of the motion to proceed to S.3217, the Wall Street Reform Act.

Votes:
At 5pm, the Senate will conduct a roll call vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to S.3217.

Eyes will be on the Senate this week, as they take up -- or rather, try to end debate on the question of whether or not to take up -- the Wall Street reform bill. Yes, we're in a quasi-filibuster situation, as the vote on cloture for the motion to proceed to the bill comes up for a vote early this evening. If the vote fails, then I guess you can refer to it as what passes for a filibuster these days. Though I suppose that if the vote succeeds, you could call the Republican resistance a failed filibuster.

At this point, though, no one's entirely sure how this vote will come out. Typically you don't see the Majority Leader moving things to the floor without some inkling that it's going to work out in the end. At least not all that often. But the Senate is a little different from the House in that respect, since moving for reconsideration of a vote is a much more routine practice there. Senate Democrats also likely think this particular issue breaks down fairly well in terms of putting pressure on the Republicans blocking reform, such that repeated attempts at invoking cloture won't be seen so much as a failure to lead as an illustration of Republican intransigence on behalf of public enemy #1: Wall Street tycoons who love to rip ordinary working people off and then wallow naked in their stolen retirement funds. Let's hope they're up to the game.

On the House side, it's standard fare on the suspensions front, with the substantive work coming toward the end of the week. A Pentagon procurement reform bill, with yet another horrible acronym: the "Implementing Management for Performance and Related Reforms to Obtain Value in Every Acquisition Act," aka, "IMPROVE." Awful.

Slightly more interesting: the Puerto Rico Democracy Act. Which is pretty much what you might guess it is. It authorizes the government of Puerto Rico to have island's public vote on either continuing their current political status with the U.S., or to adopt some new arrangement. If they vote for the status quo, it continues for another eight years, and another such vote is held. If they opt for a change, then they'll have another vote on whether to choose independence or seek admission as a state.

Note, by the way, that the bill is sponsored by Pedro Pierluisi, who is actually what they call the "Resident Commissioner" of Puerto Rico. The Resident Commissioner is the equivalent of the Delegates elected by the District of Columbia, Guam, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa and the Northern Marianas. (Note, too, that the Resident Commissioner is the only Member of the House elected to a four year term. Why? I don't know.) Why a Resident Commissioner rather than a Delegate? I also don't know that. But for the moment, let's say it denotes a special status for Puerto Rico.

Anyway, it's not surprising that it'd be Pierluisi who sponsored the bill. What's more interesting, in a Congress Geek kind of way, is that the bill was reported out of the Natural Resources Committee. That's actually where jurisdiction lies for "Insular possessions of the United States generally (except those affecting the revenue and appropriations)." How about that? They handle Native American affairs, too. Puerto Rico and Native Americans. "Natural Resources." Hmm.

Committees are back in action this week, too. And as usual, there's plenty going on. We make it easy to keep up, by linking you to video feeds you can watch online while you wait for your paint to dry, or whatever. The full schedule appears below the fold.

Thanks again to Jeremy Koulish of Carrots & Sticks for making the schedule happen. They're still looking for interns to help out with the committee watching, so if you're interested, have a look at their job listing, here.

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This Week in Congress

By Syndicated News | Published: April 19, 2010

In the House, courtesy of the Office of the Majority Leader:

First Vote of the Week... Tuesday 6:30 p.m.
Last Vote Predicted... Friday p.m.

MONDAY, APRIL 19, 2010

On Monday, the House will not be in session.

TUESDAY, APRIL 20, 2010

On Tuesday, the House will meet at 12:30 p.m. for Morning Hour debate and 2:00 p.m. for legislative business with votes postponed until 6:30 p.m.

Suspensions (6 Bills):

H.R. 4178 - Deposit Restricted Qualified Tuition Programs Act (Rep. Cleaver - Financial Services)

H.Res. 1257 - Supporting the goals and ideals of National Financial Literacy Month, 2010 (Rep. Hinojosa - Financial Services)

H.R. 3553 - Indian Veterans Housing Opportunity Act (Rep. Kirkpatrick - Financial Services)

H.Res. __ - Honoring the life and achievements of Dr. Benjamin Lawson Hooks (Reps. Conyers/Cohen - Judiciary)

H.Res. 1104 - Supporting the mission and goals of 2010 National Crime Victims' Rights Week to increase public awareness of the rights, needs, and concerns of victims and survivors of crime in the United States (Rep. Costa - Judiciary)

H.Res. 1116 - Supporting the goals and ideals of Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Week (Rep. Lee (CA) - Energy and Commerce)

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 21, 2010 AND THE BALANCE OF THE WEEK

On Wednesday and Thursday, the House will meet at 10:00 a.m. for legislative business. On Friday, the House will meet at 9:00 a.m. for legislative business.

Suspensions (10 Bills):

S. 1963 - Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act (Sen. Akaka - Veterans' Affairs)

H.Res. 855 - Expressing support for designation of May 1 as "Silver Star Service Banner Day" (Rep. Blunt - Oversight and Government Reform)

H.Res. 1262 - Expressing condolences to the families, friends, and loved ones of the victims of the fire at the Tesoro refinery in Anacortes, Washington (Rep. Larsen - Oversight and Government Reform)

H.Con.Res. 255 - Commemorating the 40th anniversary of Earth Day and honoring the founder of Earth Day, the late Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin (Rep. Obey - Oversight and Government Reform)

H.Res. 1182 - Congratulating Radford University on the 100th anniversary of the university (Rep. Boucher - Education and Labor)

H.Res. 1239 - Commending the University of Connecticut Huskies for their historic win in the 2010 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament (Rep. Courtney - Education and Labor)

H.R. 1585 - FIT Kids Act (Rep. Kind - Education and Labor)

H.Res. 1263 - Expressing support for Mathematics Awareness Month (Rep. McMorris Rodgers - Education and Labor)

H.Res. __ - Recognizing the continued importance of volunteerism and national service and commemorating the anniversary of the signing of the landmark service legislation, the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act (Rep. George Miller - Education and Labor)

H.Res. 1216 - Congratulating Reverend Daniel P. Coughlin on his tenth year of service as Chaplain of the House of Representatives (Rep. Lipinski - House Administration)

Motion to Go to Conference on H.R. 2194 - Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act (Rep. Berman – Foreign Affairs) Motion to Instruct Conferees.

H.R. 157 - District of Columbia House Voting Rights Act (Rep. Norton – Judiciary) (Subject to a Rule)

Conference Reports may be brought up at any time.

Motions to go to Conference should they become available.

Possible Motions to Instruct Conferees.

In the Senate, courtesy of the Office of the Majority Leader:

Convenes: 2:00pm

Morning Business until 3:00pm with senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.

Following morning business, the Senate will proceed to Executive Session to debate the nomination of Lael Brainard to be Under Secretary of the Treasury. At 5:30pm, the Senate will proceed to roll call vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the Brainard nomination.

As a reminder, Senator Reid filed cloture on the following nominations:

Lael Brainard, of the District of Columbia, to be an Under Secretary of the Treasury;

Marisa J. Demeo, of the district of Columbia, to be an Associate Judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia;

Christopher H. Schroeder, of North Carolina, to be an Assistant Attorney General;

Thomas I. Vanaskie, of Pennsylvania, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Third Circuit; and

Denny Chin, of New York, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Second Circuit.

Votes:
5:30pm cloture vote on the nomination of Lael Brainard to be Under Secretary of the Treasury.

Some more recognizable substantive work on the floors of the two houses this week: Iran sanctions (which is not a big favorite) and DC voting rights (which is) in the House, and; five executive and judicial nominations in the Senate.

That DC voting rights bill, as you can tell by the relatively low number, has been languishing in the House for some time. You may recall that it stalled last year over Republican insistence on including gun provisions in the bill (helped along by Democratic acquiescence, lack of discipline on motions to recommit, etc.). Well, it still does contain those provisions. It's just that DC Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton and the leadership are now willing to accept those provisions in exchange for getting the bill through, the unspoken subtext being that voting rights ought to be secured before risking that the composition of the Congress might change too much in the next election.

And after the Senate gets through with whatever work it's committing to on nominations, we may at last see them take up their end of the financial regulatory reform legislation.

In the committees, budget work continues, though we're now past the traditional date by which the budget resolution is adopted. Things will stretch out some this year, due in large part to the extended fight over health insurance reform. But there's more to it than that. President Obama's call for a spending freeze, you may recall, wasn't received all that enthusiastically among Congressional Democrats, and that's causing some difficulty (as you might imagine) in moving a formal budget document forward. Remember, the President doesn't actually write the budget -- Congress does -- though he can have enormous influence on how they work. So, go with a hard freeze? Tinker with the freeze idea and cap overall numbers but make some changes based on priorities? Go the President one better and make cuts? There are factions for each option, and until the question's settled internally, we won't see a budget moving forward.

Can you live without a budget resolution? Yes. The FY2010 budget resolution was a five year plan, and we'd just operate under year two of that plan. But if Dems were interested in making further use of reconciliation procedures this year, they'd likely need a new set of instructions, which means they'd need a new budget resolution as a vehicle for them. So there's perhaps a little more than the usual pressure for producing a budget.

This week's committee schedule, appearing below, is once again provided by the work of Jeremy Koulish of Carrots & Sticks. But he's looking for help. Any volunteers? It'd make a great summer internship if you're eligible for credit (or even if you're not). Where else will you become familiar with the entire committee structure, all the subcommittees, their jurisdiction, scheduling habits, preferred witnesses, etc.? Seriously! It's educational. Listen, I'm not joking! This is my job! (I think I've used that joke before.) And of course, there's more to it than the schedules, though that's the part that makes This Week in Congress tick. Plus, you get to be "famous," if having your name included in the least-commented-upon weekly feature in all of Daily Kosdom counts as being famous. If you're interested, send a resume and cover letter to him at jeremy@carrotsandsticks.org

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This Week in Congress

By Syndicated News | Published: April 12, 2010

In the House, courtesy of the Office of the Majority Leader:

First Vote of the Week... Tuesday 6:30 p.m.
Last Vote Predicted... Friday p.m.

MONDAY, APRIL 12, 2010

On Monday, the House will not be in session.

TUESDAY, APRIL 13, 2010

On Tuesday, the House will meet at 2:00 p.m. for legislative business with votes postponed until 6:30 p.m.

Suspensions (6 Bills):

H.Res. 1222 - Supporting the goals and ideals of National Library Week (Rep. Ehlers - Education and Labor)

H.Res. 1041 - Congratulating and commending the University of Idaho's football team for winning the 2009 Humanitarian Bowl in Boise, Idaho (Rep. Minnick - Education and Labor)

H.Res. 1042 - Commending the Boise State University Broncos football team for winning the 2010 Fiesta Bowl (Rep. Minnick - Education and Labor)

H.Res. __ - Congratulating the Duke University men’s basketball team for winning the 2010 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball National Championship (Rep. Price (NC) - Education and Labor)

H.Res. 1198 - Congratulating Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania for 140 years of excellence in higher education (Rep. Thompson (PA) - Education and Labor)

H.Res. 1206 - Remembering the victims of the attack on the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and supporting the goals and ideals of the National Week of Hope (Rep. Fallin - Oversight and Government Reform)

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 14, 2010 AND THE BALANCE OF THE WEEK

On Wednesday and Thursday, the House will meet at 10:00 a.m. for legislative business. On Friday, the House will meet at 9:00 a.m. for legislative business.

Suspensions (14 Bills):

H.Res. __ - Honoring the coal miners who perished in the Upper Big Branch Mine-South in Raleigh County, West Virginia, extending condolences to their families and recognizing the valiant efforts of emergency response workers at the mine disaster (Rep. Rahall - Natural Resources)

H.Res. __ - Honoring the life of Wilma Pearl Mankiller and expressing condolences of the House of Representatives on her passing (Rep. Boren - Natural Resources)

H.R. 4954 - Providing recourse under the patent law for persons who suffer competitive injury as a result of false markings (Rep. Issa - Judiciary)

H.Con.Res. 222 - Recognizing the leadership and historical contributions of Dr. Hector Garcia to the Hispanic community and his remarkable efforts to combat racial and ethnic discrimination in the United States of America (Rep. Ortiz - Judiciary)

S.J.Res. 25 - Granting the consent and approval of Congress to amendments made by the State of Maryland, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the District of Columbia to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Regulation Compact (Sen. Cardin - Judiciary)

H.R. 3506 - Eliminate Privacy Notice Confusion Act (Rep. Paulsen - Financial Services)

H.R. 1258 - Truth in Caller ID Act of 2009 (Rep. Engel - Energy and Commerce)

H.R. 3125 - Radio Spectrum Inventory Act (Rep. Waxman - Energy and Commerce)

H.Res. 197 - To commend the American Sail Training Association for its advancement of character building under sail and for its advancement of international goodwill (Rep. Kennedy - Transportation and Infrastructure)

H.R. 4275 - To designate the annex building under construction for the Elbert P. Tuttle United States Court of Appeals Building in Atlanta, Georgia, as the "John C. Godbold United States Judicial Administration Building" (Rep. Lewis (GA) - Transportation and Infrastructure)

H.Res. 1062 - Recognizing the Coast Guard Group Astoria's more than 60 years of service to the Pacific Northwest (Rep. Wu - Transportation and Infrastructure)

H.Con.Res. 243 - Authorizing the use of Emancipation Hall in the Capitol Visitor Center for an event to celebrate the birthday of King Kamehameha (Rep. Hirono - House Administration)

H.Res. 1185 - Congratulating Reverend Daniel P. Coughlin on his tenth year of service as Chaplain of the House of Representatives (Rep. Lipinski - House Administration)

H.R. __ - Taxpayer Assistance Act of 2010 (Rep. Lewis (GA) - Ways and Means)

H.R. 4715 - Clean Estuaries Act of 2010 (Rep. Bishop (NY) – Transportation and Infrastructure) (Subject to a Rule)

Conference Reports may be brought up at any time.

Motions to go to Conference should they become available.

Possible Motions to Instruct Conferees.

In the Senate, courtesy of the Office of the Majority Leader:

Convenes: 2:00pm

Morning Business until 3:00pm with the time equally divided.

3:00pm resume the motion to proceed to HR4851, the Continuing Extention Act of 2010.

Votes:
5:30pm cloture vote on the motion to proceed to HR4851.

Unemployment insurance benefits! COBRA! Nuclear arms reduction! Energy! Immigration! Financial Reform! Supreme Court nomination!

Or...20 suspensions and the Clean Estuaries Act. Depends on how you look at things. But even with a calendar full of mostly busy work, the House will be in full swing in the committees, particularly in appropriations, where budget season is reaching its peak. Somewhere in the middle of all this still looming before the Senate, we've got to pass a budget (and probably get Kent Conrad comfortable with reconciliation instructions all over again).

The Supreme Court vacancy likely knocks at least one of the major legislative agenda items off the table, even if there doesn't end up being much of a fight. Some think the GOP may be looking to back off to avoid looking too predictably wacky and divisive heading into elections they think could be pivotal or even restore Republican control of Congress. I'd just add that Republicans also backed off from weeks and even months worth of threats against the reconciliation bill, too, and I think that might be related to their thinking on the Supreme Court. Senate Democrats were preparing to meet Republican obstructionism with some parliamentary force that could have had a long-term and significant impact on the minority's ability to delay in the future, and honestly, the substance of the reconciliation bill just wasn't worth the risk. There's considerably more at stake in a Supreme Court nomination, of course, but with Dems already thinking ahead to possible changes in filibuster rules next year, Republicans would probably be wise not to provoke any dress rehearsals.

Which perhaps might spur some more strategic thinking at the White House about just how much risk they should be willing to take themselves in making this nomination. The Conventional Wisdom is surely to take the middle path, get a quick confirmation with a minimum of controversy, and move on. But if there's any appreciation for a Republican Party that's a little bit back on its heels in terms of its preparedness to wage yet another all-out procedural fight in the Senate, maybe the White House wants to consider taking a bit of an aggressive lead, maybe even steal a base or two.

Full committee schedule appears below, thanks again to Jeremy Koulish of Carrots & Sticks, and with whom I'll be working in the near future to produce some other tricks from up our sleeves. (Stay tuned!)

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This Week in Congress

By Syndicated News | Published: March 15, 2010

In the House, courtesy of the Office of the Majority Leader:

First Vote of the Week... Monday 6:30 p.m.
Last Vote Predicted... ???

MONDAY, MARCH 15, 2010

On Monday, the House will meet at 12:30 p.m. for Morning Hour debate and 2:00 p.m. for legislative business with votes postponed until 6:30 p.m.

Suspensions (6 Bills):

H.Res. 1145 - Recognizing the University of Arizona's 125 years of dedication to excellence in higher education (Rep. Giffords - Education and Labor)

H.Res. 1170 - Congratulating the winners of the Voice of Democracy national scholarship program (Rep. Hunter - Education and Labor)

H.Res. 1163 - Recognizing Washington State University Honors College for 50 years of excellence (Rep. McMorris Rodgers - Education and Labor)

H.R. 2377 - To direct the Secretary of Education to establish and administer an awards program recognizing excellence exhibited by public school system employees providing services to students in pre-kindergarten through higher education (Rep. Titus - Education and Labor)

H.R. 4628 - To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 216 Westwood Avenue in Westwood, New Jersey, as the "Sergeant Christopher R. Hrbek Post Office Building" (Rep. Garrett - Oversight and Government Reform)

H.Res. 267 - Recognizing the cultural and historical significance of Nowruz, expressing appreciation to Iranian-Americans for their contributions to society, and wishing Iranian-Americans and the people of Iran a prosperous new year (Rep. Honda - Oversight and Government Reform)

TUESDAY, MARCH 16, 2010 AND THE BALANCE OF THE WEEK

On Tuesday, the House will meet at 10:30 a.m. for Morning Hour debate and 12:00 p.m. for legislative business. On Wednesday and Thursday, the House will meet at 10:00 a.m. for legislative business. On Friday, the House will meet at 9:00 a.m. for legislative business.

Suspensions (18 Bills):

H.Res. 311 - Expressing the support of the House of Representatives for the goals and ideals of Red Cross Month (Rep. Watson - Foreign Affairs)

H.Res. 605 - Recognizing the continued persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China on the 10th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party campaign to suppress the Falun Gong spiritual movement and calling for an immediate end to the campaign to persecute, intimidate, imprison, and torture Falun Gong practitioners (Rep. Ros-Lehtinen - Foreign Affairs)

H.Res. 1128 - Thanking Vancouver for hosting the world during the 2010 Winter Olympics and honoring the athletes from Team USA (Rep. Davis (CA) - Foreign Affairs)

H.Res. 1089 - Recognizing the 150th anniversary of Augustana College (Rep. Hare - Education and Labor)

H.Res. 1167 - Expressing the support of the House of Representatives for the goals and ideals of Professional Social Work Month and World Social Work Day (Rep. Shea-Porter - Education and Labor)

H.R. 4252 - Inland Empire Perchlorate Ground Water Plume Assessment Act of 2009 (Rep. Baca - Natural Resources)

H.R. 2788 - Distinguished Flying Cross National Memorial Act (Rep. Calvert - Natural Resources)

H.R. 4003 - Hudson River Valley Special Resource Study Act (Rep. Hinchey - Natural Resources)

H.R. 3671 - Upper Mississippi River Basin Protection Act (Rep. Kind - Natural Resources)

H.R. 4192 - Stornetta Public Lands Outstanding Natural Area Act of 2009 (Rep. Thompson (CA) - Natural Resources)

H.R. 1769 - Alpine Lakes Wilderness Additions and Pratt and Middle Fork Snoqualmie Rivers Protection Act (Rep. Reichert - Natural Resources)

H.R. 4395 - To revise the boundaries of the Gettysburg National Military Park to include the Gettysburg Train Station (Rep. Platts - Natural Resources)

H.R. 4825 - To require any amounts remaining in a Member's Representational Allowance at the end of a fiscal year to be deposited in the Treasury and used for deficit reduction or to reduce the Federal debt (Reps. Kirkpatrick/Peters - House Administration)

H.R. __ - Directing the Clerk to create a separate section of the congressional record to provide for CBO scores (Rep. Murphy (NY) - House Administration)

H.R. 946 - Plain Language Act of 2009 (Rep. Braley - Oversight and Government Reform)

H.R. 1320 - Federal Advisory Committee Act Amendments of 2009 (Rep. Clay - Oversight and Government Reform)

H.R. 1387 - Electronic Message Preservation Act (Rep. Hodes - Oversight and Government Reform)

H.R. 4214 - To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 45300 Portola Avenue in Palm Desert, California, as the "Roy Wilson Post Office" (Rep. Bono Mack - Oversight and Government Reform)

Possible Action on H.R. 1586 - FAA Air Transportation Modernization and Safety Improvement Act (Rep. Oberstar – Transportation and Infrastructure) (Subject to a Rule)

Further Action on Jobs Legislation

Further Action on Health Insurance Reform Legislation

Conference Reports may be brought up at any time.

Motions to go to Conference should they become available.

Possible Motions to Instruct Conferees.

In the Senate, courtesy of the Office of the Majority Leader:

Convenes: 2:00pm

The Senate will convene at 2:00pm and will proceed to a period of morning business until 3:00pm with senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.

Following morning business, the Senate will resume consideration of the House Message on H.R.2847, the legislative vehicle for the HIRE Act (Jobs I). At 5:30pm, the Senate will proceed to a cloture vote on the motion to concur in the House amendments to the Senate amendment to the House amendment to the Senate amendment to the bill, HR2847, HIRE Act.

Well, there's a bunch of stuff up there. And they're gonna do all that. Plus they're gonna finish the bigger jobs bill and the year-long UI/COBRA extension.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. What about the health insurance reform bill?

Well, that too. And they aim to have the bulk of it done this week, at least in the House. The clue is up at the top:

Last Vote Predicted... ???

They're staying until they finish voting on what needs doing. Taking probability into account, you have to at least mention the possibility that that means they'll vote and fail to pass it. But that's not what they're built for, and the question remains up in the air as to how long it'll take because no one is entirely sure what it'll take to get it done. It could be simple and routine (though end in an extremely narrow vote), or it could take a more convoluted path, consuming more time than anticipated for corralling the votes needed. But the anticipated sequence of events -- Drdemocrat had a nice diary on this last week -- is a Budget Committee markup today, a post-markup 48-hour layover period before a Rules Committee hearing and markup hopefully by Thursday, then floor votes on Friday.

It's at the Rules Committee where I anticipate the actual changes will be made that will turn the current "reconciliation bill" vehicle into the real reconciliation bill that's much narrower and targeted to fix the pieces of the Senate bill that Members want patched up. They could rig it up so that the Rules Committee just authorizes a single manager's amendment for floor consideration that will substitute the new text for the old, but I would guess it's more likely that they'll just take care of that in Rules, where the margin is wider because Democrats hold a 9-4 advantage there.

Whether they'll end up using a self-executing rule to deal with the ministerial function of agreeing to the Senate bill is still to be determined. And why is passing the Senate bill merely a "ministerial function"? Because at this point, what's happening is that the House will be agreeing to a Senate amendment to a House-passed bill. Granted, that House-passed bill wasn't the House version of the health care bill, but that's often the way things get worked out between the houses. The Senate substituted its own health care bill for the original House text of H.R. 3590, and circumstances are such that the House now chooses to go along with that decision. So the "ministerial function" here is recording a House vote wherein Members go on record to approve, among other things, their accession to the Senate amendment.

Among those "other things" covered by a vote like that would be the rules governing the debate of the reconciliation fix, which would come next.

The Senate will still have considerable hurdles in getting through the passage of the reconciliation bill, but they appear determined to challenge their membership to stay and get the job done or miss out on the next scheduled recess.

The week's committee schedule -- and it's a big one, thanks to budget season -- appears below. Extra thanks for the extra work (nearly 100 committee meetings this week, with 36 in Appropriations alone!) go once again to Jeremy Koulish of Carrots & Sticks.

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This Week in Congress

By Syndicated News | Published: March 8, 2010

In the House, courtesy of the Office of the Majority Leader:

First Vote of the Week... Tuesday 6:30 p.m.
Last Vote Predicted... Friday p.m.

MONDAY, MARCH 8, 2010

On Monday, the House will not be in session.

TUESDAY, MARCH 9, 2010

On Tuesday, the House will meet at 12:30 p.m. for Morning Hour debate and 2:00 p.m. for legislative business with votes postponed until 6:30 p.m.

Suspensions (14 Bills):

H.Res. 1055 - Supporting the designation of National Robotics Week as an annual event (Rep. Doyle - Science and Technology)

H.Res. 1069 - Congratulating Willard S. Boyle and George E. Smith for being awarded the Nobel Prize in physics (Rep. Lance - Science and Technology)

H.Res. 935 - Honoring John E. Warnock, Charles M. Geschke, Forrest M. Bird, Esther Sans Takeuchi, and IBM Corporation for receiving the 2008 National Medal of Technology and Innovation (Rep. Lofgren - Science and Technology)

H.R. 3650 - Harmful Algal Blooms and Hypoxia Research and Control Amendments Act of 2009 (Rep. Baird - Science and Technology)

H.Res. 1032 - Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States should continue to assist the Mexican Government in fighting the drug cartels and curbing violence against Mexican and United States citizens, both in the United States and abroad (Rep. Chu - Foreign Affairs)

H.Res. 1088 - Recognizing the plight of people with albinism in East Africa and condemning their murder and mutilation (Rep. Connolly - Foreign Affairs)

H.Res. 1107 - Recognizing the 189th anniversary of the independence of Greece and celebrating Greek and American democracy. (Rep. Ros-Lehtinen - Foreign Affairs)

H.Res. 1036 - Recognizing the contributions of Korean Americans to the United States (Rep. Garrett - Oversight and Government Reform)

H.R. 4621 - Prevent Deceptive Census Look Alike Mailings Act (Rep. Maloney - Oversight and Government Reform)

H.R. 4547 - To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 119 Station Road in Cheyney, Pennsylvania, as the "Captain Luther H. Smith, U.S. Army Air Forces Post Office" (Rep. Sestak - Oversight and Government Reform)

H.R. 4624 - To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 125 Kerr Avenue in Rome City, Indiana, as the "SPC Nicholas Scott Hartge Post Office" (Rep. Souder - Oversight and Government Reform)

H.Res. 1091 - Expressing support for designation of the week of February 28 through March 7, 2010, as "School Social Work Week" (Rep. Kennedy - Education and Labor)

H.Res. 1047 - Commending The Ohio State University Buckeyes football team for its victory in the 2010 Rose Bowl (Rep. Kilroy - Education and Labor)

H.Res. 1142 - Congratulating Silver Lake College for 75 years of service as an undergraduate institution of higher education (Rep. Petri - Education and Labor)

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 10, 2010 AND THE BALANCE OF THE WEEK

On Wednesday and Thursday, the House will meet at 10:00 a.m. for legislative business. On Friday, the House will meet at 9:00 a.m. for legislative business.

Suspensions (7 Bills):

H.R. 4573 - Debt Relief for Earthquake Recovery in Haiti Act of 2010 (Rep. Waters - Financial Services)

H.Res. 1087 - Honoring the life of John H. "Jack" Ruffin, Jr. (Rep. Barrow - Judiciary)

H.Res. 1115 - Expressing appreciation for the profound dedication and public service of Enrique "Kiki" Camarena on the 25th anniversary of his death (Rep. Hunter - Judiciary)

H.Con.Res. 249 - Commemorating the 45th anniversary of Bloody Sunday and the role that it played in ensuring the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (Rep. Lewis (GA) - Judiciary)

H.Res. 1081 - Supporting the goals and ideals of National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month (Rep. Lewis (GA) - Judiciary)

H.Res. 1061 - Honoring the heroic actions of Court Security Officer Stanley Cooper, Deputy United States Marshal Richard J. "Joe" Gardner, the law enforcement officers of the United States Marshals Service and Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, and the Court Security Officers in responding to the armed assault at the Lloyd D. George Federal Courthouse on January 4, 2010 (Rep. Titus - Judiciary)

H.R. __ - To accelerate the income tax benefits for charitable cash contributions for the relief of the victims of the earthquake in Chile, and to extend the period from which such contributions for the relief of the victims of the earthquake in Haiti may be accelerated (Rep. Levin - Ways and Means)

H.Con.Res. 248 - Afghanistan War Powers Resolution (Rep. Kucinich – Foreign Affairs) (Privileged Resolution) (Subject to a Rule)

H.Res. 1031 - Impeaching G. Thomas Porteous, Jr., judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, for high crimes and misdemeanors (Rep. Conyers – Judiciary) (Privileged Resolution)

Further Action on Jobs Legislation

Conference Reports may be brought up at any time.

Motions to go to Conference should they become available.

Possible Motions to Instruct Conferees.

In the Senate, courtesy of the Office of the Majority Leader:

Monday:

Convenes: 2:00pm

Morning Business until 3:00pm.

3:00pm resume consideration of HR4213, Tax Extenders.

3pm filing deadline for first degree amendments.
Votes:
There will be no roll call votes on Monday, March 8.

Tuesday:

When the Senate resumes consideration of HR4213, the Senate will proceed to a series of votes in relation to the following amendments, in the order listed:

Baucus amendment #3429 [link] (alternative to Coburn #3358 regarding transparency)

Coburn amendment #3358 [link] (Transparency)

Murray amendment #3356 [link], as further modified (TANF/Youth Jobs)

Republican alternative to Murray #3356

There will be 4 minutes for debate equally divided prior to each vote. All votes after the first vote in this sequence will be limited to 10 minutes each. These votes could begin as early as 10:15am Tuesday.

Following this series of votes, we expect to recess until 2:15pm for the caucus luncheons.

At 2:30om, the Senate will proceed to a roll call vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the Baucus amendment #3336 [link] (Substitute).

Looks like another week of waiting on health insurance industry reform, with a sprinkling of jobs legislation here and there along the way. The House loads up its plate with 21 suspensions. While they wait for the Senate to send them back the jobs bill that's been bouncing back and forth, plus the tax extenders bill with the longer COBRA and UI extensions included, the House will deal with the impeachment of a federal judge, and a resolution requiring the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan which is being given floor time but not expected to pass.

Two work weeks remain before the next sorta-kinda deadline on health insurance reform. The President wants things wrapped up before the end of next week. We'll see whether or not that includes the reconciliation fix, and if it doesn't, well, I guess we'll see whether it ever does. In the meantime, the House will be expected to pass the Senate bill, ratifying the much-maligned "Cadillac tax" as well as the Nebraska deal that came to be known as the "Cornhusker kickback" (and its close cousin, the "Louisiana Purchase"), and taking on faith that the Senate will: 1) honor its promise to come back to this issue, and; 2) be able to overcome the massive plan of obstructionism Republicans reportedly have lined up to throw in its path.

Should be... interesting. I think having the House pass the Senate bill first sets them up for all sorts of mischief, but they seem intent on walking right into it, so here we go.

This week's full committee schedule -- and it is a full one -- appears below, thanks again to the selfless dedication of Jeremy Koulish of Carrots & Sticks, who's spending upwards of three precious weekend hours compiling these things for us. You can thank Jeremy for his efforts by checking in at Carrots & Sticks once in a while and seeing what they're up to. Always a good source of action item suggestions.

Posted in News Feeds | Tagged This Week in Congress | Comments closed

This Week in Congress

By Syndicated News | Published: March 1, 2010

In the House, courtesy of the Office of the Majority Leader:

First Vote of the Week... Tuesday 6:30 p.m.
Last Vote Predicted... Thursday p.m.

MONDAY, MARCH 1, 2010

On Monday, the House will not be in session.

TUESDAY, MARCH 2, 2010

On Tuesday, the House will meet at 12:30 p.m. for Morning Hour debate and 2:00 p.m. for legislative business with votes postponed until 6:30 p.m.

Suspensions (10 Bills):

H.Res. 1097 - Supporting the goals and ideals of National Engineers Week (Rep. Lipinski - Science and Technology)

H.R. 3820 - Natural Hazards Risk Reduction Act of 2009 (Rep. Wu - Science and Technology)

H.Res. 747 - Congratulating the United States Military Academy at West Point on being named by Forbes magazine as America's Best College for 2009 (Rep. Hall (NY) - Armed Services)

H.Res. 699 - Expressing the appreciation of Congress for the service and sacrifice of the members of the 139th Airlift Wing, Air National Guard (Rep. Graves - Armed Services)

H.Res. 812 - Recognizing the significant contributions of the Military Working Dog (MWD) Program to the United States Armed Forces (Rep. Lance - Armed Services)

H.Res. 1072 - Recognizing Louisiana State University for 150 years of service and excellence in higher education (Rep. Cassidy - Education and Labor)

H.Res. 1117 - Commending and congratulating the California State University system on the occasion of its 50th anniversary (Rep. Lofgren - Education and Labor)

H.Res. 1111 - Designating March 2, 2010, as "Read Across America Day" (Rep. Markey (CO) - Education and Labor)

H.Res. 1112 - Congratulating the Pennsylvania State University IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon (THON) on its continued success in support of the Four Diamonds Fund at Penn State Hershey Children's Hospital (Rep. Thompson (PA) - Education and Labor)

H.Res. 362 - Expressing the support of the House of Representatives for the goals and ideals of the National School Lunch Program (Rep. Watson - Education and Labor)

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3, 2010 AND THE BALANCE OF THE WEEK

On Wednesday and Thursday, the House will meet at 10:00 a.m. for legislative business. On Friday, no votes are expected in the House.

Suspensions (6 Bills):

H.Res. 1096 - Encouraging individuals across the United States to participate in the 2010 Census to ensure an accurate and complete count beginning April 1, 2010, and expressing support for designation of March 2010 as Census Awareness Month (Rep. Reyes - Oversight and Government Reform)

H.Res. 1079 - Congratulating the National Football League Champion New Orleans Saints for winning Super Bowl XLIV and for bringing New Orleans its first Lombardi Trophy in franchise history (Rep. Cao - Oversight and Government Reform)

H.Res. 1082 - Supporting the goals and ideals of the fourth annual America Saves Week (Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson - Financial Services)

H.R. 2554 - National Association of Registered Agents and Brokers Reform Act of 2009 (Rep. Scott (GA) - Financial Services)

H.Con.Res. 239 - Authorizing the use of Emancipation Hall in the Capitol Visitor Center for a ceremony to present the Congressional Gold Medal to the Women Airforce Service Pilots (Rep. Davis (CA) - House Administration)

H.Con.Res. 236 - Permitting the use of the rotunda of the Capitol for a ceremony as part of the commemoration of the days of remembrance of victims of the Holocaust (Rep. Klein - House Administration)

H.R. 4247 - Keeping All Students Safe Act (Rep. George Miller – Education and Labor) (Subject to a Rule)

Further Action on Jobs Legislation

Conference Reports may be brought up at any time.

Motions to go to Conference should they become available.

Possible Motions to Instruct Conferees.

In the Senate, courtesy of the Office of the Majority Leader:

Monday:

Convenes: 2:00pm

Morning Business until 3pm with senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each.

At 3:00pm, the Senate will begin consideration of H.R.4213, Tax Extenders.

Votes:
There will be no roll call votes on Monday, March 1.

Tuesday:

Votes:
12:15pm Cloture vote on the nomination of Barbara Keenan to be a U.S. Circuit Judge for the 4th Circuit

A healthy helping of suspensions on the calendar for the House this week, including a measure congratulating the United States Military Academy at West Point on being named by Forbes magazine as America's Best College for 2009, which is remarkable, considering how prone to failure such socialist endeavors typically are.

Health insurance reform ducks out from center stage this week and heads back into the meeting rooms, for a round of "Will you come home if the Senate promises not to hit you anymore?" sessions. The House, apparently stymied by the Senate's argument that it has certain needs, looks to be getting set to act first on passing the Ben Nelson version of the Senate bill that even Ben Nelson is too embarrassed to support anymore, in exchange for the promise that the Senate will later pass the House's "fix" for the bill. Hopefully, the 291st time's a charm!

On the Senate side, Jim Bunning (R-KY) having successfully blocked the extension of unemployment insurance and COBRA extensions past their expiration date, will debate instead the extension of a lovely package of tax breaks, but not vote on anything until Tuesday. But by Tuesday, unemployed Americans can look forward to... the nomination of Barbara Keenen to the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals. That ought to buy a lot of groceries.

The week's full committee schedule appears below.

Posted in News Feeds | Tagged This Week in Congress | Comments closed

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