PSW Weekly Round-Up - 10/30

Legislative Update

Senate. The Senate will consider nominations, including the White House’s selection of Jack Lew to be Ambassador to Israel. The Senate will also continue to work through amendments and hopes to have a final vote on passage of the three-bill minibus that packages the Agriculture/FDA, Military Construction/VA, and Transportation/HUD appropriations bills.

House. Now that the House has elected a new Speaker and passed the Energy and Water appropriations bill, it is reconvening on Wednesday and turning its attention to privileged resolutions that would censure two Members and expel another. Last Thursday, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) introduced a resolution to censure Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.). Rep. Becca Balint (D-Vt.) then gave notice that she was forcing a vote on a resolution she introduced in July to censure Rep. Greene. The House is now required to act within two legislative days on these resolutions, so votes could take place on Wednesday. Lawmakers could vote to table the resolutions or refer them to committee or could take up-or-down votes on the resolutions themselves. Any of the options would require majority votes for approval.

Also last Thursday, Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (R-N.Y.) gave notice that he was offering a privileged resolution to expel Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.). Approval of the resolution would require a two-thirds majority. When the House considered a similar resolution in May to expel Rep. Santos, it voted largely along party lines to refer the resolution to the Ethics Committee.

As for the House’s legislative schedule, Wednesday could also see votes on three appropriations bills – Legislative Branch, Interior/EPA, and Transportation/HUD. However, the House isn’t scheduled to begin legislative business until 2 p.m. on Wednesday, with votes starting at 6:30 p.m., so taking votes that day on all three spending bills (and the privileged resolutions) is an ambitious schedule.

This week the House is also planning to vote on legislation that would appropriate over $14 billion in aid to Israel. While there is bipartisan support for providing aid, Republicans are proposing to offset the cost by rescinding $14.3 billion in funding that has been approved for the IRS, a proposal that will not get buy-in from Congressional Democrats.

Committee Action of Note

Tuesday, October 31

• Senate Appropriations Committee Hearing: “A Review of the National Security Supplemental Request”
• Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Hearing: “Threats to the Homeland”

Wednesday, November 1

• Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Hearing: “The Science of Extreme Event Attribution: How Climate Change is Fueling Severe Weather Events”
• Senate Foreign Relations Closed Committee Hearing: “Ukraine Briefing”

Thursday, November 2

• House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets Hearing: “Unintended Consequences for U.S. Capital Markets and Investors”
• House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance Hearing: “The Factors Influencing the High Cost of Insurance for Consumers”

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