Legislative Update
Senate. This week, Senators will decide whether to move forward on the border security package that was unveiled in February after months of bipartisan negotiations led by Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), and Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.). The measure is expected to fall short of the 60 votes needed to overcome procedural hurdles. Senators will also vote on a Congressional Review Act resolution that would bar the Energy Department from implementing its rule on gas furnace efficiency standards. The Senate will not be in session next week.
House. The House will be in session Tuesday through Thursday and then leave for the Memorial Day recess, reconvening June 3. Included on the suspension calendar this week is a disaster tax relief measure that was approved Jan. 31 as part of the Wyden-Smith tax bill that has yet to receive a vote in the Senate. The Federal Disaster Tax Relief Act would provide tax relief to victims of California wildfires, Florida hurricanes, and the East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment.
Also on this week’s schedule is legislation that would define which digital assets are securities regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and which are commodities regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The bill provides that the CFTC would have jurisdiction over the most popular digital assets, such as Bitcoin and Ether.
FY 2025 Appropriations. House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole (R-Okla.) last week unveiled FY 2025 spending levels for the panel’s 12 subcommittees and set out an ambitious schedule
for action, beginning this week. The schedule calls for the subcommittees and the full committee to wrap up their work by July 10, prior to a week-long recess for the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, July 15-17. On Tuesday and Thursday, the Military Construction/Veterans Affairs spending bill will be marked up in subcommittee and full committee, respectively. Also on Thursday, the full committee will vote on Cole’s subcommittee allocations, known as the 302(b)s, which are expected to be opposed by Democrats because of the lower levels of spending for domestic programs.
Authorizing Bills. Three major pieces of legislation will be marked up this week. On Wednesday, the House Armed Services Committee will mark up the FY 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), and the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will mark up the Water Resources Development Act of 2024. On Thursday, the House Agriculture Committee will mark up the 2024 farm bill.
Committee Action of Note
Tuesday, May 21
- Senate Appropriations Committee FY25 Budget Hearings:
- Subcommittee on Defense: Request for the Army
- Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs: Request for the Department of State with Antony Blinken, Secretary of State
- Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Hearing to examine the opportunities, risks, and challenges associated with growth in demand for electric power in the United States
- Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing: “Ensuring Affordable and Accessible Medications: Examining Competition in the Prescription Drug Market”
- Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Subcommittee on Primary Health and Retirement Security Hearing: “Feeding a Healthier America: Current Efforts and Potential Opportunities for Food is Medicine”
- Senate Finance Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness Hearing: “Examining Trade Enforcement and Entry of Merchandise at U.S. Ports”
- Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee Hearing: “Examining the Roadway Safety Crisis and Highlighting Community Solutions”
- House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Markup: FY 2025 Funding Bill
- House Rules Committee meeting to formulate a rule on various measures, including H.R. 192, to prohibit individuals who are not citizens of the United States from voting in elections in the District of Columbia
Wednesday, May 22
- Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development FY25 Budget Hearing: Request for the U.S. Department of Energy, including the National Nuclear Security Administration
- Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Policy Hearing: “Protecting Consumers’ Pocketbooks: Lowering Food Prices and Combatting Corporate Price Gouging and Consolidation”
- Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Markup of various bills, including the Water Resources Development Act of 2024
- House Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs FY25 Budget Hearing: Request for the Department of State with Antony Blinken, Secretary of State
- House Foreign Affairs Committee markup of various measures, including H.R. 8315 – to amend the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 to prevent foreign adversaries from exploiting United States artificial intelligence and other enabling technologies, and for other purposes.
- House Small Business Committee Hearing: “Burdensome Regulations: Examining the Biden Administration’s Failure to Consider Small Businesses”
- House Homeland Security Committee Hearing: “Advancing Innovation (AI): Harnessing Artificial Intelligence to Defend and Secure the Homeland”
- House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Hearing: “Nutritious Foods in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)”
- House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health Hearing: “Check Up: Examining FDA Regulation of Drugs, Biologics, and Devices”
- House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Natural Resources Hearing: “Examining the President FY25 Budget Request for the U.S. Geological Survey and the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement”
Thursday, May 23
- Senate Appropriations Committee FY25 Budget Hearings:
- Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies: Request for NASA and the National Science Foundation
- Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies: Request for the National Institutes of Health
- Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies: Request for Indian Country
- Senate Finance Committee Hearing: “Front Lines of the Fentanyl Crisis: Supporting Communities and Combatting Addiction through Prevention and Treatment”
- Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee markup of eight measures, including the “BOLD Infrastructure for Alzheimer’s Reauthorization Act of 2024”
- House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies FY25 Budget Hearing: Request for the Federal Aviation Administration
- House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health Hearing: “The Collapse of Private Practice: Examining the Challenges Facing Independent Medicine”
- House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Innovation, Data and Commerce Markup of the American Privacy Rights Act
- House Oversight and Accountability Committee Hearing: “Oversight of the U.S. Department of Energy”
- House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation: “Review of FY25 Maritime Transportation Budget Requests, Pt. 2: The Coast Guard”
- House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources Hearing: “Examining the President’s FY25 Budget Request for the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, and the Office of Natural Resources Revenue”
- House Budget Committee Hearing: “Breaking Up Health Care Monopolies: Examining the Budgetary Effects of Health Care Consolidation”
- House Appropriations Committee Markup: FY 2025 Funding Bill for Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies
Political Update
Special Election. House Republicans are assured of adding one seat to their ranks when voters in California’s 20th District go to the polls tomorrow to fill the seat of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R). State Rep. Vince Fong, a former McCarthy aide who is endorsed by Donald Trump, is facing fellow Republican Mike Boudreaux, a county sheriff. Once the winner of Tuesday’s special election is sworn in, there will be 218 Republicans, 213 Democrats, and four vacancies in the House.
Tuesday Primaries. Four states are holding party primaries tomorrow – Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, and Oregon. The House race drawing the most attention is in Oregon’s 5th
District, where Democrats will choose their candidate to challenge Republican Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer in November. The Democratic race sees state Rep. Janelle Bynum, who is backed by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, going up against Jamie McLeod-Skinner, who lost to Chavez De-Remer in 2022.
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