PSW Weekly Round-Up - 6/10

Legislative Update

House. Headlining this week’s agenda in the House is consideration of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Some 1,300 amendments have been filed, and the Rules Committee will meet Tuesday to decide which amendments will be allowed a vote on the floor. If the House votes Wednesday morning to approve the rule for floor consideration, the House will spend the rest of the week considering the NDAA amendments, with final passage possible on Friday. (The Senate Armed Services Committee is marking up its version of the NDAA this week.)

Also on the House agenda is a resolution that would hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress for refusing to provide audio recordings of President Biden’s interview with special counsel Robert Hur regarding the investigation into Biden‘s handling of classified material. The Justice Department has provided Congress with a transcript of the interview. Wednesday, June 19, is a federal holiday for Juneteenth, and the House will not be in session next week.

Senate. This week the Senate plans to vote on the confirmation of three nominees for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). If the two Democrats and one Republican are confirmed, the five-seat commission will be at full strength. In addition, the Senate will consider a package of proposals related to in vitro fertilization, including provisions designed “to protect and expand nationwide access to fertility treatment, including in vitro fertilization.” Like the House, the Senate will not be in session on June 19, but no decision has been announced as to whether the Senate will change its plans to be in session for all other days next week.

Committee Action of Note

Tuesday, June 11

• House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Markup: FY25 Bill
• House Rules Committee meeting to formulate a rule on various measures, including H.R. 8070, “Servicemember Quality of Life and National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025”
• Senate Armed Services Committee closed markup to consider the proposed NDAA for FY25

Wednesday, June 12

• Senate Armed Services Committee closed markup to continue to consider the proposed NDAA for FY25
• Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee: “The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Semi-Annual Report to Congress” with Rohit Chopra, Director, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)
• Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Hearing: “The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act: Supporting Efforts to Meet the Needs of Youth, Workers, and Employers”
• Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee markup of S. 4207, “Spectrum and National Security Act of 2024”
• Senate Budget Committee Hearing: “Making Wall Street Pay Its Fair Share: Raising Revenue, Strengthening Our Economy”
• Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Hearing: “The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Proposed Fiscal Year 2025 Budget”
• Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety Hearing: “Digging Deeper: Building Our Critical Minerals Workforce”
• Joint Economic Committee Hearing: “Made in America: The Boom in U.S. Manufacturing Investment”
• House Appropriations Committee FY25 Budget Markup: FY25 State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs and Homeland Security Bills
• House Financial Services Committee Hearing: “Oversight of the FDIC’s Failed Leadership and Toxic Workplace Culture”
• House Science, Space, and Technology Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight Hearing: “Environmentalism Off the Rails: How CARB will Cripple the National Rail Network”
• House Foreign Affairs Committee Hearing: “Great Power Competition in the Western Hemisphere”
• House Education and the Workforce Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions Hearing: “NLRB Overreach: Trampling on Workers’ Rights and Fostering Unfairness”
• House Natural Resources Committee Markup on various measures, including:
  • H.R. 6395, “Recognizing the Importance of Critical Minerals in Healthcare Act of 2034”;
  • H.R. 8446, To amend the Energy Act of 2020 to include the critical materials in the definition of critical mineral, and for other purposes; and
  • H.R. 8450, “Phosphate and Potash Protection Act of 2024”
• House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet Hearing: “The U.S. Intellectual Property System and the Impact of Litigation Financed by Third-Party Investors and Foreign Entities”
• House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Administrative State, Regulatory Reform, and Antitrust Hearing: “Climate Control: Decarbonization Collusion in Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Investing”
• House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials Hearing: “Amtrak and Intercity Passenger Rail Oversight: Promoting Performance, Safety, and Accountability”

Thursday, June 13

• Senate Armed Services Committee closed markup to continue to consider the proposed NDAA for FY25
• Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government Hearing: “A Review of the President’s Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Requests for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission” with Gary Gensler, Chair, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Rostin Behnam, Chair, Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)
• Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee Hearing: “FAA Oversight of Aviation Manufacturing”
• House Appropriations Committee FY25 Budget Markup: FY25 Defense, Financial Services and General Government, and Legislative Branch Bills

• House Financial Services Committee Hearing: “The Semi-Annual Report of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection” with Rohit Chopra, Director, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)
• House Budget Committee Hearing: “Medicare and Social Security: Examining Solvency and Impacts to the Federal Budget”
• House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy, Climate, and Grid Security Hearing: “Securing America’s Critical Materials Supply Chains and Economic Leadership”
• House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee Hearing: “Checking-In on CMMI: Assessing The Transition to Value Based Care.”
• House Ways and Means Committee Hearing on the Crisis on Campus: Antisemitism, Radical Faculty, and the Failure of University Leadership

Friday, June 14

• Senate Armed Services Committee closed markup to continue to consider the proposed NDAA for FY25 (tentative)

Political Update

Tuesday Primaries. Four states will have primaries tomorrow – Maine, Nevada, North Dakota, and South Carolina, with attention focused on two congressional races in South Carolina. In the state’s 1^st District, Rep. Nancy Mace (R) is facing a stiff challenge from Catherine Templeton, a former state official. Mace has been endorsed by former President Trump while Templeton has the backing of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. A third candidate is also running in the Republican primary, which could keep the top vote-getting candidate from securing a majority of the vote and forcing a runoff that would be held two weeks later. In South Carolina’s 4^th District, Rep. William Timmons (R) is facing a challenge from his right by state Rep. Adam Morgan. In Nevada, three candidates are seeking the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic Senator Jacky Rosen, with retired Army Captain Sam Brown, who was endorsed Sunday by former President Trump, considered the front runner.

Special Election. Republicans are expected to add one more member to their ranks in the House after voters in the 6^th District of Ohio go to the polls Tuesday to select a successor to Rep. Bill Johnson (R), who resigned in January. State Senator Michael Rulli (R) is likely to prevail over Democrat Michael Kripchak.

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