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Legislative Update
Senate. The Senate will continue to consider nominations and is expected to approve legislation that would provide benefits for veterans affected by exposure to toxic burn pits and airborne hazards while they served overseas. Burn pits have been used by the military to dispose of chemicals, fuel, medical waste, and other substances. While a bipartisan group of 10 Republicans and 10 Democrats has agreed on a framework for gun-related legislation, it will be at least a week before the agreement is put into legislative language and ready for floor consideration.
House. The House this week is planning to approve a Senate-passed bill to impose new rules on large container ships. Also on the agenda is the Lower Food and Fuel Costs Act, a wide ranging measure that would, among other things, allow the EPA to grant waivers for the year-round sale of E15 gasoline. (In April, EPA issued an emergency waiver for summer E15 sales.) It’s not on the schedule yet, but a bill to provide security to families of Supreme Court justices could also come up for a vote.
FY 2023 Appropriations. House Appropriations subcommittees will begin marking up FY 2023 spending bills this week, with plans for full committee action on all 12 bills before the July 4th recess and floor action before the August recess. The House has no plans to pass a budget resolution laying out spending targets for the appropriators, and there is still no agreement among the top Republican and Democratic appropriators in the House and Senate. However, on June 8, the House voted mostly along party lines to pass a deeming resolution (as part of the rule for floor consideration of gun control legislation) that sets a topline spending number of $1.6 trillion. That figure reflects the discretionary spending number in President Biden’s budget proposal. The resolution does not provide a breakout for defense and non-defense spending, and it will be left to the appropriators to set the allocations for the 12 bills.
On Wednesday, subcommittees are scheduled to mark up four bills: Defense; Legislative Branch; Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies; and Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies. On Thursday, markups are set for the Homeland Security bill as well as the Financial Services and General Government measure.
Jan. 6 Hearings. The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol will continue public hearings on Wednesday and Thursday. Wednesday’s session is expected to focus on President Trump’s pressuring of the Justice Department. On Thursday, the panel will hear testimony related to efforts to pressure Vice President Pence to not count certain electoral votes.
Ways and Means. Republicans have chosen Rep. David Kustoff (R-Tenn.) to replace Rep. Tom Reed (R-N.Y.) on the House Ways and Means Committee. Reed resigned from the House in May.
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Committee Action of Note:
Political Update Tuesday Primaries. Four states will hold primaries June 14 – Maine, Nevada, North Dakota and South Carolina. In South Carolina, Republican Reps. Tom Rice and Nancy Mace face challenges from Trump-backed candidates. In the Maine 2nd District Republican primary, former Rep. Bruce Poliquin is expected to prevail, clearing the way for him to face Democratic Rep. Jared Golden in the November general election. In the Nevada Republican Senate primary, polling shows former Attorney General Adam Laxalt leading retired Army Captain Sam Brown. The winner will face Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D) in November. Alaska Special Primary. In the race to replace the late Republican Rep. Don Young, four candidates will advance to the Aug. 16 special election following the June 11 special primary. Voters were mailed ballots, starting on April 27, and the ballots had to be postmarked by Saturday. With 72% of the vote counted, NBC News projects that three of the four will be former Gov. Sarah Palin, Nick Begich, and Al Gross. Palin and Begich, the grandson of the late Democratic Rep. Nick Begich, are Republicans. Gross is not affiliated with a party. It is unclear who will claim the fourth spot. The candidate named Santa Claus did not have a strong showing, with only 5% of the vote. Texas Recounts. The Texas Democratic Party has certified the results in two close May 24 runoffs – the 28th District, where Rep. Henry Cuellar prevailed over Jessica Cisneros by 281 votes, and the 15th District, where Michelle Vallejo edged Ruben Ramirez by 30 votes. Both Cisneros and Ramirez have asked for recounts. The 15th District seat is open because its incumbent, Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D), is running in a neighboring district due to redistricting. |
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