Legislative Update
Senate. The Senate will continue to consider nominations and is expected to take up 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.
House. On the suspension calendar Tuesday is a major piece of legislation that will extend for five years the user-fee programs for prescription drugs, medical devices, generic drugs, and biosimilar products. The current authorization is set to expire Sept. 30. (The Senate HELP Committee is scheduled to mark up its version on Wednesday.) Also on the suspension calendar is the new Water Resources Development Act.
Later in the week, the House will take up two bills related to gun violence – the Protecting Our Kids Act (H.R. 7910) and the Federal Extreme Risk Protection Order Act (H.R. 2377). H.R. 7910 would raise the age to purchase semi-automatic rifles from 18 to 21; make it a federal offense to import, manufacture or possess large-capacity magazines; and create a grant program to buy back such magazines. H.R. 2377 addresses so-called “red flag” laws and would allow federal courts to grant petitions from family members and law enforcement officers to temporarily remove firearms from individuals who are deemed to pose an extreme risk to themselves or others.
In a June 3 Dear Colleague letter, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer laid out plans for this month’s three-week work period. The schedule includes consideration of ocean shipping legislation the week of June 13, and a package of bills to improve access to mental health care during the week of June 20. Also that week, the House plans to consider legislation establishing the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) as an independent agency.
Jan. 6 Committee. The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol will hold its first public hearing at 8 p.m. EDT on Thursday. “The committee will present previously unseen material documenting January 6th, receive witness testimony, preview additional hearings, and provide the American people a summary of its findings about the coordinated, multi-step effort to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and prevent the transfer of power,” the panel said. The 90-minute hearing will be aired live on CBS, ABC, PBS, and possibly other networks that have not yet announced their plans.
Committee Action of Note:
Political Update
Tuesday Primaries. Seven states will hold primaries on June 7 – California, Iowa, Mississippi, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, and South Dakota. Of note is that in California, candidates from all parties are listed on the same ballot, and the top two finishers advance to the general election, regardless of party affiliation. For the first time in its history, California is losing a seat in Congress and the new redistricting map shows 52 instead of 53 districts. Also in California, there is a runoff in the special election to replace Republican Rep. Devin Nunes, who resigned in January. Republican Connie Conway is expected to prevail over Democrat Lourin Hubbard. The winner will serve for the remainder of Nunes’ term, and neither candidate is running for a full term.
The House and Senate this week are aiming to pass legislation to keep the government funded through Dec. 20 and then lawmakers will recess until after the November elections.
Read MoreWashington observers continue to question whether House Speaker Johnson will have enough Republican votes to pass his proposal to extend government funding for six months.
Read MoreNo one expects the government to shut down at the end of the month, but the path to enacting a continuing resolution could be bumpy.
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