After a tumultuous October, Congress returns to work in a new month under Standard Time and with a new Speaker of the House, Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, who has pledged: “We are wiping the slate clean.” And after last week’s historic events on Capitol Hill, this week will be more typical.
Elected and sworn in as the Speaker of the House last Thursday, Speaker Ryan called for a fresh start for the “broken” House of Representatives under his leadership. His decision to run for the position may have been reluctant, but the former vice-presidential candidate was the only Member able to secure support from all factions of the House Republican Conference. In his speech before the House chamber on Thursday, Speaker Ryan called for greater cooperation among members and has promised to restore regular order and the committee-led legislative process. Concurrent with Speaker Ryan’s election to the position by the House, outgoing Speaker John Boehner made his farewell speech to the House, concluding a 25-year congressional career.
Beyond the drama over the mid-session election of a new Speaker, last week saw the introduction and passage through both the House and Senate of a compromise budget bill. The legislation, negotiated by Speaker Boehner and other congressional leaders with the Administration extends the Treasury’s borrowing authority through March 2017, averting a potential default. The bill also includes a two-year budget blueprint that increases defense and non-defense spending above limits set by the 2011 sequester, with an additional $80 billion provided through September 2017. With the budget deal approved, appropriators in both chambers will now have to work out the details of the individual spending bills for Fiscal Year 2016 and move legislation before current funding for the government expires on December 11. The negotiated agreement, a final act for Speaker Boehner, takes the budget issue and debt ceiling off the table for Speaker Ryan as he settles in to the new leadership position, and for all Members of Congress as they head into the 2016 election cycle. While drama is likely still to surround the effort to adopt individual spending bills, with Republicans seeking to add policy riders to curb or undo Administration initiatives and regulations, the most significant issue of the top-line spending number for each bill has been effectively resolved, making the remainder of the appropriations process a more traditional one.
This week the House is scheduled to return on Monday to consider seven bills and two resolutions under suspension of the rules. Five of the bills are from the Homeland Security Committee, and one bill and the two resolutions are from the Foreign Affairs Committee.
On Tuesday, the House is expected to consider the Surface Transportation Reauthorization and Reform Act of 2015, a $325 billion, six-year transportation bill approved by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on October 22. This summer, the Senate passed H.R. 22, the Developing a Reliable and Innovative Vision for the Economy Act or DRIVE Act, a six-year, $317 billion transportation bill that would authorize funding for highway infrastructure investments. The Senate legislation also reauthorizes the now-expired Export-Import Bank through 2019. Last week, the Senate cleared by voice vote another short-term extension of the highway authorization and funding until November 20, 2015, to allow a little more time for both chambers to resolve their differences over the program. Once the House passes its version of the bill this week, a conference committee will meet to resolve differences between the two versions of legislation before a final bill can be considered by both chambers prior to the expiration of the current extension.
Another potential item in the House this week could be a vote to override the President’s veto of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The vote is likely to be a political exercise, because the final version of the bill passed the House by 270-156, which is not an adequate majority to override the President’s veto. The President’s veto and Democratic opposition to the NDAA largely stemmed from so-called “budget gimmicks” that increased only defense funding for FY 2016. Given the new budget agreement passed by the House and Senate last week, both chambers are likely simply to adjust the NDAA to meet the new FY 2016 authorization levels or draft a new bill that raises the funding levels once the veto-override fails in the House this week.
Across the Capitol, the Senate is scheduled to return on Tuesday with a vote on a motion to proceed to S.1140, the Federal Water Quality Protection Act, legislation that addresses the Administration’s Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule. The controversial WOTUS regulation promulgated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) would bring within the jurisdiction of the Corps a much wider array of private and public property deemed to be “wetlands” than under current regulations. S. 1140 would require the Secretary of the Army and the EPA Administrator to propose a new rule with input from state and local governments. Democrats are strongly opposed to the measure and the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee approved the bill on a party-line vote in June. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has issued a nationwide stay of the WOTUS regulation, blocking the Corps and EPA from implementing it. There are numerous other challenges to the regulation pending in courts across the country. A joint resolution of disapproval to nullify the Administration’s rule, S.J.Res. 22, is also available for Senate consideration this week.
With the dramas over the Speaker and the federal budget both resolved last week, both chambers settle into a busy week of hearings, before the House takes a week off for the Veterans Day district work period. The headline hearing of the week is the testimony of Federal Reserve Chairman Janet Yellen before the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday morning regarding the Fed’s role in financial regulation. The Dodd-Frank Act (P.L. 111-203) included a provision that created a new position at the Fed, the Vice Chair for Supervision, whose occupant is supposed to take a lead role in guiding the Fed’s actions and plans for bank regulation and supervision. The provision required that the position be filled by a person appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate, and that that officer testify twice a year before the Financial Services Committee and the Senate Banking Committee. President Obama has yet to nominate an individual for the position, five years after signing Dodd-Frank into law, and House lawmakers have requested that Chairman Yellen testify in lieu of the non-existent Vice Chair on the Fed’s regulatory activities.
Cross-border data is the subject of two hearings on Tuesday, one before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property and the second a joint hearing of the House Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade and Subcommittee on Communications and Technology. The hearings will likely touch on an October decision by the European Court of Justice regarding EU data protection standards and the overturned safe harbor that had been enjoyed by U.S. companies prior to that ruling. (an analysis of this decision and its implications was included in a Global Policy Watch column on October 7th.)
The Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on Health has scheduled a Tuesday markup of seven bills, including H.R. 2646, the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act, a bill to reform the nation’s mental health system by focusing programs and resources on psychiatric care for patients & families most in need of services. Also scheduled for markup is H.R. 3537, the Synthetic Drug Control Act of 2015, which would add new synthetic drugs to Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. The committee has held numerous hearings during the 114th Congress focused on opioid and heroin abuse and treatment and on the increase in synthetic drug use.
The House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on the Interior meets Wednesday afternoon for a hearing on the proposed Stream Protection Rule. This proposed new rule from the Department of Interior’s Office of Surface Mining is aimed at protecting waterways from surface mining contamination. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee held a similar hearing on the proposed rule last week.
Russia’s resurgent role in world affairs in the face of U.S. retrenchment under President Obama is the subject of two hearings this week. The Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Europe and Regional Security Cooperation meets on Tuesday afternoon to discuss “Putin’s Invasion of Ukraine and the Propaganda that Threatens Europe.” On Wednesday, two Assistant Secretaries of State will testify before the House Foreign Affairs Committee regarding “U.S. Policy After Russia’s Escalation in Syria.”
The House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia and Emerging Threats meets Wednesday afternoon on the European refugee crisis. Many countries in Europe are struggling to come up with resources to deal with a massive influx of refugees from Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan, fleeing the violence of the Syrian Civil War and ISIS. While the U.S. has committed $1 billion this year to the effort and agreed to admit a number of refugees into the United States, the overwhelming number of individuals seeking refuge has led some to call for additional support from Congress. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations, has introduced a bill to provide an additional $1 billion in FY2016 supplemental appropriations to the Department of State’s Migration and Refugee Assistance account to respond to the refugee crisis resulting from conflict in the Middle East.
The Consumer Operated and Oriented Plan (CO-OP) Program, established under the Affordable Care Act, will be the subject of two House hearings this week. The program was intended to create non-profit insurers that would compete against for-profit insurance companies, but has largely failed in states across the country due to low enrollment and net losses. A July 2014 report by the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services found that 21 of the 23 co-ops reviewed had incurred net losses by the end of 2014, largely due to claims exceeding premium revenue. CO-OP Programs in ten states have closed, leaving the hundreds of thousands of people enrolled to find new health insurance coverage for 2016. The House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health will hold a hearing Tuesday afternoon on the status of the CO-OP Program, while the House Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations will hold a hearing on the topic on Thursday morning. The timing of these hearings is important to note, as open enrollment season for health insurance coverage is underway, and pending before the Senate is the House-passed reconciliation legislation, which would repeal several Affordable Care Act provisions, including the individual and employer mandate.
A full list of congressional hearings scheduled next week is included below:
Monday, November 2, 2015
House Committees
Department of Veterans Affairs Alleged Misuse of Relocation Program and Incentives
House Veterans’ Affairs
Full Committee Hearing
7:30 p.m., 334 Cannon Bldg.
Tuesday, November 3, 2015
House Committees
Examining EU Safe Harbor Decision and Its Impact for Transatlantic Data Flow
House Energy and Commerce – Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade; House Energy and Commerce – Subcommittee on Communications and Technology
Committee Joint Hearing
10 a.m., 2123 Rayburn Bldg.
Examining Legislation to Improve Medicare and Medicaid
House Energy and Commerce – Subcommittee on Health
Subcommittee Hearing
10:15 a.m., 2322 Rayburn Bldg.
Markup of HR 1309, HR 1478, HR 1550, HR 1660, HR 2209, HR 3340, HR 3557, HR 3738, the “Small Business Credit Availability Act,” and HR 3857
House Financial Services
Full Committee Markup
10 a.m., 2128 Rayburn Bldg.
Defending Against Bioterrorism Risks
House Homeland Security
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m., 311 Cannon Bldg.
Regulation Legislation: H.R. 3438, H.R. 2631
House Judiciary – Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m., 2141 Rayburn Bldg.
TSA Security Gaps
House Oversight and Government Reform
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m., 2154 Rayburn Bldg.
Renewable Fuel Standard: A Ten Year Review of Costs and Benefits
House Science, Space and Technology – Subcommittee on Environment; House Science, Space and Technology – Subcommittee on Oversight
Subcommittees Joint Hearing
10 a.m., 2318 Rayburn Bldg.
Welfare Programs
House Ways and Means – Subcommittee on Human Resources
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m., 1100 Longworth Bldg.
Aircraft Carrier Presence and Surge Limitations: Expanding Power Projection Options
House Armed Services – Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces
Subcommittee Hearing
2 p.m., 2218 Rayburn Bldg.
U.S. Nuclear Deterrence Outlook
House Armed Services – Subcommittee on Strategic Forces
Subcommittee Hearing
3:30 p.m., 2212 Rayburn Bldg.
H.J. Res. 71 and H.J. Res. 72
House Energy and Commerce – Subcommittee on Energy and Power
Subcommittee Markup
1 p.m., 2322 Rayburn Bldg.
International Data Flows: Promoting Digital Trade in the 21st Century
House Judiciary – Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet
Subcommittee Hearing
1 p.m., 2141 Rayburn Bldg.
Preparing for the 2020 Census: Will Technology Be Ready?
House Oversight and Government Reform – Subcommittee on Information Technology; House Oversight and Government Reform – Subcommittee on Government Operations
Subcommittees Joint Hearing
2 p.m., 2154 Rayburn Bldg.
VA Information Technology Systems
House Veterans’ Affairs – Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity
Subcommittee Hearing
2 p.m., 334 Cannon Bldg.
Healthcare CO-OP Program
House Ways and Means – Subcommittee on Health
Subcommittee Hearing
2 p.m., 1100 Longworth Bldg.
Markup of H.R. 2017, H.R. 2446, H.R. 2646, H.R. 3014, H.R. 3537, H.R. 3716, and H.R. 3821
House Energy and Commerce – Subcommittee on Health
Subcommittee Markup
3 p.m., 2322 Rayburn Bldg.
Senate Committees
The Future of Warfare
Senate Armed Services
Full Committee Hearing
9:30 a.m., G-50 Dirksen Bldg.
Ambassador Nominations
Senate Foreign Relations
Full Committee Confirmation Hearing
9:30 a.m., 419 Dirksen Bldg.
Putin’s Invasion of Ukraine and the Propaganda in Europe
Senate Foreign Relations – Subcommittee on Europe and Regional Security Cooperation
Subcommittee Hearing
2:30 p.m., 419 Dirksen Bldg.
Data Brokers – Is Consumers’ Information Secure?
Senate Judiciary – Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law
Subcommittee Hearing
2:30 p.m., 226 Dirksen Bldg.
Wednesday, November 4, 2015
House Committees
American Agriculture and National Security
House Agriculture
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m., 1300 Longworth Bldg.
Healthcare Legislation (H.R. 2017, H.R. 2446, H.R. 2646, H.R. 3014, H.R. 3537, H.R. 3716, and H.R. 3821)
House Energy and Commerce – Subcommittee on Health
Subcommittee Markup
10 a.m., 2123 Rayburn Bldg.
Semi-Annual Testimony on the Federal Reserve’s Supervision and Regulation of the Financial System
House Financial Services
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m., 2128 Rayburn Bldg.
U.S. Policy After Russia’s Escalation in Syria
House Foreign Affairs
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m., 2172 Rayburn Bldg.
A New Approach to Increase Trade and Security: An Examination of CBPs Public Private Partnerships
House Homeland Security – Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m., 311 Cannon Bldg.
Federal Lands Legislation H.R. 1815 and H.R. 3342
House Natural Resources – Subcommittee on Federal Lands
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m., 1324 Longworth Bldg.
Minerals Legislation H.R. 3843 and H.R. 3844
House Natural Resources – Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources
Subcommittee Hearing
10:30 a.m., 1334 Longworth Bldg.
An Examination of Continued Challenges in VA’s Vets First Verification
House Veterans’ Affairs – Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations; House Small Business – Subcommittee on Contracting and Workforce
Committee Joint Hearing
10:30 a.m., 334 Cannon Bldg.
Tax Code Anti-Terror Provisions
House Ways and Means – Subcommittee on Oversight
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m., 1100 Longworth Bldg.
Evaluating the 2015 Trafficking in Persons Report
House Foreign Affairs – Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations
Subcommittee Hearing
1 p.m., 2172 Rayburn Bldg.
European Refugee Crisis
House Foreign Affairs – Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia and Emerging Threats
Subcommittee Hearing
2 p.m., 2200 Rayburn Bldg.
Homeland Security Measures H.R. 2285 and H.R. 2795
House Homeland Security
Full Committee Markup
2 p.m., 311 Cannon Bldg.
Indian Affairs Legislation H.R. 2009. H.R. 2719, and H.R. 3079
House Natural Resources – Subcommittee on Indian, Insular and Alaska Native Affairs
Subcommittee Hearing
2 p.m., 1324 Longworth Bldg.
The Federal Information Technology Reform Acts (FITARA) Role in Reducing IT Acquisition Risk Part II: Measuring Agencies FITARA Implementation
House Oversight and Government Reform – Subcommittee on Information Technology; House Oversight and Government Reform – Subcommittee on Government Operations
Subcommittees Joint Hearing
2 p.m., 2154 Rayburn Bldg.
Stream Protection Rule
House Oversight and Government Reform – Subcommittee on the Interior
Subcommittee Hearing
2 p.m., 2247 Rayburn Bldg.
Senate Committees
Biennial Budgeting
Senate Budget
Full Committee Hearing
10:30 a.m., 608 Dirksen Bldg.
Consumer Reviews: How Gagging Honest Reviews Harms Consumers and the Economy
Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m., 253 Russell Bldg.
U.S. Policy in North Africa
Senate Foreign Relations
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m., 149 Dirksen Bldg.
D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program
Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m., 342 Dirksen Bldg.
Justice Department Nomination
Senate Judiciary
Full Committee Confirmation Hearing
10 a.m., 226 Dirksen Bldg.
How the Federal Government Fails American Victims of Iranian and Palestinian Terrorism
Senate Judiciary – Subcommittee on Oversight, Agency Action, Federal Rights and Federal Courts
Subcommittee Hearing
2 p.m., 216 Hart Bldg.
Joint Committees
Social Security Disability Insurance
Joint Economic
Full Committee Hearing
2:30 p.m., 106 Dirksen Bldg.
Thursday, November 5, 2015
House Committees
Examining the Costly Failures of Obamacare’s CO-OP Insurance Loans
House Energy and Commerce – Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
Subcommittee Hearing
10:15 a.m., 2322 Rayburn Bldg.
Iran’s Power Projection Capability
House Oversight and Government Reform – Subcommittee on National Security
Subcommittee Hearing
9 a.m., 2154 Rayburn Bldg.
Examining EPA’s Efforts to Block the Pebble Mine
House Science, Space and Technology
Full Committee Hearing
9 a.m., 2318 Rayburn Bldg.
Senate Committees
Wildfire: Stakeholder Perspectives on Budgetary Impacts and Threats to Natural Resources on Federal, State and Private Lands
Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m., 328-A Russell Bldg.
Agency Progress in Retrospective Review of Existing Regulations
Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs – Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs and Federal Management
Subcommittee Hearing
9:30 a.m., 342 Dirksen Bldg.
Friday, November 6, 2015
House Committees
Deplorable Human Rights Violations in Cuba and Venezuela
House Foreign Affairs – Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere
Subcommittee Field Hearing
10 a.m., Stephen P. Clark Government Center, 111 NW First St., Miami, Fla.