Both the House and Senate will be in session starting on Monday for a short week of legislative business on Capitol Hill, with two outside events dominating the schedule: President Obama will deliver his final State of the Union address on Tuesday evening and the Republican Conferences of both chambers will depart Washington on Wednesday to hold the GOP’s annual retreat.
All eyes will be on the House rostrum on Tuesday night for President Obama’s final State of the Union address and Rep. Paul Ryan’s first as Speaker of the House. Press reports based on the usual White House scene-setting leaks indicate that the President’s final address will not be the customary wish list of legislative items or policy proposals the Administration aims to pursue in the year ahead. Instead, the President is expected to focus on broader themes. In a video message preview released by the White House, President Obama said he will emphasize “not just the remarkable progress we’ve made, not just what I want to get done in the year ahead, but what we all need to do together in the years to come.” The State of the Union address is always considered a major messaging opportunity for both parties, and this election year will be no exception. Control of the Senate and the White House are obtainable for either party in November, and candidates will be using every available chance to draw partisan distinctions, especially on hot-button issues, such as gun control, terrorism and national security, health care, trade, and the economy, all likely subjects to be touched on in the President’s address. South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley has been tapped to deliver the Republican response immediately following the President’s primetime speech.
Even though the President’s remarks will be the main event during this abbreviated week, legislative business will be underway in both chambers. The Senate is scheduled to return on Monday, its first day of work since breaking for the holidays, to vote on a judicial nomination. On Tuesday, senators are expected to vote on a cloture motion to proceed to S. 2232, the Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2015. Sponsored by Senator (and current Republican presidential candidate) Rand Paul (R-KY), the legislation would increase congressional oversight of the Federal Reserve and direct the Government Accountability Office to undertake a full audit of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and of the Federal Reserve Banks and report its findings to Congress. Opponents of the so-called “Audit the Fed” proposal argue that it would politicize monetary policy in the United States and undercut the Fed’s independence. Last November, the House passed similar legislation, which drew a veto threat from President Obama. Senator Paul has secured support from 24 of his Republican colleagues through co-sponsorship for the bill, but he will need the support of 60 senators in order to invoke cloture and proceed to debate on the bill. Cloture appears unlikely.
The House is also scheduled to return on Monday, with votes expected on 8 bills reported out of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, all considered under suspension of the rules. A vote is also expected on H.R. 757, the North Korea Sanctions Enforcement Act of 2016, under suspension of the rules. The bill, which was introduced early last year, is coming up for consideration now in direct response to North Korea’s announcement last week of a successful hydrogen bomb test. Although officials are skeptical that North Korea did succeed in developing and testing a hydrogen bomb, as opposed to an atomic weapon, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-CA) announced the House would take up the measure to “prohibit North Korea’s access to hard currency and other measures to block and seize assets related to nuclear proliferation, illicit activities, and human rights violations that are the hallmark of the Kim regime.” The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is scheduled to hold a closed briefing for members regarding the nuclear test on Monday morning, while the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific will hold a hearing on Wednesday morning to discuss the issue.
On Tuesday, House members will turn their attention to H.R. 1644, Supporting Transparent Regulatory and Environmental Actions in Mining (STREAM) Act, to be considered under a rule. The legislation would effectively block a rule proposed by the Department of the Interior to restrict the controversial mountaintop removal coal mining process near streams. A vote is also expected this week on S. J. Res. 22, a joint resolution of disapproval to nullify 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. The disapproval resolution was passed by the Senate in November 53-44, well short of the necessary two-thirds majority to override a presidential veto. However, 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.
In addition, House members will consider a bill affecting sanctions against Iran. H.R. 3662, the Iran Terror Finance Transparency Act, would prevent the Administration from offering any sanctions relief to individuals or financial institutions in Iran until the Administration can certify to Congress that the entity has not had involvement with terrorist groups, including the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Iran’s ballistic missile program, or its conventional weapons program. Consideration of this bill comes as the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China are preparing to lift sanctions on Iranian oil, banking and commerce sectors should the Iranian government fulfill its obligations under the July 2015 multilateral nuclear agreement aimed at deterring Tehran’s development of a nuclear weapon.
One additional item that could see House action as early as this week is the budget reconciliation measure. On Friday, President Obama vetoed H.R. 3762, the budget reconciliation legislation passed through both chambers that would repeal key provisions of the Affordable Care Act and place a one-year moratorium on federal funding to Planned Parenthood. Although Republicans lack sufficient votes in either chamber to override the veto, House leadership has indicated they intend to hold a veto-override vote by January 26.
For the remainder of the week, House and Senate Republicans will sojourn in Baltimore, MD, for the annual GOP congressional retreat at which members will discuss the legislative agenda for the year ahead, as well as policy proposals and messaging strategy heading into the November 2016 election.
Due to the GOP retreat scheduled to begin on Wednesday, there is a very light hearing schedule this week, the details of which are included below:
Monday, January 11, 2016
House Committees
SBA’s Office of International Trade: Good for Business?
House Small Business – Subcommittee on Agriculture, Energy and Trade
Subcommittee Hearing
4 p.m., 2360 Rayburn Bldg.
Senate Committees
Assessing the Recent North Korea Nuclear Event
Senate Foreign Affairs
Full Committee Closed Briefing
5 p.m., Capitol Visitors Center, SVC-217
Tuesday, January 12, 2016
House Committees
Past, Present, and Future of SNAP: Engaging Special Populations
House Agriculture – Subcommittee on Nutrition
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m., 1300 Longworth Bldg.
“Outside Views on the U.S. Strategy for Iraq and Syria and the Evolution of Islamic Extremism”
House Armed Services
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m. 2118 Rayburn Bldg.
EPS Improvement Act of 2016
House Energy and Commerce – Subcommittee on Energy and Power
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m., 2322 Rayburn Bldg.
A Legislative Hearing on Four Communications Bills
House Energy and Commerce – Subcommittee on Communications and Technology
Subcommittee Hearing
10:15 a.m., 2123 Rayburn Bldg.
“Opportunities and Challenges Facing the National Flood Insurance Program”
House Financial Services – Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m., 2128 Rayburn Bldg.
Exploring Energy Challenges and Opportunities Facing Puerto Rico
House Natural Resources – Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m., 1324 Longworth Bldg.
SBA Management Review: Oversight of SBA’s Access to Capital Offices
House Small Business
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m., 2360 Rayburn Bldg.
Veterans Claims Processing Backlog
House Veterans’ Affairs
Full Committee Hearing
10:30 a.m., 334 Cannon Bldg.
“National Academies Study on Peer Review and Design Competition in the NNSA National Security Laboratories”
House Armed Services – Subcommittee on Strategic Forces
Subcommittee Hearing
3:30 p.m., 2118 Rayburn Bldg.
Pending Legislation
House Foreign Affairs – Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific
Subcommittee Markup
2:15 p.m., 2172 Rayburn
China Human Rights Report
House Foreign Affairs – Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific
Subcommittee Hearing
2:30 p.m., 2172 Rayburn Bldg.
Oversight of the Office of Innovation and Investment at the SBA
House Small Business – Subcommittee on Health and Technology
Subcommittee Hearing
3 p.m., 2360 Rayburn Bldg.
Senate Committees
Defense Health Care Reform
Senate Armed Services
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m., G-50 Dirksen Bldg.
Califf Nomination (FDA Commissioner, Department of Health and Human Services)
Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
Full Committee Markup
10 a.m., 430 Dirksen Bldg.
Pending Nominations
Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m., 342 Dirksen Bldg.
Missal Nomination (Inspector General, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs)
Senate Veterans’ Affairs
Full Committee Markup
2:30 p.m.
Joint Committees
Cybersecurity and Export Control
House Oversight and Government Reform – Subcommittee on Information Technology; House Homeland Security – Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection and Security Technologies
Committees Joint Hearing
2 p.m., 2154 Rayburn Bldg.
Wednesday, January 13, 2016
House Committees
“Effects of Reduced Infrastructure and Base Operating Support Investments on Air Force Readiness”
House Armed Services – Subcommittee on Readiness
Subcommittee Hearing
9 a.m., 2212 Rayburn Bldg.
North Korea Nuclear Test Response
House Foreign Affairs – Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific
Subcommittee Hearing
9 a.m., 2172 Rayburn Bldg.
Origination Clause
House Judiciary – Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice
Subcommittee Hearing
9 a.m., 2141 Rayburn Bldg.
How to Create a More Robust Private Flood Insurance Marketplace
House Financial Services – Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance
Subcommittee Hearing
9:15 a.m., 2128 Rayburn Bldg.
Views on Commissary Reform
House Armed Services – Subcommittee on Military Personnel
Subcommittee Hearing
10:30 a.m., 2118 Rayburn Bldg.