The House is the only chamber in session this week.  The Senate adjourned last Thursday for a two-week district work period and will return to session on April 4.  House members will join them in recess once legislative business concludes this Wednesday, making for a lighter than normal schedule this week.

The House is scheduled to return to legislative business on Monday, with votes expected on six bills under suspension of the rules, including the Senate-amended Airport and Airway Extension Act of 2016.  As discussed in previous columns, the current authorization for the Federal Aviation Administration, including its air-traffic control operations, is set to expire March 31.  On March 14 the House passed by voice vote a short-term extension of FAA authority through July 15 and authority for the FAA to continue collecting excise taxes on fuel through March 2017.  The Senate rejected the March 2017 deadline and amended the legislation to extend both the authorization and collection of taxes until July 15 of this year.  This change requires the House to consider the legislation again before sending to the President for signature.

On Tuesday the House will take up another seven bills under suspension of the rules before turning to consideration of H.R. 2745, the Standard Merger and Acquisition Reviews Through Equal Rules (SMARTER) Act, subject to a rule.  Currently both the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division (DOJ) enforce federal antitrust laws, though in some instances, the manner in which the two agencies exercise that authority differs.  H.R. 2745 would amend the Clayton Act and the Federal Trade Commission Act to align certain procedures followed by the FTC when it reviews a proposed merger or acquisition with the procedures followed by DOJ.  Companion legislation (S. 2012) is currently pending in the Senate Judiciary Committee, where hearings have been held.  Consideration of H.R. 2745 is expected to continue into Wednesday before the House adjourns for its spring recess.

One item not expected to see attention this week is a House budget resolution for Fiscal Year (FY) 2017.  The House Budget Committee completed its markup of Chairman Price’s budget resolution last week, but the full House will not be considering it until after their return in April.  The measure was reported out of the committee on Wednesday by a 20-16 vote with two Republicans joining the minority in voting against the measure.  Many House conservatives are still opposed to the budget proposal, which sticks to the $1.07 trillion top-line spending number set by last year’s bipartisan budget agreement between congressional Republicans and the President, while also proposing to cut $30 billion in mandatory spending over the next two years.  Conservatives want to see those cuts happen over one fiscal year.  Republican leadership and Chairman Price will undoubtedly be whipping votes over the next two weeks to try to garner support for floor consideration, although in speaking to the press last Tuesday, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan said “I promise in this speakership that we’re not going to have a top-down, cram-it-down-people’s-throat kind of leadership. We’re going to make a team decision on this issue.”

Even without a budget resolution enacted, the appropriations process for FY 2017 remains ongoing.  House committees seem to be wrapping up their review of the President’s request for 2017 this week.  Of note on the schedule are two Wednesday hearings on the EPA Budget occurring in the House Appropriations Interior Subcommittee and a joint hearing of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy & Power and Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy.  EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy is scheduled to appear at the hearings, where the line of questioning will undoubtedly turn to the drinking water contamination crisis in Flint, Michigan.  Administrator McCarthy appeared alongside Michigan Governor Rick Snyder before a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing on the water contamination crisis last week.  The two witnesses faced scathing criticism over their handling of the situation and repeated calls for their resignations.

Also on the hearing schedule this week, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew is scheduled to appear before the House Financial Services Committee on Tuesday to deliver testimony on the state of the international financial system.

The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology has scheduled a Tuesday hearing on oversight of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), with all five Commissioners, including Chairman Tom Wheeler, scheduled to testify.

The Director for National Drug Control Policy Michael Botticelli and the Acting Administrator of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Kana Enomoto will be appearing on a panel of witnesses before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Tuesday to discuss America’s opioid and heroin abuse epidemic. Two weeks ago the Senate passed legislation to address the ongoing surge in opioid addiction across the nation; the bill is pending in the House, where Speaker Ryan said last week the House would tackle the issue too this year.

On Tuesday afternoon, the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Tax Policy will host the first in a series of hearings on Member proposals relating to reform of the income tax system. This hearing will focus in particular on cash-flow and consumption-based approaches to taxation.

The Administration’s plan to close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay will be the subject of a Wednesday hearing in the House Foreign Affairs Committee.  As a candidate for President in 2008, President Obama pledged to close the prison in Cuba and transfer the remaining detainees to facilities on U.S. soil, but his plan has met strong resistance in Congress.  During a press conference in February, the President called for a “fair hearing” on his plan to close Guantanamo Bay and the Pentagon’s proposal for potential U.S. sites that could house the remaining detainees.  He has previously threatened to use an executive order to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility if Congress does not take action.  The Wednesday hearing will consider the foreign policy and national security risks of the Administration’s proposal.

The full schedule of hearings for the week ahead is included below:

Monday, March 21, 2016

Senate Committees

Senior Scams: What Are They and How Can People Avoid Them
Senate Special Aging
Full Committee Field Hearing
March 21, 10:15 a.m., 200 N. River Street Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

House Committees

EPA Budget
House Appropriations – Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies
Subcommittee Hearing
9 a.m.

Defense Health Program Budget
House Appropriations – Subcommittee on Defense
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m.

Education Budget
House Appropriations – Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m.

SEC Budget
House Appropriations – Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government
Subcommittee Hearing
March 22, 11 a.m.

Defense Budget
House Armed Services
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m.

Strengthening Education Research and Privacy Protections to Better Serve Students
House Education and the Workforce
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m.

FCC Oversight
House Energy and Commerce – Subcommittee on Communications and Technology
Subcommittee Hearing
10:15 a.m.

International Financial System
House Financial Services
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m.

Women Fighting for Peace: Lessons for Today’s Conflicts
House Foreign Affairs
Full Committee Hearing
10:45 a.m.

The Role of Cyber Insurance in Risk Management
House Homeland Security – Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection and Security Technologies
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m.

Health Care Liability/Crimes Against Veterans Legislation
House Judiciary
Full Committee Markup
10 a.m.

Forest Service Budget
House Natural Resources – Subcommittee on Federal Lands
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m.

Indian Country/Insular Area Budget
House Natural Resources – Subcommittee on Indian, Insular and Alaska Native Affairs
Subcommittee Hearing
11 a.m.

America’s Heroin and Opioid Abuse Epidemic
House Oversight and Government Reform
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m.

Department of Energy Budget
House Science, Space and Technology
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m.

Lip Service but Little Else: Failure of the Small Business Health Insurance Tax Credit
House Small Business – Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Tax and Capital Access
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m.

Choice Consolidation: Leveraging Provider Networks
House Veterans’ Affairs – Subcommittee on Health
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m.

Social Security and Public Servants: Ensuring Equal Treatment
House Ways and Means – Subcommittee on Social Security
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m.

National Guard and Reserve Budget
House Appropriations – Subcommittee on Defense
Subcommittee Hearing
1:30 p.m.

DEA Budget
House Appropriations – Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies
Subcommittee Hearing
2 p.m.

Logistics/Sealift Force Requirements
House Armed Services – Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces
Subcommittee Hearing
2 p.m.

Defense IT/Cyber Programs
House Armed Services – Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities
Subcommittee Hearing
3:30 p.m.

EPA Budget
House Energy and Commerce – Subcommittee on Energy and Power; Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy
Subcommittees Joint Hearing
2 p.m.

Government Regulations and Housing Costs
House Financial Services – Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance
Subcommittee Hearing
2 p.m.

A Victims-Centered Trafficking in Persons Report
House Foreign Affairs – Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations
Subcommittee Hearing
2 p.m.

Potential Terrorist Threats: Border Security Challenges in Latin America and the Caribbean
House Foreign Affairs – Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere
Subcommittee Hearing
2 p.m.

Budget Priorities for South Asia: Recovery-Development-Engagement
House Foreign Affairs – Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific
Subcommittee Hearing
2 p.m.

Hezbollah’s Growing Threat Against U.S. National Security Interests in the Middle East
House Foreign Affairs – Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa
Subcommittee Hearing
2 p.m.

FWS-NOAA-BOR-PMA Budgets
House Natural Resources – Subcommittee on Water, Power and Oceans
Subcommittee Hearing
2 p.m.

Advancing Health IT
House Oversight and Government Reform – Subcommittee on Health Care, Benefits and Administrative Rules
Subcommittee Hearing
2 p.m.

National Science Foundation Budget
House Science, Space and Technology – Subcommittee on Research and Technology
Subcommittee Hearing
2 p.m.

Ongoing Intelligence Activities
House Select Intelligence – Department of Defense Intelligence and Overhead Architecture Subcommittee
Subcommittee Hearing (CLOSED)
3:30 p.m.

Fundamental Tax Reform Proposals
House Ways and Means – Subcommittee on Tax Policy
Subcommittee Hearing
2:30 p.m.

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

House Committees

Smithsonian Institution Budget
House Appropriations – Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m.

CDC Budget
House Appropriations – Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m.

Military Construction-VA Appropriations
House Appropriations – Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies
Subcommittee Markup
9 a.m.

F-35 Joint Strike Fighter
House Armed Services – Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces
Subcommittee Hearing
10:30 a.m.

The Administration’s Plan to Close the Guantanamo Bay Detention Facility: At What Foreign policy and National Security Cost?
House Foreign Affairs
Full Committee Hearing
9:30 a.m.

Pending Legislation
House Homeland Security
Full Committee Hearing
9 a.m.

Office of Surface Mining Budget
House Natural Resources – Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources
Subcommittee Hearing
9 a.m.

BLM Public Lands Leasing
House Oversight and Government Reform – Subcommittee on the Interior
Subcommittee Hearing
9 a.m.

National Security: Threats at Our Borders
House Oversight and Government Reform – Subcommittee on Government Operations
Subcommittee Hearing
9 a.m.

EPA Regional Haze Program
House Science, Space and Technology – Subcommittee on Environment
Subcommittee Hearing
9:30 a.m.