Following last week’s session shortened by the congressional Republican retreat to strategize for the 115th Congress, this week leadership in both chambers and congressional committees will begin to pursue some of the major Republican legislative priorities for the year ahead and put in place more of the President’s Cabinet nominees. Congressional activity this week is likely to be overshadowed by the President’s expected announcement of a Supreme Court nominee on Thursday, initiating a confirmation process that will consume a great deal of Senate time in the weeks ahead.
In terms of floor activity, the House is scheduled to return on Monday when it will take up seven bills under suspension of the rules within the jurisdiction of the Natural Resources Committee.
On Tuesday, members will take up an additional 19 bills under suspension of the rules; 17 of the bills are under the jurisdiction of the Homeland Security Committee. As with the other suspensions that have been considered thus far this year under suspension of the rules, this week’s suspension bills were passed by the House during the 114th Congress.
Beginning on Wednesday, the House will initiate the process of repealing regulations issued by federal agencies in the final months of the Obama Administration. Under the Congressional Review Act, the House and Senate are allowed 60 legislative days, starting from the date a final rule is submitted to Congress, to overturn federal regulations with a joint resolution of disapproval. If such a resolution is signed into law by the President, the rule in question cannot take effect and a “substantially similar” rule cannot be re-issued unless Congress reauthorizes it through new legislation. The joint resolution is subject to at least 10 hours of Senate debate, but is not subject to a filibuster. With Republicans controlling majorities in both chambers, the election of President Trump provides them a ripe opportunity to overturn a number of controversial regulations issued by the Obama Administration since June 13, 2016. This week, the House will start a process that is likely to result in the undoing of many regulations issues by the prior administration when it considers five disapproval resolutions this week.
Two resolutions of disapproval will be up for consideration on Wednesday. The first would undo the Interior Department’s Stream Protection Rule, a rule aimed at preventing coal-mining companies from polluting streams. The second would disapprove a rule issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission requiring the disclosure of payments made by publicly traded companies to foreign governments for the commercial development of oil, natural gas or minerals. Consideration of each of these resolutions will be subject to a rule.
Two additional disapproval resolutions will be considered on Thursday. The first measure would overturn a Social Security Administration rule requiring federal agencies to provide relevant records for the National Instant Criminal Background Check system. The second would overturn a rule relating to the Federal Acquisition Regulation. Consideration of both measures will be subject to a rule
On Friday, members will consider a resolution of disapproval regarding a final rule issued by the Bureau of Land Management regarding flaring and venting of natural gas during oil and gas production activities on tribal lands. Consideration of the resolution will be subject to a rule.
On the other side of the Capitol, the Senate is scheduled to resume legislative business on Monday, with an afternoon cloture vote scheduled on the nomination of Rex Tillerson to serve as the Secretary of State under President Trump. On Tuesday, the Senate will take up the nomination of Elaine Chao, wife of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), to serve as the Secretary of Transportation.
Votes on several other Cabinet nominees can be expected throughout the week as the nominations are reported by their respective Senate committees. On Monday, the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee is scheduled to vote on the nomination of Linda McMahon to serve as the Administrator of the Small Business Administration, and the Finance Committee is scheduled to consider the nomination of Steven Mnuchin to be Treasury Secretary. The nomination of Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) to serve as Attorney General is expected to be considered by the Judiciary Committee on Tuesday. That same day the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources is scheduled to vote on the nominations of Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-MT) to serve as Interior Secretary and former Texas Governor Rick Perry to serve as the Secretary of Energy. The Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee plans to meet on Wednesday to consider the nomination of Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-SC) to be Director of the Office of Management and Budget. Also on Wednesday, David Shulkin is scheduled to appear before the Veterans’ Affairs Committee regarding his nomination to head the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Several events on the hearing schedule this week pertain to the Republican priority of repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and, relatedly, the future of the Medicaid program. The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations will meet on Tuesday to review the Medicaid program. That same day, the House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Health Care, Benefits, and Administrative Rules has scheduled a hearing on waste, fraud and abuse under the ACA. On Wednesday, the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee will review discussion drafts of three Medicaid reform bills. Similar legislation was introduced by committee members last Congress. These bills include: ending Medicaid benefits for lottery jackpot winners, closing a loophole that lets married couples shelter assets to qualify for Medicaid, and addressing Medicaid coverage for individuals who are unlawfully present in the country. On Wednesday, the Senate Health Education, Labor and Pensions Committee will also review the individual health insurance marketplace, and the House Education and Workforce Committee will discuss methods of advancing “patient-centered solutions” in health care. On Thursday, the Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee is scheduled to meet again for a hearing on the ACA’s health-insurance marketplace.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will hold a hearing on Tuesday regarding policy options to confront North Korea.
Former General David Patreus is scheduled to provide testimony before the House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday regarding national security threats and challenges around the world.
The House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Terrorism, Non-Proliferation, and Trade will host a Wednesday hearing on the impact of a post-Brexit U.S.-U.K. free trade agreement. The hearing comes on the heels of last week’s official visit by British Prime Minister Theresa May, the first foreign leader to visit President Trump, and following the President’s public comments on his intent to pursue a bilateral trade agreement with the U.K. in the wake of Brexit.
And following the news of Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto cancelling his planned visit to Washington amid a very public dispute with President Trump over the border wall between the two countries, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee has scheduled a Wednesday hearing on the wall. Several former Homeland Security officials will provide testimony to the committee.
Congressional Budget Office Director Keith Hall, will provide Congress with the agency’s budget and 10-year economic outlook this week. He is scheduled to appear before the Senate Budget Committee on Wednesday and the House Budget Committee on Thursday.
The House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure plans to meet on Wednesday morning to consider the challenges facing our current transportation infrastructure, its future needs, and visions for a modern, 21st century transportation infrastructure. The Committee will hear testimony from the leaders of FedEx Corporation, Cargill, BMW North America, Vermeer Corporation, and the AFL-CIO.
The full details for these events and other congressional hearings scheduled throughout the week are included below:
Monday, January 30, 2017
Senate Committees
Mnuchin nomination
Senate Finance
Full Committee Markup
6 p.m.
Committee Organization
Senate Foreign Relations
Full Committee Business Meeting
5 p.m.
Committee Organization/Administrator of the Small Business Administration Nomination
Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship
Full Committee Markup
TBA, S-216
Tuesday, January 31, 2017
House Committees
Medicaid Oversight: Existing Problems and Ways to Strengthen the Program
House Energy and Commerce – Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m., 2123 RHOB
Committee Organization
House Transportation and Infrastructure
Full Committee Business Meeting
10 a.m.
Committee Organization
House Veterans’ Affairs
Full Committee Business Meeting
10 a.m.
Fraud, Waste and Abuse under the Affordable Care Act
House Oversight and Government Reform – Subcommittee on Health Care, Benefits and Administrative Rules
Subcommittee Hearing
2 p.m., 2154 RHOB
Senate Committees
Committee Organization/Interior Secretary and Energy Secretary Nominations
Senate Energy and Natural Resources
Full Committee Markup
9:30 a.m.
Confronting the North Korea Threat: Reassessing Policy Options
Senate Foreign Relations
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m., SD-419
Committee Organization
Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
Full Committee Business Meeting
10 a.m., SD-430
Attorney General Nomination/Committee Organization/Elder Abuse Prevention Legislation
Senate Judiciary
Full Committee Markup and Hearing
9:30 a.m., SD-226
Wednesday, February 1, 2017
House Committees
The State of the World: National Security Threats and Challenges
House Armed Services
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m., 2118 RHOB
Rescuing Americans from the Failed Health Care Law and Advancing Patient-Centered Solutions
House Education and the Workforce
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m.
Prioritizing the Most Vulnerable in Medicaid
House Energy and Commerce – Subcommittee on Health
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m.
The Electricity Sector’s Efforts to Respond to Cybersecurity Threats
House Energy and Commerce
Full Committee Hearing
10:15 a.m., 2322 RHOB
Next Steps in the “Special Relationship” Impact of a U.S.-U.K. Free Trade Agreement
House Foreign Affairs – Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m., 2172 RHOB
Empowering the Inspectors General
House Oversight and Government Reform
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m., 2154 RHOB
Committee Organization
House Small Business
Full Committee Business Meeting
11 a.m.
Building a 21st Century Infrastructure for America
House Transportation and Infrastructure
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m., 2167 RHOB
Five Years Later: A Review of the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act
House Oversight and Government Reform
Full Committee Hearing
2 p.m., 2154 RHOB
Senate Committees
The Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO) Budget and Economic Outlook for FY2017- 2027
Senate Budget
Full Committee Hearing
10:30 a.m., SD-608
Obamacare Emergency: Stabilizing the Individual Health Insurance Market
Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m., SD-430
Committee Organization/Director of the Office of Management and Budget Nomination
Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
Full Committee Business Meeting
9:40 a.m., SD-342
Fencing Along the Southwest Border
Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m., SD-342
Committee Organization/Financial Fraud Affecting Seniors
Senate Special Aging
Full Committee Business Meeting and Hearing
2:30 p.m., SD-562
Secretary of Veterans Affairs Nomination
Senate Veterans’ Affairs
Full Committee Hearing
2:30 p.m., SD-106
Thursday, February 2, 2017
House Committees
Committee Oversight Plan
House Armed Services
Full Committee Business Meeting
10 a.m., 2118 RHOB
The Congressional Budget Office’s Budget and Economic Outlook
House Budget
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m., 1334 LHOB
Helping Students Succeed Through the Power of School Choice
House Education and the Workforce – Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m., 2175 RHOB
Patient Relief from Collapsing Health Markets
House Energy and Commerce – Subcommittee on Health
Subcommittee Hearing
10:30 a.m., 2123 RHOB
NTIA Reauthorization
House Energy and Commerce – Subcommittee on Communications and Technology
Subcommittee Hearing
10:45 a.m., 2322 RHOB
Israel the Palestinians and the United Nations: Challenges for the New Administration
House Foreign Affairs – Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa; House Foreign Affairs – Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations
Subcommittees Joint Hearing
10 a.m., 2172 RHOB
Improving Security and Efficiency at OPM and the National Background Investigations Bureau
House Oversight and Government Reform
Full Committee Hearing
9 a.m., 2154 RHOB