It will be an ambitious week for Republicans on Capitol Hill, where the schedule includes the start of the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Tenth Circuit Judge Neil Gorsuch, and in the House of Representatives a vote is scheduled on the GOP leadership proposal to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
The House is scheduled to return to legislative business on Monday, when members will take up 11 bills under suspension of the rules, including nine measures under the jurisdiction of the Homeland Security Committee. The Homeland Security suspension package was previously scheduled for consideration last week, but votes were postponed due to the winter storm that hit the mid-Atlantic and northeast.
On Tuesday, House members will turn their attention to health care reform legislation, which will consume the floor activity for the remainder of the week. First, the House will take up H.R. 372, the Competitive Health Insurance Reform Act of 2017, which was reported out of the Judiciary Committee. The legislation would restore the application of federal antitrust laws to the health insurance market by repealing the McCarran-Ferguson Act insofar as it applies to health insurance. This proposal was included in the Republican Study Committee’s early healthcare reform bill and in Speaker Paul Ryan’s “A Better Way” white paper; GOP leadership intends for this proposal to play a role in the second phase of the Republican majority’s strategy for repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act. Consideration of H.R. 372 will be subject to a rule.
On Wednesday, members will take up H.R. 1101, the Small Business Health Fairness Act of 2017, as reported by the Committee on Education and the Workforce. The legislation would allow certain small businesses to join together through association health care plans (AHPs) in order to provide more affordable options for those small businesses to offer health care coverage to their employees. Consideration of H.R. 1101 will be subject to a rule.
House leadership will then bring the “American Health Care Act,” the legislative vehicle to repeal and replace the ACA, to the floor for consideration on Wednesday and Thursday. The plan was met with tepid support upon its release, as the more conservative members of the conference argue the bill does not go far enough in repealing all of the provisions of the ACA. In addition, some Republican moderates, including four senators, and a number of governors have expressed concerns over the bill’s impact on the ACA’s expansion of Medicaid. Confidence for the bill’s success further deteriorated when the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released last Monday an analysis of the bill, which estimated that by the year 2026, 24 million more Americans would be uninsured than they would be under the ACA. On the other hand, Republicans took comfort in the estimate that the legislation would cut the federal deficit by $337 billion. The CBO analysis also indicated that that some older and low-income Americans could face major premium increases under the legislation. While some adjustments to the bill were made by the House Budget Committee during its markup last week, the committee vote to advance the measure was 19-17, with three Republican members of the House Freedom Caucus joining with all of the committee Democrats in voting against the bill. Substantive amendments to the bill are likely to be made in order for floor consideration by the Rules Committee this week when it decides how the bill will be considered and debated on the House floor. Press reports indicate President Trump and members of House leadership have been reaching out to members of the Republican conference over the weekend to whip votes on what is considered a critical part of the GOP agenda. The American Health Care Act will need the support of 216 members (due to five vacancies in the House) in order to pass the House; the math allows that Republicans can only afford to lose the support of 21 members of the conference, given that all House Democrats are expected to oppose the bill. The scheduling of the bill for a floor vote so promptly suggests that Republican leaders are confident they will be able to pass the bill. Once the bill makes it to the Senate, where reconciliation instructions would allow the measure to pass with a simple majority, further changes are expected in order to allow its passage because Senate Republicans can only stand to lose two votes, and, as noted previously, four Republicans have publicly opposed the American Health Care Act in its current form.
The Senate is scheduled to return to legislative business on Tuesday, when members will proceed to one roll call vote to confirm en bloc two nominees to the United States Sentencing Commission. The floor activity for the remainder of the week remains unclear, although the Majority Leader may move to consider other nominations awaiting consideration. The nomination of David Friedman to serve as U.S. Ambassador to Israel is pending, as is the nomination of Elaine Duke to serve as Deputy Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. Other measures available for Senate consideration are additional resolutions disapproving of Obama-era agency regulations pursuant to the Congressional Review Act. Majority Leader McConnell has not spelled out the Senate’s floor activities for the week after the vote on the U.S. Sentencing Commission nominees.
In addition to the high-profile legislative business on the House floor, there are a number of key events happening in congressional committees this week.
Although much attention will be focused on the House’s healthcare-reform debate, the Senate Judiciary Committee’s hearing on the nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch to serve as an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court will draw equal attention to the Senate. The nominee will provide testimony before the committee on Monday, and the hearing is expected to continue on Tuesday with outside witnesses. Majority Leader McConnell has publicly indicated his intent to schedule a vote on the nomination on the Senate floor before the start of the next congressional recess, which is currently scheduled to begin on April 8. To adhere to that schedule, a markup is likely to be scheduled for this week, so that the traditional one-week hold-over under the Judiciary Committee’s rules can be used, ensuring the Committee can vote on the nomination at a markup during the week of March 27, enabling the full Senate to consider the nomination the week of April 3.
The President’s nominee to serve as Secretary of Labor, Alexander Acosta, will make an appearance before the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Wednesday as the Committee considers his nomination. This hearing will leave former Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue, nominated to serve as Agriculture Secretary, the lone Cabinet nominee awaiting a hearing. Jay Clayton, the President’s nominee to serve as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, will have his confirmation hearing before the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs on Thursday.
On Monday, FBI Director James Comey and National Security Agency Director Admiral Michael Rogers will testify in an open hearing before the House Select Committee on Intelligence on the investigation into Russian active measures during the 2016 election campaign.
Related to cybersecurity, the House Homeland Security Committee will meet Wednesday to hear testimony from cybersecurity experts on the evolving cyber threat landscape and the Department of Homeland Security’s civilian cyber defense mission. The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee is also scheduled to meet on Wednesday to discuss the impact of emerging technologies on the future of cybersecurity.
Following the release of President Donald Trump’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 budget proposal last week, members of the President’s Cabinet will begin appearances on Capitol Hill this week to discuss the requests for their specific departments in greater detail with members of the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees. On Wednesday, the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee will hear testimony from Defense Secretary James Mattis and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford on the Pentagon’s budget and readiness for FY 2018.
Military readiness and modernization is also the subject of other events this week. The House Armed Services Committee is scheduled to hear testimony on the state of the U.S. Air Force on Wednesday. A Senate Armed Services Subcommittee will receive testimony on Army modernization on Wednesday. That afternoon, the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard, will convene a hearing on the state of the U.S. Coast Guard, where the sole witness will be Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Paul Zukunft.
On matters of international affairs, the House Armed Services Committee will hold a Tuesday hearing on “America’s Role in the World,” with former Secretary of State Madeline Albright and former National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley scheduled to provide testimony. That same morning, the Senate Armed Services Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing on U.S. policy and strategy in Europe. The Senate Armed Services Committee will convene again on Thursday to receive testimony on U.S. European Command from its Commander, General Curtis Scaparrotti.
Congressional committees continue to host hearings related to infrastructure improvements and modernization efforts throughout this week. The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology will meet on Tuesday to discuss broadband infrastructure deployment. The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security, will convene a hearing on Thursday to examine airport infrastructure issues and reforms to improve U.S. competitiveness in the global marketplace for aviation products and manufacturing. The Senate Energy and natural Resources Committee will hold a Tuesday hearing regarding federal lands infrastructure. The House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources is also scheduled to meet this Tuesday regarding the importance of domestically-sourced raw materials for national infrastructure projects.
Members of the House Agriculture Committee continue their preparation for the 2018 Farm Bill with several events this week. The Subcommittee on Nutrition is scheduled to meet on Tuesday morning to discuss nutrition distribution programs. The Subcommittee on Livestock and Foreign Agriculture will meet Tuesday afternoon to hear livestock producer perspectives. The full committee is scheduled to meet on Wednesday to discuss U.S. dairy policy in the next farm bill.
The full details for these hearings and other congressional hearings scheduled throughout this week are included below:
Monday, March 20, 2017
House Committees
Russian Active Measures Investigation
House Select Intelligence
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m., 1100 LHOB
Senate Committees
Nomination of Neil Gorsuch to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court
Senate Judiciary Committee
Full Committee Hearing
11 a.m., SH-216
Tuesday, March 21, 2017
House Committees
The Next Farm Bill: Nutrition Distribution Programs
House Agriculture – Subcommittee on Nutrition
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m., 1300 LHOB
America’s Role in the World
House Armed Services
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m., 2118 RHOB
Improving Federal Student Aid to Better Meet the Needs of Students
House Education and the Workforce – Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m.
Broadband Infrastructure
House Energy and Commerce – Subcommittee on Communications and Technology
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m.
Fentanyl: The Next Wave of the Opioid Crisis
House Energy and Commerce – Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
Subcommittee Hearing
10:15 a.m., 2123 RHOB
The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection’s Unconstitutional Design
House Financial Services – Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m., 2128 RHOB
Private Immigration Bill Rules of Procedure
House Judiciary – Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security
Subcommittee Markup
10 a.m., 2141 RHOB
Examining Systemic Management and Fiscal Challenges within the Department of Justice
House Judiciary
Full Committee Hearing
1 p.m., 2141 RHOB
Oversight Hearing on The Importance of Domestically Sourced Raw Materials for Infrastructure Projects
House Natural Resources – Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m., 1324 LHOB
125 Billion in Savings Ignored: Review of DoDs Efficiency Study
House Oversight and Government Reform
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m., 2154 RHOB
National Science Foundation Part II: Future Opportunities and Challenges for Science
House Science, Space and Technology – Subcommittee on Research and Technology
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m., 2318 RHOB
Roundtable on Emerging Railroad Technologies
House Transportation and Infrastructure
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m.
The Next Farm Bill: Livestock Producer Perspectives
House Agriculture – Subcommittee on Livestock and Foreign Agriculture
Subcommittee Hearing
2 p.m., 1300 LHOB
Military Social Media Policies
House Armed Services – Subcommittee on Military Personnel
Subcommittee Hearing
3:30 p.m., 2118 RHOB
Ending the De Novo Drought: Examining the Application Process for De Novo Financial Institutions
House Financial Services – Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit
Subcommittee Hearing
2 p.m., 2128 RHOB
Pressuring North Korea: Evaluating Options
House Foreign Affairs – Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific
Subcommittee Hearing
2 p.m., 2172 RHOB
Defeating a Sophisticated and Dangerous Adversary: Are the New Border Security Task Forces the Right Approach?”
House Homeland Security – Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security
Subcommittee Hearing
2 p.m., 210 HVC
Examining GAO Findings On Deficiencies At The Bureau Of Safety And Environmental Enforcement
House Oversight and Government Reform – Subcommittee on the Interior, Energy, and the Environment
Subcommittee Hearing
2 p.m., 2154 RHOB
H.R.1461, the “Veterans, Employees, and Taxpayers Protection Act of 2017
House Veterans’ Affairs – Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity
Subcommittee Hearing
2 p.m., 334 CHOB
Senate Committees
U.S. Policy and Strategy in Europe
Senate Armed Services
Full Committee Hearing
9:30 a.m., SD-G-50
Staying A Step Ahead: Fighting Back Against Scams Used to Defraud Americans
Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation – Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, Insurance and Data Security
Subcommittee Hearing
2:30 p.m.
Federal Lands Infrastructure
Senate Energy and Natural Resources
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m.
FDA User Fee Agreements: Improving Medical Product Regulation and Innovation for Patients Part I
Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m., SD-430
Gorsuch Nomination
Senate Judiciary
Full Committee Hearing
TBA
Raising Grandchildren in the Opioid Crisis
Senate Special Aging
Full Committee Hearing
2:30 p.m.
Wednesday, March 22, 2017
House Committees
The Next Farm Bill: Dairy Policy
House Agriculture
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m.
Veterans Affairs Office of the Inspector General Oversight
House Appropriations – Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m.
The Evolution of Hybrid Warfare and Key Challenges
House Armed Services
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m., 2118 RHOB
The Need for More Responsible Regulatory and Enforcement Policies at the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission)
House Education and the Workforce – Subcommittee on Workforce Protections
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m., 2175 RHOB
Ozone Standards Implementation Act of 2017
House Energy and Commerce – Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m., 2123 RHOB
Anti-Semitism Across Borders
House Foreign Affairs – Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m., 2172 RHOB
Examining FDA’s Prescription Drug User Fee Program
House Energy and Commerce – Subcommittee on Health
Subcommittee Hearing
10:15 a.m., 2322 RHOB
Examining Results and Accountability at the World Bank
House Financial Services – Subcommittee on Monetary Policy and Trade
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m., 2128 RHOB
A Borderless Battle: Defending Against Cyber Threats
House Homeland Security
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m., HVC-210
The Status of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) Restructuring Support Agreement
House Natural Resources – Subcommittee on Indian, Insular and Alaska Native Affairs
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m.
Law Enforcement’s Use of Facial Recognition Technology
House Oversight and Government Reform
Full Committee Hearing
9 a.m., 2154 RHOB
Social Security’s Representative Payee Program
House Oversight and Government Reform – Subcommittee on Health Care, Benefits and Administrative Rules; Subcommittee on Social Security
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m., 1100 LHOB
The ISS (International Space Station) after 2024: Options and Impacts
House Science, Space and Technology – Subcommittee on Space
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m., 2123 RHOB
Making Washington Work For America’s Small Businesses
House Small Business
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m., 2360 RHOB
Social Security’s Representative Payee Program
House Ways and Means – Subcommittee on Social Security; House Ways and Means – Subcommittee on Oversight
Subcommittees Joint Hearing
10 a.m.
Healthy Hiring: Enabling VA to Recruit and Retain Quality Providers
House Veterans’ Affairs – Subcommittee on Health
Subcommittee Hearing
2 p.m., 334 CHOB
State of the U.S. Air Force
House Armed Services – Subcommittee on Readiness
Subcommittee Hearing
2 p.m., 2118 RHOB
The JOBS Act at Five: Examining Its Impact and Ensuring the Competitiveness of the U.S. Capital Markets
House Financial Services – Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government Sponsored Enterprises
Subcommittee Hearing
2 p.m., 2128 RHOB
U.S. Policy Toward the Baltic States
House Foreign Affairs – Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia and Emerging Threats
Subcommittee Hearing
2 p.m.
Examining the Impact of Voluntary Restricted Distribution Systems in the Pharmaceutical Supply Chain
House Oversight and Government Reform — Subcommittee on Health Care, Benefits and Administrative Rules
Subcommittee Hearing
2 p.m., 2154 RHOB
Senate Committees
Defense Readiness and Budget Update
Senate Appropriations – Subcommittee on Defense
Subcommittee Hearing
10:30 a.m., SD-192
Promises and Perils of Emerging Cybersecurity Technologies
Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m., SD-106
Flashing Red: The State of Global Humanitarian Affairs
Senate Foreign Relations
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m., SD-419
Secretary of Labor Nomination
Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
Full Committee Hearing
9 a.m., SD-430
Perspectives from the DHS Frontline: Evaluating Staffing Resources and Requirements
Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m., SD-342
Army Modernization
Senate Armed Services – Subcommittee on Airland
Subcommittee Hearing
3:30 p.m., SR-222
State of the Coast Guard
Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation – Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries and Coast Guard
Subcommittee Hearing
2:30 p.m., SR-253
Conflict Minerals Progress Report
Senate Foreign Relations – Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health Policy
Subcommittee Hearing
2:30 p.m., SD-419
Joint Committees
Veterans Service Organizations
House Veterans’ Affairs; Senate Veterans’ Affairs
Committees Joint Hearing
10 a.m.
Thursday, March 23, 2017
House Committees
High Consequences and Uncertain Threats: Reviewing Department of Defense Strategy, Policy, and Programs for Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction for Fiscal Year 2018
House Armed Services – Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities
Subcommittee Hearing
10:30 a.m., 2118 RHOB
Financial Institution Bankruptcy Act
House Judiciary – Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law
Subcommittee Hearing
9 a.m., 2141 RHOB
The Future of Small Family Farms
House Small Business – Subcommittee on Agriculture, Energy and Trade
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m., 2141 RHOB
Senate Committees
U.S. European Command
Senate Armed Services
Full Committee Hearing
9:30 a.m., SD-G-50
SEC Nomination
Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
Full Committee Hearing
9:30 a.m., SD-538
FAA Reauthorization: Perspectives on Improving Airport Infrastructure and Aviation Manufacturing
Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation – Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety and Security
Subcommittee Hearing
10 a.m., SR-253
Department of Defense Civilian Personnel Reform
Senate Armed Services – Subcommittee on Personnel
Subcommittee Hearing
2:30 p.m., SR-232-A
Friday, March 24, 2017
House Committees
Legislative Proposals for Fostering Transparency
House Oversight and Government Reform
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m.