It will be a busy week on Capitol Hill with the House returning from its one-week district work period and the Senate aiming to adjourn for its spring recess at the end of the week.

The Senate is scheduled to return to legislative business on Monday afternoon, with a vote expected at 5:30 p.m. on the nomination of Dr. John B. King, Jr. to serve as Secretary of Education.

The Senate floor agenda for the remainder of the week is unclear, although there are several potential bills the Majority Leader could seek to consider. The Senate may return to consideration of S. 2012, comprehensive energy legislation previously stalled by an amendment to provide emergency funding assistance to Flint, Michigan to assist with decontamination of the community’s drinking water system. Senator Jim Inhofe (R-OK), Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, and Michigan Senators Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters filed stand-alone legislation to provide federal assistance to address water infrastructure issues, including the Flint situation, and have been working with Senate leadership to negotiate a path forward.

Unfortunately, the deal being negotiated to bring both the energy and water-infrastructure bills to the Senate floor now appears to be held up by an amendment regarding offshore drilling. Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) has placed a hold on the energy bill over an amendment proposed by Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) that would increase revenue sharing for states that allow offshore drilling for oil and gas in the Gulf of Mexico. While drilling authority is under the control of the federal government, a spokesperson for Senator Nelson said the financial incentive generated by the amendment would create “such immense pressure to continuously open up new areas to offshore drilling that it’d only be a matter of time before they’d start looking to open up areas off Florida’s coast.” Even though the energy bill managers and Senate leadership had hoped to wrap up the bill before the Senate adjourns at the end of this week for its spring recess, consideration will be stalled until the hold is resolved.

As negotiations continue on the bipartisan energy and water-infrastructure bills, the Senate may move to consider S. 2609, a food labeling bill sponsored by Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts (R-KS). The legislation would prevent individual states from instituting labeling requirements for genetically modified foods and instead require that the Department of Agriculture set up a national voluntary standard of labeling for foods with genetically modified ingredients. So far Vermont is the only state set to require the labeling of genetically modified foods, although Connecticut and Maine have passed similar legislation that will only go into effect if neighboring states pass legislation. More than two dozen other state legislatures have introduced food labeling legislation in recent years. Proponents of the bill argue that a patchwork of state labeling laws produces an inconsistent national regulatory regime, allowing a handful of states effectively to set national policy, and adds expensive compliance costs which food companies will pass on to consumers, raising everyone’s food costs nationally. Opponents of S. 2609 believe that consumers have a right to know what is in their food. The House has already passed its own version of food-labeling legislation to prevent states from enacting labeling laws.

Another potential item for Senate consideration is S. Res. 377, a resolution to hold Backpage.com and its CEO Carl Ferrer in civil contempt for refusing to comply with a subpoena issued by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. During the Subcommittee’s investigation of underage sex trafficking last year, a subpoena was issued to Mr. Ferrer requiring him to testify before a hearing and for Backpage.com, a classified advertising website, to provide relevant documents. The website refused to comply and Mr. Ferrer refused to attend the hearing, submit testimony, or answer questions. S. Res. 377 would authorize the Senate Legal Counsel to enforce the subpoena and conduct civil contempt proceedings.

Another item that may see Senate action this week is a measure to extend authorization and appropriations for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The current authorization for FAA activity and funding is set to expire March 31. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-PA) introduced the Aviation Innovation, Reform and Reauthorization Act in February. The legislation would reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration and its funding until 2022, but the bill contains several proposals that are highly controversial, including a provision to privatize the country’s air traffic control system.

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune (R-SD) unveiled a more modest proposal last Wednesday to reauthorize the FAA through September 30, 2017. The committee is scheduled to vote on its bill at a Wednesday markup, but a short-term extension will be necessary until both chambers can move legislation forward. A proposed short-term extension, H.R. 4721, the Airport and Airway Extension Act of 2016, introduced in the House last Thursday, will provide authorization of current FAA programs through July 15. The House is expected to pass the extension early this week in order to allow for Senate consideration before Senators adjourn for their recess at the end of the week.
Continue Reading This Week in Congress – March 14, 2016