Today, Congress gets back in gear almost full swing. The Senate is set to take the first procedural step on the National Defense Authorization of 2024, with Schumer motioning to invoke cloture, and begin the process of answering the House, which passed the NDAA last week after right-leaning members forced a bunch of amendment votes to add a bunch of culture war amendments on abortion, gender care and books.
On The Floor
The Senate comes in at 3. They vote at 5:30 on Rachel Bloomekatz to be United States Circuit Judge for the Sixth Circuit, in Ohio. Having done work for folks such as Everytown for Gun Safety, she’s not likely to get any GOP votes.
Over in the House, they come in at 10, with the first vote around 1:15 to begin debate on Schools Not Shelters Act Although there are some other jurisdictions mentioned in the bill, it primarily targets New York, where Mayor Eric Adams briefly considered housing migrants in free-standing school gyms, and where Gov. Kathy Hochul is considering using facilities at state universities to house asylum seekers. The bill would bar educational institutions that get federal money from sheltering migrants at the direction of federal or local officials. The restriction applies also to people who are paroled into the United States. The bill would seem to spare the 400,000-plus undocumented college students in this country, since it targets emergency shelter exclusively used for migrants, not, for instance, general dorms where an undocumented student may live among U.S. peers.
Also likely to get a vote is a resolution supporting Israel aimed at Rep. Pramila Jayapal over her since-walked-back comment that Israel is a racist state. She later clarified she meant to government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has committed discriminatory and racist acts, not that the entire state is racist. The resolution says "the State of Israel is not a racist or apartheid state," among other things. The resolution is on the suspension calendar, suggesting it is not controversial and will get at least a two-thirds vote in support.
Finally, there's a string of bills offered by conservative members that may get votes. They are all aimed at ending older states of emergency declared by past presidents. You have to dig a little to see what they are. The one offered by Rep. Lauren Boebert would end restrictions placed on leaders of the forces in the Congo responsible for conscripting child soldiers and attacking elections in 2006. Presidents Trump and Biden both thought it still worthwhile to prevent them from getting assets back. ABC News looked at some older emergency declarations several years ago.
Here's the list:
H.J. Res. 68 - Relating to a national emergency declared by the President on October 27, 2006 (Sponsored by Rep. Boebert / Foreign Affairs Committee)
H.J. Res. 70 - Relating to a national emergency declared by the President on February 25, 2011 (Sponsored by Rep. Gosar / Foreign Affairs Committee)
H.J. Res. 74 - Relating to a national emergency declared by the President on May 16, 2012 (Sponsored by Rep. Gosar / Foreign Affairs Committee)
H.J. Res. 71 - Relating to a national emergency declared by the President on May 22, 2003 (Sponsored by Rep. Crane / Foreign Affairs Committee)
H.J. Res. 79 - Relating to a national emergency declared by the President on May 11, 2004 (Sponsored by Rep. Gaetz / Foreign Affairs Committee)
At The Mics
8 - Rep. Gonzales et al on the introduction of the HIRE Act. House Triangle.
10 - ML Scalise, Whip Emmer, Conference Chair Stefanik, House Republicans hold post-meeting press conference. HC-8.
10:15 - Rep. Burgess Owens on Compromise Proposal to DCA Act. The battle over long-distance lawmaker commutes continues. Really, you can't blame them for wanting to fly into convenient DCA, instead of Dulles. House Studio B.
10:30 - Rep. Kamlager-Dove et al call for the release of Eyvin Hernandez. House Triangle.
10:45 - Democratic Caucus Chair Aguilar, Reps. Takano, Ruiz, Sherrill post-meeting press conference. House Studio A.
11:30 - Chair Barragán, Vice Chair of Policy Soto, Congressional Hispanic Caucus members on keeping military families together. House Triangle.
12:45 - Reps. Kildee, Scholten announce new efforts to address child labor crisis. House Studio B.
2 - Rep. Bush et al reintroduce the People’s Response Act. House Triangle.
4:30 - Chair Kuster, New Democrat Coalition members on the release of their Economic Opportunity Agenda. House Studio B.
In The Hearing Rooms
Unfortunately, I didn't have time to dig much into the House hearings today, but here they all are, via the House Radio/TV Gallery's website:
9 - Armed Services' Subcommittee on Cyber, Information Technologies, and Innovation, hearing entitled, “Man and Machine: Artificial Intelligence on the Battlefield.” 2118 Rayburn. Stream here.
10 - The Oversight Committee's Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Energy Policy, and Regulatory Affairs takes aim at gas stove and other appliance efficiency standards with “Cancelling Consumer Choice: Examining the Biden Administration’s Regulatory Assault on Americans’ Home Appliances." 2154 Rayburn. Watch here.
10 - Energy and Commerce's Subcommittee on Energy, Climate, and Grid Security looks at “American Nuclear Energy Expansion: Updating Policies for Efficient, Predictable Licensing and Deployment.” 2123 Rayburn Watch here.
10 - Financial Services' Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Monetary Policy weighs “Climate-Risk: Are Financial Regulators Politically Independent?” 2220 Rayburn. Watch the livestream here.
10 - Financial Services' Subcommittee on Capital Markets does “Oversight of the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance,” 2128 Rayburn. Stream it here.
10 - Foreign Affairs' Subcommittees on Indo-Pacific looks at “Achieving Peace through Strength in the Indo-Pacific: Examining the FY24 Budget Priorities.” HVC-210. Livestream here.
10 - Homeland Security's Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security considers “Strategic Competition in the Arctic." 310 Cannon. Watch here.
10 - Judiciary's Subcommittee on Responsiveness and Accountability To Oversight has State Department and HHS officials in for “Compliance with Committee Oversight,” 10 a.m., 2237 Rayburn, livestream here.
10 - Judiciary's Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Interne takes up wohat should be a bipartisan topic in considering “Is There a Right to Repair?" 2141 Rayburn, Livestream here.
10:15 - Natural Resources looks at “The Biden’s Administration’s Proposed Compact of Free Association Amendments Act of 2023 | Indo-Pacific Task Force." 1324 Longworth. Watch here.
10:15 - Education and Workforce's Subcommittee on Workforce Protections has “Cutting Corners at WHD: Examining the Cost to Workers, Small Businesses, and the Economy." 2175 Rayburn. Watch it here.
10:30 - Foreign Affairs' Subcommittee Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations looks at the “The Dire State of Religious Freedom Around the World." 2200 Rayburn. Watch here.
10:30 - Appropriations' Subcommittees on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related, markup of Fiscal Year 2024 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Bill. 2359 Rayburn. Watch here.
10:30 - Energy and Commerce's Subcommittee on Health has “Innovation Saves Lives: Evaluating Medicare Coverage Pathways for Innovative Drugs, Medical Devices, and Technology." 2322 Rayburn. Livestream here.
1 - Oversight's Subcommittees on Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and Government Innovation looks at a cancelled contract to improve DOD travel in “Getting Nowhere: DoD’s Failure to Replace the Defense Travel System." 2154 Rayburn. Stream here.
2 - Financial Services' Subcommittee on National Security, Illicit Finance, and International Financial Institutions considers “Potential Consequences of FinCEN’s Beneficial Ownership Rulemaking." 2128 Rayburn. Watch here.
2 - E&C's Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations has a hearing on “Examining Emerging Threats to Electric Energy Infrastructure." 2322 Rayburn. Watch here.
2 - Foreign Affairs' Subcommittee on Europe considers “Stability and Security in the Western Balkans: Assessing U.S. Policy." HVC-210 Capitol. The stream is here.
2 - Foreign Affairs' Subcommittee on Africa has witnesses on “Great Power Competition Implications in Africa: The Russian Federation and its Proxies.” 2200 Rayburn. See it here.
2 - Homeland's Joint Subcommittees on Border Security and Enforcement, and Oversight, Investigations, and Accountability has “Opening the Flood Gates: Biden’s Broken Border Barrier." 310 Cannon. The stream is here.
2 - Natural Resources' Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries takes harsh view of the Endangered Species Act with “ESA at 50: The Destructive Cost of the ESA." 1324 Longworth. Watch here. And some thoughts from the committee majority's perspective.
2 - Oversight's Subcommittees on Health Care and Financial Services will likely get into the idea of luring migrants to the U.S. in “Why Expanding Medicaid to DACA Recipients Will Exacerbate the Border Crisis." 2247 Rayburn. Available here.