Weekly Washington Outlook — December 8, 2014
What to Watch This Week:
Congress:
House:
The House will vote on Monday on H.R. 5781 – California Emergency Drought Relief Act of 2014 (Closed Rule, One Hour of Debate) (Sponsored by Rep. David Valadao / Natural Resources Committee) as well as legislation under suspension of the rules:
1) H.R. 5385 – To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 55 Grasso Plaza in St. Louis, as the “Sgt. Amanda N. Pinson Post Office” (Sponsored by Rep. Ann Wagner / Oversight and Government Reform Committee)
2) H.R. 5794 – To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 16105 Swingley Ridge Road in Chesterfield, Mo., as the “Sgt. Zachary M. Fisher Post Office” (Sponsored by Rep. Ann Wagner / Oversight and Government Reform Committee)
3) H.R. 4030 – To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 18640 NW 2nd Avenue in Miami, as the “Father Richard Marquess-Barry Post Office Building” (Sponsored by Rep. Frederica Wilson / Oversight and Government Reform Committee)
4) H.R. 5562 – To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 801 West Ocean Avenue in Lompoc, Calif., as the “Federal Correctional Officer Scott J. Williams Memorial Post Office Building” (Sponsored by Rep. Lois Capps / Oversight and Government Reform Committee)
5) H.R. 5687 – To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 101 East Market Street in Long Beach, Calif., as the “Juanita Millender-McDonald Post Office” (Sponsored by Rep. Janice Hahn / Oversight and Government Reform Committee)
6) H.R. 579 – To designate the United States courthouse located at 501 East Court Street in Jackson, Miss., as the “R. Jess Brown United States Courthouse” (Sponsored by Rep. Bennie Thompson / Transportation and Infrastructure Committee)
7) H.R. 1378 – To designate the United States courthouse located at 333 West Broadway in San Diego as the “James M. Carter and Judith N. Keep United States Courthouse,” as amended (Sponsored by Rep. Scott Peters / Transportation and Infrastructure Committee)
8) H.R. 4926 – To designate the “James L. Oberstar Memorial Highway” and the “James L. Oberstar National Scenic Byway” in the State of Minnesota, as amended (Sponsored by Rep. Rick Nolan / Transportation and Infrastructure Committee)
9) H.R. 5146 – To designate the United States courthouse located at 700 Grant Street in Pittsburgh as the “Joseph F. Weis Jr. United States Courthouse” (Sponsored by Rep. Mike Doyle / Transportation and Infrastructure Committee)
10) S. 1434 – To designate the Junction City Community-Based Outpatient Clinic located at 715 Southwind Drive, Junction City, Kan., as the “Lieutenant General Richard J. Seitz Community-Based Outpatient Clinic” (Sponsored by Sen. Jerry Moran / Veterans’ Affairs Committee)
11) S. 229 – Corporal Michael J. Crescenz Act of 2013 (Sponsored by Sen. Pat Toomey / Veterans’ Affairs Committee)
12) S. 2921 – To designate the community based outpatient clinic of the Department of Veterans Affairs located at 310 Home Boulevard in Galesburg, Ill., as the “Lane A. Evans VA Community Based Outpatient Clinic” (Sponsored by Sen. Dick Durbin / Veterans’ Affairs Committee)
On Tuesday and the balance of the week, the House will consider the following legislation under suspension of the rules:
1) H.R 5086 – To amend the National Trails System Act to direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study on the feasibility of designating the Chief Standing Bear National Historic Trail, and for other purposes, as amended (Sponsored by Rep. Jeff Fortenberry / Natural Resources Committee)
2) H.R 5699 – John Muir National Historic Site Expansion Act, as amended (Sponsored by Rep. George Miller / Natural Resources Committee)
3) H.R 5701 – Western Oregon Indian Tribal Lands Act, as amended (Sponsored by Rep. Peter DeFazio / Natural Resources Committee)
4) S. 1000 – Chesapeake Bay Accountability and Recovery Act of 2014 (Sponsored by Sen. Mark Warner / Natural Resources Committee)
5) H.R. 5705 – Propane Education and Research Enhancement Act of 2014 (Sponsored by Rep. Bob Latta / Energy and Commerce Committee)
6) H.R. 5185 – EARLY Act Reauthorization of 2014, as amended (Sponsored by Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz / Energy and Commerce Committee)
7) H.R. 5764 – Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Act of 2014 (Sponsored by Rep. David Joyce / Transportation and Infrastructure Committee)
8) S. 2759 – To release the City of St. Clair, Missouri, from all restrictions, conditions, and limitations on the use, encumbrance, conveyance, and closure of the St. Clair Regional Airport (Sponsored by Sen. Claire McCaskill / Transportation and Infrastructure Committee)
9) H.R. 5059 – Clay Hunt SAV Act, as amended (Sponsored by Rep. Tim Walz / Veterans’ Affairs Committee)
10) H.R. 5656 – Global Food Security Act of 2014, as amended (Sponsored by Rep. Chris Smith / Foreign Affairs Committee)
11) H.R. 2901 – Senator Paul Simon Water for the World Act, as amended (Sponsored by Rep. Earl Blumenauer / Foreign Affairs Committee)
12) S. 1683 – Naval Vessel Transfer Act of 2013 (Sponsored by Sen. Robert Menendez / Foreign Affairs Committee)
13) S. 1691 – Border Patrol Agent Pay Reform Act of 2014 (Sponsored by Sen. Jon Tester / Oversight and Government Reform Committee)
The House is also scheduled to vote this week on a spending bill to fund the government after December 11 and legislation to reauthorize the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act.
Senate:
The Senate will continue its work this week to process executive and judicial nominations. This week, the Senate may also take up a one-year retroactive extension of a number of expired tax provisions, a defense reauthorization bill, and legislation to fund the government when the current continuing resolution expires December 11th.
White House:
On Monday, the president will host Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, for a meeting in the Oval Office. This will be The Duke of Cambridge’s first visit to Washington. In the afternoon, President Obama will tape an interview for The Colbert Report with Stephen Colbert at George Washington University.
On Tuesday, the president will deliver remarks at an event for the Senior Executive Service at the Washington Hilton. The Senior Executive Service (SES) is comprised of the senior leadership of the Federal work force. In the afternoon, President Obama will travel to Nashville, Tenn. to deliver remarks on his recent executive actions to fix as much of our broken immigration system as he can while urging Congress to pass a comprehensive bill to get the job done. President Obama will speak at Casa Azafran, a community center and home to a number of immigrant-related nonprofits that is located in Nashville’s most international and socially diverse district.
On Wednesday, the president will host the White House Summit on Early Education, a convening of prominent business leaders, philanthropists, advocates, elected officials and members of the public committed to the expansion of high-quality early education opportunities for children across the country from birth through school entry. At the summit, President Obama will announce new efforts to enhance and expand the reach of high-quality public preschool programs in high-need communities. The president will also highlight new actions by the private, philanthropic, and public sectors to invest in and expand access to high-quality early learning opportunities in communities across the country. Vice President Biden will also deliver remarks. In the afternoon, the president and the first lady will visit Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, where they will deliver toys and gifts donated by Executive Office of the President staff to the Marine Corps’ Toys for Tots Campaign.
On Thursday, President Obama will join a meeting of the President’s Export Council. The President’s Export Council advises the President on policies and programs that affect U.S. trade performance and promote export expansion.
On Friday, the President will attend meetings at the White House.
Also this Week:
Immigration – The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on Wednesday on the President’s executive actions on immigration. The hearing is expected to stand in sharp contrast to one held last week in the House questioning the legality of providing administrative relief to nearly five million immigrants. In the House, the Judiciary Committee will meet again on Wednesday as well to examine the influx of unaccompanied children last summer.
Appropriations – Appropriators in the House and Senate may release the text of an omnibus spending bill as soon as Monday. The bill is expected to fund the federal government through September 30, with reworked spending priorities; the Department of Homeland Security, however, will operate on a short-term continuing resolution. The “cromnibus” is designed to allow Republican lawmakers an opportunity to protest the president’s executive actions on immigration, although this protest is largely symbolic. Members will have to renew funding for the agency that oversees FEMA, TSA, and other services beyond immigration enforcement entities sometime next year. The current stopgap spending bill expires on Thursday.
Civil Rights – The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights will hold a hearing on the state of civil rights in the United States on Tuesday. The hearing will examine criminal justice reform, voting rights, and police-community relations, among other issues.
Housing – The Senate Banking Committee’s Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation, and Community Development will hold a hearing on Tuesday on “Inequality, Opportunity, and the Housing Market.” Witnesses include Julia Gordan from the Center for American Progress and Deborah Goldberg from the National Fair Housing Alliance, among others.
Health – The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will hold a hearing Tuesday on the ACA. Jonathan Gruber, an MIT professor and “architect” of the law will testify; comments he made recently about the “stupidity of the American voter” have created controversy. CMS Administrator Marilyn Tavenner is also scheduled to appear.
Tax – The Senate may vote this week on a House-backed tax extenders bill to renew a number of expired credits for one year. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden has said he does not expect the bill to be amended. House and Senate negotiators, before settling on the one-year option, had tried for several weeks to craft a package that would make certain tax provisions permanent and extend others for two-years.
Filibuster – Senator Mitch McConnell, next year’s Majority Leader, will hold a closed-door meeting on Tuesday with his fellow Republican Senators on the Senate’s rules for the next Congress. They are expected to discuss whether to keep the change to the filibuster Senator Reid pushed through last year. The “nuclear option” made it easier to confirm nominations by setting the threshold for cloture at a majority rather than 60 votes. This did not apply to Supreme Court nominations or legislation.