Weekly Washington Outlook — June 6, 2016

What to Watch This Week:

 Congress:

House:

On Tuesday and Wednesday, the House will consider a series of non-controversial bills under suspension of the rules.  A full list is available here.

On Thursday and the balance of the week, the House will consider the following:

• R. 5325– Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2017 (Subject to a Rule) (Sponsored by Rep. Tom Graves / Appropriations Committee)
• R. 5278– Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA), Rules Committee Print (Subject to a Rule)(Sponsored by Rep. Sean Duffy / Natural Resources Committee)
• Con.Res. 89– Expressing the sense of Congress that a carbon tax would be detrimental to the United States economy. (Subject to a Rule) (Sponsored by Rep. Steve Scalise / Ways and Means Committee)
• Con.Res. 112– Expressing the sense of Congress opposing the President’s proposed $10 tax on every barrel of oil. (Subject to a Rule)(Sponsored by Rep. Charles Boustany / Ways and Means Committee)

Senate:

On Monday, the Senate will consider S.2943, the National Defense Authorization Act.

White House:

On Monday, the president will welcome the Super Bowl Champion Denver Broncos to the White House to honor the team and their Super Bowl 50 victory.

On Tuesday, President Obama will meet with Prime Minister Modi of India at the White House. The visit will highlight the deepening of the U.S.-India relationship in key areas since the President’s visit to New Delhi in January 2015

On Wednesday, the president will travel to New York to attend a DSCC event and a DNC event.

On Thursday, President Obama will host a reception at the White House in recognition of LGBT Pride Month.

On Friday, the president will attend meetings at the White House.

Also this Week:

Puerto Rico – The House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on legislation to restructure Puerto Rico’s $72 billion debt later this week. The bill, PROMESA (H.R. 5278), has the backing of both Speaker Paul Ryan and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, but some rank-and-file members on both sides of the aisle still have concerns. Some conservatives believe the bill will harm creditors’ rights, while some Democrats and organized labor interests object to the authority given to the fiscal control board, as well as provisions related to the minimum wage and overtime regulations. Prior to debate on the floor, the House Rules Committee will decide whether to allow amendments that would strip out certain labor provisions or others to garner additional support. The White House has signaled its support for the measure, while recognizing it is not perfect.

Poverty – Speaker Ryan is expected to release a long-awaited anti-poverty plan on Tuesday.  The plan will be a product of the House Anti-Poverty Task Force, which released a principles statement in February.

Overtime – The House Education and the Workforce Committee will hold a hearing Thursday on the Labor Department’s new rule for employee overtime, which doubles the salary threshold for overtime exemption to $47,476 per year.

Appropriations – The Senate Appropriations Labor-HHS-Education Subcommittee has scheduled a markup Tuesday of its fiscal 2017 spending bill, with consideration from the full committee scheduled for Thursday. The markup could raise questions surrounding the Affordable Care Act and the Labor Department’s fiduciary rule, among other provisions. Notably, there could be a bipartisan agreement to restore summer Pell grant eligibility.  Elsewhere, the House will consider its Legislative Branch appropriations bill.  The bill overturns a Library of Congress decision to stop using the term “illegal alien.”  Democrats are likely to try to strike this provision, but in response to recent controversial floor activity, the Speaker is expected to announce on Tuesday that appropriations bills will no longer have an open amendment process.

Financial Services – House Financial Services Chairman Hensarling (R-Texas) will release a plan to repeal and replace the Dodd-Frank Act on Tuesday.  The legislation is expected to change the structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau from a single Director to a five-member board, would repeal the Financial Stability Oversight Council, would repeal the Volcker Rule, but could subject financial institutions to strict penalties.

Health – Negotiations are ongoing between the House and Senate to reconcile differences in each chamber’s Zika funding.  Conferees could be appointed shortly.