Congressional and Legislative Weekly Outlook — July 11, 2016

What to Watch This Week:

Congress:

House:

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

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

• 304 – Conscience Protection Act of 2016, Rules Committee Print (Subject to a Rule) (Rep. Diane Black / Energy and Commerce Committee)
• R. 5119 – No 2H2O from Iran Act (Subject to a Rule) (Sponsored by Rep. Mike Pompeo / Foreign Affairs Committee)
• Complete Consideration of R. 5538 – Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2017 (Subject to a Rule) (Sponsored by Rep. Ken Calvert / Appropriations Committee)
• R. 4992 – United States Financial System Protection Act of 2016 (Subject to a Rule) (Sponsored by Rep. Ed Royce / Financial Services Committee)
• R. 5631 – To hold Iran accountable for its state sponsorship of terrorism and other threatening activities and for its human rights abuses, and for other purposes (Subject to a Rule) (Sponsored by Rep. Kevin McCarthy / Foreign Affairs Committee)
• Senate Amendment to the House Amendment to  764– GMO Labeling Requirements (Subject to a Rule) (Sponsored by Sen. Pat Roberts / Agriculture Committee)

Senate:

On Monday, the Senate will resume consideration of H.R. 2593, the Department of Defense Appropriations bill. Senators may also reconsider the conference report to the Military Construction-Veteran Affairs-Zika spending bill, an extension of the Federal Aviation Authority’s authorization, and a House-approved conference report on legislation to combat the opioid epidemic.

White House:

A public schedule for the White House is not available this week. However, the President will travel to Dallas, Texas on Tuesday. While there, he will speak alongside former President George W. Bush at a memorial for the police officers killed during last week’s attack.

Also this Week:

Judiciary – Attorney General Loretta Lynch will appear before the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday for an oversight hearing. She is expected to answer questions about immigration enforcement and so-called “sanctuary policies,” along with other community-oriented policing issues. Judiciary Committee Chairman Goodlatte (R-VA) also plans to ask about the Department of Justice’s inclusion of consumer relief provisions in negotiated settlements with financial institutions following the financial crisis.

Appropriations – The House Appropriations Committee will mark-up the FY2017 State-Foreign Operations spending bill Tuesday and the FY2017 Labor-HHS-Education bill on Wednesday. The Labor-HHS-Education bill contains a number of policy riders, including language that would block the Department of Labor’s overtime and fiduciary rules and the Department of Education’s “gainful employment rule” targeting for-profit colleges. Additionally, the full House will consider the Interior-Environment spending bill later this week. Elsewhere, the Senate will resume consideration of the FY2017 Department of Defense spending bill. Senate Democrats blocked the measure last week, seeking assurances that they would be included in a House-Senate conference on the bill.

Health – The Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s Western Hemisphere, Transnational Crime, Civilian Security, Democracy, Human Rights, and Global Women’s Issues Subcommittee will hold a hearing Wednesday on the Zika virus; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Tom Frieden is scheduled to testify. The hearing will focus on a partnership between the U.S. Olympic Committee and the National Institutes of Health that is studying the disease. Senators may also reconsider a vote to limit debate on the Military Construction-Veteran Affairs-Zika spending bill. The House-passed legislation appropriates $1.1 billion for research and prevention of the virus, but offsets these funds from ACA and other healthcare-related cuts. Democrats previously blocked the measure and have argued that the spending is insufficient. Elsewhere, the House Ways and Means Committee has scheduled a hearing Wednesday about health insurance premiums under the Affordable Care Act.

Nutrition – Efforts are underway in the Senate to try to bring a bipartisan child nutrition reauthorization to the floor before the Senate recesses at the end of the week for the summer. The Senate Agriculture Committee reported out a bill earlier this year that would increase verification for school meal programs and provide flexibility in implementing nutrition guidelines. It is possible this measure from Senator Stabenow (D-MI) and Senator Roberts (R-KS) could receive a vote this week.

Housing – On Wednesday, the House Financial Services Committee will hear from Housing Secretary Julian Castro about policy changes related to the sale of non-performing loans insured by the government.

Education – The House will consider H.R. 5529, which would enable federal grants to Hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs) to be used to help students enroll in higher education programs in the healthcare field. The bill would also authorize $107.8 million for HSIs in fiscal 2016. In addition, the House will vote on a FAFSA simplification measure (H.R. 5528), legislation to expand financial counseling to students receiving federal student loans and Pell Grants (H.R. 3179), and a bill requiring the Department of Education to create a website with data on financial aid at higher education institutions (H.R. 3178). Elsewhere, the Senate HELP Committee will hold a hearing on Thursday on implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act; the panel will feature state and local stakeholders.