Weekl ly Legislative Update Week of September 14, 2015 Congressional Outlook Week of September 14th The House and Senate are in session this week. On Wednesday, the House will vote on 13 bills under suspension of the rules related to R&D, homeland security, and natural resourcess issues. For the remainder of the week, the House will vote on the "Lawsuit Abuse Reduction Act of 2015" (H.R. 758), whichh would require U.S. district courts to impose monetary sanctionss on lawyers, law firms or parties who file frivolous lawsuits that don't have a reasonable case to make; the "Defund Planned Parenthood Act of 2015" (H.R. 3134), which would put a one-year moratorium on Planned Parenthood's federal funding while Congress conducts a number of investigations; and the "Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act" (H.R. ), which would impose criminal penalties on people who violate laws governing pre-term live births. The House may also consider the "Responsibly And Professionally Invigorating Development (RAPID) Act of 2015" (H.R. 348), which would amend the environmental review process under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The Senate will vote again this Tuesday on a resolutionn disapproving of the Iran nuclear deal, even though Senate Democrats successfully filibustered the resolution last Thursday. Senatee Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-TX) told reporters that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnelll (R-KY) is considering bringing a number of anti-abortion bills to the floor at the end of the week, including H.R. 36, which would prohibit abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. If Senate GOP leaders choose that route, it will requiree 60-vote threshold votes and several intervening days for each measure. The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) role in causing a toxic spill at Colorado's Gold King Mine on August 5 will be the subject of three congressional hearings, where the agency's chief, Gina McCarthy, will be questioned by lawmakers. On Wednesday morning, Administrator McCarthy will testify before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee; on Wednesday afternoon she will testify before the Senate Indian Affairs Committee; and on Thursday morning she will testifyy before a joint hearing of the House Natural Resources and Oversight and Government Reform Committees.
The October 1st deadline to approve government funding in time before a government shutdown is looming closer. Senate Majority Leader McConnell has signaled thatt he does not want a shutdown, saying that he supportss a clean continuing resolution (CR) and throwing cold water on the notion of trying to defund Planned Parenthood by leveraging a shutdown. Conservative House Republicans, especially the House Freedom Caucus, still want to push for a defunding of Planned Parenthood in the coming weeks. The GOP leadership is considering a number of options, including voting on stand-alone bills on the topic this week and a reconciliation measure. In so doing, the House leadership hopes to at least temporarily satisfy staunch conservatives without bringing a government shutdown. So far, no movement has been made on what a short-term spending bill mightt look like. Week in Review House and Senate Vote on Iran Nuclear Deal Last week, the House took three separate votes relatedd to the Iran nuclear deal: on Sept. 10, the House voted 245-186 on H. Res. 411, which statess that President Obama didd not fulfill alll of the requirements of the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act by failing to provide two side agreements to Congress between the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Iran; on Sept. 11, the House voted 162-269 to approve the Iran nuclear deal (H.R. 3461), with alll House Republicans and 25 House Democrats voting against the measure; and on Sept. 11, the House voted 247-186 on a bill (H.R. 3460) which provides that through the last day of President Obama's term, he may not waive, reduce, provide relief from, or otherwise limit the application of sanctions described in the Iran nuclear deal and would prevent President Obama from implementing the terms of the deal and any other agreement related to Iran's nuclear program. On Sept. 10, 42 Senate Democrats voted to filibuster the disapproval resolution of the Iran nuclear deal, preventing a vote on the disapproval resolution from taking place in the Senatee and providing a major foreign policy victory for President Obama. The Senatee will resumee consideration of a resolution disapproving of the deal on Tuesday, when Senate Majority Leader McConnell will use floor time to pressure the 42 Senate Democrats who blocked the resolution to change their minds and try to hold them politically accountable for their votes. Congress has until Thursday, Sept. 17 to pass a joint resolution disapproving the deal. Read more... Highway Bill Punted, Short-Term Extension More Likely The House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee will not mark up a six-year highway and transit bill this upcoming week as it had planned - a businesss meeting is expected later in September at the earliest. "That's a goal - late this month, early October," T&I Chairman Bill Shuster (R-PA) told reporters Friday after a meeting with committeee Republicans. "But again, we' ve got to see what the Ways and Means Committee is doing funding-wise. My discussionss with Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) have been very positive, but his committee has jurisdiction on funding, and I know they're working on it." The longer House lawmakers go without an agreement, the more likely Congress is to once again punt the funding issue down the road, keeping in place the stop-and-go status quo. Current highway and transit policy expires Oct. 29, but the Department off Transportation now estimates that the Highway Trust Fund won't be exhausted until late June 2016, allowing for the possibility of
another short-term extension lasting 2-8 months. Read more... House Subcommittee Passes Bill Repealing U.S. Oil Export Ban On Sept. 10, the House Energy and Commerce's Subcommittee on Energy and Power passed H.R. 702 by voice vote, a bill which would repeal the 40-year-old U.S. ban on crude oil exports. Passage by the full House Energy and Commerce Committee would set it up for a floor vote by the House, wheree it is expected to pass, but where it would face an uphill climb in the Senate. The bill is supported by oil producers who say they need access to global markets to keep the domestic drilling boom alive. Many House Democrats expressed opposition to the bill, stating that it would shift U.S. refinery jobs overseas. A similar bill in the Senate, the OPENS Act (S. 2011) sponsored by Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)her panel in July, but no Democrats voted for it. At least six Senate Democrats would need to supportt the measure in order to reach the 60 votes needed for passage. Read chair of the Senatee Energy and Natural Resources Committee, passed in more... Congressional Schedule Monday, September 14 Full Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee field hearing in Manchester, NH entitled "All Hands on Deck: Working Together to End the Trafficking and Abuse of Prescription Opioids, Heroin, and Fentanyl." Tuesday, September 15 Agriculture Committee hearing "To review USDA organizationn and program administration-part 1." Natural Resources Committee hearing entitled "The Impacts of Federal Policies on Energy Production and Economic Growth in the Gulf." Wednesday, September 16 Rules Committee meets to formulatee a rule on H.R. 348, the "Responsibly And Professionally Invigorating Development (RAPID) Act t of 2015"; H.R. 758, the "Lawsuit Abuse Reduction Act of 2015"; H.R. 3134, the "Defund Planned Parenthood Act of 2015"; and H.R., the "Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act." Agriculture Committee hearing "To review USDA organizationn and program administration-part 2." House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee onn Environment and the Economy hearing entitled "Oversight of Federal Facility Cleanup under CERCLA." Full Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing entitled "Oversight of the Cause, Response, and Impacts of EPA's Gold King Mine Disaster." Full Senate Finance Committee open executive session to consider an "Original Bill to
Prevent Identity Theft and Tax Refund Fraud." Full Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing entitled "Achieving the Promise of Health Information Technology: Improving Care Through Patient Access to Their Records." Full Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing entitled "A Review of Regulatory Reform Proposals." Full Senate Indian Affairs Committee hearing entitled "EPA's Gold King Mine Disaster: Examining the Harmful Impacts to Indian Country." Full Senate Judiciary Committee hearing entitled "Reforming the Electronic Communications Privacy Act." Full Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee markup of: S. 290, the "Increasing the Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability to Veterans Act of 2015; S. 563, the "Physician Ambassadors Helping Veterans Act; S. 564, the "Veterans Hearing Aid Access and Assistance Act"; S. 1450, the "Department of Veterans Affairs Emergency Medical Staffing Recruitment and Retention Act"; S. 1451, the "Veterans' Survivors Claims Processing Automation Act of 2015"; S. 1460, the "Fry Scholarship Enhancement Act of 2015"; S. 1693, a bill "to expand eligibility for reimbursement for emergency medical treatment to certain veterans that were unable to receive care from the Department of Veterans Affairs in the 24-month period preceding the furnishing of such emergency treatment, and for other purposes"; S. 1856, a bill "to provide for suspension and removal of employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs for performance or misconduct that is a threat to public health or safety and to improve accountability of employees of the Department, and for other purposes"; S. 1938, the "Career Ready Student Veterans Act"; and a Discussion Draft "to make improvements in the laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs relating to educational assistance, and for other purposes." Thursday, September 17 House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health hearing entitled "Protecting Infants: Ending Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Providers Who Violate the Law." Financial Services Committee hearing entitled "The Dodd-Frank Act Five Years Later: Are We More Free?" House Financial Services Subcommittee on Monetary Policy and Trade hearing entitled "Strengthening U.S. Leadership in a Turbulent Global Economy." House Homeland Security Subcommittees on Transportation Security and Counterterrorism and Intelligence joint hearing entitled "Safeguarding our Nation's Surface Transportation Systems Against Evolving Terrorist Threats." Oversight and Government Reform and Natural Resources Committees joint hearing entitled "EPA's Animas Spill." Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing entitled "Federal Air Marshal Service: Oversight." House Small Business Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Tax and Capital Access hearing entitled "Financing Main Street: How Dodd-Frank is Crippling Small Lenders and Access to Capital." Full Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee markup entitled "Child Nutrition Reauthorization." Full Senate Armed Services Committee hearing entitled "Maritime Security Strategy in the Asia-Pacific Region." Full Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee nomination hearing on the
following nominee: Mr. Andrew J. Szubin, to be Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Crimes, U.S. Department of the Treasury. Full Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee nomination hearing on the following nominee: Ms. Sarah Feinberg, to be the Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration. Full Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing on the "Federal Land Recreation Enhancement Act." Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee on Primary Health and Retirement Security hearing entitled "Biosimilar Implementation: A Progress Report from FDA." Full Senate Judiciary Committee markup of: S. 1814, the "Stop Sanctuary Cities Act"; and S. 32, the "Transnational Drug Trafficking Act of 2015"; and the nominations of John Michael Vazquez, to be United States District Judge for the District of New Jersey; Wilhelmina Marie Wright, to be United States District Judge for the District of Minnesota; and Paula Xinis, to be United States District Judge for the District of Maryland. Friday, September 18 House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health hearing entitled "Improving the Medicaid Program for Beneficiaries." House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Oversight and Management Efficiency hearing entitled "Making DHS More Efficient: Industry Recommendations to Improve Homeland Security." House Science, Space, and Technology Subcommittees on Research and Technology & Oversight joint hearing entitled "NEON Warning Signs: Examining the Management of the National Ecological Observatory Network." Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security field hearing in Billings, MT entitled "Pipeline Safety: State and Local Perspectives."