Both the House and Senate are in session this week.
Last week, the House ground to a halt after a group of 11 hardline conservatives derailed floor consideration of various Republican-led bills in a display of their deep disapproval of the deal negotiated by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) to raise the debt limit and avoid a national default. The GOP leadership has rescheduled those votes for this week in the hope that the Freedom Caucus will allow debates to proceed. If so, the legislation being considered would cut back Executive Branch authority by requiring new major rules proposed by federal agencies to be approved by both the House and Senate before going into effect. After that, the House will turn to legislation that blocks an Energy Department rule that Republicans say would impact the availability of gas stoves. Another House measure would roll back recently enacted regulations on guns that are fixed with braces.
According to some reports, the group holding up votes wants McCarthy to instruct appropriators to draft the annual government funding bills at Fiscal Year 2022 levels, which would be below the caps agreed to by McCarthy and President Joe Biden. The move would, in effect, incorporate the steeper spending cuts that conservatives have argued for. Additionally, the group has proposed ending funding for federal programs that have not been formally reauthorized by Congress. It remains to be seen whether McCarthy or the GOP leadership will seriously consider these demands.
House appropriators will restart their stop-and-go markup of the annual government funding bills later this week after the process was delayed during the debt limit negotiations. On Tuesday, the House Appropriations Committee will hold a full committee markup of the bill to fund military construction and the Department of Veterans Affairs. On Wednesday, the panel plans to mark up the bill funding the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration and on Thursday hold subcommittee markups for its defense, energy, and water bills.
In the coming weeks, House and Senate leaders hope to strike a bipartisan agreement on top-line allocations for each of the 12 annual funding bills, which will have to fit within the $886.3 billion in defense spending and $703.7 billion for nondefense funds under the debt limit bill’s spending cap.
Administration
On Monday, President Biden will meet with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg to discuss the upcoming NATO Summit in Vilnius, Lithuania. Biden will then deliver remarks at a reception for the chiefs of mission at the White House.
House Side
On Monday, the House will meet to consider multiple bills under suspension.
- Bills expected under suspension of the rules.
- H. Res. 272 – Calling on the Russian government to immediately release U.S. citizen Paul Whelan (Rep. Stevens – Foreign Affairs).
- H. Res. 377 – Calling for the immediate release of Evan Gershkovich, a U.S. journalist wrongfully detained by Russia, as amended (Rep. McCaul – Foreign Affairs).
- H.R. 3099 – Special Envoy for the Abraham Accords Act, as amended (Rep. Lawler – Foreign Affairs). The legislation would create a special envoy position in the State Department to serve as the primary adviser for the Abraham Accords.
- S. 467 – CADETS Act (Sen. Peters – Foreign Affairs). The legislation would provide greater eligibility for individuals to receive financial aid to attend a maritime academy.
- H.R. 662 – Block Grant Assistance Act of 2023, as amended (Rep. Franklin – Agriculture). The bill would authorize the Agriculture Department to use fiscal 2023 disaster relief funds to make block grants to states and territories to address crop losses.
- Bills expected under a rule.
- H.R. 1615 – Gas Stove Protection and Freedom Act (Rep. Armstrong – Energy and Commerce). The measure would bar the Consumer Product Safety Commission from using federal funds to ban gas stoves as a hazardous product.
- H.R. 1640 – Save Our Gas Stoves Act (Rep. Lesko – Energy and Commerce). The legislation would prohibit the Energy Department from finalizing its proposed rule expanding energy efficiency regulations on gas stoves.
- H.R. 288 – Separation of Powers Restoration Act of 2023 (Rep. Fitzgerald – Judiciary). The legislation would direct the courts to conduct their own interpretation of laws when reviewing administrative actions without deferring to agencies’ legal conclusions.
- H.R. 277– Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny Act of 2023 (Rep. Cammack – Judiciary). The measure would require Congress to approve major Administration rules, including those with an annual cost of $100 million or more, before they take effect.
- H.J.Res. 44 – Providing for congressional disapproval under Chapter 8 of Title 5, U.S. Code, of the rule submitted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives relating to “Factoring Criteria for Firearms with Attached ‘Stabilizing Braces’” (Rep. Clyde – Judiciary).
Senate Side
On Monday, the Senate will resume consideration of Elizabeth Allen to be undersecretary of state for public diplomacy. The upper chamber may also consider Jared Bernstein’s nomination to be chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers.