Look Ahead to the Week of October 30: New House Speaker’s First Full Week

Both the House and Senate will be in session this week. Last Wednesday, Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) was elected Speaker of the House. All 220 House Republicans voted in favor of Johnson, and 209 Democrats voted against him. The vote followed three weeks of turmoil in selecting a new Speaker. Before the vote, Johnson sent a letter to his GOP colleagues detailing his legislative priorities and outlining the short-term and long-term term timelines for his agenda if elected. This week, the House is expected to consider multiple appropriations bills and a stand-alone funding bill for Israel.

The Administration

Today at an event at the White House, President Biden signed a comprehensive Executive Order that will govern federal agencies’ use of artificial intelligence (AI).

House Side

On Wednesday, the House will meet to consider multiple bills under suspension.

• Bills expected under suspension of the rules.
  • H.Res. 559 – Declaring it is the policy of the United States that Iran’s possessing nuclear weapons is unacceptable (Rep. McCaul – Foreign Affairs)
    
  • H.Res. 599 – Urging the European Union to designate Hezbollah in its entirety as a terrorist organization. (Rep. Schneider – Foreign Affairs)
  • H.R. 3266 – Peace and Tolerance in Palestinian Education Act (Rep. Sherman – Foreign Affairs)
  • H.R. 340 – Hamas and Other Palestinian Terrorist Groups International Financing Prevention Act, as amended (Rep. Mast – Foreign Affairs)
  • H.R. 3774 – SHIP Act, as amended (Rep. Lawler – Foreign Affairs)
  • H.Res. 798 – Condemning the support of Hamas, Hezbollah, and other terrorist organizations at institutions of higher education, which may lead to the creation of a hostile environment for Jewish students, faculty, and staff, as amended (Rep. Owens – Education and the Workforce)

Thursday – Friday, the House is scheduled to meet for legislative business.

• Bills expected under a rule.
  • H.R. 4364 – Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2024 (Rep. Amodei – Appropriations)
  • H.R. 4821 – Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2024 (Rep. Simpson – Appropriations)
  • H.R. 4820 – Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2024 (Rep. Cole – Appropriations) 
• Bills that may be considered.
  • H.Res. 773 – Providing for the expulsion of Rep. George Santos (R-NY) from the House of Representatives (Rep. D’Esposito – Ethics)
  • H.Res. 807 – Censuring Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) for antisemitic activity, sympathizing with terrorist organizations, and leading an insurrection at the United States Capitol Complex (Rep. Greene – Ethics)
  • H.Res. 610 – Censuring Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) (Rep. Balint – Ethics) 

Senate Side

On Monday, the Senate will resume consideration of the nomination of Matthew Maddox to be a judge for the District of Maryland.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has also indicated the upper chamber may vote on the nomination of Jacob Lew to be ambassador to Israel.

Additionally, the Senate will continue its work on moving through amendments to get to a final vote on H.R. 4366, the three-bill funding package including the chamber’s Agriculture-FDA, Military Construction-VA, and Transportation-HUD spending measures.