Another Self-Made Crisis Looms as Congress Tries to Avoid a Government Shutdown, More Messaging Theatrics on the House Floor
Jason Pye - Director, Rule of Law Initiatives
Point of Order is a (mostly) weekly preview of key congressional activity for those with more than a passing interest in federal policy.
Here we are again—another potential government shutdown looms: The current continuing resolution (CR) runs through Friday, November 17. After the House passed that CR, most recognized that it was more likely than not that the House wouldn’t be able to finish its work on appropriations before November 17 and that another CR was a real possibility. That was before then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) was deposed. Another CR was guaranteed after it took three weeks to replace McCarthy. Both chambers will try to pass their own version of a CR this week. The House is taking a “laddered” approach (more on that below) while the Senate may try a CR that funds the federal government through January 19 and would include extensions of expiring programs and authorities, including Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). The inclusion of FISA is enough to cause problems on the House side, to the point where some Republicans may vote against the rule for the Senate CR if Republican leadership puts it on the floor. Civil liberties groups are likely to strongly oppose the CR if 702 is included. Needless to say, getting a CR through Congress to avoid a government shutdown isn’t going to be easy.
Schedule and suspensions: The House returns today at 2:00 pm for legislative business. Votes are postponed until 6:30 pm. Legislative business will begin at 9:00 am on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Nine bills are expected to be considered under suspension of the rules. The cost estimates for those bills can be found here.
H.R. 1505, No Stolen Trademarks Honored in America Act (Judiciary Committee)
H.R. 1105, Debbie Smith Act (Judiciary Committee)
H.R. 786, To amend title 28, United States Code, to provide an additional place for holding court for the Pecos Division of the Western District of Texas, and for other purposes (Judiciary Committee)
H.R. 3496, To make technical amendments to update statutory references to certain provisions which were formerly classified to chapters 14 and 19 of title 25, United States Code, and to correct related technical errors (Judiciary Committee)
H.R. 3506, To make technical amendments to update statutory references to certain provisions classified to title 7, title 20, and title 43, United States Code, and to correct related technical errors (Judiciary Committee)
H.R. 3571, To make technical amendments to update statutory references to certain provisions classified to title 2, United States Code, title 50, United States Code, and title 52, United States Code, and to correct related technical errors (Judiciary Committee)
H.R. 3578, To make technical amendments to update statutory references to provisions reclassified to title 34, United States Code, and to correct related technical errors (Judiciary Committee)
H. Res. 848, Encouraging the connecting of members of the Armed Forces in the United States to support structures necessary to transition from the battlefield (Veterans’ Affairs Committee)
H.R. 593, To rename the Department of Veterans Affairs community-based outpatient clinic in Hinesville, Georgia, as the ‘‘John Gibson, Dan James, William Sapp, and Frankie Smiley VA Clinic’’ (Veterans’ Affairs Committee)
Bills that come to the floor under suspension of the rules require two-thirds of members present and voting for passage. This is the most common way that bills considered by the House come to the floor. Some of these bills may be passed by a voice vote, rather than a roll call vote. Most bills that come to the floor under suspension aren’t widely considered controversial, although leadership may occasionally test a bill under suspension to gauge opposition or sneak a bill through the chamber.
Rule bills: The House Rules Committee will meet today at 4:00 pm to markup the rule for the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for FY 2024, H.R. 5894, and the Further Continuing Appropriations and Other Extensions Act, H.R. ____. The House Rules Committee will also meet on Tuesday at 2:00 pm to markup the rule for the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for FY 2024, H.R. 5893, and the No Funds for Iranian Terrorism Act, H.R. 5961. We have more on the House CR below. But before that…
More messaging theatrics may wind up on the floor: Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) has introduced a resolution, H.Res. ____, to impeach Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas. She is expected to force a vote on the resolution this week, potentially as soon as today. It’s expected that the resolution will be tabled, effectively killing it. Greene has also introduced resolutions to impeach President Biden, Attorney General Merrick Garland, FBI Director Christopher Wray, and U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves. Oh, and this impeachment resolution is the second one she has introduced against Mayorkas. The first one never moved. And since we’re on the topic of impeachment, Speaker Johnson doesn’t seem willing to move forward with articles of impeachment against President Biden because of a lack of evidence. Greene is apparently big mad at Speaker Johnson over that.
The “laddered” CR approach: Although the House will consider two appropriations bills this week, there will be an attempt to pass a “laddered” continuing resolution (CR). The laddered CR is the Further Continuing Appropriations and Other Extensions Act. Now, the Senate doesn’t like the House bill, but I can’t say for certain that the chamber won’t consider it. Anyway, back to the bill. It’s a laddered CR because there are two dates, January 19 and February 2. Four of the 12 regular appropriations bills—Agriculture; Energy and Water; Military Constriction and Veterans Affairs (MilCon-VA); Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development (T-HUD)—would be funded through January 19 while the remaining bills—Commerce, Justice, and Science; Defense; Financial Services; Homeland Security; Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (Labor-H); Legislative Branch; and State and Foreign Operations (State and Foreign Ops)—would be funded through February 2. There are other extensions included in the bill, including the Farm Bill and health programs that were set to expire. Speaker Johnson does face hurdles, though, as some House Republicans have said that they will oppose the laddered CR. The proposed laddered CR doesn’t include any spending cuts.
Approps is still a mess for House Republicans: Getting appropriations bills done hasn’t been an easy task for House Republicans. Agriculture was defeated on the floor back in September. House leadership was forced to pull T-HUD and Financial Services last week after too many Republicans opposed the bills. Labor-H and CJS may not be any easier considering what those bills entail and the delicate balance leadership has to walk with the moderate and hard-right factions of the conference.
An absurd amendment to CJS: In last week’s Point of Order, we told you about a CRA that would send nearly 3,400 low-risk, nonviolent individuals currently in home confinement back to prison. Well, Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ)—who attended a white nationalist event, employed a neo-Nazi, and linked to an antisemitic website in his official newsletter—has submitted an amendment, #216, that’s an attempt to return these roughly 3,400 back to prison. Like, the Senate CRA, the amendment is cruel and unnecessary, but messaging is what people like Gosar are interested in, no matter who gets hurt in the process. Due Process Institute opposes this amendment and looks forward to its defeat on the House floor if Rules makes it in order.
A new vice chair for the House Republican Conference: The accent of now-Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) created an opening for vice chair of the House Republican Conference. Seven members ran for the spot, including Reps. Michelle Fischbach (R-MN), Nichole Malliotakis (R-NY), Brian Mast (R-FL), Blake Moore (R-UTH), and Beth Van Duyne (R-TX). Moore defeated Van Duyne in the final round of voting to become the new vice chair of the conference. Moore is a second-term lawmaker who sits on the House Ways and Means Committee and the House Budget Committee. He is also a member of the Republican Governance Group, which is the more mainstream caucus in the House Republican Conference. He is also a member of the Republican Study Committee and the Republican Main Street Partnership.
Party divisions in the House: Gabe Amo was elected on November 7 in the special election in RI-01 to fill the seat left vacant by the resignation of Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI). The special election in UT-02, the only other current vacancy in the House, will take place on Tuesday, November 21. The party divisions are 221 Republicans and, when Rep.-elect Amo is sworn in this week (probably today), 213 Democrats.
House committee schedule: Below are some House committee hearings that may be of interest. The full House committee schedule for the week is here.
To Consider a Resolution to Enable a Joint Hearing with the Committee on Homeland Security and a Resolution to Enable Outside Committee Participation at a Briefing (Intelligence, Monday at 5:00 pm)
Oversight of the Department of Justice Antitrust Division (Judiciary Subcommittee on the Administrative State, Regulatory Reform, and Antitrust; Tuesday at 10:00 am)
Leveraging AI to Enhance American Communications (Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, Tuesday at 10:00 am)
Oversight of the SBA’s Office of Entrepreneurial Development (Small Business, Tuesday at 10:00 am)
Guardians of the Sea: Examining Coast Guard Efforts in Drug Enforcement, Illegal Migration, and IUU Fishing (Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, Tuesday at 10:00 am)
Examining the Biden Administration's Afghanistan Policy Since the U.S. Withdrawal (Foreign Affairs, Tuesday at 10:00 am)
Markup of Various Legislature Measures (Financial Services, Tuesday at 10:00 am)
Oversight of the U.S. General Services Administration (Oversight and Accountability, Tuesday at 10:00 am)
Confronting the Scourge of Antisemitism on Campus (Education and the Workforce Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development, Tuesday at 10:15 am)
Clean Power Plan 2.0: EPA’s Effort to Jeopardize Reliable and Affordable Energy for States (Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment, Manufacturing, and Critical Materials; Tuesday at 10:30 am)
Emerging Therapies: Breakthroughs in the Battle Against Suicide? (Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Health, Tuesday at 2:00 pm)
Go-to-Zero: Joe Biden’s Withdrawal Order and the Taliban Takeover of Afghanistan (Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Accountability, Tuesday at 2:00 pm)
Worldwide Threats to the Homeland (Homeland Security, Wednesday at 9:00 am)
Oversight of Prudential Regulators (Financial Services, Wednesday at 9:30 am)
Congressional Commission on the Strategic Posture of the United States (Armed Services, Wednesday at 10:00 am)
The Impact of Illegal Immigration on Social Services (Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement; Wednesday at 10:00 am)
The Future of Nagorno-Karabakh (Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Europe, Wednesday at 10:00 am)
Crypto Crime in Context: Breaking Down the Illicit Activity in Digital Assets (Financial Services Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology, and Inclusion; Wednesday at 2:00 pm)
From Ivory Towers to Dark Corners: Investigating the Nexus Between Antisemitism, Tax-Exempt Universities, and Terror Financing (Ways and Means, Wednesday at 2:00 pm)
Aging Americans and a Waning Workforce: Demographic Drivers of Our Deficit (Joint Economic, Wednesday at 2:30 pm)
Reporting for Duty: Examining the Impacts of the Department of the Interior's Remote and Telework Policies (Natural Resources Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, Thursday at 9:00 am)
Markup of Various Legislative Measures (Foreign Affairs, Thursday at 10:00 am)
If you’re interested in watching any of these hearings online, you can find committee websites here.
Nominees and government funding: The Senate will reconvene today at 3:00 pm to resume consideration of the nomination of Ana de Alba to serve as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Cloture was invoked on the nomination on Thursday. A cloture motion on the motion to proceed was filed on H.R. 815. Presumably, this is the vehicle for the Senate version of the CR expected on the floor this week. As noted, details on the Senate CR are sparse. A roll call vote is expected in the Senate around 5:30 pm, but we’re not sure if it’ll be a roll call on the procedural motion for the vehicle for the CR or a roll call vote on the confirmation of the de Alba nomination. Although we may not be sure of the order, all signs point to roll calls on both this evening.
Senate committee schedule: Below are some Senate committee hearings that may be of interest. The full Senate committee schedule for the week is here.
Standing Up Against Corporate Greed: How Unions are Improving the Lives of Working Families (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions; Tuesday at 10:00 am)
Oversight of Financial Regulators: Protecting Main Street Not Wall Street (Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs; Tuesday at 10:00 am)
Innovation in American Agriculture: Leveraging Technology and Artificial Intelligence (Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry; Tuesday at 10:00 am)
Ensuring Medicare Beneficiary Access: A Path to Telehealth Permanency (Finance Subcommittee on Health Care, Tuesday at 2:30 pm)
Challenges and Opportunities to Facilitate Wildlife Movement and Improve Migration Corridors (Environment and Public Works, Tuesday at 2:30 pm)
Examining Federal COVID-Era Spending and Preventing Future Fraud (Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Spending Oversight, Tuesday at 2:45 pm)
Business Meeting (Rules and Administration, Tuesday at 3:00 pm)
U.S. Leadership on Artificial Intelligence in an Era of Strategic Competition (Foreign Relations, Wednesday at 10:00 am)
Opportunities in Industrial Decarbonization: Delivering Benefits for the Economy and the Climate (Environment and Public Works, Wednesday at 10:00 am)
Nominations Hearing (Judiciary, Wednesday at 10:00 am)
Business Meeting (Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Wednesday at 11:00 am)
Veteran Entrepreneurship: From Service to Small Business Success (Small Business and Entrepreneurship, Wednesday at 2:30 pm)
Nominations Hearing (Foreign Relations, Thursday at 10:00 am)
Executive Business Meeting (Judiciary, Thursday at 10:00 am)
If you’re interested in watching any of these hearings online, you can find committee websites here.
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