Congress Awaits an Omnibus Like Kids Waiting for Santa Claus, 2023 Senate Schedule Released, January 6 Committee's Final Meeting
By Jason Pye - Director, Rule of Law Initiatives
It sounds like Santa is visiting DC: With Congress operating under a week-long continuing resolution, congressional leadership and appropriators are scrambling to put together an omnibus spending bill that will undoubtedly include other legislative items that didn’t pass during the 117th Congress. We know that one piece of legislation that will be included in the omnibus is the text of the Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act. More aid to Ukraine will also be in the bill. Considering that this is both the most significant opportunity to pass legislation this year and the last chance to pass any legislation, there could be several other bills that jump on the train, including the SAFE Banking Act, HOPE Act, EARN Act, potentially something on crack cocaine sentencing, and tax extenders. But Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has drawn a line in the sand on timing. He told reporters last week that an omnibus has to pass by December 22 or the Senate will have to kick government funding into next year. Anyway, the text of the omnibus is expected to come out this evening.
Speaking of next year: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has released the calendar for 2023. It all begins on January 3 when the Senate will organize. The chamber will recess from January 4 through January 20. The first day for bill introductions is January 23. Here’s a look at recesses for the rest of the year. The target date for sine die is December 15.
February 6
February 20-24
March 10
March 13
March 17
March 20
April 3-14
April 24
June 5
June 19
June 26-30
July 3-7
July 17
July 24
July 31
August 1-September 1
September 15
September 25
October 9-13
November 10
November 20-24
The Senate schedule: The Senate returns today at 3:00 pm to consider the nomination of Martin Gruenberg to be Chair of the Board of Directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). We do expect a roll call vote at 5:30 pm, but we’re not sure what the Senate will vote on. Our Senate friends tell us that we won’t find out what the roll call vote will be until some point today. So, you know, you’ll find out when we do.
Scheduled Senate committee hearings: The only Senate committee hearing currently scheduled is the Rules and Administration Capitol Police oversight hearing today at 3:30 pm. There could be other hearings that pop up during the week, but with Congress looking to leave by week’s end, we doubt it.
Schedule in the House: From what we’ve been told the earliest the House will convene this week is Wednesday. The only legislative item the House will consider this week is the omnibus, and we expect the chamber to stay in session until it’s finished, likely Thursday or Friday.
Scheduled House committee hearings: The Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol will hold its final business meeting today at 1:00 pm. It’s expected that the select committee will consider criminal referrals related to several individuals, including former President Donald Trump. The House Ways and Means Committee will meet tomorrow at 3:00 pm to consider documents protected under Internal Revenue Code 6103. The translation for this is that the committee is meeting to discuss Trump’s tax returns. The House Rules Committee will eventually meet this week to markup the rule for the omnibus.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year: This is probably our final Point of Order for 2022. I mean, I’m on vacation, folks. I have a birthday in six days, and I’m trying to stay off my laptop as much as possible during the holidays. We wish you a happy holiday season! We’ll see you in 2023! Most importantly, go Dawgs!