Congress Faces Big Deadlines on Government Funding and Debt Limit, Senate to Focus on NDAA, House Members Ask Biden to Nominate to Sentencing Commission
By 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.
Welcome back: We hope you all had a restful Thanksgiving. I ended up seeing two movies (Ghostbusters: Afterlife and Eternals) and watching the University of Georgia annihilate Georgia Tech. I also wrote some music, which is something I hadn’t done in a while. The Christmas season is officially here. Some of you have already started your Christmas shopping. (I got my nephews’ Christmas out of the week over the weekend, but I still have more shopping to do.) Others are going to wait until the last minute. Just remember that shipping delays are a concern this year. Get it all done before it’s too late.
Let there be deadlines: The current continuing resolution (CR) that Congress is operating under expires on Friday, December 3. Unless Congress passes another CR, the federal government will shut down. It does seem more likely that Congress will pass a stopgap CR that will fund the federal government for a week or two. This would give more time for negotiations on an omnibus spending bill for the rest of FY 2022. As we’ve noted before, it’s unlikely this additional time will produce a deal on an omnibus. The most likely scenario is a two-week CR through Friday, December 17, at which point Congress will punt appropriations into February or March. There’s also the debt limit, which is expected to be reached on Wednesday, December 15. We’ll remind readers once again that budget reconciliation would require Congress to increase the debt limit by a specific dollar amount. Democrats prefer to suspend the debt limit, which can’t be done under budget reconciliation. Suspending the debt limit requires 60 votes unless Democrats convince Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) to create a carve-out for the debt limit from the filibuster. We’re far less certain about what will happen here. Budget reconciliation is the easiest path for Democrats, but Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) could still try to sway Machin and Sinema to go along with a carve-out from the filibuster for the debt limit. That’s a consideration that has to weigh on Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who has said that he wouldn’t help Democrats with the debt limit again after what he characterized as “a rant” from Schumer that “that was so partisan, angry, and corrosive that Democratic Senators were visibly embarrassed by him and for him.” Still, Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA) has proposed an expedited budget reconciliation process for the debt limit, but that doesn’t seem to have caught on amongst Democrats, at least not yet.
The Senate will likely complete NDAA this week: The Senate returns today at 3:00 pm to resume consideration of the motion to proceed to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for FY 2022, H.R. 4350. A roll call vote is expected around 5:30 pm on S.Amdt. 3867. This is the manager’s amendment offered by Senate Armed Services Chairman Jack Reed (D-RI) and Ranking Member Jim Inhofe (R-OK). Cloture on the underlying bill has also been filed. What remains to be seen is how the Senate will handle amendments that didn’t make it into the manager’s amendment. Separate from NDAA, the Senate will also consider a CR this week to keep the federal government open, most likely later in the week.
Senate committee schedule: Below are some Senate committee hearings that may be of interest. The full Senate committee schedule for the week is here.
U.S. Policy on Democracy in Latin America and the Caribbean (Foreign Relations, Tuesday at 10:00 am)
CARES Act Oversight of Treasury and the Federal Reserve: Building a Resilient Economy (Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs; Tuesday at 10:00 am)
Nominations Hearing (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions; Tuesday at 10:00 am)
Hidden Holiday Hazards: Product Safety During the Holiday Season (Commerce, Science, and Transportation Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data Security; Tuesday at 10:00 am)
FedRAMP Reform: Recommendations to Reduce Burden, Enhance Security, and Address Inefficiencies in the Government Cloud Authorization Process (Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Tuesday at 2:30 pm)
Business Meeting and Oversight of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (Environment and Public Works, Wednesday at 9:45 am)
Nominations Hearing (Foreign Relations, Wednesday at 10:00 am)
Nominations Hearing (Judiciary, Wednesday at 10:00 am)
Executive Session and Nominations Hearing (Commerce, Science, and Transportation; Wednesday at 10:15 am)
Business Meeting (Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Wednesday at 11:00 am)
An End-of-Year Look at the State of VA (Veterans’ Affairs, Wednesday at 3:00 pm)
Executive Business Meeting (Judiciary, Thursday at 9:00 am)
Legislative Hearing (Energy and Natural Resources, Thursday at 10:00 am)
If you’re interested in watching any of these hearings online, you can find committee websites here.
House schedule for the week and suspensions: The House returns on Tuesday at 2:00 pm for legislative business. First and last votes today are expected around 6:30 pm. The chamber will be in session through Friday, with the last votes of the week expected before 3:00 pm that day. There are 24 bills (listed below) on the suspension calendar for the week. These bills will likely be on the floor between Tuesday, Wednesday, and possibly Thursday.
Understanding Cybersecurity of Mobile Networks Act, H.R. 2685 (Energy and Commerce Committee)
FUTURE Networks Act, H.R. 4045 (Energy and Commerce Committee)
American Cybersecurity Literacy Act, H.R. 4055 (Energy and Commerce Committee)
Opioid Prescription Verification Act, H.R. 2355 (Energy and Commerce Committee)
Synthetic Opioid Danger Awareness Act, H.R. 2364 (Energy and Commerce Committee)
Supporting the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health and the Reagan-Udall Foundation for the Food and Drug Administration Act, H.R. 3743 (Energy and Commerce Committee)
CARING for Social Determinants Act, H.R. 3894 (Energy and Commerce Committee)
Social Determinants of Health Data Analysis Act, H.R. 4026 (Energy and Commerce Committee)
Immunization Infrastructure Modernization Act, H.R. 550 (Energy and Commerce Committee)
Maternal Vaccination Act, H.R. 951 (Energy and Commerce Committee)
PREVENT HPV Cancers Act, H.R. 1550 (Energy and Commerce Committee)
Safeguard Tribal Objects of Patrimony Act, H.R. 2930 (Natural Resources Committee)
To amend the Act of June 18, 1934, to reaffirm the authority of the Secretary of the Interior to take land into trust for Indian Tribes, and for other purposes, H.R. 4352 (Natural Resources Committee)
Agua Caliente Land Exchange Fee to Trust Confirmation Act, H.R. 897 (Natural Resources Committee)
Indian Buffalo Management Act, H.R. 2074 (Natural Resources Committee)
Women Who Worked on the Home Front World War II Memorial Act, H.R. 3531 (Natural Resources Committee)
Blackwell School National Historic Site Act, H.R. 4706 (Natural Resources Committee)
Courthouse Ethics and Transparency Act, H.R. 5720 (Judiciary Committee)
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, H.R. 5677 (Judiciary Committee)
To make technical amendments to update statutory references to certain provisions classified to title 7, title 20, and title 43, United States Code, H.R. 5679 (Judiciary Committee)
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, H.R. 5695 (Judiciary Committee)
To make technical amendments to update statutory references to provisions reclassified to title 34, United States Code, H.R. 5705 (Judiciary Committee)
To make revisions in title 5, United States Code, as necessary to keep the title current, and to make technical amendments to improve the United States Code, H.R. 5961 (Judiciary Committee)
To make revisions in title 51, United States Code, as necessary to keep the title current, and to make technical amendments to improve the United States Code, H.R. 5982 (Judiciary 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. Because of the dilatory tactics used by the House Freedom Caucus, some suspension bills may be packaged together to save time and limit the number of roll call votes.
Rule bill(s) on the floor this week: As of this morning, the House Rules Committee hasn’t noticed a meeting this week. The committee will undoubtedly meet this week to consider a CR. There could be additional legislative items other than a CR, but there’s nothing specific that we know about.
House committee schedule: Below are some House committee hearings that may be of interest. The full House committee schedule for the week can be found here.
Oversight of the Treasury Department's and Federal Reserve's Pandemic Response (Financial Services, Wednesday at 10:00 am)
Examining the Policies and Priorities of the Corporation for National and Community Service (Education and Labor, Wednesday at 10:15 am)
The Future of Federal Work (Oversight and Reform Subcommittee on Government Operations, Wednesday at 10:15 am)
Holding Big Tech Accountable: Targeted Reforms to Tech’s Legal Immunity (Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, Wednesday at 10:30 am)
Ensuring American Leadership in Microelectronics (Science, Space, and Technology; Thursday at 10:00 am)
Supporting U.S. Workers, Businesses, and the Environment in the Face of Unfair Chinese Trade Practices (Ways and Means Subcommittee on Trade, Thursday at 10:00 am)
The Evolving Cybersecurity Landscape: Federal Perspectives on Securing the Nation's Infrastructure (Transportation and Infrastructure, Thursday at 10:00 am)
The Overdose Crisis: Interagency Proposal to Combat Illicit Fentanyl-Related Substances (Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health, Thursday at 10:30 am)
Strengthening the Safety Net for Injured Workers (Education and Labor Subcommittee on Workforce Protections, Thursday at 2:00 pm)
If you’re interested in watching any of these hearings online, you can find committee websites here.
A bipartisan call to make nominations to the U.S. Sentencing Commission: The U.S. Sentencing Commission has not had a quorum since January 2019. Two controversial nominees put forward by the previous administration in March 2018 were never considered by the Senate. Although President Biden has been in the White House for almost a year, he hasn’t nominated any individuals to serve on the Commission. Reps. Kelly Armstrong (R-ND) and Jamie Raskin (D-MD) want that to change. In a letter released before Thanksgiving, Armstrong and Raskin asked Biden to prioritize these nominees. “The Commission is unable to establish a quorum due to these continued vacancies, which has forestalled the important work of updating and establishing new sentencing guidelines. These guidelines advise the best policies and practices to ensure appropriate sentences are issued for individuals convicted of federal crimes. In fact, because of the vacancies, the Commission has been unable to update the guidelines to implement the First Step Act, the bipartisan sentencing reform law Congress passed in 2018,” wrote Armstrong and Raskin. “As a result, courts must implement the law without the guidelines, potentially resulting in uneven application of the law. It is imperative that the vacancies are expeditiously filled so the Commission can continue its work to improve the federal criminal justice system.” This is a bigger problem than most realize. Hopefully, Biden will announce nominees to the Commission soon.
Due Process Institute is a bipartisan nonprofit that works to honor, preserve, and restore principles of fairness in the criminal legal system. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.