CRAs and Fentanyl Legislation on Tap in the House, Debt Limit Update, Senate in Recess
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.
Yeah, I know. I’m really behind on getting this out: I’m a day later than usual. The past couple of weeks have been something of a blur for me. Point of Order is something that takes me the equivalent of a workday to write, but I do it over a couple to a few days, usually including a day of the weekend. In the past couple of weeks, I’ve bought a house and done a little traveling, so that consumed time I would ordinarily write the newsletter. I’m in Atlanta to visit family and friends, get tattooed, and see Thrice, but at least Point of Order has been delivered to your inbox, albeit late.
Schedule and suspensions: The House came back yesterday and considered six (6) bills under suspension of the rules. Those bills and their status as of this morning are listed below. The cost estimates for the bills can be found here. As for the rest of the week, legislative business will begin at 12:00 pm today, 12:00 pm on Wednesday, and 9:00 am on Thursday. Last votes for the week are expected no later than 3:00 pm Thursday. No votes are scheduled on Friday.
H.R. 1076, Preventing the Financing of Illegal Synthetic Drugs Act (Financial Services Committee)—Passed by a vote of 402 to 2
H.R. 1156, China Financial Threat Mitigation Act (Financial Services Committee)—Passed by a vote of 400 to 5
H.R. 366, Korean American VALOR Act (Sponsored by Rep. Takano / Veterans Affairs Committee) )— Passed by voice
H.R. 1669, VET–TEC Authorization Act (Veterans’ Affairs Committee)—Vote requested
S. 777, Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act (Veterans’ Affairs Committee) )—Passed by voice
Senate amendment to H.R. 346, NOTAM Improvement Act (Transportation and Infrastructure Committee)—Passed by voice
Rule bills: The House Rules Committee met yesterday to markup the rule for the Fischer Trucking Emissions CRA, S.J.Res. 11; the Student Loan CRA, H.J.Res. 45; and the HALT Fentanyl Act, H.R. 467. The CRAs are disapproval resolutions to cancel rules issued by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Education. The House may also consider the veto message of the Solar Panel CRA, H.J.Res. 39.
The wrong way to address fentanyl: The big rule bill of the week is the HALT Fentanyl Act. I have a particular beef against this bill. The primary concern is the classwide scheduling approach that it takes. Of course, classwide scheduling has been in place since February 2018, but codifying that approach is a mistake. I explained why it’s a mistake in a statement I submitted to the House Crime Subcommittee in March. Obviously, fentanyl and many fentanyl-related substances (FRS) are addictive and dangerous; however, not all FRS share those properties. In fact, some are harmless and inert while at least one FRS may function like naloxone, which can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. Under this bill, people will face mandatory minimum prison sentences if they have an FRS that is harmless because the HALT Fentanyl Act focuses on chemical compounds rather than medical uses. Even more troubling is that there's not an off-ramp in the HALT Fentanyl Act for FRS that is determined to be harmless. Other bills like the TEST Act and the Save Americans from the Fentanyl Emergency (SAFE) Act have an off-ramp and are more viable alternatives. The SAFE Act was introduced as an amendment. Predictably, the House Rules Committee didn’t make that amendment in order. None of the amendments made in order would address our concerns.
Debt limit negotiation update: A friend called me last week and asked me if Congress would get a debt limit deal done before June 1. I simply said, “Honestly, I don’t know.” My answer seemed to concern him, and he asked why. I won’t get into all of what I said here, but hyperpartisanship is the main reason. We’re also still governing by crisis, even though conservatives in the House said that was going to end. Finally, there are members of both chambers who believe a default at a time when China is trying to replace the U.S. Dollar as the world’s reserve currency isn’t really a big deal. Part of me wants to believe that cooler heads will prevail and that something will get done before the “X date,” which could come as soon as the beginning of June, but the other part of me is really freaking concerned. It’s worth noting that the Senate is out this week. The House is out next. Senators have already been advised that they could be called back to Washington. The House will do the same for members next week unless the recess is canceled.
Bragging about a friend: My good friend and podcast partner, Scot Turner, will testify before the House Administration Subcommittee on Elections on Wednesday at 2:30 pm. I’ve known Scot for many years, long before he was elected to serve in the Georgia House of Representatives. Scot founded Eternal Vigilance Action, which, among its issues, is election reform, including support of ranked-choice voting. Good luck, Scot! (Full disclosure: I serve on the board of Eternal Vigilance Action.)
House committee schedule: Below are some House committee hearings that may be of interest. The full House committee schedule for the week is here.
Markup of Various Legislative Measures (Small Business, Tuesday at 9:45 am)
Oversight and Reauthorization of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, Tuesday at 10:00 am)
FHFA Oversight: Protecting Homeowners and Taxpayers (Financial Services, Tuesday at 10:00 am)
The Role of Pharmacy Benefit Managers in Prescription Drug Markets Part I: Self-Interest or Health Care? (Oversight and Accountability, Tuesday at 10:00 am)
Bring Abducted Children Home (Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations; Tuesday at 10:00 am)
The Biden Border Crisis: Part III (Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement; Tuesday at 10:00 am)
COVID-19 Supplemental Funding: Did It Protect and Improve Veteran Care? (Veterans’ Affairs, Tuesday at 10:00 am)
Markup of Fiscal Year 2024 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies and Legislative Branch Bills and Interim Suballocation of Budget Allocations (Appropriations, Tuesday at 10:00 am)
Markup of Various Legislative Measures (Transportation and Infrastructure, Tuesday at 10:00 am)
Protecting Employees’ Rights: Ensuring Fair Elections at the NLRB (Education and the Workforce Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions; Tuesday at 10:15 am)
Growing the Domestic Energy Sector Supply Chain and Manufacturing Base: Are Federal Efforts Working? (Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, Tuesday at 10:30 am)
A Security Sprint: Assessing the U.S. Homeland’s Vulnerabilities to Chinese Communist Party Aggression (Homeland Security Subcommittee on Counterterrorism, Law Enforcement, and Intelligence; Tuesday at 2:00 pm)
Examining the Fiscal Year 2024 State and Foreign Operations Budget Request for Europe (Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Europe, Tuesday at 2:00 pm)
VA Information Technology Contracting: Challenges in Consolidation of Competition and Conflict of Interest (Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Technology Modernization, Wednesday at 8:00 am)
Markup of Various Legislative Measures (Science, Space, and Technology; Wednesday at 10:00 am)
Markup of Various Legislative Measures (Financial Services, Wednesday at 10:00 am)
Consumer Choice on the Backburner: Examining the Biden Administration’s Regulatory Assault on Americans’ Gas Stoves (Oversight and Accountability Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Energy Policy, and Regulatory Affairs; Wednesday at 10:00 am)
Markup of Various Legislative Measures (Energy and Commerce, Wednesday at 10:00 am)
Reigniting American Growth and Prosperity Series: Removing the Burdens of Government Overreach (Budget, Wednesday at 10:00 am)
Markup of Various Legislative (Judiciary, Wednesday at 10:00 am)
Markup of Fiscal Year 2024 Homeland Security and Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Bills (Appropriations, Wednesday at 10:00 am)
Never Ending Emergencies – An Examination of the National Emergencies Act (Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management; Wednesday at 10:00 am)
Breaking the System Part II: Examining the Implications of Biden’s Student Loan Policies for Students and Taxpayers (Education and the Workforce Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development, Wednesday at 10:15 am)
Saluting Service: Supporting Veteran Owned Small Businesses (Small Business, Wednesday at 2:00 pm)
A Failure of Supervision: Bank Failures and The San Francisco Federal Reserve (Oversight and Accountability Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services, Wednesday at 2:00 pm)
American Confidence in Elections: Ensuring Every Eligible American has the Opportunity to Vote – and for their Vote to Count According to Law (House Administration Subcommittee on Elections, Wednesday at 2:30 pm)
Business Meeting (Small Business, Wednesday at 4:00 pm)
Foreign Materiel Acquisition/Exploitation (Intelligence Subcommittee on Defense Intelligence and Overhead Architecture, Thursday at 9:00 am)
International Financial Institutions in an Era of Great Power Competition (Financial Services Subcommittee on National Security, Illicit Finance, and International Financial Institutions; Thursday at 9:00 am)
Modernizing Customs Policies to Protect American Workers and Secure Supply Chains (Ways and Means Subcommittee on Trade, Thursday at 9:00 am)
If you’re interested in watching any of these hearings online, you can find committee websites here.
The Senate will return next week: Although the House is out next week, the Senate will return on Tuesday, May 30, unless there’s a breakthrough on debt limit negotiations before then.
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.