FY 2022 Omnibus, Republicans Want to Reopen the House, Senate Tackles Postal Reform
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.
Fines and fees a pathway to poverty: Reuters has a really good write up on a new study on the impact of fines and fees. The study, Criminalizing Poverty: The Consequences of Court Fees in a Randomized Experiment, explains that the “evidence indicates that court debt charged to indigent defendants neither caused nor deterred new crime, and the government obtained little financial benefit. Yet, fines and fees contributed to a criminalization of low-income defendants, placing them at risk of ongoing court involvement through new warrants and debt collection.” Read the study here.
Slava Ukraini: I haven’t watched cable news, except for in rare instances (like January 6, for example), in about seven years, but I can’t turn off CNN. I can’t stop watching the coverage. Look, I’m not a foreign policy expert. I have strong noninterventionist leanings, but the situation in Ukraine is so incredibly sad. The people of Ukraine are brave and resilient, but the suffering these innocent civilians are enduring is difficult to imagine. It’s hard to watch the coverage and say, “You know, we shouldn’t get involved there.” The Biden administration’s response has been as good as it can be without getting directly involved in a conflict with Russia. Unfortunately, Putin and Russia won’t stop. It’s unlikely that he’ll stop with Ukraine. That’s a scary thought, but it may be the reality that we face.
Here comes the omnibus: The federal government is currently funded through Friday, March 11. It’s highly likely that Congress will consider an omnibus appropriations bill this week. The bill will include all 12 regular appropriations bills for FY 2022. (Mandatory spending programs are not included in appropriations.) The four corners—Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA)—are negotiating on the appropriations bills, as well as what other legislation and priorities will make it into the bill, considering that this will be one of the last real major lawmaking efforts of the year. Additionally, President Biden has sent a formal request to Congress for $10 billion in emergency funding for military and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine and European countries assisting with refugees. He also requested $22.5 billion for COVID-19 response and identifying new variants. “I urge the Congress,” President Bide wrote, “to address these critical and urgent needs as part of a comprehensive government funding bill ahead of the March 11th funding deadline.”
A short week in the House: The House returns today at 2:00 pm for legislative business. First and last votes today are expected around 6:30 pm. The chamber will be in session until some point Wednesday, likely early in the day. The House Democratic Caucus will hold its issues conference later in the week, which is why it’s a shorter week than usual. There are six bills (listed below) on the suspension calendar for the week. These bills will be on the floor between today and tomorrow. It’s possible that additional legislation could be considered.
Homeland Security Capabilities Preservation Act, H.R. 5615 (Homeland Security Committee)
DHS Basic Training Accreditation Improvement Act, H.R. 5616 (Homeland Security Committee)
National Cybersecurity Preparedness Consortium Act, S. 658 (Homeland Security Committee)
Shadow Wolves Enhancement Act, H.R. 5681 (Homeland Security Committee)
Condemning threats of violence against historically Black colleges and universities (“HBCUs”) and reaffirming support for HBCUs and their students, H.Con.Res. 70 (Education and Labor Committee)
Condemning the heinous terrorist attack on Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas, on January 15, 2022, H.Res. 881 (Oversight and Reform 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.
FY 2022 approps: As of now, the only rule bill expected to hit the floor is the consolidated appropriations bill for FY 2022, otherwise known as the “omnibus.” The omnibus is expected to have other legislation attached. The House Rules Committee has not noticed a meeting for the omnibus (after all, negotiations are still taking place), but we do expect them to consider the rule early in the week. We would be shocked if the rule were anything other than a closed rule. It’s possible that other legislation could be considered this week.
Republicans want an open House: With pandemic restrictions loosening around the country, including the lifting of the mask mandate inside the House itself, House Republicans are urging Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to open the House side of the Capitol and House office buildings to the public. Rep. Bryan Steil (R-WI) has introduced a resolution, H.Res. 961, which expresses the sense of the House to remove the restrictions on the House that have been in place since the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020. The resolution is cosponsored by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA), and House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-NY), House Administration Committee Ranking Member Rodney Davis (R-IL), and Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-GA).
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.
The Inflation Equation: Corporate Profiteering, Supply Chain Bottlenecks, and COVID-19(Financial Services, Tuesday at 10:00 am)
Federal Climate Adaptation and Resilience for the 21st Century (Science, Space, and Technology; Tuesday at 10:00 am)
Overview of the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer Programs (Small Business, Tuesday at 10:00 am)
Examining the History of Federal Lands and the Development of Tribal Co-Management (Natural Resources, Tuesday at 10:00 am)
A 2022 Review of the Farm Bill: Rural Development (Agriculture Subcommittee on Commodity Exchanges, Energy, and Credit; Tuesday at 10:00 am)
Reimagining Public Safety in the COVID-19 Era (Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security; Tuesday at 10:00 am)
Worldwide Threats (Intelligence, Tuesday at 10:00 am)
Charging Forward: Securing American Manufacturing and Our EV Future (Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy, Tuesday at 10:15 am)
Ensuring Women Can Thrive in a Post-Pandemic Economy (Budget, Tuesday at 11:00 am)
The Need for a Supreme Court Code of Ethics (Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet; Tuesday at 2:00 pm)
Shifting the Power: USAID’s Efforts to Support Locally- Led Development (Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on International Development, International Organizations, and Global Corporate Social Impact; Tuesday at 2:00 pm)
Confronting Climate Impacts: Federal Strategies for Equitable Adaptation and Resilience (Climate Crisis, Wednesday at 9:30 am)
Changing Times: Revisiting Spring Forward, Fall Back (Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Commerce, Wednesday at 9:30 am)
Skill, Upskill, and Reskill: Analyzing New Investments in Workforce Development (Small Business Subcommittee on Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Workforce Development; Wednesday at 10:00 am)
If you’re interested in watching any of these hearings online, you can find committee websites here.
Postal reform over in the Senate: The Senate will convene at 3:00 pm today to resume consideration of the Postal Reform Act, H.R. 3076. The Senate began consideration of the Postal Service Reform Act early last week. Around 5:30 pm, a vote on the cloture motion to limit debate is expected to begin. The omnibus will be on the floor later in the week.
Confirmation hearings for the Jackson nomination to SCOTUS: The confirmation hearings for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court are expected to begin on Monday, March 21, according to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-IL). Durbin met with Jackson last week, as did Ranking Member Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Leader Schumer, and Leader McConnell. Jackson, guided by former Sen. Doug Jones (D-AL), will continue to meet with senators this week. The White House and Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee are making a full-court press to get Brown confirmed. The New York Times reports that Senate Democrats’ goal is to have Brown confirmed to the Court before the two-week recess that begins on April 8. We’ll have more details on the confirmation hearings once they’re available.
A quick thought on Brown’s nomination: A few weeks ago, after the announcement of Justice Stephen Breyer’s retirement, I did an interview on former Rep. Doug Collins’ (R-GA) radio show. Doug and I agreed that fighting this nomination, whoever President Biden chose, didn’t really make much sense. The nomination doesn’t tilt the balance of the Court. Ideologically, the Court stays the same. There are still four conservatives in Justice Thomas, Alito, Comey Barrett, and Kavanaugh and one swing vote in Chief Justice Roberts. Brown would join Justices Kagan and Sotomayor on the progressive wing of the Court. And to be honest, Brown is an improvement from Breyer, particularly when it comes to criminal justice. To my conservative friends, fighting this nomination is a really terrible idea. Save your scorn for a nominee that tilts the balance of the Court.
McConnell throws cold water on Rick Scott’s agenda: Leader McConnell and Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) appear to have had a disagreement that spilled out into the public view this week over Scott’s agenda if Republicans win control of the Senate. Scott’s 11-point proposal is kind of a head-scratcher. Scott is the Chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), which is a formal Republican leadership position. There are also proposals in Scott’s plan—including a proposed tax increase and requiring a five-year sunset for all legislation (presumably including Medicare and Social Security), that could hurt some Republicans in the 2022 midterm. Believe me, there are plenty of other bad ideas in Scott’s proposal. (Unfortunately, I had to read it. When it comes to criminal justice, it’s really bad.) McConnell wasn’t too pleased with the proposal. At a press conference last week, McConnell said, “If we’re fortunate to be in the majority next year, I’ll be the Majority Leader. I’ll decide, in consultation with my members, what to put on the floor. Now, let me tell you what would not be part of our agenda. We will not have as part of our agenda a bill that raises taxes on half the American people and sunsets Social Security and Medicare within five years. That will not be part of the Republican Senate majority agenda. We will focus instead on what the American people are concerned about: inflation, energy, defense, the border, and crime.” Scott, who was initially behind McConnell at the press conference, walked away when McConnell was asked about the plan. Still, it’s not a good look for the Chairman of the NRSC to wander off the reservation like that and do his own thing. Former President Trump has encouraged Scott to run against McConnell for Leader, but there has been speculation that Scott may have his eyes set on the White House in 2024. That speculation will only heat up after Scott penned a piece in the Wall Street Journal, in which he wrote, “If we have no bigger plan than to be a speed bump on the road to socialism, we don’t deserve to govern.”
Luján returns: Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) returned to the Senate roughly a month after a stroke. He received a standing ovation when he walked into a Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee hearing on Thursday. Luján’s return means that Senate Democrats now have their operational, albeit very thin, majority back.
Manchin may have revived Build Back Better: Except it’s not called “Build Back Better” now. The initiative formerly called “Build Back Better” is now called “Building a Better America.” Anyway, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) opened the door last week after the State of the Union address to considering at least some elements of President Biden’s domestic agenda through budget reconciliation. There are few real details, but Manchin is floating income tax increases, prescription drug reform, and climate change provisions as part of this new effort. Still, there are hurdles. Manchin’s salvo leaves out big progressive priorities, among which are universal pre-K and the extension of the expanded child tax credit. The lack of those progressive priorities has turned off some Democrats. It’s also worth noting that Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) has previously opposed income tax increases.
Senate committee schedule: Below are some Senate committee hearings that may be of interest. The full Senate committee schedule for the week is here.
Business Meeting (Foreign Relations, Tuesday at TBD)
Combating the Rise in Hate Crimes (Judiciary, Tuesday at 10:00 am)
Examining Mandatory Arbitration in Financial Service Products (Judiciary, Tuesday at 10:00 am)
Legislative Hearing (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions; Tuesday at 10:00 am)
Executive Business Meeting (Judiciary, Thursday at 9:00 am)
Hearing To Examine The Use Of Energy As A Tool And A Weapon (Energy and Natural Resources, Thursday at 10:00 am)
Worldwide Threats (Intelligence, Thursday at 10:00 am)
Nominations Hearing (Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Thursday at 10:15 am)
If you’re interested in watching any of these hearings online, you can find committee websites here.
Cherokee Nation owed a congressional delegation: Did you know that the Cherokee Nation is supposed to have a delegate in the House? I didn’t until I saw this op-ed in The Hill last week. Article 7 of the Treaty of New Echota of 1835 stipulates that the Cherokee Nation “shall be entitled to a delegate in the House of Representatives of the United States whenever Congress shall make a provision for the same.” The Treaty of New Echota, in which Cherokees ceded their lands in the southeast and agreed to move west, was the Jackson administration's excuse for the Trail of Tears, which is another of the several stains in our nation’s history. There are currently five delegates in the House and one resident commissioner who represent United States’ territories. Legally, it looks like there should be another one.
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