Government Funding Deadline Looms, NDAA Likely to Wrap Up This Week, Sinema Changes Party Affiliation
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.
The Sinema surprise that really isn’t a surprise that we really need more of in Washington, DC: As I’m sure you’ve heard, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema has changed her party registration in Arizona from Democratic to independent. She is currently one of three independents serving in the Senate. Sinema has been a thorn in the side of the Democratic Party for much of her tenure, and she was almost assuredly going to face a primary challenge in 2024. Some saw this as a surprise, but it’s really not if you’ve watched her. Looking at CNN’s exit polls, 40 percent of Arizona voters in the 2022 midterm were independent. Voter registration statistics show that 33.9 percent of registered voters are “Other,” presumably meaning independent. In an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, Sinema said, “[T]he national parties are spending a lot of time thinking about how to get one over on the other party, right? How to win in the next election? How to use a talking point or an issue not to solve a problem or make a difference in people's lives, but to win a point, right, here or there? And that's just not what I'm interested in. Not what I'm interested in at all. And, frankly, I think that's what most Americans are not interested in either. And so, you know, the movements to really highlight how the other party is bad or wrong and both parties do this, I find that not only tiresome and exhausting but I find it counterproductive. It doesn't help us get to the solutions that we so desperately need in our country.” Partisans on either side of the aisle will find this hard to comprehend, but Sinema is really hitting at something that I think is on the minds of many voters. There are so many voters—myself included—who are tired of petty partisanship and the constant gamesmanship and short-term power grabs that are so prevalent in Washington, DC. I’m not saying I agree with Sinema on everything, but I share the sentiment that she has expressed, and, frankly, I applaud her for it.
Republicans may need to begin thinking about an alternative to McCarthy: I’m not saying that Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) won’t be the next Speaker of the House. There are still a few weeks ago to before there’s a sense of urgency around the situation. However, with Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) announcing a second run for Speaker, four Republicans communicating that they won’t vote for McCarthy under any circumstances, and seven other Republicans making demands for McCarthy to earn their votes, it certainly doesn’t look good. There has been some discussion about alternatives to McCarthy. It does seem, to some degree, that McCarthy may not be able to earn far-right votes that could theoretically go to someone like Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA), who has been elected to serve as majority leader. Scalise is viewed as more conservative. Just the same, the far-right would still want to extract some changes to the House Rules. Forget about Elise Stefanik (R-NY). She faced opposition when she ran for her current role to replace Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) as conference chair. That opposition would be enough to sink a bid for Speaker. The most intriguing idea is that moderates in both parties find an alternative, likely a moderate Republican, who can get 218 votes to secure the job. I doubt this will happen, but if McCarthy can’t get 218 votes after however many ballots on January 3, there could be some deal-making that takes place.
Government funding? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯: The current continuing resolution (CR) runs through Friday. It’s highly likely, if not a certainty, that Congress approves another CR. The question is really how long that CR goes. Does it fund the federal government for another week, through February or sometime in March, or for a full year? A full-year CR seems like the least likely option, but Senate Republicans are balking at an increase in nondefense discretionary spending. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said, President Biden “and his party have spent huge sums on domestic priorities outside the normal appropriations process without a penny for the Defense Department. Obviously, we won’t allow them to now hijack the government funding process, too, and take our troops hostage for even more liberal spending.” I’m traveling this week, but I may have a mid- to late-week update once more details are known on what’s happening with this.
Schedule and suspensions 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 through Thursday, and the last votes for the week are expected at 3:00 pm that day. There are 39 bills (listed below) on the suspension calendar for the week.
Senate Amendment to H.R. 7077, Empowering the U.S. Fire Administration Act (Science, Space, and Technology Committee)
S. 558, FLOODS Act (Science, Space, and Technology Committee)
H.R. 8665, National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) Modernization Act (Oversight and Reform Committee)
Senate Amendment to H.R. 7535, Quantum Computing Cybersecurity Preparedness Act (Oversight and Reform Committee)
H.R. 5349, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1550 State Road S–38–211 in Orangeburg, South Carolina, as the "J.I. Washington Post Office Building" (Oversight and Reform Committee)
H.R. 5949, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 615 North Bush Street, in Santa Ana, California, as the ‘‘Judge James Perez Post Office’’ (Oversight and Reform Committee)
H.R. 6725, To change the address of the Marilyn Monroe Post Office, and for other purposes (Oversight and Reform Committee)
H.R. 7832, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 396 South California Avenue in West Covina, California, as the "Esteban E. Torres Post Office Building” (Oversight and Reform Committee)
H.R. 7873, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 400 Southern Avenue Southeast in Washington, District of Columbia, as the "District of Columbia Servicemembers and Veterans Post Office" (Oversight and Reform Committee)
H.R. 7988, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 79125 Corporate Centre Drive in La Quinta, California, as the "Corporal Hunter Lopez Memorial Post Office Building" (Oversight and Reform Committee)
H.R. 7519, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 2050 South Boulevard in Bloomfield Township, Michigan, as the "Dr. Ezra S. Parke Post Office Building" (Oversight and Reform Committee)
H.R. 8026, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 825 West 65th Street in Minneapolis, Minnesota, as the "Charles W. Lindberg Post Office" (Oversight and Reform Committee)
H.R. 8226, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 236 Concord Exchange North in South Saint Paul, Minnesota, as the "Officer Leo Pavlak Post Office Building" (Oversight and Reform Committee)
H.R. 9074, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 333 North Sunrise Way in Palm Springs, California, as the "Chairman Richard Milanovich Post Office" (Oversight and Reform Committee)
H.R. 8622, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 123 South 3rd Street in King City, California, as the "Chief Rudy Banuelos Post Office" (Oversight and Reform Committee)
H.R. 7082, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 2200 North George Mason Drive in Arlington, Virginia, as the "Jesus Antonio Collazos Post Office Building" (Oversight and Reform Committee)
H.R. 7638, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 6000 South Florida Avenue in Lakeland, Florida, as the "U.S. Marine Corporal Ronald R. Payne Jr. Post Office" (Oversight and Reform Committee)
H.R. 6042, A bill to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 213 William Hilton Parkway in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, as the "Caesar H. Wright Jr. Post Office Building" (Oversight and Reform Committee)
H.R. 7514, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 345 South Main Street in Butler, Pennsylvania, as the "Andrew Gomer Williams Post Office Building" (Oversight and Reform Committee)
H.R. 6630, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1400 N Kraemer Blvd. in Placentia, California, as the "PFC Jang Ho Kim Post Office Building" (Oversight and Reform Committee)
H.R. 6218, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 317 Blattner Drive in Avon, Minnesota, as the "W.O.C. Kort Miller Plantenberg Post Office" (Oversight and Reform Committee)
H.R. 6220, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 100 3rd Avenue Northwest in Perham, Minnesota, as the "Charles P. Nord Post Office" (Oversight and Reform Committee)
H.R. 6221, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 155 Main Avenue West in Winsted, Minnesota, as the "James A. Rogers Jr. Post Office" (Oversight and Reform Committee)
H.R. 6611, To authorize the Embassy of France in Washington, DC, to establish a commemorative work in the District of Columbia and its environs to honor the extraordinary contributions of Jean Monnet to restoring peace between European nations and establishing the European Union, and for other purposes (Natural Resources Committee)
S. 314, Klamath Tribe Judgment Fund Repeal Act (Natural Resources Committee)
S. 789, RESPECT Act (Natural Resources Committee)
S. 1466, Saline Lake Ecosystems in the Great Basin States Program Act (Natural Resources Committee)
H.R. 2551, Bonneville Shoreline Trail Advancement Act (Natural Resources Committee)
H.R. 5715, To reauthorize the Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Trust Fund, and for other purposes (Education and Labor/Natural Resources Committees)
H.R. 6427, Red River National Wildlife Refuge Boundary Modification Act (Natural Resources Committee)
H.R. 7496, To direct the Secretary of the Interior to install a plaque at the peak of Ram Head in the Virgin Islands National Park on St. John, United States Virgin Islands, to commemorate the slave rebellion that began on St. John in 1733 (Natural Resources Committee)
H.R. 7952, Valley Forge Park Realignment Permit and Promise Act (Natural Resources Committee)
H.Res. 1156, Expressing the commitment of the House of Representatives to building on the twenty years of success of the George McGovern-Robert Dole Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program (Agriculture Committee)
S. 5060, Paul D. Wellstone Building Act (Transportation and Infrastructure Committee)
S. 4017, A bill to designate the United States courthouse located at 111 South Highland Avenue in Jackson, Tennessee, as the "James D. Todd United States Courthouse", and for other purposes (Transportation and Infrastructure Committee)
H.R. 1082, Sami’s Law (Transportation and Infrastructure Committee)
S. 7, VAWA Technical Amendment Act (Judiciary Committee)
S. 2991, Countering Human Trafficking Act (Judiciary Committee)
S. 5229, A bill to direct the Joint Committee of Congress on the Library to remove the bust of Roger Brooke Taney in the Old Supreme Court Chamber of the Capitol and to obtain a bust of Thurgood Marshall for installation in the Capitol or on the Capitol grounds, and for other purposes (Committee on House Administration)
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 Tuesday at 1:00 pm to markup the rule for the Preventing Organization Conflicts of Interest in Federal Acquisition Act, S. 3905; the VA Employee Fairness Act, H.R. 1948; and the Law Enforcement De-Escalation Training Act, S. 4003.
Republican Steering Committee recommendations for chairs: The House Republican Steering Committee, which is controlled by McCarthy, has made recommendations for committee chairs in the 118th Congress. There are some notable committees for which Steering didn’t make recommendations. The top spot on these committees—which includes Budget, Education and Labor, Homeland Security, and Ways and Means—are contested. However, the recommendations are as follows.
Agriculture: Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-PA)
Appropriations: Rep. Kay Granger (R-TX)
Armed Services: Rep. Mike Rogers
Energy and Commerce: Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA)
Financial Services: Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC)
Foreign Affairs: Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX)
Judiciary: Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH)
Natural Resources: Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-AR)
Oversight and Reform: Rep. James Comer (R-KY)
Science, Space, and Technology: Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK)
Small Business: Rep. Roger Williams (R-TX)
Transportation and Infrastructure: Rep. Sam Graves (R-MO)
Veterans’ Affairs: Rep. Mike Bost (R-IL)
Separately, the chairs for Rules, House Administration, Ethics, and Intelligence are appointed by the Speaker and haven’t been announced. The Speaker will also appoint the chair for a new committee related to China. I haven’t seen the names of ranking members for Democrats, but I’ll share those in a future update.
Party divisions in the House: Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA) was sworn in to serve as the new mayor of Los Angeles on Sunday. Presumably, she will resign her seat in Congress this week. Bass’s resignation will bring the number of Democrats to 218. Republicans have 213 seats.
House committee schedule: Below are some House committee hearings that may be of interest. The full House committee schedule for the week is here.
Examining the Operations of the Office of Intelligence and Analysis (Homeland Security Subcommittee on Intelligence and Counterterrorism, Tuesday at 10:00 am)
Confronting White Supremacy (Part VII): The Evolution of Anti-Democratic Extremist Groups and the Ongoing Threat to Democracy (Oversight and Reform Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, Tuesday at 10:00 am)
Investigating the Collapse of FTX, Part I (Financial Services, Tuesday at 10:00 am)
Markup of H.Res. 1475 (Armed Services, Tuesday at 10:00 am)
Modernizing International Development Assistance: Opportunities and Challenges (Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on International Development, International Organizations, and Global Corporate Social Impact; Tuesday at 2:00 pm)
Review of the Role of VA’s Fourth Mission and Pandemic Response (Veterans’ Affairs, Tuesday at 2:00 pm)
Promoting Sustainable Environmental Practices Through Trade Policy (Ways and Means Subcommittee on Trade, Wednesday at 9:30 am)
Building Regional Innovation Economies, Part II (Science, Space, and Technology Subcommittee on Research and Technology; Wednesday at 10:00 am)
The Rise of Anti-LGBTQI+ Extremism and Violence in the United States (Oversight and Reform, Wednesday at 10:00 am)
Consumers First: Semi-Annual Report of the Consumer Financial Protection (Financial Services, Wednesday at 10:00 am)
Examining the Policies and Priorities of the Corporation for National and Community Service (Education and Labor Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Investment, Wednesday at 10:15 am)
Markup of H.Res. 1476 (Energy and Commerce, Wednesday at 10:30 am)
Preparing for and Preventing the Next Public Health Emergency: Lessons Learned from the Coronavirus Crisis (Coronavirus Crisis, Wednesday at 2:00 pm or 3:30 pm)
FITARA 15.0 (Oversight and Reform Subcommittee on Government Operations, Thursday at 9:00 am)
Examining Uvalde: The Search for Bipartisan Solutions to Gun Violence (Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security; Thursday at 10:00 am)
If you’re interested in watching any of these hearings online, you can find committee websites here.
Nominees in the Senate: The Senate returns today at 3:00 pm to resume consideration of the nomination of Tamika R. Montgomery-Reeves to serve as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. A vote on the cloture motion for the Montgomery-Reeves nomination will begin around 5:30 pm. We expect the Senate to take up NDAA and something on government funding this week as well.
NDAA will probably wrap up this week: The Senate is expected to take up the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2023, H.R. 7776, this week after the House signed off on the annual defense bill last week. The NDAA authorizes $857.9 billion in spending—$816.7 billion for the Department of Defense, $30. Billion for the Department of Energy, and $10.6 billion for defense-related activities that are outside of the NDAA.
Party divisions in the Senate: Democrats now have 47 seats while Republicans have 50 seats. There are three independents who caucus with the Democrats. Party divisions at the beginning of the 118th Congress will be 48 Democrats, 49 Republicans, and three independents who caucus with Democrats. There’s something of a question around the Republicans, though, as Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE) is expected to resign on January 8. Nebraska Gov.-elect Jim Pillen, a Republican, will make the appointment to fill the Senate, so don’t expect Republicans to be one seat down for long.
Senate committee schedule: Below are some Senate committee hearings that may be of interest. The full Senate committee schedule for the week is here.
Sexual Abuse of Female Inmates in Federal Prison (Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, Tuesday at 9:30 am)
Nominations Hearing (Judiciary, Tuesday at 10:00 am)
Hearing To Examine The Department Of The Interior’s Implementation Of The Infrastructure Investment And Jobs Act (Energy and Natural Resources, Tuesday at 10:00 am)
Ensuring Solutions to Meet America’s Broadband Needs (Commerce, Science, and Transportation Subcommittee on Communications, Media, and Broadband; Tuesday at 10:00 am)
Food as Medicine: Current Efforts and Potential Opportunities (Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Subcommittee on Food and Nutrition, Specialty Crops, Organics, and Research; Tuesday at 10:00 am)
Promoting and Investing in Small American Manufacturers (Commerce, Science, and Transportation Subcommittee on Oceans, Fisheries, Climate Change, and Manufacturing; Tuesday at 2:00 pm)
Oversight of the U.S. Capitol Police (Rules and Administration, Tuesday at 3:00 pm)
Examining How Capital Markets Serve Diverse Entrepreneurs and Investors (Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance, and Investment; Tuesday at 2:30 pm)
Improving Access to Capital in Underserved Communities: The Community Advantage Program, Microloans, and other SBA Initiatives (Small Business and Entrepreneurship, Wednesday at 2:30 pm)
Crypto Crash: Why the FTX Bubble Burst and the Harm to Consumers (Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs; Wednesday at 10:00 am)
Executive Business Meeting (Judiciary, Thursday at 9:00 am)
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Semi-Annual Report to Congress (Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs; Thursday at 10:00 am)
Examining the Impact of Plastic Use and Identifying Solutions for Reducing Plastic Waste (Environment and Public Works, Thursday at 10:00 am)
Setting the Table: Promoting Healthy and Affordable Food for Older Americans (Aging, Thursday at 10:00 am)
If you’re interested in watching any of these hearings online, you can find committee websites here.
Deficit watch and options to reduce the red ink: The budget deficit for the first two months of FY 2023 was $335 billion, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). The budget deficit for FY 2023 is projected to be $984 billion. The CBO also released two reports on options to reduce the budget deficit. The first report is specific to large reductions while the second is geared toward smaller reductions.
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