House to Consider Legislation to Limit Injunctions, SAVE Act on the Floor, Stefanik Nomination Pulled, Budget Coming in the Senate, X Date Expected in Summer
Jason Pye - Vice President, Due Process Institute
Point of Order is a (mostly) weekly preview of key congressional activity for those with more than a passing interest in federal policy.
Schedule and suspensions in the House: The House returns at 2:00 pm today for legislative business. Votes are postponed until 6:30 pm. The House will also be in session on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. The last votes for the week are expected no later than 3:00 pm on Thursday. No votes are expected on Friday. Seven (7) bills are expected to be considered under the suspension of the rules (listed below). The cost estimates for those bills are available here.
H.R. 1234, To direct the Librarian of Congress to promote the more cost-effective, efficient, and expanded availability of the Annotated Constitution and pocket-part supplements by replacing the hardbound versions with digital versions. (House Administration Committee)
H.R. 517, Filing Relief for Natural Disasters Act (Ways and Means Committee)
H.R. 998, Internal Revenue Service Math and Taxpayer Help Act (Ways and Means Committee)
H.R. 997, National Taxpayer Advocate Enhancement Act (Ways and Means Committee)
H.R. 1152, Electronic Filing and Payment Fairness Act (Ways and Means Committee)
H.R. 1155, Recovery of Stolen Checks Act (Ways and Means Committee)
H.R. 1491, Disaster Related Extension of Deadlines Act (Ways and Means 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.
Rule bills: The House Rules Committee will meet at 4:00 pm today to markup the rule providing for the consideration of the No Rogue Rulings Act, H.R. 1526; a disapproval resolution under the Congressional Review Act relating to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s rule, "Overdraft Lending: Very Large Financial Institutions,” S.J.Res. 18; a disapproval resolution under the Congressional Review Act relating to the Consumer Financial Protect Bureau’s rule, "Defining Larger Participants of a Market for General-Use Digital Consumer Payment Applications,” S.J.Res. 28; and the SAVE Act, H.R. 22. The two disapproval resolutions have already passed the Senate, so this is the last stop in the legislative process before heading to the White House.
Legislation to limit injunctions: The No Rogue Rulings Act (NORRA) is a direct attempt to limit injunctions that have come from federal district courts in the early days of the administration. If you’ve been following the news, you’re undoubtedly aware that several judges have issued nationwide injunctions against the administration, most recently related to the legally flimsy application of the Alien Enemies Act. Like it or not, nationwide injunctions are an essential part of the checks and balances and separation of powers. Republicans would undoubtedly applaud nationwide injunctions under a Democratic president claiming the executive power that Trump has. It’s a partisan gambit, and it’s so easy to see through.
Stefanik stuck in the House: The White House has pulled the nomination of Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) to serve as United States Ambassador to the United Nations. Because House Republicans are already operating under a very narrow margin, Stefanik is needed in the House, where she’s a reliable vote for Trump and leadership. Why now? Well, the special election in FL-06 is a lot closer than Republicans thought it would be, and they’re nervous that Democrats could flip a reliably red district. It still seems unlikely that it’ll happen, but a move this dramatic indicates that Republicans need insurance.
House committee schedule: The full House committee schedule for the week is here. If you’re interested in watching any of these hearings online, you can find committee websites here.
The budget is coming in the Senate: The Senate returns today at 3:00 pm to resume the consideration of the nomination of Matt Whitaker to serve as the United States Permanent Representative to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). A roll call vote on the cloture motion for the Whitaker nomination is expected to begin around 5:30 pm. Over the weekend, Politico reported that the Senate could consider the budget resolution to kick-start the budget reconciliation process for the extension of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and other administration priorities as soon as Wednesday. Obviously, this means another vote-a-rama in the Senate before the budget goes over to the House. I’m keeping an eye on this, so hopefully there will be some more news on this next week.
Just a reminder that the Senate isn’t as transparent as the House when it comes to legislation and nominations that may be considered. We usually know what’s happening at the beginning of the week, but it’s often unclear what will happen after that. Last week, for instance, we knew votes on nominations were happening at the beginning of the week. We weren’t aware beforehand that the two disapproval resolutions under the Congressional Review Act would be on the floor. I just don’t have time to go through the Congressional Record, where there may or may not be an indication that votes on something else may come up during the week.
Senate committee schedule: The full Senate committee schedule for the week is here. If you’re interested in watching any of these hearings online, you can find committee websites here.
Trump floats higher taxes on top-income earners: Apparently, Trump is okay with raising the top marginal tax rate–currently 37 percent on taxable income of $626,350 for an individual and $751,600 for married couples filing jointly–to pay for eliminating income taxes on tips. Will it happen? Don’t hold your breath. Congressional Republicans probably aren’t willing to raise taxes on anyone. That said, keep an eye on the news this week on whether or not the parliamentarian rules in favor of Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo’s (R-ID) “current policy baseline” proposal. This is an accounting gimmick that would have the Congressional Budget Office treat the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) as if it doesn’t expire in the baseline and, therefore, doesn't contribute to the budget deficit over the next ten years. Listen, I’m a free market, low tax guy, but there’s no hiding that extending TCJA would cost a lot, and I’m already worried about our unsustainable fiscal trajectory.
Debt limit “X date” in August or September: The Congressional Budget Office says that the “X date”--the date extraordinary measures are exhausted to service the debt–could come in August or September. There’s a chance it could happen sooner if borrowing needs jump. As of now, congressional Republicans seem poised to include a statutory debt limit increase in the reconciliation legislation.
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