Iran WPRs and DHS Appropriations in House and Senate, Balanced Budget Amendment Will Get a Vote in the House
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: No votes are scheduled today. The House returns at 2:00 pm on Tuesday for legislative business. Votes are postponed until 6:30 pm. The House will also be in session on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. The last votes for the week are expected no later than 3:00 pm on Thursday. No votes are expected on Friday. Fourteen (14) 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. 6365, Wintergreen Emergency Egress Act (Natural Resources Committee)
H.R. 5910, To authorize leases of up to 99 years for land held in trust for federally recognized Indian Tribes (Natural Resources Committee)
H.R. 3903, Chugach Alaska Land Exchange Oil Spill Recovery Act (Natural Resources Committee)
H.R. 5419, Enhancing Administrative Reviews for Broadband Deployment Act (Natural Resources Committee)
H.R. 755, Critical Mineral Consistency Act (Natural Resources Committee)
H.R. 1945, America’s National Churchill Museum National Historic Landmark Act (Natural Resources Committee)
H.R. 681, To amend the Act of August 9, 1955 (commonly known as the “Long-Term Leasing Act”), to authorize leases of up to 99 years for land in the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Reservation and land held in trust for the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah), and for other purposes. (Natural Resources Committee)
H.R. 3692, Captain Accursio ‘‘Gus’’ Sanfilippo Young Fishermen’s Development Act (Natural Resources Committee)
H.R. 4467, Vicksburg National Military Park Boundary Modification Act (Natural Resources Committee)
S. 723, Tribal Trust Land Homeownership Act (Natural Resources Committee)
H.R. 4386, America the Beautiful Motorcycle Fairness Act (Natural Resources Committee)
H.R. 4307, Enhancing Detection of Human Trafficking Act (Education and the Workforce Committee)
H.R. 6392, Home School Graduation Recognition Act (Education and the Workforce Committee)
H.R. 6472, Territorial Student Access to Higher Education Act (Education and the Workforce 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 on Tuesday to markup the rule providing for the consideration of the Deporting Fraudsters Act, H.R. 1958, and the Bill to Outlaw Wounding of Official Working Animals (BOWOW) Act, H.R. 4638. Additional legislation is possible. That additional legislation appears to be the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act for FY 2026, H.R. 7744, which showed up on the Rules Committee over the weekend.
The Iran War Powers Resolution was delayed until this week: H.Con.Res. 38 will be on the floor this week. This comes after the Trump administration, in coordination with Israel, launched a deadly campaign in Iran over the weekend that killed top Iranian leaders, including Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. This has already spilled over into other Middle Eastern countries because of Iran—which has bombed Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and other countries as part of its response—and risks a broader conflict. It’s hard to say where this one will come down since several Republicans will have to break from the White House to pass H.Con.Res. 38. Several Democrats are expected to vote against it.
Balanced budget amendment: The House will vote on a proposed balanced budget amendment to the Constitution, H.J.Res. 139. This requires two-thirds of the House to vote in the affirmative. I believe the last time the House voted on a balanced budget amendment was in 2018, when it was proposed by our good friend and then-House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA). The proposal failed.
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.
Housing bill in the Senate: The Senate returns today at 3:00 pm. A vote on the cloture motion to the motion to proceed to the Housing for the 21st Century Act, H.R. 6644, is scheduled for 5:30 pm. On Tuesday, the Senate is likely to vote on its own Iran WPR, S.J.Res. 104. We suspect that another vote is likely on DHS appropriations, H.R. 7147. The last vote on the cloture motion to the motion to proceed, taken on February 24, failed by a vote of 50 to 45.
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.
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