New Government Funding Deadlines, NDAA Heading to Conference, and a Potential Expulsion in the House
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.
An update on government funding: Before the Thanksgiving recess, the House and the Senate passed the Further Continuing Appropriations Act for FY 2024, H.R. 6363. This creates two separate showdowns on government funding, one on January 19 and another on February 2. The idea is that the House and the Senate will have time to complete their work on appropriations. To date, the Senate has passed three of the 12 appropriations bills while the House has passed eight. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) mentioned the January 19 funding deadline in a letter to the Senate Democratic Caucus. He also mentioned President Biden’s supplemental request for Israel and Ukraine, which he plans to bring to the floor the week of December 4. Republicans want border security included in the supplemental and are threatening to withhold support unless Democrats relent. This work period may shed some light on what early next year looks like for government funding, but it’s hard to say what to expect since the House is an utter train wreck. (Not that the Senate is in much better shape.) I’ve got the funding deadlines for each of the 12 bills below.
Post-Thanksgiving Senate session week begins with nominees: The Senate reconvenes at 3:00 pm to resume consideration of the nomination of Jeffrey M. Bryan to serve as a judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota. A vote on the cloture motion for the Bryan nomination is expected to begin around 5:30 pm. Cloture motions were also filed on the nominations of Margaret M. Garnett to serve as a judge for the Southern District of New York and Jose Javier Rodriguez to serve as an Assistant Secretary of Labor.
The House and Senate are heading to conference on NDAA: Before the recess began, the Senate agreed to a compound motion on H.R. 2670 that disagreed with the House-passed version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and requested a conference, created a Senate conference committee, and authorized the appointment of Senate conferees to the conference committee. The list of Senate conferees is available here (scroll down to “Appointment of Conferees” at the bottom of the page). The House appointed its conferees back in September. See here and here for the list of members. The main thing we’re watching out for is whether the reauthorization of Sec. 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act will be attached to NDAA. If it is, there will be significant bipartisan opposition in the House. So, for my friends in House Republican leadership who read this newsletter, consider yourselves warned.
Senate committee schedule: Below are some Senate committee hearings that may be of interest. The full Senate committee schedule for the week is here.
Nomination Hearing (Finance, Tuesday at 10:00 am)
The Gun Violence Epidemic (Judiciary, Tuesday at 10:00 am)
Nominations Hearing (Judiciary, Wednesday at 10:00 am)
Examining the Security of Federal Facilities (Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Wednesday at 10:00 am)
Executive Business Meeting (Judiciary, Thursday at 10:00 am)
Nominations Hearing (Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Thursday at 10:00 am)
Examining Opportunities and Challenges Associated with Advanced Nuclear Reactor Commercialization (Energy and Natural Resources, Thursday at 10:00 am)
Nominations Hearing (Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry; Thursday at 10:00 am)
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Semi-Annual Report to Congress (Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs; Thursday at 10:15 am)
If you’re interested in watching any of these hearings online, you can find committee websites here.
Schedule and suspensions: The House returns on Tuesday at 2:00 pm for legislative business. Votes are postponed until 6:30 pm. Legislative business will begin at 12:00 pm on Wednesday and Thursday and at 9:00 am on Friday. The last votes for the week are expected to no later than 3:00 pm on Friday. Nine (9) bills are expected to be considered under suspension of the rules. The cost estimates for those bills can be found here.
H.R. 4666, To require the Inspector General of the Small Business Administration to submit a quarterly report on fraud relating to certain COVID-19 loans (Small Business Committee)
H.R. 4667, RECLAIM Taxpayer Funds Act (Small Business Committee)
H.R. 4668, POST IT Act (Small Business Committee)
H.R. 4670, Small Business Contracting Transparency Act (Small Business Committee)
H.R. 5427, To prohibit individuals convicted of defrauding the Government from receiving any assistance from the Small Business Administration, and for other purposes (Small Business Committee)
H.R. 4480, Successful Entrepreneurship for Reservists and Veterans Act (Small Business Committee)
H. Res. 793, Calling on Hamas to immediately release hostages taken during October 2023 attack on Israel (Foreign Affairs Committee)
H. Res. 888, Reaffirming the State of Israel’s right to exist (Foreign Affairs Committee)
H. Res. 683, Expressing support for the diplomatic relations required to encourage the Government of Mexico to fulfill its water deliveries on an annual basis to the United States under the treaty between the United States and Mexico regarding the utilization of the Colorado and Tijuana Rivers and of the Rio Grande (Foreign Affairs 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 on Tuesday at 4:00 pm to markup the rule providing for the consideration of the CFPB 1071 Rule CRA, S.J.Res. 32; the No Funds for Iranian Terrorism Act, H.R. 5961; and the Protecting Our Communities from Failure to Secure the Border Act, H.R. 5283. S.J.Res. 32 is a disapproval resolution under the Congressional Review Act that takes aim at a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) rule related to changes made to lending to small businesses under Sec. 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The rule simply relates to demographic data collection in small business lending, such as lending to women and people of color. Apparently, this is “woke,” or something. Anyway, S.J.Res. 32 has already passed the Senate. The White House has threatened to veto the CRA. The No Funds for Iranian Terrorism Act would require sanctions on foreign and/or international financial institutions that are involved in transactions that distribute funds to Iran. This legislation is, more than anything, aimed at the $6 billion of Iranian money that had been frozen and was released under a deal orchestrated by the Biden administration. The way Iran accesses that money has been completely and consistently misrepresented by congressional Republicans. The money, of course, is frozen again because of Iran’s backing of Hamas. Finally, the Protecting Our Communities from Failure to Secure the Border Act would prohibit the use of federal funds to provide housing to migrants on federal land managed by the National Parks Service, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and U.S. Forest Service.
And Santos might get expelled soon: House Ethics Committee Chairman Michael Guest (R-MS) has introduced a resolution, H.Res. 878, to expel Rep. George Santos (R-NY) from the House. Guest introduced the resolution after Ethics released a damning report detailing the “substantial evidence” of alleged crimes committed by Santos, including filing false reports to the Federal Election Committee, fraud, and misuse of campaign funds. Santos has said that he expects to be expelled soon and doesn’t plan to resign. Guest’s resolution hasn’t moved to make his resolution privileged, but he’s expected to do so. It’s possible the vote could happen as early as this week. If the resolution is successful, Santos would become the sixth member expelled from the House. Two-thirds of members present and voting are required to expel a member.
And we’ll have a resignation soon: Rep. Bill Johnson (R-OH) has been named the next president of Youngstown State University. Johnson isn’t expected to resign until sometime early next year.
Party divisions in the House: Celeste Maloy, a Republican, won the special election in UT-02 and should be sworn in this week. She’ll serve the remainder of the term in the seat left vacant by the resignation of Rep. Chris Stewart (R-UT), who left the House in September. Maloy gives Republicans 222 seats while Democrats have 213 seats. The House will be fully constituted. Keep in mind, though, that Santos could be expelled soon, which will reduce the Republican majority to 221. When Johnson resigns, the majority will drop to 220.
The last five approps bills still haven’t passed the House: The Agriculture appropriations bill was defeated on the floor in September. Financial Services and General Government; Interior and Environment; Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education; and Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development were each yanked from consideration after House Republican leadership realized they didn’t have the votes for passage. The rule for Commerce, Justice, and Science, H.Res. 869, was defeated on the floor. Some of the issues with these bills are rooted in policy—well, more messaging than policy—while others are based on process. It’s hard to see how the House will get these bills through before the upcoming funding deadlines.
House committee schedule: Below are some House committee hearings that may be of interest. The full House committee schedule for the week is here.
Emergency Preparedness: Examining Federal, State, and Local Coordination in Coastal Communities (Homeland Security Subcommittee on Emergency Management and Technology, Field Hearing, Tuesday at 8:00 am)
The Semi-Annual Report of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Financial Services, Wednesday at 10:00 am)
Markup of Various Legislative Measures (Foreign Affairs, Wednesday at 10:00 am)
The High North: How U.S. Arctic Strategy Impacts Homeland Security (Homeland Security, Wednesday at 10:00 am)
America Leads the Way: Our History as the Global Leader at Reducing Emissions (Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment, Manufacturing, and Critical Materials; Wednesday at 10:00 am)
Examining the Need for a Fiscal Commission: Reviewing H.R. 710, H.R. 5779, and S. 3262 (Budget, Wednesday at 10:00 am)
Bad for Business: DOL's Proposed Overtime Rule (Education and the Workforce, Wednesday at 10:15 am)
Getting on the Right Track: Navigating the Future of Intercity Passenger Rail in America (Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials; Wednesday at 11:00 am)
Oversight of Federal Agencies’ Post-Pandemic Telework Policies: Part II (Oversight and Accountability Subcommittee on Government Operations and the Federal Workforce, Wednesday at 2:00 pm)
Safeguarding the Federal Software Supply Chain (Oversight and Accountability Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and Government Innovation; Wednesday at 2:00 pm)
Strengthening the Child Support Enforcement Program for States and Tribes (Ways and Means Subcommittees on Work and Welfare and Oversight, Wednesday at 2:00 pm)
Turbulence Ahead: Consequences of Delaying a Long-Term FAA Bill (Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Aviation, Thursday at 10:00 am)
Member Day (Small Business, Thursday at 10:00 am)
The Role of Federal Research in Establishing a Robust U.S. Supply Chain of Critical Minerals and Materials (Science, Space, and Technology; Thursday at 10:00 am)
The Martyrdom of Bishop Alvarez: Nicaragua’s Prisoner of Conscience (Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations; Thursday at 10:00 am)
Ethiopia: Promise or Perils, The State of U.S. Policy (Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Thursday at 10:00 am)
Hearing (Weaponization of the Federal Government, Thursday at 10:00 am)
Oversight of President Biden's Broadband Takeover (Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, Thursday at 10:30 am)
Digging Deeper: Ensuring Safety and Security in the Critical Mineral Supply Chain (Oversight and Accountability Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Energy Policy, and Regulatory Affairs; Thursday at 2:00 pm)
The U.S. Border Crisis and the American Solution to an International Problem (Foreign Affairs, Thursday at 2:00 pm)
Compliance with Committee Oversight (Judiciary Subcommittee on Responsiveness and Accountability to Oversight, Thursday at 2:00 pm)
If you’re interested in watching any of these hearings online, you can find committee websites here.
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