Nominees in the Senate, NDAA in the House, and Drama in the HFC
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.
And we’re back: I don’t know about you, but I’m exhausted. I drove down to Charleston on Saturday to moderate a panel on re-entry at CSG South’s Southern Legislative Conference and drove back after my panel ended yesterday. I also got to stop by Buc-ee’s, which is the most magical place on Earth. I do like that place quite a lot, but it was pure chaos yesterday. It was packed, and everyone acted like it was there first time in a crowd. Anyway, to the important stuff. The mad dash ahead of the August recess begins. Both chambers kick off three-week work periods before heading into the month-long recess. There will be a lot of legislative activity in the House as members focus on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and some appropriations bills. We know that the Senate will tackle nominations. It’s probable that we’ll see some legislative activity in the chamber as well. More on that in a second.
Nominees kick off the work session in the Senate: The Senate returns today at 3:00 pm to resume consideration of the nomination of Xochitl Torres Small to serve as a Deputy Secretary at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Small, who served in the House for one term (2019-2021), is currently the undersecretary for agriculture for rural development. A roll call vote on cloture motion for the Small nomination is expected to begin at 5:30 pm. Cloture motions were also filed for the nominations of Rosemarie Hidalgo to serve as Director of the Violence Against Women Office at the Department of Justice, Kymberly Kathryn Evanson to serve as a judge on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, and Tiffany M. Cartwright to serve as a judge on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.
Schumer previews the work period: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) sent a letter to Senate Democrats in which he outlined his priorities. He mentioned NDAA, which has already been marked up by the Senate Armed Services Committee with bipartisan support. He also mentions appropriations, but that’ll be difficult to do in a very divided Senate. But the list of priorities doesn’t begin and end there. Schumer writes, “Senate Democrats will also continue our work with our Republican colleagues to advance legislation in a range of policy areas. This includes making progress on bipartisan bills that lower the cost of insulin and prescription drugs, combat the fentanyl crisis, unlock permitting reform, advance online safety and innovation, promote community health, hold bank executives accountable, address rail safety, modernize federal aviation programs, institute common-sense farm policy, safeguard cannabis banking, compete with the Chinese government, and more. Passing these bills will not be easy, and we will depend on cooperation of our Republican colleagues to get any of them done.” Schumer also mentions artificial intelligence and a classified briefing on the topic that will take place this week. NDAA and appropriations appear to be the most immediate priorities, though.
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 (Armed Services, Tuesday at 9:30 am)
The PGA-LIV Deal: Implications for the Future of Golf and Saudi Arabia’s Influence in the United States (Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, Tuesday at 10:00 am)
Accelerating Breakthroughs: How the Special Diabetes Program Is Creating Hope for those Living with Type 1 Diabetes (Appropriations, Tuesday at 10:00 am)
Superbugs: The Impact of Antimicrobial Resistance on Modern Medicine (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions; Tuesday at 10:00 am)
Exploiting the American Dream: How Abusive Land Contracts Prey on Vulnerable Homebuyers (Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation, and Community Development; Tuesday at 2:30 pm)
Nomination Hearing (Armed Services, Wednesday at 9:30 am)
Protecting Social Security for All: Making the Wealthy Pay Their Fair Share (Budget, Wednesday at 10:00 am)
Nominations Hearing (Commerce, Science, and Transportation; Wednesday at 10:00 am)
Nomination Hearing (Judiciary, Wednesday at 10:00 am)
Business Meeting (Small Business and Entrepreneurship, Wednesday at 2:30 pm)
Bank Mergers and the Economic Impacts of Consolidation (Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Policy; Wednesday at 2:30 pm)
Artificial Intelligence and Intellectual Property – Part II: Copyright (Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, Wednesday at 3:00 pm)
Nominations Hearing (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions; Wednesday at TBD)
Budget Oversight of the United States Coast Guard (Commerce, Science, and Transportation Subcommittee on Oceans, Fisheries, Climate Change, and Manufacturing; Thursday at 10:00 am)
Executive Business Meeting (Judiciary, Thursday at 10:00 am)
Assessing 25 Years of the Child Tax Credit (Finance Subcommittee on Taxation and IRS Oversight, Thursday at 10:00 am)
Business Meeting (Foreign Relations, Thursday at 10:30 am)
Markup of Fiscal Year 2024 Legislative Branch; Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies; and Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Acts (Appropriations, Thursday at 11:00 am)
If you’re interested in watching any of these hearings online, you can find committee websites here.
Schedule and suspensions in the House: The House returns on Tuesday at 2:00 pm for legislative business. First votes are expected around 6:30 pm. Legislative business will begin at 10:00 am on Wednesday and Thursday and 9:00 am on Friday. The last votes for the week are expected no later 3:00 pm on Friday. Three bills will be considered under suspension of the rules. The cost estimates for those bills can be found here.
H.R. 2622, To amend the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 to codify certain Securities and Exchange Commission no-action letters that exclude brokers and dealers compensated for certain research services from the definition of investment adviser, and for other purposes (Financial Services Committee)
H.R. 1548, Improving Access to Small Business Information Act (Financial Services Committee)
S. 305, 250th Anniversary of the United States Marine Corps Commemorative Coin Act (Financial Services 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 bill: The House Rules Committee will meet on Tuesday at 12:00 pm to markup the rule for the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2024, H.R. 2670. The annual defense authorization bill, which, like the Senate companion, was approved with bipartisan support, comes with a price tag of roughly $875 billion. In total, 1,502 amendments were filed to the bill. (This includes the 88 that were withdrawn.) Roughly 20 percent of the amendments are bipartisan. We assume that there will be en blocs (packages) of amendments to make the floor move faster, as well as votes on individual amendments.
Amendments we’re watching: Yeah, we’ve got our eyes on a couple. An amendment (#1375) proposed by Reps. Warren Davidson (R-OH) and Sara Jacobs (D-CA), as well as several other members, would require a warrant for web browsing history, search history, and other information protected by the Fourth Amendment. An amendment (#593) offered by Reps. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) and Kelly Armstrong (R-ND) would eliminate the sentencing disparity between crack cocaine and powdered cocaine and make the change retroactive on a case-by-case basis. Due Process Institutes supports both of these amendments and urges members to vote for them.
There shall be drama: So, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) has been kicked out of the House Freedom Caucus. It wasn’t the cockamamie conspiracy theories, support for political violence, her troubles telling the truth, serving as a useful idiot for Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, or even speaking at a white nationalist conference that got her. Nope. It was a very tense exchange with Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) that got her booted. That’s the excuse, at least. More likely than not, Greene became too close to leadership, having supported Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) in his bid for Speaker and recently voting for the debt limit bill, Fiscal Responsibility Act. But the House Freedom Caucus seems to be very much at a crossroads and struggling with its identity. Founded as a caucus focused on process, the group of roughly 40 members appears more interested in simply opposing the Speaker, cheerleading for ex-President Trump, and messaging bills that are going to die in the Senate. Some would point to concessions made by the Speaker to open the process as proof of effectiveness. Sure, with a very narrow majority, a group of people who leadership needs can have a lot of sway. That said, the Limit, Save, Grow Act—House Republicans’ debt limit bill—wasn’t brought to the floor under the “regular order” that most House Freedom Caucus members talk about.
House committee schedule: Below are some House committee hearings that may be of interest. The full House committee schedule for the week is here.
Trade in America: Agriculture and Critical Supply Chains (Ways and Means, Monday at 2:30 pm, Field Hearing in Kimball, Minnesota)
American Confidence in Elections: The Path to Election Integrity Across America (House Administration, Monday at 2:30 pm, Field Hearing in Atlanta, Georgia)
Investigating the Proximal Origin of a Cover Up (Coronavirus Pandemic, Tuesday at 10:00 am)
Enhancing Fire Weather Prediction and Coordination (Science, Space, and Technology; Wednesday at 10:00 am)
Markup of Various Legislative Measures (Oversight and Accountability, Wednesday at 10:00 am)
Oversight of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (Judiciary, Wednesday at 10:00 am)
Protecting Investor Interests: Examining Environmental and Social Policy in Financial Regulation (Financial Services, Wednesday at 10:00 am)
Markup of Various Legislative Measures (Homeland Security, Wednesday at 10:00 am)
Markup of Various Legislative Measures (Education and the Workforce, Wednesday at 10:15 am)
Where is all the Welfare Money Going? Reclaiming TANF Non-Assistance Dollars to Lift Americans Out of Poverty (Ways and Means Subcommittee on Work and Welfare, Wednesday at 2:00 pm)
Protecting the U.S. Homeland: Fighting the Flow of Fentanyl from the Southwest Border (Homeland Security Subcommittee on Border Security and Enforcement, Wednesday at 2:00 pm)
Continuing U.S. Leadership in Commercial Space at Home and Abroad (Science, Space, and Technology; Thursday at 10:00 am)
The State Department's Climate Agenda: A Budget Overview by the Special Presidential Envoy for Climate (Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Accountability, Thursday at 10:00 am)
When the Lights Are On But No One’s Home: An Examination of Federal Office Space Utilization (Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management; Thursday at 10:00 am)
Reforming the Proxy Process to Safeguard Investor Interests (Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Thursday at 10:00 am)
Beyond the Budget: Addressing Financial Accountability in the Department of Defense (Oversight and Accountability Subcommittees on Government Operations and the Federal Workforce and National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs; Thursday at 10:00 am)
Oversight of the Federal Trade Commission (Judiciary, Thursday at 10:00 am)
Exposing the Dangers of the Influence of Foreign Adversaries on College Campuses (Education and the Workforce Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development, Thursday at 10:15 am)
Oversight of the Proxy Advisory Industry (Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, Thursday at 2:00 pm)
Stolen Taxpayer Funds: Reviewing the SBA and OIG Reports of Fraud in Pandemic Lending Programs (Small Business, Thursday at 2:00 pm)
Review of Fiscal Year 2024 Budget Request: Agency Perspectives (Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment, Thursday at 2:00 pm)
Examining Fiscal Year 2024 Budget for South and Central Asian Affairs (Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia; Thursday at 2:00 pm)
The Consequences of Criminal Aliens on U.S. Communities (Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement; Thursday at 3:00 pm)
Risky Business: Growing Peril for American Companies in China (Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, Thursday at 7:00 pm)
How Mandates Like ESG Distort Markets and Drive Up Costs for Insurance and Housing (Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance, Friday at 9:00 am)
Fixing FISA, Part II (Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance, Friday at 9:15 am)
If you’re interested in watching any of these hearings online, you can find committee websites here.
Long-term budget projections: The Congressional Budget Office released its long-term budget outlook, covering 30 years of budget projects. The good news is that the budget deficit is projected to be about $1.5 trillion lower as a result of the passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Act than previously projected. However, the federal budget is still an absolute train wreck. Driven by entitlement spending, the share of the debt held by the public is projected to be 181 percent of gross domestic product in FY 2053. It’s currently 98 percent. Economic growth is expected to substantially slow. Meanwhile, most members of Congress are focused on discretionary spending (less than 30 percent of all federal spending) and the inane culture wars.
Due Process Institute is a bipartisan nonprofit that works to honor, preserve, and restore principles of fairness in the criminal legal system. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.