Rescissions Bill and HALT Fentanyl Act in the House, Nominees in the Senate, Committee Rolling Out OBBBA Recommendations
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 on Tuesday 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. Twelve (12) bills are expected to be considered under the suspension of the rules (listed below). The cost estimates for those bills are available here.
H. Res. 481, Condemning the rise in ideologically motivated attacks on Jewish individuals in the United States, including the recent violent assault in Boulder, Colorado, and reaffirming the House of Representatives commitment to combating antisemitism and politically motivated violence. (Judiciary Committee)
H. Res. __, Denouncing the antisemitic terrorist attack in Boulder, Colorado (Judiciary Committee)
H.R. 2035, American Cargo for American Ships Act (Transportation and Infrastructure Committee)
H.R. 2351, To direct the Commandant of the Coast Guard to update the policy of the Coast Guard regarding the use of medication to treat drug overdose, and for other purposes. (Transportation and Infrastructure Committee)
H.R. 2390, Maritime Supply Chain Security Act (Transportation and Infrastructure Committee)
H. Res. 137, Designating the House Press Gallery (Rooms H-315, H-316, H-317, H-318, and H-319 of the United States Capitol) as the “Frederick Douglass Press Gallery.” as amended (Transportation and Infrastructure Committee)
H.R. 248, Baby Changing on Board Act (Transportation and Infrastructure Committee)
H.R. 188, Amtrak Transparency and Accountability for Passengers and Taxpayers Act (Transportation and Infrastructure Committee)
H.R. 1182, Compressed Gas Cylinder Safety and Oversight Improvements Act (Transportation and Infrastructure Committee)
H.R. 1373, Tennessee Valley Authority Transparency Act (Transportation and Infrastructure Committee)
H.R. 1948, To authorize the International Boundary and Water Commission to accept funds for activities relating to wastewater treatment and flood control works, and for other purposes (Transportation and Infrastructure Committee)
H.R. 252, Secure Our Ports Act (Transportation and Infrastructure 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 today at 4:00 pm to markup the rule providing for the consideration of the Protecting Our Nation’s Capital Emergency Act, H.R. 2096; legislation to prohibit noncitizens from voting in elections in the District of Columbia, H.R. 884; the HALT Fentanyl Act, S. 331; and the District of Columbia Federal Immigration Compliance Act, H.R. 2056. The Committee will meet again on Tuesday at 2:00 pm to markup the rule for the Rescissions Act, H.R. 4.
Sigh, the f’ing HALT Fentanyl Act is back: The House has already passed its version of the HALT Fentanyl Act. The Senate passed a slightly different version. The House is taking up the bill that the Senate passed. As we’ve noted before, the HALT Fentanyl Act makes the classwide scheduling of fentanyl-related substances (FRS) permanent, without regard to potential benefits or lack of addictive properties some of these FRS may have. There are FRS that have some potential benefits and aren’t harmful. The HALT Fentanyl Act would impede the research of those FRS. This bill is a horrible way to make policy.
About the rescissions package: The White House has submitted a list of proposed rescissions of budget authority, totaling approximately $9.4 billion. Regardless of what the White House believes, it’s unconstitutional and unlawful for an administration to refuse to spend money appropriated by Congress. The Impoundment Control Act created a path for the White House to go through Congress to rescind budget authority. The White House has suggested that additional rescissions may come if Congress passes the initial package. The alternative would be for the administration, in violation of the law, to just not spend appropriated dollars. Violating the law isn’t anything new for this administration, but it sets up an eventual showdown between two branches of government in federal courts that has far-reaching implications.
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.
More nominees in the Senate: The Senate returns at 3:00 pm today for a period of morning business. A roll call vote is expected on the confirmation of Brett Shumate to serve as an Assistant Attorney General. Cloture was invoked on the nomination on Thursday. Cloture motions were filed on the nominations of David Fotouhi to serve as Deputy Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, Stephen Vaden to serve as Deputy Secretary of Agriculture, and Andrew Hughes to serve as Deputy Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Those nominations are likely to be processed early this 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.
Update on OBBBA: Senate committees are in the process of rolling out their recommendations for the so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBBA). So far, Armed Services, Commerce, and Environment and Public Works have released text. Finance has jurisdiction over taxation and Medicaid. Those recommendations could come out as early as this 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.
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