Senate Hearing on Horrific Deaths In Federal Prisons, Government Funding Deadline Approaches, Keep an Eye on FISA
Trahern Brown - Policy Communications Associate
Point of Order is a (mostly) weekly preview of key congressional activity for those with more than a passing interest in federal policy.
Senate Judiciary hearing on horrific prison deaths: This Wednesday at 10:00 am, Senate Judiciary is holding a hearing “Examining and Preventing Deaths of Incarcerated Individuals in Federal Prisons” in light of the Inspector General’s recent report on deaths inside the Bureau of Prisons (BOP). The details from the IG’s report are horrifying. Out of 344 inmate deaths by suicide that were reviewed, over half showed significant shortcomings by the Bureau of Prisons’ response policies. The report also found staffing shortages and staff failures were a major factor in inmate deaths. While we recognize Senate Judiciary’s quick action to hold a hearing in light of the report, these preventable tragedies also highlight the need for serious legislation to address the BOP’s shortcomings. Due Process Institute has long supported the Federal Prison Oversight Act (H.R. 3019 / S. 1401) to increase accountability, transparency, and safety within the federal prison system.
Schedule and suspensions: The House will meet today at 3:00 p.m. in pro forma session. The House will then meet on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday for legislative business. Votes are expected on those days.
H.R. 3511, Service-Disabled Veteran Opportunities in Small Business Act (Small Business Committee)
H.R. 4669, DOE and SBA Research Act, as amended (Small Business Committee)
H.R. 5265, SBA Rural Performance Report Act, as amended (Small Business Committee)
H.R. 6591, Encouraging Success Act, as amended (Small Business Committee)
H.R. 5426, To require the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to provide a link to resources for submitting reports on suspected fraud relating to certain COVID-19 loans ( Small Business Committee)
H.R. 7128, The WOSB Integrity Act of 2024 (Small Business Committee)
H.R. 7105, WOSB Certification and Opportunity Expansion Act, as amended (Small Business Committee)
H.R. 7102, Native American Entrepreneurial Opportunity Act (Small Business Committee)
H.R. 6544, Atomic Energy Advancement Act, as amended (Energy and Commerce Committee)
H.R. 6585, The Bipartisan Workforce Pell Act, as amended (Education and the Workforce Committee)
H.R. 4984, D.C. Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Campus Revitalization Act, as amended (Oversight and Accountability Committee)
H.R. 6503, Airport and Airway Extension Act of 2024 (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.
House committee schedule: Below are some House committee hearings that may be of interest. The full House committee schedule for the week is here.
Port Cybersecurity: The Insidious Threat to U.S. Maritime Ports (Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security, Thursday at 10:00 am)
Legislative Proposals to Support Patients with Rare Diseases (Subcommittee on Health, Thursday at 10:00 am)
Examining the Risk: The Dangers of EV Fires for First Responders (Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight, Thursday at 10:30 am
“Made in China: Is GSA Complying with Purchasing Restrictions?” (Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and Government Innovation, Thursday at 2:00 pm)
Senate committee schedule: Below are some Senate committee hearings that may be of interest. The full Senate committee schedule for the week is here.
The U.S. Technology Fueling Russia’s War In Ukraine: How And Why (Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Tuesday at 10:00 am)
Damming the Iron River: How to Stop the Deadly Flow of American Guns to the Cartels (Judiciary, Tuesday at 10:00 am)
Yemen and Red Sea Security Issues (Foreign Relations, Tuesday at 2:15 pm)
Understanding the Presence of Microplastics in Water (Environment and Public Works, Tuesday at 2:30 pm)
Nomination Hearing (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, Tuesday at TBA)
Testimony on evolving workforce dynamics and the challenges for defense acquisition and defense industrial base personnel (Armed Services, Wednesday at 9:30 am)
Examining the Opportunities and Challenges Associated with Developing Geologic Hydrogen in the United States (Energy and Natural Resources, Wednesday at 10:00 am)
Water Resources Development Act 2024: USACE Water Infrastructure Projects, Programs and Priorities (Environment and Public Works, Wednesday at 10:00 am)
Tehran's Shadow Army: Addressing Iran's Proxy Network In The Middle East (Foreign Relations, Wednesday at 10:00 am)
Taking a Serious Look at the Retirement Crisis in America: What Can We Do to Expand Defined Benefit Pension Plans for Workers? (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, Wednesday at 10:00 am)
No Rights to Speak of: The Economic Harms of Restricting Reproductive Freedom (Budget, Wednesday at 10:00 am)
Examining and Preventing Deaths of Incarcerated Individuals in Federal Prisons (Judiciary, Wednesday at 10:00 am)
Nominations (Commerce, Science, and Transportation, Wednesday at 10:00 am)
Testimony on traumatic brain injury and blast exposure care (Armed Services, Wednesday at 3:00 pm)
Sacred Mission: Honoring America's Veterans and their Families at VA Cemeteries (Veterans' Affairs, Wednesday at 3:30 pm)
Oversight of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, Wednesday at TBA)
Testimony on United States Strategic Command and United States Space Command in review of the Defense Authorization Request for Fiscal Year 2025 and the Future Years Defense Program (Armed Services, Thursday at 9:30 am)
All Means All: Empowering People with Disabilities to Thrive in Careers and the Workplace (Aging, Thursday at 10:00 am)
Nominations (Judiciary, Thursday at 10:00 am)
Government funding deadline: The first government funding deadline is Friday, March 1. Funding runs dry for departments, agencies, and programs that fall under four of the 12 appropriations bills—Agriculture; Energy and Water; Military Construction and Veterans Affairs (MilCon-VA); Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development (T-HUD). The departments, agencies, and programs funded under the remaining appropriations bills, including Defense, are funded through March 8. Everyone Jason has spoken to on the Hill in the past several days believes a government shutdown is going to happen. There are talks of another continuing resolution (CR), but Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) dismissed that after the last CR in December.
A note on FISA: We anticipate House Intelligence Chairman Mike Turner (R-OH-10) will attempt to put a one-year reauthorization extension of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) into any funding deal that passes. After the vote on FISA reauthorization was pulled a few weeks ago, this would be yet another effort to avoid a substantive surveillance and privacy debate by attaching it to a must-pass bill. We put out a statement on FISA Section 702 reauthorization that you can read here.
House Freedom Caucus sends a letter to the Speaker: The House Freedom Caucus (HFC) sent a letter to Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA-4) outlining their funding priorities and demands. The letter had some, uh, interesting provisions including “reducing Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’ salary to $0,” calls to “prohibit funding for radical ‘Diversity, Equity, Inclusion’ (DEI) Executive Orders,” and trying to prevent funding for “a massive Pentagon sized headquarters for the Federal Bureau of Investigation.” To put it mildly, the letter lacks good ideas. You can read the letter in its entirety here.
Filling in for Jason while he’s at Disney: Some of you may have noticed there is a different author attached to Point of Order today. No need to worry though, I am temporarily filling in for Jason while he enjoys some very deserved vacation time. Point of Order’s normal author will be back next week.
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.