The State of the Union, House Targets DC Laws, Senate Committees Finally Getting Back to Work
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.
The Hill is indeed open: I got back on the Hill a couple of weeks ago, and I gotta say, it felt good. It was nice to see House and Senate office buildings busy again. I got to spend several hours on the Senate side one day and several more hours on the House side. I missed that.(I say all that and then noticed on my drive into the office this morning that the fence is back around the Capitol.) These were my first really all-day ventures on the Hill since before the pandemic began. If you're a staffer on the Hill and want to chat about criminal justice policy, civil liberties issues, music, guitars, college football, baseball, or whatever, hit me up. I'm around all week and will be on the Hill for at least a couple of days.
State of the Union: President Biden will give his second State of the Union address on Tuesday at 9:00 pm. You'll be able to watch it live on CSPAN or any of the cable news networks. You can expect a healthy dose of economic discussion in President Biden's address, especially coming off the heels of a very good and unexpected January jobs report and inflation seemingly cooling off. Foreign policy will almost certainly be a theme in light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began a year ago this month, and China violating our airspace last week. By the way, last week, Congress passed the concurrent resolution, H.Con.Res. 11, for the joint session of Congress.
The Republican response to SOTU: Republicans could’ve gone with someone not so deeply connected to the former president’s White House, but they didn’t. Nope. Instead, Republicans have selected Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R-AR) to deliver the Republican response to the State of the Union address. Sanders, who was elected in November, just took office. She served as deputy press secretary and press secretary in the White House during the Trump administration. She became a contributor to Fox News after leaving the White House.
Schedule and suspensions in the House: The House returns today at 2:00 pm for legislative business. First votes are expected at 6:30 pm. Legislative business will begin at 10:00 am on Tuesday, 12:00 pm Wednesday, and 9:00 am on Thursday. Last votes for the week are expected no later than 3:00 pm Thursday. No votes are scheduled on Friday. Three bills (listed below) will be considered under the suspension of the rules. These bills will be considered today.
H.R. 302, Energy Cybersecurity University Leadership Act (Science, Space, and Technology Committee)
H.R. 548, Eastern Band of Cherokee Historic Lands Reacquisition Act (Natural Resources Committee)
H.R. 423, Pala Band of Mission Indians Land Transfer Act (Natural Resources 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 5:00 pm to mark up the rule for a bill to terminate the requirement imposed by the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for proof of COVID–19 vaccination for foreign travelers, H.R. 185; a joint resolution disapproving the action of the District of Columbia Council in approving the Local Resident Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2022, H.J.Res. 24; and a joint resolution disapproving the action of the District of Columbia Council in approving the Revised Criminal Code Act of 2022, H.J.Res. 26.
About the rule bills: I think H.R. 185 is pretty self-explanatory. The two joint resolutions are aimed directly at laws passed by the Council of the District of Columbia. Just a reminder here that the District of Columbia does have some autonomy under the Home Rule Act of 1973, but Congress has the constitutional and statutory authority to block laws passed by the Council. House Republicans are taking aim at the Local Resident Voting Rights Act through H.J.Res. 24 and the Revised Criminal Code Act through H.J.Res. 26. The Local Resident Voting Rights Act allows residents of the District–regardless of legal status–to vote in local elections. I saw somewhere that claimed that the law applies to only legal permanent residents the ability to vote, but the text strikes the word "citizen" and inserts "resident," and the committee report from the Council states, "The introduced version of the bill permitted only legal permanent residents to vote; however, the Committee Print expands the right to include all non-citizens regardless of their specific non-citizen immigration status." Obviously, Republicans are going to have a problem with this since they've moved so far to the right on immigration. The Revised Criminal Code Act (RCCA) is a product of the Criminal Code Reform Commission. For background, the DC Council unanimously passed the Revised Criminal Code Act of 2022 back in October before Mayor Muriel Bowser symbolically vetoed the bill last month. The Council then asserted its veto-proof majority and the bill is now subject to a congressional review period of 60 days. The District’s Revised Criminal Code Act (RCCA) is the culmination of a decade-plus-long effort to overhaul the criminal code and the revisions would remove almost all mandatory minimums, allow for jury trials when a defendant faces misdemeanor charges, and expand a person’s ability to petition a judge for a sentence reduction. It also increases penalties for gun-related crimes and for certain types of firearms, including assault weapons and so-called "ghost guns."
Some quick thoughts on picking on the District: Republicans oppose making the District of Columbia a state. Although I consider myself politically homeless these days, I also oppose making the District a state. (My boss, who is a resident of the District, probably rolled her eyes at that.) Republicans can disagree with what the District has done and leave well enough alone because all their meddling does is build sympathy for the case for statehood. It's just a bad idea. I wish Republicans could see that.
House Republicans may also pass something on the China balloon: After a week of criticism thrown President Biden's way over his handling of the Chinese surveillance balloon that violated U.S. airspace last week, House Republicans may consider a resolution condemning his handling of the situation. Look, this is dumb. While it may have been ideal to shoot this thing down when it was over Idaho, where it entered our airspace, or Montana because of low population density, there were no guarantees that no one would've been hurt on the ground. Let's also keep in mind that three similar instances occurred during the Trump administration. Republicans are so focused on criticizing President Biden that they can't see straight.
Jeffries rolls out select committee assignments: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) announced the members of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, the Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, and the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic. You can view those lists here.
Omar removed from Foreign Affairs: Well, there were House Republicans who said that they planned to vote against removing Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) from the House Foreign Affairs Committee, but they all backed off after the resolution was changed to allow for an appeal process. Under the text of H.Res. 76, Omar can appeal to the House Ethics Committee, but the reconsideration of the decision would ultimately be made by the Speaker. The thing is, the House would have to ratify a resolution allowing Omar back on the committee. It’s a smoke-and-mirrors thing. Anyway, the debate over this got heated, but the House removed Omar from the committee by a vote of 218 to 211. Rep. David Joyce (R-OH) voted “present.”
Santos removes himself from committees: It’s really hard to keep up with everything going on with Rep. George Santos (R-NY). He’s facing a mountain of problems, all of which are self-induced, and it has become a distraction. Apparently, Santos realizes the distraction and has stepped away from his committee assignments. He was appointed to the Small Business and Science, Space, and Technology committees. The distractions on the Hill and the lack of representation that his district has on committees are the least of his worries. A recent poll out of Santos’ district found that 78 percent of his constituents want him to resign. Santos is also facing criminal investigations that could end badly for him.
New select subcommittee to hold its first hearing: The Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government will hold its first hearing on Thursday at 12:00 pm. Honestly, I don’t know what to expect when it comes to this select subcommittee. If it’s just going to Republicans regurgitating the grievances of former President Trump, then it’s not going to play well.
Biden’s budget is coming: In keeping with tradition (*screams internally*), President Biden will miss the deadline set by the Budget Act and deliver his budget to Congress on March 9. “Hey, Pye, why did you mention the Budget Act?” I’m so glad you asked. Section 300 of the Budget Act (2 U.S.C. §631) sets the timetable for the budget process. The first Monday in February is the statutory deadline. For those who don’t keep up with the calendar, the first Monday in February is today. The Republican Study Committee brought up the late submission in a letter to President Biden. Look, this has been a bipartisan problem. Presidents from both parties have missed the deadline. Let’s not pretend that this is unique. That’s why I’m screaming internally.
House committee schedule: Below are some House committee hearings that may be of interest. The full House committee schedule for the week is here.
The State of the American Economy: Appalachia (Ways and Means, Monday at 11:00 am, Field Hearing)
FAA Reauthorization: Enhancing America’s Gold Standard in Aviation Safety (Transportation and Infrastructure, Tuesday at 10:00 am)
Combatting the Economic Threat from China (Financial Services, Tuesday at 10:00 am)
On The Front Lines of the Border Crisis: A Hearing with Chief Patrol Agents (Oversight and Accountability, Tuesday at 10:00 am)
Committee Organizational Meeting (Intelligence, Tuesday at 10:00 am)
Unleashing American Energy, Lowering Energy Costs, and Strengthening Supply Chains (Energy and Commerce Subcommittees on Energy, Climate, and Grid Security and Environment, Manufacturing, and Critical Minerals; Tuesday at 10:00 am)
Committee Authorization and Oversight Plan for the 118th Congress (Natural Resources, Tuesday at 10:15 am)
Markup of Legislative Measures (Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Innovation, Data, and Commerce; Tuesday at 2:00 pm)
Stakeholder Perspectives on the Impacts of the Biden Administration's Waters of the United States (WOTUS) Rule (Transportation and Infrastructure, Wednesday at 10:00 am)
Organization Meeting (Science, Space, and Technology; Wednesday at 10:00 am)
Protecting Speech from Government Interference and Social Media Bias, Part 1: Twitter’s Role in Suppressing the Biden Laptop Story (Oversight and Accountability, Wednesday at 10:00 am)
Unleashing America’s Energy and Mineral Potential (Natural Resources, Wednesday at 10:00 am)
Sophistication or Discrimination: How the Accredited Investor Definition Unfairly Limits Investment Access for the Non-wealthy and the Need for Reform (Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Wednesday at 10:00 am)
Revamping and Revitalizing Banking in the 21st Century (Financial Services Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Monetary Policy, Wednesday at 10:00 am)
Open Panel w/ Former National Security Officials (Intelligence, Wednesday at 10:00 am)
The Greatest Theft of Taxpayer Dollars: Unchecked Unemployment Fraud (Ways and Means, Wednesday at 10:00 am)
Organizational Meeting (Homeland Security, Wednesday at 10:00 am)
Organizational Meeting (Appropriations, Wednesday at 10:45 am)
Organizational Meeting (Veterans' Affairs, Wednesday at 1:00 pm)
Organizational Meeting (Foreign Affairs, Wednesday at 1:30 pm)
Empowering Entrepreneurs: Removing Barriers to Capital Access for Small Businesses (Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Wednesday at 2:00 pm)
Organizational Meeting (Small Business, Wednesday at 3:30 pm)
The Looking Ahead Series: The Architect of the Capitol’s Strategic Plan for the 118th Congress (House Administration, Thursday at 9:00 am)
Dependence on Foreign Adversaries: America’s Critical Minerals Crisis (Natural Resources Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, Thursday at 9:00 am)
Hearing on the Weaponization of the Federal Government (Judiciary Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, Thursday at 12:00 pm)
If you’re interested in watching any of these hearings online, you can find committee websites here.
Over in the Senate: The Senate will reconvene on Tuesday at 3:00 pm to consider the nomination of DeAndrea Gist Benjamin to serve as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. We expect a roll call vote on the cloture motion to begin around 5:30 pm on Tuesday. As far as the rest of the week goes, we're not sure yet. It's likely that nominations will be on the floor, though.
Finally, we have Senate committee assignments: Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) announced committee assignments for Democrats in the 118th Congress. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) did the same for Republicans. These assignments were ratified by the Senate by unanimous consent via S.Res. 30 and S.Res. 31.
Senate committee schedule: Below are some Senate committee hearings that may be of interest. The full Senate committee schedule for the week is here.
Organizational Meeting (Small Business and Entrepreneurship, Tuesday at 5:30 pm)
Executive Business Meeting (Judiciary, Thursday at 9:00 am)
Organizational Meeting (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions; Thursday at 10:00 am)
The State of Housing 2023 (Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs; Thursday at 10:00 am)
The State of U.S. Territories (Energy and Natural Resources, Thursday at 10:00 am)
Executive Session and Strengthening Airline Operations and Consumer Protections (Commerce, Science, and Transportation; Thursday at 10:00 am)
Farm Bill 2023: Commodity Programs, Crop Insurance, and Credit (Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry; Thursday at 10:00 am)
Evaluating U.S.-China Policy in the Era of Strategic Competition (Foreign Relations, Thursday at 10:30 am)
Business Meeting (Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Thursday at 11:00 am)
If you’re interested in watching any of these hearings online, you can find committee websites here.
Editor’s note: The Senate is in session next week while the House is out. Both chambers are out the week of February 20. It's unlikely that we'll have a Point of Order next week because I'll be on vacation, and we don’t do one on recess weeks.
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