Capitol Hill Update: July 9, 2018

Schedule:

The House and Senate are in session this week.

House:

The House is back in session on Tuesday. Legislative business begins at 2:00 pm. Votes are postponed until 6:30 pm. There are 16 bills on the suspension calendar.

  • H.R. 5729, Transportation Worker Identification Credential Accountability Act
  • H.R. 6139, Improving Investment Research for Small and Emerging Issuers Act
  • H.R. 1861, The Larry Doby Congressional Gold Medal Act
  • H.R. 4537, International Insurance Standards Act
  • H.R. 5793, Housing Choice Voucher Mobility Demonstration Act
  • H.R. 5749, Options Markets Stability Act
  • H.R. 5877, Main Street Growth Act
  • H.R. 5953, BUILD Act H.R. 5970, Modernizing Disclosures for Investors Act
  • H.R. 5626, Intercountry Adoption Information Act
  • H.R. 2259, Sam Farr and Nick Castle Peace Corps Enhancement Act
  • H.Res. 644, Strongly condemning the slave auctions of migrants and refugees in Libya, and for other purposes
  • H.Res. 983, Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the Nation now faces a more complex and grave set of threats than at any time since the end of World War II and that the lack of full, on-time funding related to defense activities puts servicemen and servicewomen at risk, harms national security, and aids the adversaries of the United States.
  • H.Res. 984, Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the lack of full, on-time funding related to defense activities erodes military readiness and poses a risk to the national security of the United States
  • H.R. 1700, SCORE for Small Business Act
  • H.R. 2655, Small Business Innovation Protection Act

On Wednesday, the House will consider the Strengthening Fishing Communities and Increasing Flexibility in Fisheries Management Act, H.R. 200. The Rules Committee has already met to consider amendments to the bill. Nearly a dozen amendments were made in order.

The Matthew Young Pollard Intelligence Authorization Act for FY 2018 and FY 2019, H.R. 6237; the Reclamation Title Transfer and Non-Federal Infrastructure Incentivization Act, H.R. 3281; and the Crooked River Ranch Fire Protection Act, H.R. 2075, are on the calendar for Thursday. The Unfunded Mandates Information and Transparency Act, H.R. 50, is on the floor on Friday. Rules will met on Tuesday to consider the rules for H.R. 2075, H.R. 3284, and H.R. 50 and on Wednesday for H.R. 6237.

The amendment deadline for the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for FY 2019, H.R. 6147, has been posted. The deadline is Wednesday, July 11 at 10:00 am. This minibus appropriations bill will likely be on the House floor next week.

The markup hasn’t been posted yet, but the House Ways and Means Committee will begin work on health insurance bills. At least three of the bills the committee will consider have already been introduced, H.R. 6301, H.R. 6311, and H.R. 6314. The text of the bills hasn’t been posted, but we understand that the goal is to provide consumers with more patient-centered options, including the expansion of health savings accounts (HSAs). That said, we don’t expect the expansion of HSAs to include the ability to pay insurance premiums out of their accounts.

The full committee schedule can be found here.

Senate:

The Senate will return Monday at 3:00 pm to consider the nomination of Mark Bennett to serve as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. A vote on the cloture motion will begin around 5:30 pm. Work on two other nominees, Brian Benczkowski to serve as Assistant Attorney General, and Paul Ney to serve as General Counsel of the Department of Defense, are expected this week.

President Trump is likely to name his nominee for the Supreme Court to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy. The list has supposedly narrowed to four names, all appellate court judges: Brett Kavanaugh, Raymond Kethledge, Amy Coney Barrett, and Thomas Hardiman. Jonathan Adler has a look at the possible nominees over at the Volokh Conspiracy. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has reportedly suggested to the president that he should nominate either Kethledge or Hardiman because he believes that would be easier to confirm. Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) was on the shortlist, getting the backing of conservatives, including FreedomWorks.

The full committee schedule can be found here.