Capitol Hill Update: March 12, 2018

Schedule:

The House and Senate are in session this week.

House:

The House is scheduled to take up a total of ten bills under the suspension of the rules. Five of the six suspension bills on the slate for Tuesday come from the Natural Resources Committee and deal with issues ranging from the naming of a bridge (H.R. 3469) to modifying the boundaries of a national park (H.R. 1350). The sixth is a bill from the Senate, S. 324, sponsored by Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) that deals with Veterans’ healthcare. A modified version of the Senate-passed Trickett Wendler, Frank Mongiello, Jordan McLinn, and Matthew Bellina Right to Try Act, S. 204, is supposed to be on the suspension calendar in the House for Tuesday as well.

On Wednesday, the House will take up 4 other bills under suspension of the rules, and one bill, H.R. 1116, the TAILOR Act, which will be subject to a rule. The TAILOR Act directs financial agencies to tailor government regulations so that they minimize the effect on the institutions in question. It applies to all future regulations, as well as those passed in the last seven years.

Later in the week, the House is supposed to take up two bills, the Financial Institutions Examination Fairness and Reform Act, H.R. 4545, and the Regulation A+ Improvement Act, H.R. 4263. Final votes are expected to take place around 3:00 PM on Friday afternoon.

The House was expected to consider the omnibus spending bill this week, however it is not currently on their calendar. The deadline for funding, as stipulated in the continuing resolution in the Bipartisan Budget Act, is March 23rd, and it also has to pass in the Senate.

The full committee schedule for the week can be found here.

Senate:

The Senate will convene at 4:00 pm on Monday to resume consideration of the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act, S. 2155, a bipartisan bill that would offer targeted relief from stiff Dodd-Frank regulations. Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), the sponsor of the bill, is the chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee. The bill does not provide the scope of regulatory relief offered in the House-passed Financial CHOICE Act, but nevertheless FreedomWorks has issued a key vote for the bill.

Last week, several amendments were filed on S. 2155, including a Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) amendment that is the text of the Federal Reserve Transparency Act and would require an audit the Federal Reserve, as well as a Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) amendment that is the text of the REINS Act and would require active congressional approval of economically significant banking rules promulgated by federal regulatory agencies. Should these amendments receive votes, FreedomWorks will include the roll call votes for both on our scorecard for 2018.

This week, the Senate will also likely vote on the Yemen War Powers Resolution, S.J.Res. 54, introduced by an unlikely bipartisan duo, Sens. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). From its date of introduction, February 28th, the privileged resolution has ten calendar days in committee where it cannot be killed against the will of the sponsors, after which it must be reported out, or it may be discharged to the floor, where it will get some kind of full-chamber vote. The resolution is binding, requires only 51 votes for passage, and would reassert Article I congressional authority over war-making, ensuring that the separation of powers outlined in the Constitution is maintained.

By identifying clearly unauthorized United States involvement in the civil war in Yemen, the resolution, which invokes both the War Powers Act and the International Security and Arms Export Control Act, would require such unauthorized activities to cease within 30 days, “unless and until a declaration of war or specific authorization for such use of United States Armed Forces has been enacted.” FreedomWorks has a letter of support out for the Yemen War Powers Resolution and hopes that senators across the ideological spectrum realize the importance of exercising Congress’ sole power to declare war and authorize military action.

The full committee schedule for the week can be found here.