In the House, courtesy of the Office of the Majority Leader:
FLOOR SCHEDULE FOR WEDNESDAY, JULY 14, 2010
House Meets At... 10:00 a.m.: Legislative Business
First Vote Predicted... 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Last Vote Predicted... 3:00 – 4:00 p.m.
"One Minutes" (15 per side)
H.R. 1722 - Telework Improvements Act (Rep. Sarbanes - Oversight and Government Reform) (Subject to a Rule)
Suspensions (6 Bills)
- S. 1508 - Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act of 2010 (Sen. Carper - Oversight and Government Reform)
- H.R. 5390 - To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 13301 Smith Road in Cleveland, Ohio, as the "David John Donafee Post Office Building" (Rep. Kucinich - Oversight and Government Reform)
- H.R. 4840 - An act to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1981 Cleveland Avenue in Columbus, Ohio, as the "Clarence D. Lumpkin Post Office" (Rep. Tiberi - Oversight and Government Reform)
- H.R. 5450 - To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 3894 Crenshaw Boulevard in Los Angeles, California, as the "Tom Bradley Post Office Building" (Rep. Watson - Oversight and Government Reform)
- H.R. __ - To provide for certain clarifications and extensions under Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children's Health Insurance Program (Rep. Levin - Ways and Means)
- H.J.Res. 83 - Approving the renewal of import restrictions contained in the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003 (Rep. Crowley - Ways and Means)
Postponed Suspension Vote (1 Bill)
- H.R. 2864 - To amend the Hydrographic Services Improvement Act of 1998 to authorize funds to acquire hydrographic data and provide hydrographic services specific to the Arctic for safe navigation, delineating the United States extended continental shelf, and the monitoring and description of coastal changes (Rep. Young (AK) - Natural Resources)
- Conference Reports may be brought up at any time.
Motions to go to Conference should they become available.
Possible Motions to Instruct Conferees.
In the Senate, courtesy of the Office of the Majority Leader:
Convenes: 10:00am
Following any leader remarks, there will be a period of morning business until 12:00 noon with senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each. The Majority will control the first 30 minutes and the Republicans will control the next 30 minutes.
We hope to reach an agreement to consider the initial amendments on the Small Business Jobs bill (HR5297) and that we will be able to resume its consideration on Wednesday.
Look, let's be honest. You're here to find out if they'll be voting on unemployment extensions, Elana Kagan, Wall Street reform, climate legislation, or immigration reforms.
They're not.
But Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston are engaged, so there's that!
The reality of today on the Hill is that it's more of the same waiting game. The West Virginia situation appears near a resolution, but not until Friday, which means the seat won't be filled until next week. And while there are indications that the necessary votes are now lined up for the Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform bill conference report to pass the Senate, it appears that for the time being, we are stuck trying to hammer out a deal to finish the small business lending bill first. If they're actually close on that, we could see Wall Street reform on the floor before the end of the week. Then again, what does it mean to say you "hope to reach an agreement" with today's Senate Republicans? What it means, of course, is that Republicans are coming to the negotiating table with a series of demands which they're backing up with filibuster threats. Not because they care about the bill being debated so much as because it's a threat they can get away with. These days, the filibuster is used as a tool to win concessions in exchange for agreeing not to waste everyone else's time.
So it being Wednesday already, and the Senate being what it is, it's far from certain that they'll agree on anything, and Wall Street reform might have to wait. In fact, it's safe to say that the motivation for dragging their feet with the small business bill could be more connected to Wall Street reform and the desire to game that bill than anything having to do with the small business measure.
Anyway, so the day's not a blockbuster. It is what it is. The committee schedule appears below the fold. Perhaps we should seek our entertainment there.