Recapping Last Week in Congress
The House was the only game in town last week, and though that's the body that can definitively set a schedule and expect to move deliberately through it, they really didn't use their time all that productively. The biggest and most important legislation moved last week was the combination of the repeal of the Republican-passed-but-never-implemented 3% withholding tax on government contractors, and it's "pay-for," which is basically a cut in eligibility for Medicaid among Social Security recipients. In that sense, it sounds like a typically Republican week, but the curve ball here is that these are two (very small) pieces of job-creating and budget-cutting proposals that came out of the White House.
The Senate was not in session last week.
This Week in Congress
It's been two weeks since the whole Congress has been in town at once. So naturally, we should expect big things, right? Well, probably not so much in the House. Once again, the familiar pattern emerges: no session on Monday, suspensions spread out over Tuesday and Wednesday, and the substantive bills on Thursday and possibly spilling over into Friday (but not too much of Friday). And this week, the House's big to-do at the end of the week will be a stab at answering the Democratic critique that the Republican-controlled House hasn't done squat on job creation. And how will they do so? By taking two bills that tinker with (read: eliminate) certain Securities and Exchange Commission reporting requirements and putting the words "job creators" and "entrepreneur" in the titles.
The Senate comes right back to work on Monday, with a vote on a judicial nomination, and on Tuesday, it's back to work on H.R. 2112, the appropriations "minibus" bill, rolling up the Agriculture; Commerce, Justice, and Science; and Transportation/HUD bills. There are still a few amendments to get through, but the end is in sight here, and there's an agreement in place not only to finish this up and get a vote on passage, but to insist on the Senate's position in the event of disagreement with the House, with Senate conferees already lined up and named. That's a good sign, considering how far behind the Senate is on appropriations, and the latest continuing (non-)resolution set to expire in mid-November. It's good to see the Senate serious about getting at least these bills done and into conference.
There's a lot more to take care of, but this is a good way to start.
UPDATE: Also expected in the Senate this week is the infrastructure projects portion of the American Jobs Act. What's in it? Here's the Main Street Insider 90 Second Summary:
Full floor and committee schedules are below the fold.
In the House, courtesy of the Office of the Democratic Whip:
THE WEEKLY WHIP: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2011
First Vote Of The Week: Tuesday 6:30 p.m.
Last Vote Predicted: Friday 3:00 p.m.
MONDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2011
On Monday, the House will meet at 1:00 p.m. for pro forma session. No votes are expected in the House.
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2011
On Tuesday, the House will meet at 12:00 p.m. for Morning Hour debate and 2:00 p.m. for legislative business with votes postponed until 6:30 p.m.
Suspensions (3 Bills)
- H.R. 1002 - Wireless Tax Fairness Act of 2011 (Rep. Lofgren - Judiciary)
- H.Con.Res. 13 - Reaffirming "In God We Trust" as the official motto of the United States and supporting and encouraging the public display of the national motto in all public buildings, public schools, and other government institutions (Rep. Forbes - Judiciary)
- S. 1280 - Kate Puzey Peace Corps Volunteer Protection Act of 2011 (Sen. Isakson - Foreign Affairs)
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2011
On Wednesday, the House will meet at 10:00 a.m. for Morning Hour debate and 12:00 p.m. for legislative business.
Suspensions (4 Bills)
- H.R. 2061 - Civilian Service Recognition Act of 2011, as amended (Rep. Hanna - Oversight and Government Reform)
- H.R.1070 - Small Company Capital Formation Act of 2011 (Rep. Schweikert - Financial Services)
- H.R. 1965 - To amend the securities laws to establish certain thresholds for shareholder registration, and for other purposes (Rep. Himes - Financial Services)
- S. 894 - The Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2011 (Sen. Murray - Veterans’ Affairs)
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2011 AND THE BALANCE OF THE WEEK
On Thursday, the House will meet at 10:00 a.m. for Morning Hour debate and 12:00 p.m. for legislative business. On Friday, the House will meet at 9:00 a.m. for legislative business with last votes no later than 3:00 p.m.
H.R. 2940 - Access to Capital for Job Creators Act (Rep. McCarthy (CA) – Financial Services) (Subject to a Rule)
H.R. 2930 - Entrepreneur Access to Capital Act (Rep. McHenry – Financial Services) (Subject to a Rule)
Possible Motion to go to Conference and Motions to Instruct Conferees
In the Senate, courtesy of the Office of the Majority Leader:
Senate Floor Schedule for Monday, October 31, 2011
The Senate will convene on Monday, October 24, 2011 at 3:45pm and on Thursday, October 27, 2011 at 11am for pro forma sessions only with no business conducted.
Following the pro forma session on Thursday, October 27th, the Senate will adjourn until 3:00pm on Monday, October 31, 2011. Following any Leader remarks, the Senate will be in morning business until 4:30pm with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.
Following morning business, the Senate will proceed to Executive Session to consider Calendar #249, Stephen A. Higginson, of LA, to be United States Circuit Judge for the 5th Circuit with one hour equally divided and controlled between Senators Leahy and Grassley or their designees.
The next roll call vote will be at approximately 5:30pm on confirmation of the Higginson nomination.
Also courtesy of the Office of the Majority Leader:
Next Roll Call Vote on Monday, October 31st
The next roll call vote is expected to occur on Monday, October 31st in relation to a nomination. The details of the amended consent agreement with respect to H.R.2112 is below.
Cloture having been invoked on the Inouye substitute amendment #738, the substitute amendment is agreed to and it is now considered original text for the purposes of further amendment. The remaining amendments which were scheduled for votes today remain in order notwithstanding cloture having been invoked; when the Senate resumes consideration of H.R.2112 on Tuesday, November 1st, the Senate will proceed to votes on the remaining amendments; and all other provisions of the previous order remain in effect.
The following amendments were agreed to by voice vote, en bloc:
- Portman #859;
- McCain #892;
- Cantwell #893, as modified, with the changes that are at the desk;
- Cochran #805, as modified, with the changes that are at the desk;
- Burr #890;
- Inouye #918; and
- Kyl #912, as modified.
The following amendments remain in order under the previous order and are expected to be voted on on Tuesday, November 1st:
- Coburn #800;
- Paul #821 (60-vote threshold);
- DeMint #763;
- Crapo #814 (60-vote threshold);
- Lee Motion to Recommit.
Following the disposition of the amendments above, the Senate will proceed to votes in relation to any remaining germane pending amendments in the order they were offered; further, upon disposition of any pending germane amendments, the bill, as amended, will be read a third time, and the Senate will proceed to vote on passage of the bill with no intervening action or debate; when the Senate receives a message from the House with respect to H.R.2112, the Senate will insist on its amendment, request, or agree to, a conference with the House on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses; and the Chair will be authorized to appoint the following conferees – Kohl, Harkin, Feinstein, Johnson (SD), Nelson (NE), Pryor, Brown (OH), Inouye, Murray, Mikulski, Blunt, Cochran, McConnell, Collins, Moran, Hoeven, Hutchison and Shelby.