This Week in Congress
by David Waldman
Mon Jul 13, 2009 at 06:16:02 AM PST
In the House, courtesy of the Office of the Majority Leader:
MONDAY, JULY 13, 2009
On Monday, the House will meet at 12:30 p.m. for Morning Hour and 2:00 p.m. for legislative business with votes postponed until 6:30 p.m.
Suspensions (16 Bills)
1) H.R. 1044 - Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial Enhancement Act of 2009 (Rep. George Miller - Natural Resources)
2) H.R. 1442 - To provide for the sale of the Federal Government's reversionary interest in approximately 60 acres of land in Salt Lake City, Utah, originally conveyed to the Mount Olivet Cemetery Association under the Act of January 23, 1909 (Rep. Matheson - Natural Resources)
3) H.R. 934 - To convey certain submerged lands to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in order to give that territory the same benefits in its submerged lands as Guam, the Virgin Islands, and American Samoa have in their submerged lands (Rep. Sablan - Natural Resources)
4) H.R. 2188 - Joint Ventures for Bird Habitat Conservation Act of 2009 (Rep. Kratovil - Natural Resources)
5) H.R. 129 - To authorize the conveyance of certain National Forest System lands in the Los Padres National Forest in California (Rep. Gallegly - Natural Resources)
6) H.R. 409 - To provide for the conveyance of certain Bureau of Land Management land in the State of Nevada to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway (Rep. Heller - Natural Resources)
7) H.R. 762 - Affirming patent number 27-2005-0081 and its associated land reconfiguration issued by the Bureau of Land Management (Rep. Heller - Natural Resources)
8) H.R. 402 - To designate the Department of Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic in Knoxville, Tennessee, as the "William C. Tallent Department of Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic" (Rep. Duncan - Veterans' Affairs)
9) H.R. 1037 - Pilot College Work Study Programs for Veterans Act of 2009 (Rep. Herseth Sandlin - Veterans' Affairs)
10) S.Con.Res. 30 - A concurrent resolution commending the Bureau of Labor Statistics on the occasion of its 125th anniversary (Sen. Schumer - Education and Labor)
11) H.Con.Res. 123 - Recognizing the historical and national significance of the many contributions of John William Heisman to the sport of football (Rep. Thompson (PA) - Education and Labor)
12) H.Res. 612 - Expressing the profound sympathies of the House of Representatives for the victims of the tragic Metrorail accident on Monday, June 22, 2009, and for their families, friends, and associates (Rep. Norton - Oversight and Government Reform)
13) H.Res. 476 - Celebrating the 30th anniversary of June as "Black Music Month" (Rep. Cohen - Oversight and Government Reform)
14) H.Res. 469 - Honoring the life of Wayman Lawrence Tisdale and expressing the condolences of the House of Representatives on his passing (Rep. Cole - Oversight and Government Reform)
15) H.Res. 543 - Expressing support for designation of June as "Home Safety Month" (Rep. Halvorson - Energy and Commerce)
16) H.Res. __ - Expressing the gratitude of the House of Representatives for the service of M. Pope Barrow, Jr. (Rep. Dingell)
TUESDAY, JULY 14, 2009 AND THE BALANCE OF THE WEEK
On Tuesday, the House will meet at 10:30 a.m. for Morning Hour debate and 12:00 p.m. for legislative business. On Wednesday and Thursday, the House will meet at 10:00 a.m. for legislative business. On Friday, the House will meet at 9:00 a.m. for legislative business.
Suspensions (10 Bills)
1) H.Res. 607 - Celebrating the Fortieth Anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon Landing (Rep. Hall (TX) - Science and Technology)
2) H.R. 2729 - To authorize the designation of National Environmental Research Parks by the Secretary of Energy (Rep. Lujan - Science and Technology)
3) H.Con.Res. 156 - Condemning the attack on the AMIA Jewish Community Center in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in July 1994 (Rep. Ros-Lehtinen - Foreign Affairs)
4) H.Res. 538 - Supporting Olympic Day on June 23, 2009, and encouraging the International Olympic Committee to select Chicago, Illinois, as the host city for the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games (Rep. Schakowsky - Foreign Affairs)
5) H.Res. 555 - Expressing concern for the well-being of journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee and urging the Government of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to release them on humanitarian grounds (Rep. Schiff - Foreign Affairs)
6) H.R. 1511 - Torture Victims Relief Reauthorization Act of 2009 (Rep. Smith (NJ) - Foreign Affairs)
7) H.Res. 519 - Expressing appreciation to the people and Government of Canada for their long history of friendship and cooperation with the people and Government of the United States and congratulating Canada as it celebrates "Canada Day" (Rep. Stupak - Foreign Affairs)
8) H.R. 1933 - A Child Is Missing Alert and Recovery Center Act (Rep. Klein - Judiciary)
9) S.Con.Res. 29 - A concurrent resolution expressing the sense of the Congress that John Arthur "Jack" Johnson should receive a posthumous pardon for the racially motivated conviction in 1913 that diminished the athletic, cultural, and historic significance of Jack Johnson and unduly tarnished his reputation (Sen. McCain - Judiciary)
10) H.R. 2632 - Korean War Veterans Recognition Act (Rep. Rangel - Judiciary)
H.R. __ - Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010 (Rep. Pastor – Appropriations) (Subject to a Rule)
H.R. 3170 - Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act, 2010 (Rep. Serrano – Appropriations) (Subject to a Rule)
* 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 Secretary of the Senate:
Convenes: 11:00am
Following the prayer and pledge, the Senate will begin consideration of S.1390, Department of Defense Appropriations bill.
4:30pm the Senate will proceed to Executive Session to consider the nomination of Robert M. Groves to be Director of the Census.
5:30pm cloture vote on the Groves nomination.
Committee events of note:
- Mon., 7/13, 10am. Senate Judiciary Committee. Nomination: Sonia Sotomayor, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
- Mon, 7/13, 2pm. Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee: Business meeting to continue consideration of Affordable Health Choices Act
- Mon., 7/13, 2:30pm. House Rules Committee: H.R. 1549 - Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act of 2009 (Original Jurisdiction Hearing)
- Tue., 7/14, 9am. Senate Banking, Housing & Urban Affairs Committee: Creating a Consumer Financial Protection Agency: A Cornerstone of America’s New Economic Foundation
- Tue., 7/14, 9am. Senate Commerce, Science & Transportation Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Insurance: The Economy and Fraud: Protecting Consumers During Downward Economic Times
- Tue., 7/14, 10am. Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee: S.796, Hardrock Mining and Reclamation Act of 2009 and S.140, Abandoned Mine Reclamation Act of 2009. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar
- Tue., 7/14, 2:30pm. Senate Environment & Public Works Committee: Transportation’s Role in Climate Change and Reducing Greenhouse Gases
- Wed., 7/15, 10am. House Financial Services Committee: Banking Industry Perspectives on the Obama Administration’s Financial Regulatory Reform Proposals
- Wed., 7/15, 10am. Senate Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee: Identification Security: Reevaluating the REAL ID Act. Janet A. Napolitano, Secretary, Department of Homeland Security; Jim Douglas, Governor of Vermont
- Wed., 7/15, 2:30pm. Senate Banking, Housing & Urban Affairs Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance, and Investment: Regulating Hedge Funds and Other Private Investment Pools
- Thu., 7/16, 9am. Senate Budget Committee: The Long-Term Budget Outlook. Dr. Douglas W. Elmendorf, Director, Congressional Budget Office
- Thu., 7/16, 9:30am. Senate Banking, Housing & Urban Affairs Committee: Preserving Homeownership: Progress Needed to Prevent Foreclosures
- Thu. 7/16, 9:30am. Senate Environment & Public Works Committee: Ensuring and Enhancing U.S. Competitiveness while Moving toward a Clean Energy Economy
- Thu., 7/16, 10am. House Financial Services Committee: Community and Consumer Advocates’ Perspectives on the Obama Administration’s Financial Regulatory Reform Proposals
- Thu., 7/16, 10am. Senate Commerce, Science & Transportation Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Insurance: Competition in the Health Care Marketplace
- Thu., 7/16, 2pm. House Armed Services Committee: Prosecuting Law of War Violations: Reforming the Military Commissions Act of 2006
- Fri., 7/17, 10am. House Financial Services Committee:Industry Perspectives on the Obama Administration’s Financial Regulatory Reform Proposals
While all eyes are on the Senate Judiciary Committee as they consider the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court, the real committee story this week is what's not on the schedule -- yet. Which normally very active House committees don't appear on the schedule even once?
Education & Labor, Energy & Commerce, and Ways & Means. I've never seen a weekly committee schedule that had literally nothing scheduled for any one of these three. And of course, the three have something special in common right now.
What does that tell you? That tells you that they're clearing the decks for action on the tri-committee health care reform bill, probably getting ready to mark it up as soon as they're able, which means you'll probably see the full text unveiled and introduced within days, if not hours from now.
Meanwhile, the floors of both houses will be tied up in yet another round of pitched battles on appropriations, and the controversy surrounding Dick Cheney's illegal orders to the CIA to cover up some significant portion of what they should have been briefing Congress about continues to roil.
Should be an interesting week, and when it's over, there'll be just three left before the scheduled August recess.
The full schedule -- and I do mean full, despite the absence of the three big committees in the House -- appears below. Try to spend some time looking in on the committees this week. Judiciary will have the big show, but the money game will be in the House health care hearings. Try to keep them in mind.
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