In the House, courtesy of the Office of the Majority Leader:
First Vote of the Week... Tuesday 6:00 p.m.
Last Vote Predicted... Thursday p.m.
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2010
On Monday, the House is not in session.
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2010
On Tuesday, the House will meet at 2:00 p.m. for legislative business with votes postponed until 6:00 p.m.
Suspensions (8 Bills)
- H.Res. __ - Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the terrorist attacks launched against the United States on September 11, 2001 (Reps. Hoyer/Boehner)
- H.Res. 1052 - Honoring the members of the Army National Guard and Air National Guard of the State of Oklahoma for their service and sacrifice on behalf of the United States since September 11, 2001 (Rep. Boren - Armed Services)
- H.Res. 1251 - Recognizing and honoring the United States troops who gave their lives on D-Day at the Battle of Normandy (Rep. Poe - Armed Services)
- H.R. 6102 - To amend the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 to extend the authority of the Secretary of the Navy to enter into multiyear contracts for F/A-18E, F/A-18F, and EA-18G aircraft (Rep. Taylor - Armed Services)
- H.Res. 1571 - Acknowledging and congratulating Miami Dade College on the occasion of its 50th anniversary of service to the students and residents of the State of Florida (Rep. Ros-Lehtinen - Education and Labor)
- H.Res. 1564 - Commending and congratulating Michigan Technological University on the occasion of its 125th anniversary (Rep. Stupak - Education and Labor)
- H.Res. 1480 - Commending the University of Southern California Trojan men's tennis team for its victory in the 2010 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Men's Tennis Championship (Rep. Watson - Education and Labor)
- H.Res. __ - Expressing support for designation of the week beginning September 19, 2010, as "National Hispanic-Serving Institutions Week" (Rep. Grijalva - Education and Labor)
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2010 AND THE BALANCE OF THE WEEK
On Wednesday and Thursday, the House will meet at 10:00 a.m. for legislative business. On Friday, no votes are expected in the House.
Suspensions (19 Bills)
- H.R. 2039 - Congressional Made in America Promise Act (Rep. Kaptur - House Administration)
- H.R. 3116 - Berry Amendment Extension Act (Rep. Kissell - Homeland Security)
- Senate Amendments to H.R. 3978 - First Responder Anti-Terrorism Training Resources Act (Rep. Rogers (MI) - Homeland Security)
- H.Res. 1375 - Recognizing the 90th anniversary of the 19th Amendment (Rep. Cooper - Judiciary)
- H.R. 4862 - To permit Members of Congress to administer the oath of allegiance to applicants for naturalization (Rep. Serrano - Judiciary)
- H.Res. 1595 - Recognizing the 50th anniversary of the passage of legislation that created real estate investment trusts (REITs) and gave millions of Americans new investment opportunities that helped them build a solid foundation for retirement security and has contributed to the overall strength of our economy (Rep. Levin - Ways and Means)
- H.R. 5366 - Overseas Contractor Reform Act (Rep. Welch - Oversight and Government Reform)
- H.R. 5873 - To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 218 North Milwaukee Street in Waterford, Wisconsin, as the "Captain Rhett W. Schiller Post Office" (Rep. Ryan (WI) - Oversight and Government Reform)
- S. 2868 - Federal Supply Schedules Usage Act (Sen. Lieberman - Oversight and Government Reform)
- H.Res. 1522 - Expressing support for designation of the last week of September as National Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer Week and the last Wednesday of September as National Previvor Day (Rep. Wasserman Schultz - Oversight and Government Reform)
- H.Res. __ - Expressing condolences to and solidarity with the people of Pakistan in the aftermath of the devastating floods that began July 22, 2010 (Rep. Berman - Foreign Affairs)
- H.R. 5282 - To provide funds to the Army Corps of Engineers to hire veterans and members of the Armed Forces to assist the Corps with curation and historic preservation activities (Rep. Barrow - Transportation and Infrastructure)
- H.R. 5651 - To designate the Federal building and United States courthouse located at 515 9th Street in Rapid City, South Dakota, as the "Andrew W. Bogue Federal Building and United States Courthouse" (Rep. Herseth Sandlin - Transportation and Infrastructure)
- H.R. 5706 - To designate the facility of the Government Printing Office located at 31451 East United Avenue in Pueblo, Colorado, as the "Frank Evans Government Printing Office Building" (Rep. Salazar - Transportation and Infrastructure)
- Senate Amendment to H.R. 3562 - An act to designate the federally occupied building located at 1220 Echelon Parkway in Jackson, Mississippi, as the 'James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, Michael Schwerner, and Roy K. Moore Federal Building' (Rep. Thompson (MS) - Transportation and Infrastructure)
- H.R. 5773 - To designate the Federal building located at 6401 Security Boulevard in Baltimore, Maryland, as the "Robert M. Ball Federal Building" (Rep. Cummings - Transportation and Infrastructure)
- H.Res. 1583 - Observing the fifth anniversary of the date on which Hurricane Rita devastated the coasts of Louisiana and Texas, remembering those lost in the storm and in the process of evacuation, recovery, and rebuilding; saluting the dedication of the volunteers who offered assistance in support of those affected by the storm, recognizing the progress of efforts to rebuild the affected Gulf Coast region, commending the persistence of the people of the States of Louisiana and Texas following the second major hurricane to hit Louisiana that season, and reaffirming Congress' commitment to restore and renew the Gulf Coast region (Rep. Boustany - Transportation and Infrastructure)
- H.Res. 1577 - Observing the fifth anniversary of the date on which Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast, saluting the dedication of volunteers who offered assistance in support of those affected by the storm, recognizing the progress of efforts to rebuild the affected Gulf Coast region, commending the persistence of the people of the States of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida, and reaffirming Congress' commitment to restore and renew (Rep. Cao - Transportation and Infrastructure)
- H.Res. 1473 - Supporting backcountry airstrips and recreational aviation (Rep. Rehberg - Transportation and Infrastructure)
H.R. 4785 - Rural Energy Savings Program Act (Rep. Clyburn – Agriculture/Energy and Commerce) (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 Office of the Majority Leader:
Monday:
Convenes: 2:30pm
Following any Leader remarks, the Senate will proceed to a period of morning business until 3:30pm with senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.
At 3:30pm, the Senate will proceed to Executive Session to consider the nomination of Jane Stranch, of Tennessee, to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Sixth Circuit. There will be 2 hours for debate with the time equally divided and controlled between Senators Leahy and Sessions, or their designees.
At 5:30pm on Monday, September 13, the Senate will proceed to vote on confirmation of the nomination of Jane Stranch to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Sixth Circuit.
As a reminder, Senator Reid filed 4 cloture motions with respect to the Small Business Jobs bill (HR5297). The filing deadline for first degree amendments to HR5297 and the Reid for Baucus-Landrieu amendment #4594 (Substitute) [link] is 3:00pm on Monday, September 13.
Tuesday:
At 11:00am, on Tuesday, September 14, the Senate will proceed to a cloture vote on Johanns amendment #4596 (1099 reporting) [link]. If cloture is not invoked, the Senate would proceed to a cloture vote on the Nelson (FL) amendment #4595 (1099 reporting) [link]. If cloture is invoked, there would be up to 30 hours for debate. If cloture is not invoked, the Senate would proceed to a cloture vote on the substitute amendment #4594 [link] to HR5297, Small Business Jobs.
And we're back! Well, this week, anyway. The Senate will actually be in today, the House doesn't return until tomorrow. And when the House does come back, it's not like they'll be rushing headlong into the most substantive work in the world. Then again, why bother? The Senate is already sitting on a stack of something close to 400 bills passed by the House on which they've been unable to take any action, due in large part to the fact that doing anything in the Senate takes a week or two to get around Republican filibusters -- even on bills that later pass with near unanimous support. At this point, they're just filibustering to waste time (as opposed to doing it because they actually oppose whatever they're filibustering), in the hopes that there'll be less time to actually pass things.
That aside, the House will only add to that number this week, with 27 suspensions, plus the one substantive bill, the Rural Energy Savings Program Act -- though only 11 of those are going over to the Senate, anyway.
The Senate will already have its hands full, of course, with the Small Business Jobs bill. Which, because it's substantive legislation that could actually help create jobs and boost the economy, is currently mired in a Republican filibuster. In fact, it's mired in a bunch of them. On Tuesday, the Senate will vote on cloture on a pending Johanns amendment, which amends a pending Nelson (FL) amendment. The Nelson amendment in turn amends a Baucus substitute amendment, which (of course!) amends the original House version of the bill. So first, the Senate will attempt to invoke cloture on the Johanns amendment. If it does, they'll start the 30 hour clock, then vote on that Johanns amendment, after which the pending business will be the Nelson amendment -- at which point that process could start all over again.
If cloture isn't invoked, they'll try to get it on the Nelson amendment instead. And if they can't get that, then again on the Baucus substitute.
Why not just go right to cloture on the Baucus substitute? Well, they could. But apparently they want to give Johanns his day. Sometimes letting a member of the minority have his shot -- even if he ends up losing -- means a smoother path to eventual cloture on the underlying bill. At least, it used to go that way back in the days when the minority filibustered for a reason. You used to see them filibuster in order to leverage their ability to keep a bill open for amendment, because they had substantive ideas about how they wanted the legislation changed. Then that devolved into just keeping the amendment process open as a matter of pride and principle -- that is, that the minority should have the chance to do... well, something.
These days, though, it's degenerated into a practice of filibustering in order to offer unrelated, non-germane amendments designed to force "tough votes" on purely political issues. Or sometimes, for no reason at all, other than to eat up time that could otherwise be used to pass other legislation. Apparently the ridiculousness of it all has finally gotten to Sen. George Voinovich (R-OH), who's ready to vote with Dems on cloture, and it looks like his price is... that vote on Johanns. So there you go.
Ah, Senate! You're so wacky! Does anyone think this still looks like George Washington's proverbial cooling saucer?
Plenty of committee action this week, as well. Check out the action below the fold.
This week's committee activity of special note:
- Senate Impeachment Trial Committee: Impeachment trial of Judge G. Thomas Porteous, Jr. Monday-Thursday, 8:00am
- House Energy and Commerce: Hearing On Salmonella Outbreak And Egg Recall. Tuesday, 11am
- House Financial Services: The Future of Housing Finance: A Progress Update on the GSEs. Wednesday, 9:30am
- House Homeland Security: The Evolving Nature of Terrorism - Nine Years after the 9/11 Attacks. Wednesday, 10am
- House Ways and Means: China's Exchange Rate Policy (Part 1). Wednesday, 10:30am
- Senate Commerce: The Federal Role in National Rail Policy. Wednesday, 2:30pm
- Senate Foreign Relations: Markup of the New START Treaty. Thursday, 9:30am (NOTE: no livestream)
- Senate Appropriations: The Promise of Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research. Thursday, 10am (NOTE: no livestream)
- House Ways and Means: China’s Exchange Rate Policy (Part 2 of 2), with Treasury Secretary Geithner. Thursday, 2pm
And the full week's committee schedule: