Both the House and Senate will be in session this week.
Last week, Congress passed the $1.5 trillion FY2022 government funding package, nearly six months into the fiscal year. However, a $15.6 billion supplemental for COVID aid was pulled from the final bill after there was disagreement in the Democratic Party over a plan to pull $7 billion back from state and local governments appropriated under the March 2021 stimulus. The House will be working this week to pass the COVID aid supplemental legislation, although further negotiation is needed to clear a path through the Senate. Republicans have signaled they want more information on previously appropriated, unspent funds before agreeing to provide more money for COVID relief.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has also stated that the House is working to finalize legislation that would revoke Russia’s permanent normal trade relations status. She indicated the effort will result in a bipartisan vote sometime this week. President Biden has already suspended Russia’s trade status and banned the import of Russian seafood, alcohol, and diamonds. The legislation would formalize the trade downgrade and put increasing pressure on Russia.
Additionally, Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson is back at the Capitol this week meeting with Senators on both sides of the aisle ahead of her confirmation hearings, scheduled to begin on March 21.
Administration
On Monday, Administration officials including National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan will meet in Rome with top Chinese diplomats to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine in an effort to leverage Beijing’s influence to help end the war. These meetings come on the heels of weekend reporting that Russia has asked China for military and economic support to overcome the united aid to Ukraine from Western nations. On Thursday, President Biden will have a bilateral meeting with Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin.
House Side
On Tuesday, the House will meet to consider multiple bills under suspension.
- H.R. 268 – To provide for the boundary of the Palo Alto Battlefield National Historic Park to be adjusted, to authorize the donation of land to the United States for addition to that historic park, and for other purposes, as amended (Rep. Vela – Natural Resources).
- H.R. 560 – Northern Mariana Islands Residents Relief Act, as amended (Rep. Sablan – Natural Resources), which would allow certain workers and investors living in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands to apply for resident status.
- H.R. 1908 – Ka‘ena Point National Heritage Area Act (Rep. Case – Natural Resources). The bill would grant access to the Interior Department to assess the suitability and feasibility of designating a western portion of Honolulu County on Oahu as a national heritage area.
- H.R. 1931 – Japanese American Confinement Education Act, as amended (Rep. Matsui – Natural Resources), which would reauthorize a grant program focused on preserving U.S. confinement sites where Japanese Americans were detained during World War II.
- H.R. 2899 – To direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study to assess the suitability and feasibility of designating areas within the island of Guam as a National Heritage Area (Rep. San Nicolas – Natural Resources), including that the department would have to report to Congress by the end of the third fiscal year after funds are made available for the study.
- H.R. 3113 – Modernizing Access to Our Public Land Act, as amended (Rep. Blake Moore – Natural Resources). The bill would require federal agencies to launch a public mapping tool with information on federal land ownership and recreational opportunities.
- H.R. 3197 – Save the Liberty Theatre Act of 2021 (Rep. Mike Johnson – Natural Resources). The Interior Department would transfer to Eunice, LA, two lots in the city that are part of the Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve, including a portion of the historic Liberty Theatre.
- H.R. 4380 – To designate the El Paso Community Healing Garden National Memorial (Rep. Escobar – Natural Resources). The bill would designate the site as a federally recognized national memorial site.
- H.R. 5001 – Upper Colorado and San Juan River Basins Recovery Act, as amended (Rep. Neguse – Natural Resources), which would reauthorize federal programming to recover endangered fish species in the Upper Colorado and San Juan river basins for one additional year.
- H.R. 6434 – Japanese American WWII History Network (Rep. Obernolte – Natural Resources). The bill would establish a network of programs within the National Park Service to preserve the history of the mass incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II.
Wednesday – Thursday, the House will meet for legislative business.
- Bills expected under a rule
- H.R. 963 – FAIR Act of 2022 (Rep. Hank Johnson – Judiciary). Agreements that require arbitration or ban class actions for future disputes couldn’t be enforced under H.R. 963 in cases related to consumer, employment, antitrust, or civil rights matters.
- H.R. 2116 – CROWN Act of 2022 (Rep. Watson Coleman – Judiciary), which would make illegal any exclusions or discriminations against a person based on their hair texture or style, if it’s commonly associated with a particular race or national origin.
Senate Side
On Monday, the Senate will resume consideration of Shalanda Young’s nomination to be director of the Office of Management and Budget.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has also filed for cloture on Susan Tsui Grundmann’s nomination to be a member of the Federal Labor Relations Authority.