Look Ahead to the Week of July 25: Congress Takes On Busy Schedule Before August Recess

Both the House and Senate are in session this week.

They will continue efforts this week to pass a scaled-back version of the China competition legislation, which includes $52 billion in incentives for semiconductors, an investment-tax credit for U.S. semiconductor manufacturing, and an overhaul of the nation’s science agencies.  

House leadership is still working to bring to the floor a vote on legislation that would ban assault weapons, although action remains uncertain due to some opposition of the bill from moderate Democrats.  

The Senate will continue working into the first week of August on efforts to complete specific Democratic priorities, including a slimmed-down budget reconciliation package that would lower drug prices and expand Affordable Care Act premium subsidies. They are hoping to hear from Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough on if the provisions can move through the reconciliation process. However, Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) announced this morning he has tested positive for COVID-19, complicating a potential reconciliation vote schedule.  

Senate appropriators are also hoping to release their Fiscal Year 2023 spending bills by the end of the month, although it is becoming increasingly likely that a continuing resolution will be required at the beginning of the fiscal year, which would result in a lame duck negotiating session.  

Further, the Senate is also poised to consider the 2022 Water Resources Development Act before it leaves for August recess. Senators reached a deal to vote on a bipartisan substitute amendment to the House-passed WRDA bill. Once it is passed, the House and Senate will go to a conference committee to iron out remaining differences. The Senate could also consider the Respect for Marriage Act, legislation to codify same-sex marriage; a resolution expressing support for Finland and Sweden joining NATO; and the Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act, which would provide health care and benefits to veterans who have been exposed to toxic substances during war.  

House Side

On Tuesday, the House will meet to consider multiple bills under suspension.  

• H.R. 6552 – Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act of 2022, as amended (Rep. Chris Smith – Foreign Affairs). The bill would reauthorize federal programs to combat human trafficking through fiscal year 2026.
• H.R. 6845 – Commercial Remote Sensing Amendment Act of 2022, as amended (Rep. Lucas – Science, Space, and Technology). The bill would extend through 2030 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s reporting requirement for remote-sensing licensing as well as codifying its 60-day review time for applications.
• H.R. 7569 – Energy Cybersecurity University Leadership Act of 2022 (Rep. Ross – Science, Space, and Technology). The bill would require the Energy Department to establish a program to provide financial assistance to graduate students and postdoctoral researchers taking cybersecurity and energy infrastructure courses.
• H.R. 6933 – Cost-Share Accountability Act of 2022 (Rep. Obernolte – Science, Space, and Technology). The bill would require the Energy Department to report to Congress quarterly on the use of its authority to reduce or eliminate cost-sharing requirements for research, development, and demonstration project activities.
• H.R. 7289 – Federal PFAS Research Evaluation Act, as amended (Rep. Fletcher – Science, Space, and Technology). The legislation would have the Environmental Protection Agency commission two studies from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).
• H.R. 3952 – NOAA Chief Scientist Act, as amended (Rep. Sherrill – Science, Space, and Technology). The bill would permit the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to select the agency’s chief scientist.
• H.R. 7361 – National Weather Service Communications Improvement Act (Rep. Feenstra – Science, Space, and Technology), which would require the National Weather Service to upgrade its instant messaging program, NWSChat.
• H.R. 3588 – Mathematical and Statistical Modeling Education Act, as amended (Rep. Houlahan – Science, Space, and Technology). The bill would authorize $10 million annually from fiscal 2022 through 2026 for the National Science Foundation to provide grants to support high-quality mathematical modeling education.
• H.R. 7180 – Brycen Gray and Ben Price COVID-19 Cognitive Research Act (Rep. Anthony Gonzalez – Science, Space, and Technology), which would direct the National Science Foundation to award grants for research into cognitive disruption associated with COVID-19, including in children and adolescents.
• H.R. 7132 – Safe Connections Act of 2022, as amended (Rep. Kuster – Energy and Commerce). The bill would give phone companies two days to meet a domestic violence or trafficking survivor’s request to sever their phone line from a shared phone plan with their abuser.
• H.R. 7624 – Spectrum Innovation Act of 2022, as amended (Rep. Doyle – Energy and Commerce), which would establish procedures for identifying and auctioning a certain portion of the federal spectrum or airwaves for commercial wireless broadband use.
• H.R. 4990 – ITS Codification Act (Rep. Buddy Carter – Energy and Commerce). The legislation would codify the Institute for Telecommunication Sciences, the research and engineering arm of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.
• H.R. 5313 – Reese’s Law (Rep. Robin Kelly – Energy and Commerce). The bill would require the Consumer Product Safety Commission to establish a consumer product safety standard for button cell or coin batteries.
• H.R. 4551 – RANSOMWARE Act (Rep. Bilirakis – Energy and Commerce). The bill would mandate the Federal Trade Commission to report to Congress on cross-border ransomware or cyber-attack complaints involving Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran.
• H.R. 3962 – SECURE Notarization Act of 2022 (Rep. Dean – Energy and Commerce), which would authorize notaries public to remotely notarize electronic records and perform notarizations for individuals outside the United States.
• H.R. 8454 – Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act (Rep. Blumenauer – Energy and Commerce). The legislation would ease medical marijuana research regulations for researchers and manufacturers.
• H.R. 623 – Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act 2.0, as amended (Rep. Wexton – Energy and Commerce). The bill would reauthorize through fiscal 2027 the National Institutes of Health’s pediatric disease research initiative.
• H.R. 7734 – Timely Delivery of Bank Secrecy Act Reports Act, as amended (Rep. Waters – Financial Services). The bill would require that reports of potential money laundering or other illicit financial activities be shared with lawmakers in a timely manner.
• H.R. 1057 – Greatest Generation Commemorative Coin Act, as amended (Rep. Kaptur – Financial Services), which would require the Treasury Department to choose designs and mint coins to commemorate the National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C. and the service of American soldiers and civilians.
• H.R. 310 – To posthumously award the Congressional Gold Medal, collectively, to Glen Doherty, Tyrone Woods, J. Christopher Stevens, and Sean Smith, in recognition of their contributions to the nation, as amended (Rep. Lynch – Financial Services).
• H.R. 5128 – Expanding Access to Capital for Rural Job Creators Act (Rep. Axne – Financial Services). The bill would expand the focus of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation to include small businesses in rural areas.
• H.R. 7981 – Public and Federally Assisted Housing Fire Safety Act of 2022, as amended (Rep. Dean – Financial Services), which would require public housing agencies and the owners of federally assisted housing to install smoke detectors in their units.
• H.R. 7733 – CDFI Bond Guarantee Program Improvement Act of 2022, as amended (Rep. Cleaver – Financial Services). The bill would reauthorize and expand a program offering bond guarantees to support community lenders.
• H.R. 4586 – Risk-Based Credit Examination Act, as amended (Rep. Wagner – Financial Services). The bill would give the Securities and Exchange Commission more discretion when conducting annual examinations of credit rating companies.
• H.R. 6528 – Housing Temperature Safety Act of 2022, as amended (Rep. Ritchie Torres – Financial Services). The bill would require the Housing and Urban Development Department to run a three-year pilot program offering grants to install and test temperature sensors in public housing and federally subsidized units.
• H.R. 4590 – Promoting New and Diverse Depository Institutions Act, as amended (Rep. Auchincloss – Financial Services). The legislation would require federal banking regulators to study and develop a strategic plan to encourage the formation of new depository institutions, including minority and community lenders.
• H.R. 4227 – Developing and Empowering our Aspiring Leaders Act of 2022, as amended (Rep. Hollingsworth – Financial Services), which would require the Securities and Exchange Commission to expand the definition of a qualifying investment for venture capital funds to include equity securities acquired either directly or as investments in other VC funds.

• Bills expected under a rule
  • H.R. 3771 – South Asian Heart Health Awareness and Research Act of 2022 (Rep. Jayapal – Energy and Commerce). The bill would authorize grant programs to support heart-disease research and awareness, primarily among South Asian communities in the United States.
  • H.R. 5118 – Wildfire Response and Drought Resiliency Act (Rep. Neguse – Natural Resources). The bill would establish programs and grants to address wildfire risks, ecological restoration, droughts, and environmental justice.
  • H.R. 6929 – Susan Muffley Act of 2022 (Rep. Kildee – Ways and Means/Education and Labor). The legislation would restore pension benefits for some retirees of former auto parts maker Delphi Corporation.
  • H.R. 4040 – Advancing Telehealth Beyond COVID-19 Act of 2022 (Rep. Cheney – Energy and Commerce). The bill would permit Medicare to continue offering telehealth services originally permitted during the COVID-19 public health emergency through Dec. 31, 2024. The legislation would also reduce amounts in the Medicare Improvement Fund.
  • H.R. 263 – Big Cat Public Safety Act (Rep. Quigley – Natural Resources). The bill would generally prohibit breeding and possessing big cats, including lions, tigers, leopards, jaguars, cougars, and any hybrids of those species. It would also bar direct physical contact of those animals with the public.

• Bills under suspension
  • H.R. 7283 – STREAM Act, as amended (Rep. Cartwright – Natural Resources). The bill would provide opportunity for acid mine drainage abatement and treatment activities to receive funding authorized by the bipartisan infrastructure law for the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund.
  • H.R. 5093 – Wind River Administrative Site Conveyance Act, as amended (Rep. Herrera Beutler – Natural Resources). The bill would require the Forest Service to transfer approximately 23.4 acres of certain National Forest System land in Washington State to Skamania County at its request.

Senate Side

On Monday, the Senate will resume work on legislation that would expand health care eligibility to 3.5 million veterans exposed to toxic burn pits (S. 3373). The chamber will then resume consideration of the CHIPS bill and vote on invoking cloture, or limiting debate, on the package.