Both the House and Senate are in session this week.
Last week, the House narrowly passed its version of the annual defense spending bill, which would authorize $886.3 million for national security, in line with the debt limit bill’s spending cap. Although defense spending is usually passed on a bipartisan basis, this bill moved forward along party lines after substantial disagreements over amendments. This week, the Senate will consider its own version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which will differ starkly from the House version, perhaps most controversially by leaving in place the current Defense Department policy to allow servicewomen paid leave if they need to travel to access abortion care due to local regulations. If the upper chamber passes its version, negotiations over the differences will likely result in a final product that looks more like the Senate’s to elicit bipartisan support for final passage.
The House this week will take up its version of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization package, with the current authorization set to expire on September 30. This bill seeks to scale back agency bureaucracy, address aviation workforce shortages, and advance new flying technology. Further, lawmakers will consider amendments that would ease pilot shortfalls, ban further reductions in airplane seat sizes, and increase flights at Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C., which has been a major sticking point during negotiations. The Senate plans to consider its version of the FAA reauthorization in the coming weeks, though currently negotiations are stalled at the committee level, primarily over pilot flight training requirements.
Additionally, appropriators will continue their consideration of the annual government funding bills. The Senate Appropriations Committee is set to mark up its Energy and Water, State and Foreign Operations, and Transportation-HUD spending bills this week. The House will cover its Transportation-HUD Interior-Environment spending bills. However, it is becoming increasingly likely that Congress will have to pass a stopgap measure before federal funding runs out on September 30 to keep the government running and give negotiators more time to reach a compromise. The House and Senate are writing bills with substantially different top-line numbers, which is almost certain to cause difficulty in negotiations later this year. House Republicans have inserted in the House Labor-Health and Human Services-Education bill a ban on using government funds for gender-affirming care, which is likely to cause substantial disagreement with Democrats as well.
Administration
On Tuesday, President Biden will host Israeli President Isaac Herzog at the White House. Herzog will speak to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday.
House Side
On Tuesday, the House will meet to consider multiple bills under suspension.
- Bills expected under suspension of the rules.
- S. 111 – Providing Accountability Through Transparency Act (Sen. Lankford – Judiciary). The legislation would require federal agencies to include a link to a plain-language summary in 100 words or fewer on the regulations.gov website when issuing a notice of proposed rulemaking.
- H.R. 1418 – Animal Drug and Animal Generic Drug User Fee Amendments of 2023 (Rep. Pence – Energy and Commerce). The legislation would reauthorize user fees paid by animal drug manufacturers for another five years.
- H.R. 813 – Global Investment in American Jobs Act of 2023, as amended (Rep. Pence – Energy and Commerce). The measure would require the Commerce Department to conduct an interagency review of ways to increase U.S. global competitiveness in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) by “trusted countries.”
- H.R. 752 – Securing Semiconductor Supply Chains Act of 2023 (Rep. Eshoo – Energy and Commerce). The bill would require the Commerce Department’s SelectUSA program to solicit comments from state-level economic development organizations to develop recommendations on how it can increase FDI in semiconductor-related production.
Tuesday – Friday, the House is scheduled to meet for legislative business.
- Bills expected under a rule.
- H.R. 3941 – Schools Not Shelters Act (Rep. Molinaro – Education and the Workforce). The legislation would prohibit public schools and higher education institutions that receive federal aid from using their facilities to provide emergency shelter or housing for migrants.
- H.R. 3935 – Securing Growth and Robust Leadership in American Aviation Act (Rep. Sam Graves – Transportation and Infrastructure). The legislation would authorize the FAA to receive more than $100 billion in appropriations over the next five years, through fiscal 2028.
Senate Side
On Monday, the Senate will vote on Rachel Bloomekatz’s confirmation as a judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. It will then begin consideration of its version of the NDAA.