Look Ahead to the Week of June 10: House Considers Annual Defense Funding Bill
The House and Senate are in session this week.
The House will begin voting on the annual defense policy bill, known as the National Defense Authorization Act, which authorizes funding for various Pentagon programs and pay allocations to military personnel. Appropriators maintained the bill’s historically bipartisan support by not including any contentious policy amendments during committee markup. However, members may attempt to include provisions that would prove controversial during floor consideration.
Meanwhile, the House Appropriations Committee will continue its work on marking up several other funding bills, including a subcommittee vote on Agriculture-FDA, and consideration of Defense, Financial Services, Homeland Security, Legislative Branch, and State-Foreign Operations by the full committee.
In the upper chamber, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) intends to hold more votes on legislation that addresses reproductive rights, including legislation that would create a federal right to in-vitro fertilization (IVF), require employer-sponsored insurance plans to cover fertility treatments, and require Federal Employees Health Benefits Program carriers to cover IVF.
The annual bipartisan Congressional Baseball Game takes place Wednesday evening at Nationals Park.
Administration
On Wednesday, President Biden will travel to Italy for the G7 summit in Brindisi. A key focus at the summit will be efforts by the G7 leadership to announce a joint plan to tap into Russian sovereign assets, stopping short of outright seizure, to use those funds to pay for Ukraine’s reconstruction.
House Votes
On Tuesday, the House will meet to consider multiple bills under suspension.
- Bills expected under suspension of the rules.
- H.R. 7104 – National SBDC Advisory Board Improvement Act (Rep. Mann – Small Business). The legislation would require the National Small Business Development Center Advisory Board to submit an annual report to Congress on its activities and recommendations for improving the SBA’s Small Business Development Center program.
- H.R. 7988 – SPUR Act (Rep. Stauber – Small Business). The legislation would require data counting small businesses from underserved economic and social groups entering the federal marketplace for the first time.
- H.R. 7989 – ThinkDIFFERENTLY About Disability Employment Act (Rep. Molinaro – Small Business). The legislation would require the SBA to collaborate with the National Council on Disability to increase employment and entrepreneurial opportunities for individuals with disabilities.
- H.R. 8014 – Transparency and Predictability in Small Business Opportunities Act (Rep. Mfume – Small Business). The bill would require the SBA to develop procedures for federal agencies to publicly disclose information about canceled contracting opportunities and help small businesses that spent time and money preparing bids for a canceled contract solicitation.
- H.R. 7984 – Rural Small Business Resilience Act (Rep. Pappas – Small Business). The bill would require the SBA’s Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience to conduct outreach to ensure individuals in rural areas have full access to SBA disaster relief loans and assistance following a federally declared disaster.
- H.R. 537 – Forgotten Heroes of the Holocaust Congressional Gold Medal Act (Rep. Salazar – Financial Services). The measure would award the Congressional Gold Medal in honor of 60 diplomats from around the world in recognition of their efforts to save Jews during the Holocaust.
- H.Res. 965 – Calling for the immediate release of Ryan Corbett, a U.S. citizen who was wrongfully detained by the Taliban on August 10, 2022, and condemning the wrongful detention of Americans by the Taliban (Rep. Tenney – Foreign Affairs).
- H.Con.Res. 27 – Condemning Russia's unjust and arbitrary detention of Russian opposition leader Vladimir Kara-Murza who has stood up in defense of democracy, the rule of law, and free and fair elections in Russia., as amended (Rep. Keating – Foreign Affairs).
- S. 138 – Promoting a Resolution to the Tibet-China Dispute Act (Sen. Merkley – Foreign Affairs). The bill would direct the State Department’s top diplomat for Tibetan issues to take steps to counter Chinese disinformation about Tibet using previously authorized funds.
- H.R. 6543 – No Hidden FEES Act of 2023 (Rep. Young Kim – Energy and Commerce). The legislation would require hotels and other short-term lodging providers to display all fees upfront to customers.
- H.R. 2964 – WIPPES Act, as amended (Rep. McClain – Energy and Commerce). The legislation would require packages of non-flushable disposable wipes to have “Do Not Flush” labels and symbols.
Wednesday – Friday, the House is scheduled to meet for legislative business.
- Bills expected under a rule.
- H.Res. __ – Report to accompany the Resolution Recommending that the House of Representatives Find United States Attorney General Merrick B. Garland in Contempt of Congress for Refusal to Comply with a Subpoena Duly Issued by the Committee on the Judiciary and Oversight and Accountability (Rep. Jordan – Judiciary). The resolution would hold Garland in contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with congressional subpoenas for audio recordings of President Joe Biden’s interviews with a Justice Department special counsel.
- H.R. 8070 – Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025 (Rep. Mike Rogers – Armed Services). The measure would authorize $895.2 billion for fiscal year 2025 for national security programs at the Pentagon, Energy Department, and other agencies.
Senate Votes
On Tuesday, the Senate will begin consideration of three nominations for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission: David Rosner, Lindsay See, and Judy Chang.