Senate Cloakroom: June 24–28
Analysis: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) is looking to make good on his promise to pass an amnesty bill through the Senate before the chamber adjourns for its week-long Fourth of July recess. On Monday at 5:30 p.m., the chamber is expected to vote on the motion to invoke cloture (i.e., end debate) on a 1,190-page substitute amendment (known as Schumer-Corker-Hoeven). That rushed vote, coming just 75 hours after the rewritten bill became publicly available, is considered a crucial. If more than 60 senators agree to end debate, the amnesty bill could be headed for approval by the end of the week even though it is riddled with earmarks and, as Heritage notes, “does not even promise a reduction in illegal immigration.”
Major Floor Action:
- S. 744 – Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act (i.e., amnesty)
- Confirmation of Anthony Fox to be Secretary of Transportation
- Confirmation of Penny Pritzker to be Secretary of Commerce
Major Committee Action:
- The Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee will hold a hearing on the Federal Minimum Wage.
- The Appropriations Committee will mark up several appropriations bills, including Transportation-HUD, Financial Services, and Energy and Water Development.
House Cloakroom: June 24–28
Analysis: This week, the House will consider a couple bills to expand domestic energy production just as President Obama announces his intention to regulate co2 emissions from existing power plants. This misguided attempt to stem global warming (yes, that again) would hurt working class Americans by increasing energy prices and making already scarce jobs even harder to find. It is also possible the House could bring a modified version of the failed Food Stamp and Farm Bill back to the floor.
Major Floor Action:
- Offshore Energy and Jobs Act (H.R.2231)
- Outer Continental Shelf Transboundary Hydrocarbon Agreements Authorization Act (H.R.1613)
Major Committee Action:
- The Financial Services Committee will hold a hearing on Federal Reserve Bank and “Too Big to Fail” Banks.
- The Ways and Means Committee will hold a hearing on the ongoing IRS investigation.
- The Appropriations Committee will mark up appropriations bills, including Transportation-HUD, and Energy and Water Development.
