Cloakroom: July 16 – July 20

Josh Robbins / July 15, 2012

House Cloakroom

Analysis: This week the House will turn its attention to defense funding. The major bill on the floor this week will be the Defense appropriations bill, which provides the funding for the nation’s military. Additionally, the House will take up a bill to establish strict transparency requirements for the Obama Administration’s process of implementing the sequestration cuts. The debate over these measures will likely focus on the devastating effects the defense sequestration cuts will have on the military.

Major Floor Action:

• HR 5872 – Sequestration Transparency Act
• HR 5856 – Department of Defense Appropriations Act
  

Major Committee Action:

• The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health will hold a hearing on the “Medicare Physician Payment Overhaul.”
• The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies will markup their fiscal year 2013 appropriations bill.
• The House Armed Services Committee will hold a hearing on the “Impact of Sequestration on Defense.”
• The House Ways and Means Committee will hold a hearing on “Tax Overhaul, Job Creation and Manufacturing Sector.”
• The House Financial Services Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit will hold a hearing on the “Impact of Dodd-Frank Act: Consumers.”
  

Senate Cloakroom

Analysis: This week the Senate will debate a bill meant to restrict political contributions through disclosure requirements. The Disclose Act would require private entities to publicly release all of their political contributions. After the Supreme Court’s decision in the Citizens United case declaring on restrictions on the political speech of groups unconstitutional, some in Congress have pushed this type of legislation to limit their political contributions, and thus speech, in other ways. For more on the problems with this legislation, read Heritage analyst Hans von Spakovsky’s take here.

Major Floor Action:

• S 3369 – Disclose Act
  

Major Committee Action:

• The Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee will hold a hearing on the “Federal Reserve Monetary Policy Report.”
• The Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee will hold a hearing on the “Impact of Dodd-Frank.”
• The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will hold a hearing on “Protecting the Electric Grid from Cyber Attacks.”
• The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will hold a markup of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
• The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee will hold a hearing on “Controlling the Cost of College.”