House
Analysis: This week, the House may vote on the farm bill conference report, which is a tentative framework reconciling the flawed House and Senate farm bills. One of the glaring flaws in the compromise is that it replaces direct payments — a program that pays farmers even when they have not produced anything that year — with a new program that does the same thing, wasting billions of taxpayer dollars in the process. Alternatively, the House may pass a one-month extension of the current farm bill. In addition, the House may consider legislation pertaining to the Sustainable Growth Rate in Medicare. Finally, it may move forward with a budget deal between the House and Senate, as no deal was reached last week according to reports. If no deal is reached, the House may vote to pass a clean Continuing Resolution (CR).
Major Floor Action:
- H.R. 2642 – Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2013
- H.Con.Res. 25 – Establishing the budget for the United States Government for fiscal year 2014 and setting forth appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years 2015 through 2023
Major Committee Action:
- The House Energy and Commerce Committee will hold a hearing entitled “PPACA Implementation Failures: What’s Next?”
- The House Committee on Financial Services will hold a hearing entitled “Rethinking the Federal Reserve’s Many Mandates on Its 100-Year Anniversary.”
- The House Committee on Foreign Affairs will hold a hearing entitled “The Iran Nuclear Deal: Does It Further U.S. National Security?”
- The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform will hold a hearing entitled “ObamaCare’s Impact on Premiums and Provider Networks.”
Senate
Analysis: The Senate may move to reconsider the nomination of Mel Watt, who has long been a proponent of increased government intervention in housing, to serve as director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). Conservatives note that in the past, he was involved in creating policies that hinder low-income and middle-income individuals’ ability to become homeowners. The Senate may also vote to confirm Patricia Ann Millett to be United States Circuit Judge for the District of Columbia Circuit. Millett was the first judicial nominee to receive a cloture vote requiring only a simple majority to end debate after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) invoked the nuclear option to change the Senate rule requiring 60 votes to end debate. Finally, the Senate may also continue consideration of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2014.
Major Floor Action:
- S. 1197 — National Defense Authorization Act
- S. ___ — Possible legislation related to the minimum wage
Major Committee Action:
- The Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs will hold a hearing entitled “Housing Finance Reform: Fundamentals of Transferring Credit Risk in a Future Housing Finance System.”
- The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works will hold a hearing entitled “Oversight Hearing on Domestic Renewable Fuels.”
