On The Hill

The Senate returns on Wednesday for a short work week to consider two federal appeals court nominees and to pave the way for the next appropriations minibus.  While debating the two judicial nominees, Senate appropriators will be working out details for the upcoming minibus that includes the Defense and Labor-HHS-Education spending bills.  The legislation would cover almost 70 percent of discretionary federal spending, combining the military funds Republicans have pushed for with the domestic programs that were prioritized by Democrats.  Both bills passed out of the Appropriations Committee with bipartisan support, but there are still some contentious issues that could attract floor amendments.

Senate Appropriations Chairman Richard Shelby (R-AL) stated he wants to avoid debate over contentious issues, including immigration policy.  The chairman opposes a provision in the House version of the Labor-HHS bill that would cut the HHS secretary’s office budget as a penalty for failing to submit a family reunification plan to Congress by Aug. 1^st.  HHS spending may also create debates over policies relating to abortion and teen pregnancy.  There is also a threat that defense hawks may push for more funds for the defense of Israel, with the bill currently providing $500 million for Israeli missile defense.  Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is considering offering an amendment that would provide an additional $100 million.

House and Senate Schedule

The House will reconvene on September 4^th.

The Senate will return at noon on Wednesday and has scheduled a cloture vote on A. Marvin Quattlebaum to be a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.  Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has also filed for cloture on Julius Richardson to be a judge on the Fourth Circuit as well.  He may also tee up the next appropriations minibus, with Chairman Shelby planning to use the House passed defense spending bill as a vehicle for the package and would substitute Senate language in the Pentagon and Labor-HHS-Education bill.

Hearings

August 15^th, 2018 at 4:00 pm

Senate Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks

Legislative Hearing

Bills to be considered:

• S. 599 (Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-IN) / H.R. 1488 (Rep. Pete Visclosky (D-IN), to redesignate the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore as the “Indiana Dunes National Park”, and for other purposes.
• S. 1644 (Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD), to clarify the status of the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail as a unit of the National Park System.
• S. 1926 (Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) / H.R. 2156 (Rep. Steve Knight (R-CA), to provide for the establishment of a national memorial and national monument to commemorate those killed by the collapse of the Saint Francis Dam on March 12, 1928, and for other purposes.
• S. 1987 (Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) / H.R. 2600 (Rep. David Young (R-IA), to provide for the conveyance to the State of Iowa of the reversionary interest held by the United States in and to certain land in Pottawattamie County, Iowa, and to express the sense of Congress relating to the continued provision of information relating to certain national historic trails.
• S. 1993 (Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), to adjust the boundary of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area to include the Rim of the Valley Corridor, and for other purposes.
• S. 2015 (Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), to clarify the status of the North Country, Ice Age, and New England National Scenic Trails as units of the National parks System, and for other purposes.
• S. 2441 (Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA), to amend the Steel Industry American Heritage Area Act of 1996 to repeal funding limitation.
• S. 2570 (Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA), to repeal the funding authorization sunset and total funding cap for the Essex National Heritage Area.
• S. 2604 (Sen. Casey), to amend the Oil Region National Heritage Area Act to reauthorize the Oil Region National Heritage Area, and for other purposes.
• S. 2672 (Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS), to authorize the Society of the First Infantry Division to make modifications to the First Division Monument located on Federal land in President’s Park in Washington, D.C., and for other purposes
• S. 2870 (Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO), to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special resource study of the site known as ‘Amache’ in the State of Colorado.
• S. 2876 (Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO), to amend the National Trails System Act to provide the study of the Pike National Historic Trail.
• S. 2889 (Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) / H.R. 4895 (Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), to establish the Medgar Evers National Monument in the State of Mississippi, and for other purposes.
• S. 2831 (Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) / H.R. 5751 (Rep. Rob Bishop (R-UT), to redesignate Golden Spike National Historic Site and to establish the Transcontinental Railroad Network.
• S. 3176 (Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) / H.R. 5979 (Rep. Hal Rogers (R-KY), to establish the Mill Springs Battlefield National Monument in the State of Kentucky as a unit of the National park System, and for other purposes.
• S. 3298 (Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT), to extend the authority of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Inc. to establish a visitor center for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
• Con. Res. 33 (Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), designating the George C. Marshall Museum and George C. Marshall Research Library in Lexington, Virginia, as the National George C. Marshall Museum and Library.

August 16^th, 2018 at 10:00 am

Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee

Full Committee Hearing to Consider DOE Nominees

Nominees:

• William Cooper to be General Counsel at the Department of Energy
• Lane Genatowski to be Director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy at the Department of Energy