Today on the Hill: Carson Nom and Reg Bill on Chamber Floors; ACA Replacement, FY17 Defense Spending Plans Taking Shape

More of the same is scheduled for the chamber floors in Congress today as the Senate moves to consider Ben Carson to be Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and the House lines up the final regulation-related bill in a series considered this week. Carson, a former neurosurgeon and presidential candidate, was approved on a voice vote out of the Senate Banking Committee, meaning that he should face significantly less resistance than other controversial Cabinet choices on the Senate floor. Democrats, although wary of his lack of his experience in housing policy, were heartened by his prioritizing of affordable housing and civil rights related to housing. A final vote on his confirmation is expected this morning, followed by a cloture vote on Rick Perry’s nomination to lead the Department of Energy.

The bill (H.R. 1004) on the House floor today would prevent federal agencies from using social media and other communications methods in order to attract public support for agency actions. The measure stems from controversial publications put forth by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last year for the now-repealed “Waters of the U.S.” rule that were deemed by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to be violating prohibitions on federal entities spending money on publicity or lobbying. As with the other measures passed this week, the bill is highly partisan and was advanced out of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on a party-line vote.  

In non-floor ation, Republican leaders are expected to continue work on two significant, still-changing legislative packages. The first is the replacement plan for the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which is now expected to include means-tested tax credits in an effort to bring the plan’s cost down as well as improve coverage for individuals near the bottom of the income bracket. House Republicans will hold a conference meeting this morning to continue to hash out the details on a replacement bill that may be marked up as soon as next week.

The second package comes from House defense appropriators, who are planning to release today a defense spending plan for the remainder of the 2017 fiscal year that would set different spending levels for the Pentagon than provided under the continuing resolution (CR) currently funding the government. A bill could come to the House floor as soon as next week and is expected to be in-line with the funding levels set by last year’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) – $523.7 billion annually for regular Pentagon spending with an additional $67.8 billion in war funds. The current CR that sets funding for the whole of the federal government will expire Apr. 28.