This Week on the Hill: The 114th Congress Hopes to Adjourn Early After Stopgap, Cures, Water Projects

Government funding expires on Friday and lawmakers will spend the week deciding exactly what will be included in a stopgap spending bill that is expected to fund the government through the first few months of Donald Trump’s presidency. According to incoming Appropriations Committee Chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ), the continuing resolution (CR) is likely to have a mid-April end date, slightly longer than the Mar. 31 date originally outlined by House leadership. Among the provisions still being considered: funds to prevent thousands of unionized coal miners and their families from losing health benefits, a supplemental defense request of $11.6 billion to fight terrorism and the Islamic State organization, and a provision to remove a quorum requirement from the Export-Import Bank’s board to approve loans worth more than $10 million.

The 114^th Congress, which already has been a session marked by frequent Congressional recesses, may break early if lawmakers can clear the decks this week. House leadership has suggested the lower chamber is currently planning to adjourn on Thursday after work on a stopgap and a water-projects reauthorization bill – which includes resources to help Flint, Michigan rid its municipal water supply of lead pollution – is completed. Providing funds to Flint has been the subject of contentious debate for months and Democrats will be hoping that the lure of the holiday season will prevent any further intransigence from the fiscal hawks of the Republican caucus.

The Senate will start the week working on House-passed items, most notably the $6.3 billion medical research and drug-approval omnibus known as the 21^st Century Cures Act (H.R. 34). Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has scheduled a cloture vote for this afternoon, and given the White House’s support, there is a good chance the bill could finally become law before the end of the week. Senators will also be working on clearing the conference report to the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) (S. 2943) that sets Pentagon policy and funding priorities for the fiscal year. There is also reportedly a remote chance that House-Senate negotiators will be able to agree on a stripped-down version of energy legislation (S. 2012) that passed earlier this year.

In addition to their work on a spending bill and water projects, the lower chamber will also consider a bill (H.R. 5143) that would bar U.S. negotiators from accepting capital standards for insurance companies set by an international body. Regulators from the Federal Reserve and the Department of Treasury regularly participate in international forums and Republicans have feared that international discussions have too heavily influenced the state-based insurance regulatory scheme in the United States. Finally, the House have over two dozen bills scheduled to be considered under suspension of the rules this week. Today, the chamber is expected to vote on the following six measures:

• H.R. 2726 – The Apollo 11 50^th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act would direct the Treasure Department to mint commemorative coins that would be issued in 2019 to mark the 50^th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing.
• H.R. 6427 – The Creating Financial Prosperity for Businesses and Investors Act incorporates language from six other bills that relax fundraising and investment rules required of small businesses and startup companies.
• S. 795 – A bill to enhance whistleblower protection for government contractor employees, effectively expanding the protections and making them permanent. The Senate amended and passed the measure by unanimous consent earlier this year.
• H.R. 5015 – The Combat-Injured Veterans Tax Fairness Act would require the Pentagon to stop withholding tax on the severance pay of veterans injured in combat.
• S. 3395 – The Prescribed Burn Approval Act of 2016 would prevent the U.S. Forest Service from setting controlled fires on federal land deemed especially vulnerable to wildfires unless it first coordinates with state and local officials. The measure passed under unanimous consent in the Senate.
• House amendment to S. 1635 – The House amendment to S. 1635, a bill approving the State Department’s spending authority, would require the State Department to designate “high risk” facilities across the world and develop contingency plans for their security. Enactment of the bill would mark the first congressional authorization of Foggy Bottom since 2003.