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The Week Ahead in Congress: Feb. 2 – 6

6 min read

By Rachna Choudhry, 1/31/15

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), in a memo to House Republicans, outlined their agenda for February. (Read the full memo.) The House will focus on “passing bills to expand individual freedom, hold the government accountable so that we can unshackle small businesses, and promote greater opportunities for children and middle-class families.”

He also asked a trivia question to the House Republicans in honor of Super Bowl Sunday… (Let’s see how quickly a POPVOX user can answer this question!)

  • House Majority Leader McCarthy (R-CA) asks: Which four universities sport both a Super Bowl-winning QB and a US President?

Now for the Week Ahead in Congress. Share your voice on POPVOX! (New to POPVOX? Here's a tutorial.)

It’s Super Bowl Weekend!

Whether you're a Patriots fan or a Seahawks fan, here are some proposals in Congress that you'll want to consider, or even discuss with your friends during halftime (unless you're a Katy Perry fan!).

  • The Pro Football Hall of Fame Commemorative Coin Act (HR 602)

    (Also S 294 in the Senate) Authorizes the Dept. of Treasury to issue commemorative coins in recognition and celebration of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, according to bill sponsors. The coin would be issued to coincide with the Hall of Fame’s celebration of the National Football League’s centennial season in 2019 and the 100th anniversary of the league’s birth. The NFL was founded in downtown Canton, Ohio on September 17, 1920.

  • Resolution Honoring 2015 National Football Champion, The Ohio State Buckeyes (SRes 50)

    A Senate Resolution “honoring The Ohio State University Buckeyes on their title as the first ever College Football Playoff National Champions. The Buckeyes walloped the University of Oregon Ducks 42 to 20,” according to the resolution’s sponsors.From our Hill Sources: Before the game, Ohio Senators Brown and Portman made a “friendly wager” on the outcome of the game with the Senators from Oregon, Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley. They agreed that if Ohio State won, Wyden and Merkley would join Brown and Portman in spelling out “O-H-I-O.” (For all you Ducks fans, if the University of Oregon had won, Brown and Portman were to have learned how to “throw the O” alongside the Oregon Duck.) (See photos from the O-H-I-O event.)

 

  • Concussion Treatment and Care Tools (ConTACT) Act (HR 582)

    To provide for the establishment and implementation of guidelines on best practices for diagnosis, treatment, and management of mild traumatic brain injuries (MTBIs) in school-aged children.

January 2015 was National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. On POPVOX, we spotlighted various bills related to human trafficking prevention in our Issue Spotlight. Here’s one related to this weekend’s events:

  • Resolution related to Child Trafficking (SRes 43)

    A resolution expressing the sense of the Senate that children trafficked in the United States should be treated as victims, and not criminals, especially during the upcoming Super Bowl, an event around which many children are at risk for being trafficked for sex.

    From our Hill Sources: According to resolution sponsors in the 113th Congress, “traffickers aggressively advertise and sell sex trafficking victims on websites like Backpage.com during the Super Bowl in order to meet the increased demand from visitors to the host city.”

The House's Theme for the Week: "It's time for a change — we don't have to settle for the way Washington works now."

Based on House Majority Leader McCarthy’s memo, this week's "time for a change" theme includes these bills, which will be voted by the House: 

  • Repealing the Affordable Care Act (HR 596)

    Would “protect individuals from government-imposed cost increases and reduced access to care and coverage by repealing Obamacare. This legislation will also include instructions to the relevant committees to develop our patient-centered health care reforms,” according to the McCarthy memo. (Bill text.)

    From our Hill Sources: This vote will be the fourth stand-alone, full-scale Affordable Care Act repeal vote in the last four years. It will serve as an opportunity for the new Republican freshmen who pledged to repeal the health care law to get on the record as doing so. (And if you’re still counting, this is nearly the 60th time the House has voted to repeal, defund or undermine the Affordable Care Act since it passed in 2010.)

  • Unfunded Mandates Information and Transparency Act (HR 50)

    Would “hold agencies accountable for the true cost of federal mandates,” according to the McCarthy memo. “Will impose stricter requirements for how and when federal agencies must disclose the cost of federal mandates and equips both Congress and the public with tools to determine the true costs of regulations.” (Bill text.)

  • Small Business Regulatory Flexibility Improvements Act (HR 527)

    “Requires federal agencies to consider the economic effects of regulations on small business before imposing overly burdensome mandates that prevent growth and job creation,” according to the McCarthy memo. (Bill text.)

Dept. of Homeland Security Appropriations

Earlier in January, the House passed its version of the Homeland Security Appropriations bill – the last of the 12 annual funding bills to be considered for the remainder of FY 2015. The other 11 bills were approved in 2014, but Congress “punted” on this one to move the discussion around the President’s immigration executive actions to the 114th Congress. Lawmakers now have until Feb. 27 to pass a Homeland Security Appropriations bill – and avoid an agency shutdown.

  • Dept. of Homeland Security Appropriations, 2015 – House-passed version (HR 240)

    Makes appropriations for the Dept. of Homeland Security (DHS) for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2015. “In total, the bill provides $39.7 billion in discretionary funding for DHS, an increase of $400 million compared to the fiscal year 2014 enacted level. The bill prioritizes frontline security – including all operational, counterterrorism, and threat-targeting activities, and essential tactical equipment – and saves taxpayer dollars by reducing overhead costs and cutting funds for lower-priority programs. The bill also includes several approved amendments to limit the President’s recent actions on immigration and to require DHS to enforce current immigration laws,” according to the House Appropriations Committee. (Bill text.)

In his memo, House Majority Leader McCarthy (R-CA) mentioned that the Republicans “hope that the Senate will send the House-passed Department of Homeland Security Appropriations bill to the President. In the event the Senate passes something different than the House-passed bill, we will be discussing with the Conference the best way to continue to challenge the President’s unconstitutional amnesty." Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) will bring the House-passed version to the Senate floor for consideration in the week ahead. 

In the Senate, nearly all Democrats have signed a letter to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) calling for a “clean” DHS funding bill, without any proposals aimed at blocking President Obama’s executive action on immigration. (Read the letter.) Here is their proposal:

  • Dept. of Homeland Security Appropriations, 2015 – Senate version (S 272)

    Makes appropriations for the Dept. of Homeland Security for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2015. Provides a total of $47.8 billion, $1.2 billion more than the fiscal year 2014 enacted level. Of this total, $46.32 billion is for discretionary programs, including $213 million for Coast Guard overseas contingency operations and $6.4 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Disaster Relief Fund. After excluding these two adjustments, the net discretionary appropriation for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is $39.67 billion, according to the Senate Appropriations Committee. The bill sponsors used the House and Senate’s December DHS compromise to write this bill, “and kept it free of extraneous policy riders that would threaten vital homeland security operations,” according to the Senate Appropriations Committee. (Bill text)

From our Hill Sources: If Congress fails to pass a DHS appropriations bills by the Feb. 27th deadline, very little of DHS would actually shut down. In fact, about 86 percent of DHS employees reported to work during the 2013 government-wide shutdown.

Another Lawsuit Against the President

The House is preparing to sue President Obama over his executive actions that gave legal status to millions of undocumented immigrants. In a conference meeting last week, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) said House members would vote on a resolution authorizing the House to take legal actions, including filing a new lawsuit against the President or joining the lawsuit filed by 26 states against the executive action.

Weigh in on a resolution authorizing a lawsuit against the President, which is pending before the House:

Also in the Senate

The Senate will also consider the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act, which passed the House in early January:

  • Clay Hunt SAV Act (HR 203)

    — Bipartisan — Requires the VA to create a one-stop, interactive website to serve as a centralized source of information regarding all VA mental health services for veterans. Addresses the shortage of mental health care professionals by authorizing the VA to conduct a student loan repayment pilot program aimed at recruiting and retaining psychiatrists. Requires evaluations of all mental health care and suicide prevention practices and programs at the VA to find out what’s working and what’s not working and make recommendations to improve care. Establishes a peer support and community outreach pilot program to assist transitioning Servicemembers with accessing VA mental health care services. (Source: Rep. Tim Walz (D-MN).)

    From our Hill Sources: The Senate had considered this bill in the 113th Congress but then-Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) had blocked a vote on the bill based on his view that the VA could improve services without new legislation, which would cost $22 million.

Also in the House

The House will also vote on:

  • Medical Preparedness Allowable Use Act (HR 361)

    To codify authority under existing grant guidance authorizing use of Urban Area Security Initiative and State Homeland Security Grant Program funding for enhancing medical preparedness, medical surge capacity, and mass prophylaxis capabilities. (Bill text)

  • Department of Homeland Security Interoperable Communications Act (HR 615)

    To require the Under Secretary for Management of the Dept. of Homeland Security to take administrative action to achieve and maintain interoperable communications capabilities among the components of the Dept. of Homeland Security. (Bill text)

  • Social Media Working Group Act (HR 623)

    Authorizes the Department of Homeland Security to establish a social media working group. (Bill text) – Previously passed by the House in the 113th Congress. –

— Please keep in mind that highlighting a bill doesn't imply a POPVOX endorsement in any way. Rather, we're simply trying to offer one more way to stay informed of a complex legislative system. —

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