GAVEL DOWN: Closing out the Week in Congress (Mar. 13-17, 2017)

Despite the snow, it was another busy week on the Hill…

House Budget advanced legislation to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, teeing up final House vote for next week. President Trump unveiled “America First” budget proposal. Both House and Senate Intelligence said there’s no evidence that the federal government wiretapped Trump Tower. Bipartisan lawmakers took to the road on 31-hour drive to Washington. Senate confirmed two more nominees, bringing the total to 20 confirmed nominees. Federal judges ruled on President Trump's revised travel executive order. Debt limit suspension expired, as lawmakers talk about raising the debt ceiling. Senate Finance held confirmation hearing for Robert Lighthizer, nominee for nation’s top trade position.

House Budget advanced legislation to repeal and replace Obamacare

President Trump unveiled budget proposal

This week President Trump unveiled his "America First" budget proposal. It included significant cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency, State Department, and Agriculture and increases to Defense, Homeland Security, and Veterans Affairs. Trump's budget marks the first time a president has called for ending the national endowments (the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities).

The endowments, what's that? Time for a history throwback — In 1965, President Lyndon signed legislation into law, creating the endowments. Picture a bill signing ceremony with Gregory Peck, Ansel Adams, and Ralph Ellison (or watch it here). The legislation marked the federal government's investment in culture, arts, and humanities.

Image: The New York Times

So how's this all work, anyways? Well, the president submits a budget proposal to Congress reflecting his priorities and plan for the country, but only Congress can determine the final spending plan. Congress devises its own federal budget, and then Appropriations works out the nitty gritty details as to how to spend money.

What's this all mean right now? Don't believe anything you hear about programs coming to an immediate end upon release of this budget. The president's budget is far from a given. So, for example, there are no changes to Meals on Wheels coming any time soon. The President's budget suggests eliminating Community Development Block Grants (CDBGs), administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which provides some funding for Meals on Wheels. A majority of funding for the program, however, comes from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

House and Senate Intelligence Committees say no evidence supporting wiretapping claims

On Friday, the Department of Justice delivered documents to the House and Senate Intelligence committee related to the president's claims and the broader investigation into Russian involvement in the 2016 election.

Leaders of Senate and House Intelligence committees made statements on the president's unfounded claims that the Obama Administration wiretapped Trump Tower:

• "Based on the information available to us, we see no indications that Trump Tower was the subject of surveillance by any element of the United States government either before or after Election Day 2016," – Chairman Richard Burr and Ranking Member Mark Warner.
• House Intelligence committee leaders Devin Nunes and Adam Schiff appeared together to say that they saw no evidence to support the president's claim.

. The House Intelligence committee holds a hearing on the Russia probe next Monday:
 

Senate confirmed two more nominees

Senate confirmed two more nominees this week, bringing the total to 20 confirmed nominees (or 36% of the total number submitted for confirmation). 

On Monday, the Senate confirmed Seema Verma as administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The final vote was 55-43. Shortly after taking office, the nation's new top official for Medicaid coauthored a letter with HHS Secretary Tom Price addressing the Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act. The letter was sent to every governor. It recommended states put new requirements on Medicaid recipients, such as working, paying premiums, and making emergency-room copayments.

Then on Wednesday, the Senate confirmed former Sen. Dan Coats as director of national intelligence. Coats is only the fifth person to hold the position since its creation, following the September 11 terrorist attacks. The final vote was 85-12. See how your senators voted.

Confused as to why the Senate also voted on H.R. McMaster this week? Here's the deal: national security adviser is not a position that requires Senate confirmation. However, Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster chose to remain in the military rather than retiring, and generals need Senate approval when they change assignments. So the Senate voted 86-10 to allow McMaster to stay on active duty and retain his three stars while serving as national security adviser. 

"What does it mean when there are suspensions?"

"Suspensions" refer to bills considered under "suspension of the rules." This is an expedited way to consider non-controversial bills. These bills require a two-thirds majority vote to pass, receive 40 minutes of debate, and no amendments are allowed (except for technical corrections). Per a protocol adopted in the 112th Congress, bills brought up under "suspension of the rules" must be available publicly and electronically for three days before the vote. Check out this report from the Congressional Research Service if you really want to dive into House legislative procedure.

Thanks for the question, Eva L.! 
 

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Federal judges ruled on revised executive order

This week President Trump's revised travel executive order faced three court hearings before it was scheduled to take effect at midnight on Wednesday.

First up, a Hawaii ruling issued a "sweeping freeze" of the order. The 43-page opinion cited comments from Trump advisers about the new order's similarity to the previous order. Here are the key points from the ruling.

Early Thursday, a federal judge in Maryland issued a second injunction. It was more narrow than the Hawaii ruling and suspended only the portion that "stopped the issuance of visas" to citizens of the six named countries. 

What's the main difference between these two rulings? The Hawaii ruling was more broad and blocked two provisions of the executive order:

1. 120-day ban on all refugees from entering the country
2. 90-day ban on all foreign nationals from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen

The Maryland ruling only affects the latter provision (the 90-day ban). The judge in Maryland issued a preliminary injunction (which means it lasts through a trial on the merits of the case), whereas the Hawaii judge issued a temporary restraining order (typically more limited in time).

Today, lawyers for the Trump administration filed notice to appeal the Maryland federal judge's ruling. So what's next? The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals will eventually hear the case. The Justice Department has not filed its formal appellate brief yet.

What happened in the third hearing? The federal judge in Washington (whose order blocked the original order) did not block the new order, saying it was different enough that his injunction shouldn't apply.

Debt limit suspension expired

The debt limit suspension expired at midnight on Wednesday, resetting the debt ceiling to about $20 trillion. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the Senate will definitely raise the debt limit, but the timing is unclear. House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer said Democrats would vote for a debt limit increase as long as the bill is clean, meaning the bill would raise the debit limit without any extraneous conditions.

Confused by all this? We've got you covered.

Senate progresses on confirming nominees

Each week we update you on the Senate's progress in confirming Trump nominees. President Trump has now nominated 10% of the total number requiring Senate confirmation, and the Senate has confirmed 36% of the total number submitted. The Cabinet, however, is shaping up with 71% confirmed.

This week Senate Finance held confirmation hearing for Robert Lighthizer, nominee for Trade Representative. A partisan split emerged over whether a waiver is needed before the full Senate can vote on the nomination. The waiver would exempt Lighthizer from 1995 law barring people who represented foreign governments in trade disputes with the U.S. from serving as the nation's top trade official.

Meanwhile, Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley said committee will not advance deputy attorney general nomination until the committee receives requested briefing from FBI on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

Coming up — Senate Agriculture announced it will hold confirmation hearing for Agriculture secretary nominee Sonny Perdue next week. Perdue and Labor secretary nominee Alexander Acosta are the only remaining Cabinet members requiring Senate confirmation.

SCOTUS in the spotlight next week — Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch spent the week undergoing several hours of preparation for next week's confirmation hearings. Check out his full questionnaire, and be sure to message your lawmakers with relevant thoughts!

Word on the street — President Trump is expected to name coal lobbyist Andrew Wheeler as deputy chief of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

#ICYMI

• Key Senate Democrats warned of a shutdown showdown if President Trump insists on including funding for a border wall in April's must-pass funding bill.
• Texans received first notices of land condemnation for Trump's border wall.
• FBI Director James Comey will testify publicly next week regarding Russia interference in election.
• Education Department released new application for states to use in developing accountability plans for ESSA, per Congress voting to eliminate Obama era accountability regulations.
• House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy said House will consider four additional health bills next week.
• Vice President Mike Pence is going on an Asian tour next month.
• Say goodbye to the famed Sandra Day O'Connor workout class.
• Justice Department (DOJ) is investigating BMW for how it handles overdue payments from military personnel. Last year DOJ sanctioned Wells Fargo under the same law, resulting in $24 million in penalties. 
• Michael Flynn paid ex-FBI agent at the center of Clinton email controversy. 
• Secretary of State Rex Tillerson used email alias to discuss climate change while he was CEO of Exxon Mobil, according to court filing.
• Customs and Border Protection agents demanded passwords to search citizens' phones.
• Rep. Luis Gutierrez [D, IL-4] was handcuffed by federal police after refusing to leave an ICE office.
• FOIA requested emails show White House attorney reached out to ethics office regarding Nordstorm controversy. 
• White House launched lottery for free tickets to Trump's first Easter Egg Roll.
• Kushners are weighing $400 million deal with Chinese firm. Proposed partnership is seeking participants through EB-5 visa program.
• Rep. Pramila Jayapal's all-time favorite song is from Earth, Wind, and Fire.
• IJR landed the only press spot on Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's plane to Asia.
• Senate Energy and Natural Resources discussed energy measures for infrastructure package.
• Fed raised interest rates.
• DOJ charged two Russian intelligence officers in Yahoo hack.
• Update on House Intelligence's Russia probe.
• Navy admiral and 8 other officers were indicted in widening bribery scandal.
• Trump team learned pre-inauguration that incoming national security adviser Michael Flynn might register as a foreign agent. Flynn was paid $500k to represent Turkey's interests during the campaign.
• EPA received so many phone calls regarding Administrator Scott Pruitt's comments on global warming that it had to set up an impromptu call center.

Please keep in mind that highlighting specific legislation does not imply POPVOX endorsement in any way. As always, our goal is to offer one more way to help you stay informed about the complex U.S. legislative system.