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DC Download 04.29.2024

Lawmakers are facing a busy week in Congress. On the House side, members are considering bills that would roll back Biden Administration policies. Meanwhile, Senators are advancing a bill to reauthorize the FAA before the agency’s authority expires on May 10. At the same time, Biden officials continue to defend the president’s budget before committees.

Table of Contents:

Whether we are Black or white, young or old, in big cities or small towns, we work hard for our families and our future. Everyone deserves safe jobs, family-sustaining wages, and time to spend with our loved ones. But far too many of us are still living paycheck to paycheck while greedy corporations try to divide us, hoping we’ll look the other way while they steal the profits from our hard work. By joining together in a union and putting power in workers’ hands, every one of us can care for our families, earn a fair return on our work, and make our voices heard and our rights respected.

As people around the world celebrate May Day, workers across the country are organizing their workplaces and winning policy protections. Recently, workers won important protections on overtime wages and non-compete clauses from the Biden Administration. When workers join together, we can win higher wages, safer workplaces, and better benefits for all of our families.

Messaging guides and tools:

Most Americans are Favorable Towards Unions, Navigator Research
The FTC Just Banned Non-Competes: Here’s What It Means For You, More Perfect Union
Immigrant Workers are Essential Social Media Toolkit, America’s Voice
Unions are not only good for workers, they’re good for communities and democracy, Economic Policy Institute
Major Strike Activity Increased 280% in 2023, Economic Policy Institute
We Might Be 4 Years Away from a Historic May Day, Huffington Post

For more messaging tools and resources, visit the Progressive Playbook.

House Floor

The House will vote on 17 suspension bills from the Committees on Small Business, Science, Space, & Technology, Veterans’ Affairs, and Armed Services. Suspension bills require a ⅔ majority to pass. For a list of all suspension bills being considered, click here.

The House will also consider the following bills, subject to a rule:

H.R. 529 – Extending Limits of U.S. Customs Waters Act (Sponsored by Rep. Waltz / Ways and Means Committee): The bill would double the customs waters of the United States from 12 to 24 nautical miles offshore and enable U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Air and Marine Operations to conduct operations farther off the coast.

H.R. 3195 – Superior National Forest Restoration Act (Sponsored by Rep. Stauber / Natural Resources Committee): The bill would reissue the mining leases in northern Minnesota that were revoked by the Biden Administration in January 2022 and would block a rule preventing mining leases in the region for two decades.

H.R. 764 – Trust the Science Act (Sponsored by Rep. Boebert / Natural Resources Committee): The bill would require the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to remove the gray wolf from the endangered and threatened species list.

H.R. 615 – Protecting Access for Hunters and Anglers Act of 2023 (Sponsored by Rep. Wittman / Natural Resources Committee): The bill would prohibit the Departments of Agriculture and Interior from banning the use of lead ammunition or tackle on federal land and water.

H.R. 3397 – Western Economic Security Today Act of 2024 (Sponsored by Rep. Curtis / Natural Resources Committee): The bill would block a Bureau of Land Management rule to expand conservation on federal land.

H.Res. 1112 – Denouncing the Biden Administration’s immigration policies (Sponsored by Rep. Gonzales (TX) / Judiciary Committee): The resolution would denounce the Biden Administration’s immigration policies, stating that the administration “created the worst border crisis in the Nation’s history.”

H.R. 6090 – Antisemitism Awareness Act of 2023 (Sponsored by Rep. Lawler / Judiciary Committee): The bill would require the Department of Education to consider the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) definition and related “contemporary examples” of antisemitism when enforcing the Civil Rights Act’s anti-discrimination protections. The IHRA definition includes some speech that is critical of Israel among its examples of antisemitism.

H.R. 2925 – Mining Regulatory Clarity Act of 2024 (Sponsored by Rep. Amodei / Natural Resources Committee): The bill would make it easier for mining companies to obtain approval to mine on lands that may have valuable mineral deposits.

H.R. 6285 – Alaska’s Right to Produce Act of 2023 (Sponsored by Rep. Stauber / Natural Resources Committee): The bill would reinstate oil and gas leases in Alaska’s arctic refuge originally revoked by the Biden Administration in September 2023.

House Committee Highlights

A full list of this week’s hearings and markups can be found here. Notable hearings and markups include:

Tuesday Hearings

A Focus on Management: Oversight of the Office of Management and Budget (Oversight & Accountability)

Hearing with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen (Ways & Means)

Overreach: An Examination of Federal Statutory and Regulatory Crimes (Judiciary)

Examining the Influence of Extreme Environmental Activist Groups in the Department of the Interior (Natural Resources)

Fiscal Year 2025 Request for Customs and Border Protection (Appropriations)

Acting Commissioner of CBP Troy Miller is testifying

Fiscal Year 2025 Request for the Department of Transportation (Appropriations)

Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg is testifying

Department of Defense Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Request (Armed Services)

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is testifying

Fiscal Year 2025 Request for the Environmental Protection Agency (Appropriations)

EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan is testifying

Wednesday Hearings

Merger Policies of the Federal Banking Agencies (Financial Services)

Hearing on the Weaponization of the Federal Government (Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government)

From 1979 to 2024: Evaluating the Taiwan Relations Act and Assessing the Future of U.S.-Taiwan Relations (Foreign Affairs)

Examining the Policies and Priorities of the Department of Labor (Education & the Workforce)

Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su is testifying

Examining the President's FY 2025 Budget Request for the Department of the Interior (Natural Resources)

Secretary of Interior Deb Haaland is testifying

Fiscal Year 2025 Request for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (Appropriations)

Acting Secretary of HUD Adrianne Todman is testifying

H.R. 3935 – FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 (Sponsored by Rep. Graves / Transportation & Infrastructure): The bill would provide the FAA $105 billion over five years. The bill would also introduce 25-hour cockpit voice recorders, advanced runway safety technology, increased air traffic controller staffing, and additional flights out of Washington Reagan National Airport. It also mandates automatic refunds for significantly delayed or canceled flights, while preserving the current pilot retirement age at 65.

Nominations

The Senate this week has teed up votes on the following nominees:

Georgia N. Alexakis, of Illinois, to be United States District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois

Senate Committee Highlights

A full list of this week’s Senate committee hearings, including confirmation hearings, can be found here. Notable committee hearings include:

Tuesday Hearings

Chinese Money Laundering Organizations: Cleaning Cartel Cash (United States Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control)

The NO FAKES Act: Protecting Americans from Unauthorized Digital Replicas (Judiciary)

U.S. Policy on Taiwan (Foreign Relations)

A Review of the President’s Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Request for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (Appropriations)

Acting Secretary of HUD Adrianne Todman is testifying

A Review of the President’s Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Request for the Department of Education (Appropriations)

Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona is testifying

Wednesday Hearings

Hacking America’s Health Care: Assessing the Change Healthcare Cyber Attack and What’s Next (Finance)

Denial, Disinformation, and Doublespeak: Big Oil’s Evolving Efforts to Avoid Accountability for Climate Change (Budget)

Conflict and Humanitarian Emergency in Sudan: An Urgent Call to Action (Foreign Relations)

A Review of the President’s Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Request for the Environmental Protection Agency (Appropriations)

EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan is testifying

Review of the Fiscal Year 2025 Budget and 2026 Advance Appropriations Requests for the Department of Veterans Affairs (Veterans’ Affairs)

Secretary of Veterans’ Affairs Denis R. McDonough is testifying

Thursday Hearings

What Can Congress Do to Address the Severe Shortage of Minority Health Care Professionals and the Maternal Health Crisis? (HELP)

Higher Prices: How Shrinkflation and Technology Impact Consumers’ Finances (Banking, Housing, & Urban Affairs)

The Future of Broadband Affordability (Commerce, Science, & Transportation)

A Review of the President’s Fiscal Year 2025 Budget and Fiscal Year 2026 Advance Appropriations Requests for the Department of Veterans Affairs (Appropriations)

Secretary of Veterans’ Affairs Denis R. McDonough is testifying

A Review of the President’s Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Request for the U.S. Department of Transportation (Appropriations)

Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg is testifying

Full Committee Hearing to Examine the President’s Budget Request for the U.S. Department of the Interior for Fiscal Year 2025 (Energy & Natural Resources)

Secretary of Interior Deb Haaland is testifying

Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization

Over the weekend, lawmakers reached an agreement to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) before the agency’s authorization expires on May 10. The FAA's authority was originally set to expire on September 30, 2023, but Congress extended it multiple times to December 31, 2023, then March 8, 2024, and finally May 10, 2024. The agreement would provide the FAA $105 billion over five years. It would also introduce 25-hour cockpit voice recorders, advanced runway safety technology, increased air traffic controller staffing, and additional flights out of Washington Reagan National Airport. It also mandates automatic refunds for significantly delayed or canceled flights, while preserving the current pilot retirement age at 65. The Senate is expected to consider the bill this week.

Summary (House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee)
FAA Authorization Bill Advances With More ATC Staff & No Raise To Pilot Retirement Age (Simple Flying)
US lawmakers strike deal to boost aviation safety, will not raise pilot retirement age (VOA)

House Speaker Johnson Motion to Vacate

Last month, Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (GA-14) introduced a motion to vacate House Speaker Mike Johnson. Rep. Greene's motion came after Speaker Johnson approved a vote on a foreign aid package that included funding for Ukraine, among other things, which Rep. Greene and some other Republicans opposed. The motion, still not privileged, could be pushed to a vote, potentially ousting the Speaker of the House for the second time this Congress. Republican support for the motion has grown slightly, with Reps. Thomas Massie (KY-04) and Paul Gosar (AZ-09) publicly backing the resolution. With Speaker Johnson’s narrow majority, he can afford to lose the support of as few as three Republican members if all Democrats vote for the motion to vacate. However, several Democrats have expressed willingness to vote to table the motion or even to support Speaker Johnson should there be a vote on his ouster. This could provide Speaker Johnson with just enough votes to keep his post.

Greene says Johnson’s ‘days as Speaker are numbered’ (The Hill)

3 Republicans Now Back Motion to Vacate Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (TruthOut)
The Motion to Vacate Mike Johnson Seems Pretty Darn Motionless (Vanity Fair)

SCOTUS Watch: Trump v. United States

On April 25, 2024, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Trump v. United States, a case that deals with presidential immunity and accountability. The case centers on whether former President Donald Trump could be prosecuted for his alleged attempt to subvert the 2020 election. Trump's legal team argued that presidents enjoy sweeping immunity and that the Constitution shields them from criminal prosecution for official acts. The government pointed out that the Supreme Court has never recognized absolute criminal immunity for any public official and raised concerns about the potential erosion of accountability for presidential misconduct. The Supreme Court is expected to rule on the case before the end of its term on June 30, 2024.