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DC Download 05.22.2023

With just 10 days until—without action from Congress—the U.S. government defaults on its debt, all eyes are on the talks between the White House and House Leadership on a debt limit deal. House lawmakers are also considering Congressional Review Act resolutions to block President Biden’s rule on emission standards and student loan debt relief. Senators are in recess until next week, but could return should a deal emerge to prevent default.

Table of Contents:

What Would Republicans’ Budget Cuts Mean For You?

Republicans in the House of Representatives are planning draconian cuts to government programs and services that families depend on. Children and families, older adults and other vulnerable communities could see a 30 percent cut to programs including child care, rental assistance, and public education in low-income communities. Republicans are threatening a default on America and economic chaos to extract these dystopian cuts that take away vital resources from people across the country.

Fast Facts:

The Republican plan would deny 290,000 children access to Head Start. As many as 150,000 teachers and staff across the country would be cut from schools, severely impacting low-income students and students with disabilities.
800,000 low-income households and 65,000 veterans would lose their rental assistance, risking a disastrous increase in homelessness.
Social Security would close up to 360 field offices, leaving older Americans and people with disabilities without timely service and significantly delaying applications for needed benefits.

For more on the impact of Republicans’ proposed budget cuts read our full fact sheet.

House Floor

The House will vote on five suspension bills from the Committee on Financial Services and Veterans Affairs. 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:

S.J. Res. 11 – Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Environmental Protection Agency relating to ‘‘Control of Air Pollution From New Motor Vehicles: Heavy-Duty Engine and Vehicle Standards" (Sponsored by Senator Fischer; Energy & Commerce Committee): The Congressional Review Act resolution would block the Dec. 20, 2022 Environmental Protection Agency rule that established stricter emissions standards of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and other air pollutants for heavy-duty vehicles, such as trucks and buses. The Senate passed the resolution by a 50-49 vote last month. President Biden has vowed to veto the resolution should it pass the House.

Statement of Administration Policy (OMB)

H.J. Res. 45 - Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Department of Education relating to "Waivers and Modifications of Federal Student Loans" (Sponsored by Rep. Good; Education & the Workforce Committee): The Congressional Review Act resolution would block President Biden’s student debt relief plan first announced in August 2022, which would relieve qualified borrowers of as much as $20,000 of student loan debt.

Statement by Secretary Cardona in Response to Congressional Review Act on One-Time Student Debt Relief (Department of Education)

H.R. 467 – HALT Fentanyl Act (Sponsored by Rep. Griffith; Energy & Commerce Committee): The bill would permanently classify fentanyl and related substances as Schedule I drugs under the Controlled Substances Act. Numerous organizations focused on public health and criminal justice reform oppose the legislation, arguing that a public health approach is necessary to combat fentanyl overdoses rather than policies like mandatory minimums. The White House supports the bill.

Groups Oppose Bill Over-criminalizing Chemical Substances (Human Rights Watch)
Statement of Administration Policy (OMB)

The House may also consider a vote to override President Biden’s veto of H.J. Res. 39 - Disapproving the rule submitted by the Department of Commerce relating to “Procedures Covering Suspension of Liquidation, Duties and Estimated Duties in Accord With Presidential Proclamation 10414.” (Sponsored by Rep. Posey; Ways & Means Committee).

House Committee Highlights

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

Tuesday Hearings

The Role of Pharmacy Benefit Managers in Prescription Drug Markets Part I: Self-Interest or Health Care? (Oversight & Accountability)

Bring Abducted Children Home (Foreign Affairs)

COVID-19 Supplemental Funding: Did It Protect and Improve Veteran Care? (Veterans’ Affairs)

Protecting Employees’ Rights: Ensuring Fair Elections at the NLRB (Education & the Workforce)

Wednesday Hearings

Never Ending Emergencies – An Examination of the National Emergencies Act (Transportation & Infrastructure)

Examining the Biden Administration’s Efforts to Limit Access to Public Lands (Natural Resources)

Reigniting American Growth and Prosperity Series: Removing the Burdens of Government Overreach (Budget)

Breaking the System Part II: Examining the Implications of Biden’s Student Loan Policies for Students and Taxpayers (Education & the Workforce)

A Failure of Supervision: Bank Failures and The San Francisco Federal Reserve (Oversight & Accountability)

American Confidence in Elections: Ensuring Every Eligible American has the Opportunity to Vote – and for their Vote to Count According to Law (House Administration)

Thursday Hearings

Examining the President’s FY 2024 Budget Request for the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Office of Insular Affairs (Natural Resources)

International Financial Institutions in an Era of Great Power Competition (Financial Services)

Modernizing Customs Policies to Protect American Workers and Secure Supply Chains (Ways & Means)

Senate Floor

The Senate is in recess and will return on Tuesday, May 30.

Default Prevention Talks Continue

With just over a week until the Treasury Department is expected to exhaust its “extraordinary measures,” risking a government debt default, talks between the White House and House Leadership continue. President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy are expected to meet one-on-one later today. Over the weekend, President Biden said that should negotiations yield no progress, he believes he has the authority to invoke the 14th Amendment to unilaterally address the debt ceiling, which reads in part “The validity of the public debt of the United States ... shall not be questioned.” On Thursday, some Senate Democrats sent a letter to President Biden urging him to prepare to use the 14th Amendment to avoid a catastrophic default, and on Friday, House lawmakers, led by the Congressional Progressive Caucus, sent a similar letter to President Biden. Meanwhile, House Democrats are also moving forward with a discharge petition that would force a vote on a debt ceiling bill. In order for the discharge petition to advance, it would need all House Democrats to sign on, including five House Republicans.

From Debt Ceiling Showdowns to Service Slowdowns: Understanding the Connection (CPCC)
Manufactured Crisis: The Debt Limit in 2023 (CPCC)
Why the 14th Amendment Could Prevent Default (CPCC)
Biden and McCarthy gear up for the next round of debt ceiling talks (NPR)
Even Flirting With U.S. Default Takes Economic Toll (The New York Times)

Appropriations

Last week, House appropriators began releasing and marking up appropriations bills for fiscal year 2024. So far, the Appropriations Committee has released four of the 12 appropriations bills that fund the government, including Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies; Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration; Legislative Branch; and Homeland Security. The Appropriations Committee is expected to continue releasing appropriations bills for fiscal year 2024 in the coming weeks. Congress must pass all 12 bills, either individually, as a whole in an omnibus bill, or in pieces as minibus bills, before the start of the new fiscal year on October 1, 2023.

SCOTUS Watch: Twitter v. Taamneh and Gonzalez v. Google

These cases reviewed Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which gives social media platforms protections from legal liability for the content they host. The cases stem from lawsuits against Google and Twitter by the families of people killed in terrorist attacks who allege that the platforms helped spread terrorist content that contributed to their loved ones’ deaths. On Thursday, the Supreme Court ruled against the families who sought to hold tech companies liable for allowing terrorists to use their platforms. In the unanimous opinion for Twitter v. Taamneh, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas notes a “lack of concrete nexus between” Twitter and the terrorist attack that killed Jordanian citizen Nawras Alassaf, and that siding with the family would mean that tech companies could be held liable for terrorist attacks anywhere in the world. In Gonzalez v. Google, the Justices sent the case back to the court of appeals for it to take another look in light of the decision in Twitter v. Taamneh.