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DC Download 06.10.2024

House lawmakers are knee-deep in the appropriations process as they consider the must-pass NDAA. At the same time, House Republicans are aiming to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress. Senators, meanwhile, are debating a bill to protect and expand nationwide access to fertility treatment.

Table of Contents:

No matter where we come from, our color, or how we worship, we work hard for our families and our future. Immigrants have always been a core part of the American story. But certain politicians are attacking people seeking safety at our border to distract us from their failure to unrig our economy. These politicians and the special interests who fund them try to use hate and fear to divide us, but we aren’t fooled. Families looking for a better life help make our country and our economy vibrant and strong.

We know that tearing families apart, caging children, and turning our backs on refugees seeking safety isn’t making us stronger. We need to join together across our differences to create fair immigration laws that treat each person with dignity, provide a clear process for newcomers to participate equally in our society, become citizens, and make this a country that honors all families.

Messaging guides and tools:

The FIRM and FIRM Action Vision
Moving Beyond “Enforcement Only” – Leading Voices Call for Biden Administration to Now Focus on Relief for Long-Settled Immigrants, Americas Voice
NILC Statement on Biden’s Executive Action on the Border, National Immigration Law Center
New Biden Executive Action Further Eviscerates The Right To Seek Asylum: Frequently Asked Questions About The Latest Anti-Immigrant Policy, National Immigrant Justice Center
Home is Here Week of Action, United We Dream

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

House Floor

The House will vote on 11 suspension bills from the Committees on Small Business, Financial Services, Foreign Affairs, and Energy & Commerce. 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.Res. __ – Report to accompany the Resolution Recommending that the House of Representatives Find United States Attorney General Merrick B. Garland in Contempt of Congress for Refusal to Comply with a Subpoena Duly Issued by the Committee on the Judiciary (Sponsored by Rep. Jordan / Judiciary Committee): The resolution would hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with congressional subpoenas for audio recordings of President Joe Biden’s interviews with a Justice Department special counsel. The resolution would also direct the House speaker to forward the case to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia for possible criminal prosecution.

H.R. 8070 – Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025 (Sponsored by Rep. Rogers (AL) / Armed Services Committee): The bill would authorize $895.2 billion for defense and national security programs at the Pentagon, Energy Department, and other agencies.

Amendments to Watch: FY2025 National Defense Authorization Act (Congressional Progressive Caucus Center)

Additional legislative items are possible.

House Committee Highlights

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

Tuesday Hearings

Markup of Fiscal Year 2025 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Bill (Appropriations)

Wednesday Hearings

Markup of Fiscal Year 2025 State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs and Homeland Security Bills (Appropriations)

Oversight of the FDIC’s Failed Leadership and Toxic Workplace Culture (Financial Services)

Environmentalism Off the Rails: How CARB will Cripple the National Rail Network (Science, Space, & Technology)

Great Power Competition in the Western Hemisphere (Foreign Affairs)

NLRB Overreach: Trampling on Workers' Rights and Fostering Unfairness (Education & the Workforce)

Climate Control: Decarbonization Collusion in Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Investing (Judiciary)

Thursday Hearings

Markup of Fiscal Year 2025 Defense, Financial Services and General Government, and Legislative Branch Bills (Appropriations)

The Semi-Annual Report of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Financial Services)

Director of the CFPB Rohit Chopra is testifying

Medicare and Social Security: Examining Solvency and Impacts to the Federal Budget (Budget)

What We Have Here…is a Failure to Collaborate: Review of GAO’s Annual Duplication Report (Oversight & Accountability)

Hearing on the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office (Judiciary)

The Crisis on Campus: Antisemitism, Radical Faculty, and the Failure of University Leadership (Ways & Means)

The Plight of Americans Detained Abroad (Foreign Affairs)

Destroying America's Best Idea: Biden's Border Crisis, Desecrating National Park Lands and Damaging Communities. (Natural Resources)

Securing America’s Critical Materials Supply Chains and Economic Leadership (Energy & Commerce)

A Cascade of Security Failures: Assessing Microsoft Corporation’s Cybersecurity Shortfalls and the Implications for Homeland Security (Homeland Security)

Senate Floor

S. 4445 – Right to IVF Act (Sponsored by Sen. Tammy Duckworth): This bill would protect and expand nationwide access to fertility treatment, including in vitro fertilization.

Nominations

The Senate this week has teed up votes on the following nominees:
David Rosner, of Massachusetts, to be a Member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for a term expiring June 30, 2027
Lindsay S. See, of West Virginia, to be a Member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for a term expiring June 30, 2028
Judy W. Chang, of Massachusetts, to be a Member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for a term expiring June 30, 2029

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

Coast Guard Oversight: Sexual Assault and Harassment (Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs)

Wednesday Hearings

Combatting the Youth Vaping Epidemic by Enhancing Enforcement Against Illegal E-Cigarettes (Judiciary)

Crossing the Line: Abortion Bans and Interstate Travel for Care After Dobbs (Judiciary)

The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act: Supporting Efforts to Meet the Needs of Youth, Workers, and Employers (HELP)

Making Wall Street Pay Its Fair Share: Raising Revenue, Strengthening Our Economy (Budget)

Youth Residential Treatment Facilities: Examining Failures and Evaluating Solutions (Finance)

Made in America: The Boom in U.S. Manufacturing Investment (Joint Economic Committee)

Thursday Hearings

Silenced Dissent: The Plight of Political Prisoners and Search for Accountability (Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe)

Oversight of the Bureau of Land Management (Energy & Natural Resources)

FAA Oversight of Aviation Manufacturing (Commerce, Science, & Transportation)

A Review of the President’s Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Requests for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (Appropriations)

Chair of the SEC Gary Gensler is testifying
Chair of the CFTC Rostin Behnam is testifying

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Address to Congress

Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accepted an invitation from Republican and Democratic congressional leaders to address a joint session of Congress on July 24. The leaders’ invitation came less than two weeks after the International Criminal Court’s prosecutor sought arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Israel’s defense minister, and Hamas leaders for war crimes. His address would mark his fourth appearance before Congress and first since 2015. The speech is expected to address Israel's military actions in Gaza, which have drawn international scrutiny and criticism from many Members of Congress. Some lawmakers, like Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), have indicated that they will boycott the speech. At least 58 lawmakers skipped Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s 2015 address to Congress, during which he railed against the emerging Iran nuclear deal that then-President Barack Obama’s administration was actively negotiating. Over 37,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli Defense Forces since the October 7th Hamas attack that killed approximately 1,200 Israelis.

SCOTUS Watch: Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo

On January 17, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, a case that is challenging the landmark 1984 decision in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council, which holds that courts should defer to a federal agency’s interpretation of statutes as long as that interpretation is reasonable. Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo arose after a group of commercial fishermen sued the National Marine Fisheries Service for a rule that required the industry to fund monitoring programs. The plaintiffs argue that federal laws regulating fisheries did not authorize the government to create industry-funded monitoring requirements. Lower courts sided with the government, citing the Chevron case and finding that the agency reasonably interpreted its authority to create the new rule. Now, Loper Bright Enterprises is asking the Supreme Court to either overrule or weaken Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council. The Court will now decide whether judges or agency experts are better positioned to decide crucial public policy questions. A ruling for the plaintiffs could prevent agencies from taking actions that Congress did not direct explicitly. This would make it impossible for agencies to respond promptly to the country’s emerging needs and move more power into the hands of the courts.