Subscribe to our weekly newsletter, the DC Download, to get updates on what’s happening on the Hill, what we are reading, key issues to watch, and progressive analysis and tools.

 
 

DC Download 11.13.2023

The government is four days away from its funding deadline and lawmakers are rushing to avoid a shutdown. House lawmakers this week are voting on three of the 12 annual funding bills, while simultaneously considering a two-tiered stopgap bill to keep the government open until early 2024. Similarly, Senators are prepping their own stopgap bill to avoid a shutdown. 

Table of Contents:

 

 
 

Missed last week’s briefing? Watch the Progressive Caucus Action Fund’s latest Tools for Progress Briefing, “The People vs. SCOTUS: A Preview of the 2023 Fall Supreme Court Term.” You’ll learn about the cases before the Court this term and what we can do to fight for a Supreme Court that truly protects the people. You’ll also hear from Special Guest Congressman Hank Johnson (GA-04) on legislative proposals to restore legitimacy to – and expand – the Court. 

 
 
 

 

House Floor

The House will vote on nine suspension bills from the Committees on Judiciary 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:

H.R. 5893 – Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2024 (Sponsored by Rep. Rogers (KY) / Appropriations Committee): The bill provides $59 billion for the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and related agencies for Fiscal Year 2024, a cut of roughly $24 billion from last year's enacted level. 

H.R. 5894 – Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2024 (Sponsored by Rep. Aderholt / Appropriations Committee): The bill provides $163 billion for the Departments of Labor, Health & Human Services, Education, and related agencies for Fiscal Year 2024, a cut of almost $64 billion from last year's enacted level.

  • Summary (Appropriations Committee) 

H.R. 5961 – No Funds for Iranian Terrorism Act (Sponsored by Rep. McCaul / Foreign Affairs Committee): The bill would permanently freeze the $6 billion of Iranian funds released by the Biden Administration earlier this year in exchange for five American prisoners. The funds, which do not include U.S. taxpayer dollars, may only be used for food, medicine, and agricultural products.

H.R. 4820 – Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2024 (Sponsored by Rep. Cole / Appropriations Committee): The bill provides $65 billion for the Departments of Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and related agencies—$26 billion below Fiscal Year 2023, a reduction of over 28 percent. 

  • Summary (Appropriations Committee)

  • Report (Appropriations Committee)

The House may also consider additional legislation, including items related to continued Fiscal Year 2024 funding, and: 

H. Res. __ – Impeaching Alejandro Nicholas Mayorkas, Secretary of Homeland Security, for high crimes and misdemeanors (Sponsored by Rep. Greene (GA) / Judiciary Committee): The resolution would impeach Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas for “willful admittance of border crossers, terrorists, human traffickers, drugs…” and other items. 

House Committee Highlights

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

Tuesday Hearings

Leveraging AI to Enhance American Communications (Energy & Commerce)

Examining the Biden Administration's Afghanistan Policy Since the U.S. Withdrawal (Foreign Affairs)

Confronting the Scourge of Antisemitism on Campus (Education & Workforce)

The Broken Path: How Transnational Criminal Organizations Profit from Human Trafficking at the Southwest Border (Homeland Security)

Emerging Therapies: Breakthroughs in the Battle Against Suicide (Veterans’ Affairs)

Opportunities and Challenges for Improving Public Safety in Tribal Communities (Natural Resources)

Wednesday Hearings

Worldwide Threats to the Homeland (Homeland Security)

  • Alejandro N. Mayorkas, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, is testifying. 

  • Christopher A. Wray, Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, is testifying.

The Impact of Illegal Immigration on Social Services (Judiciary)

The Future of Nagorno-Karabakh (Foreign Affairs)

Crypto Crime in Context: Breaking Down the Illicit Activity in Digital Assets (Financial Services)

From Ivory Towers to Dark Corners: Investigating the Nexus Between Antisemitism, Tax-Exempt Universities, and Terror Financing (Ways & Means)

Thursday Hearings

Reporting for Duty: Examining the Impacts of the Department of the Interior's Remote and Telework Policies (Natural Resources)

 

 

Nominations

H.R. 815 - RELIEVE Act (Sponsored by Rep. McMorris Rodgers / Veterans’ Affairs): The bill would expand healthcare coverage for veterans at facilities outside the Veterans Affairs Department. It would serve as a legislative vehicle for a continuing resolution to keep the government funded past the November 17, 2023 deadline.

Nominations

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

  • Ana de Alba, of California, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Ninth Circuit

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

Standing Up Against Corporate Greed: How Unions are Improving the Lives of Working Families (Health, Education, Labor & Pensions)

Oversight of Financial Regulators: Protecting Main Street Not Wall Street (Banking, Housing, & Urban Affairs)

Innovation in American Agriculture: Leveraging Technology and Artificial Intelligence (Agriculture, Nutrition, & Forestry)

Ensuring Medicare Beneficiary Access: A Path to Telehealth Permanency (Finance)

Challenges and Opportunities to Facilitate Wildlife Movement and Improve Migration Corridors (Environment & Public Works)

Examining Federal COVID-Era Spending and Preventing Future Fraud (Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs)

Wednesday Hearings 

Opportunities in Industrial Decarbonization: Delivering Benefits for the Economy and the Climate (Environment & Public Works)

U.S. Leadership on AI in an Era of Strategic Competition (Foreign Relations)

Veteran Entrepreneurship: From Service to Small Business Success (Small Business & Entrepreneurship)

Aging Americans and a Waning Workforce: Demographic Drivers of our Deficit (Joint Economic Committee)

VA’s Fourth Mission: Supporting Our Nation’s Emergency Preparedness and Response (Veterans’ Affairs)

Thursday Hearings

Business Meeting to Consider Authorization for Subpoenas Relating to the Supreme Court Ethics Investigation (Judiciary)

 

 

Government Funding

 

Government funding expires in four days, but lawmakers have not passed the appropriations bills necessary to keep the government open past November 17. Over the weekend, House Speaker Mike Johnson released a “laddered” stopgap funding bill, otherwise known as a continuing resolution (CR), to avoid a government shutdown at the end of the week. Under the laddered CR, lawmakers would fund federal agencies financed through the Agriculture-FDA, Energy-Water, Military Construction-VA, and Transportation-HUD spending bills through January 19, 2024. The CR would fund agencies financed through the Commerce-Justice-Science, Defense, Financial Services-General Government, Homeland Security, Interior-Environment, Labor-HHS-Education, Legislative Branch, and State-Foreign Operations funding bills through February 2, 2024. The Johnson CR leaves out the President’s supplemental funding proposals to aid Ukraine, Israel, domestic disaster relief, and more. 

House and Senate Democrats and some Republicans have criticized  the laddered CR, which would tee up multiple shutdown fights in early 2024. Whether those criticisms amount to opposition that sinks the proposal may become clear as early as Tuesday, when the House may vote. Meanwhile, the Senate will try to consider its own, yet-to-be-released stopgap measure. 

SCOTUS Watch: United States v. Rahimi

Last week, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in United States v. Rahimi, a case that concerns gun ownership for people subject to domestic violence restraining orders. The plaintiff, Zackey Rahimi, was under a February 2020 restraining order after assaulting his former girlfriend when police searched his home and found a rifle and pistol. This violated a 1994 statute barring anyone with active domestic violence restraining orders from possessing firearms. Rahimi pled guilty but continued appealing his case. After the 2022 decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, which found New York state’s law requiring a permit for carrying concealed weapons in public places unconstitutional, an appeals court vacated Rahimi’s conviction and deemed the 1994 law unconstitutional. Now, the Supreme Court will decide whether the 1994 law that prohibits firearm possession by people with active domestic violence restraining orders violates the 2nd Amendment. Twenty-one states and the District of Columbia have implemented extreme risk protection laws that allow for a court to remove firearms if a court finds there is an imminent risk of violence. Studies have found that preventing domestic abusers from accessing firearms can reduce intimate partner violence by as much as 25 percent. The future of these proven policies hangs in the balance. 

 

 

November: Native American Heritage Month

November 17: Government funding expires 

November 17-27: House is in recess

November 20-26: Senate is in recess

November 23: Thanksgiving Day

November 24: Native American Heritage Day