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DC Download 12.04.2023

The end of the first session of the 118th Congress is around the corner and lawmakers have a full agenda. On the House side, the Republican majority is considering bills preventing the Biden Administration from implementing new federal rules. Meanwhile, Senators continue negotiations on a supplemental funding package to aid Ukraine and Israel. 

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Today, our Supreme Court is facing a legitimacy crisis.  Everything we care about — our rights to vote and access abortion care, our safety against discrimination and from gun violence, the fate of our climate, and our right to organize at work — is under attack by the Supreme Court. Certain politicians and the corporate special interests who fund them packed the Court with an extreme right-wing supermajority interested in imposing their anti-democratic agenda instead of upholding our freedom.

We’ve expanded the Supreme Court in the past, and it’s time to do it again. Momentum is growing as the Court’s threats to our rights and freedoms become direr. Together, we can expand and rebalance the Court, impose commonsense ethics rules, and make sure that our highest court respects precedent and principle, protects our most fundamental freedoms, and stands up for the American people, not corporate special interests.

Messaging guides and tools:

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

 

House Floor

The House will vote on 11 suspension bills from the Committees on Transportation & Infrastructure, Judiciary, Veterans’ Affairs, and Science, Space, & Technology. 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. 4468 – Choice in Automobile Retail Sales Act of 2023 (Sponsored by Rep. Walberg / Energy and Commerce Committee): The bill would prohibit the Environmental Protection Agency from implementing new emissions standards on light and medium-duty vehicles. 

H.R. 5933 – DETERRENT Act (Sponsored by Rep. Steel / Education and the Workforce Committee): The bill would create new reporting requirements for universities under the Higher Education Act including for foreign gifts and contracts from foreign sources. 

H.J. Res. 88 – Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Department of Education relating to Improving Income Driven Repayment for the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program and the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program (Sponsored by Rep. McClain / Education and the Workforce Committee): The Congressional Review Act resolution would block a July 10 rule created by the Education Department titled the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan, an income-driven repayment plan that reduces payments based on income and family size, and forgives loan balances after a certain number of years.

House Committee Highlights 

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

Tuesday Hearings

Oversight of the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division (Judiciary)

Leading a New Era of Energy Dominance, Security, and Environmental Stewardship (Energy & Commerce) 

Protecting our Preparedness: Assessing the Impact of the Border Crisis on Emergency Management (Homeland Security)

Holding Campus Leaders Accountable and Confronting Antisemitism (Education & the Workforce)

Hearing with IRS Whistleblowers: Hunter Biden Investigation Obstruction in Their Own Words (Ways & Means)

The Sahel in Crisis: Examining U.S. Policy Options (Foreign Affairs)

The Importance of Protecting Female Athletics and Title IX (Oversight & Accountability)

Wednesday Hearings

Background Checks: Are VA’s HR Failures Risking Drug Abuse and Veteran Harm? (Veterans’ Affairs)

Housing Affordability: Governmental Barriers and Market-Based Solutions (Financial Services)

Hidden Cost: The True Price of Federal Debt to American Taxpayers (Ways & Means)

Tax Policies to Expand Economic Growth and Increase Prosperity for American Families (Ways & Means)

White House Policy on AI (Oversight & Accountability) 

 

 

Nominations

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

  • Irma Carrillo Ramirez, of Texas, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Fifth Circuit

  • Loren L. AliKhan, of the District of Columbia, to be United States District Judge for the District of Columbia

  • Elizabeth H. Richard, of Virginia, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Career Minister, to be Coordinator for Counterterrorism, with the rank and status of Ambassador at Large

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

Drug Shortages: Examining Supply Challenges, Impacts, and Policy Solutions from a Federal Health Program Perspective (Finance)

Oversight of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (Judiciary)

  • Director of the FBI Christopher Wray is testifying

Wednesday Hearings 

Annual Oversight of Wall Street Firms (Banking, Housing, & Urban Affairs)

IIJA Investments in Habitat and Ecosystem Restoration, Pollinators, and Wildlife Crossings (Environment & Public Works)

Transnational Repression: Authoritarians Targeting Dissenters Abroad (Foreign Relations)

Fentanyl in Native Communities: Examining the Federal Response to the Growing Crisis (Indian Affairs)

Hearing on the status of Department of Defense recruiting efforts and plans for fiscal year 2024 (Armed Services)

 

 

Ukraine and Israel Supplemental Package

In October, the White House requested a $106 billion emergency security package to aid Ukraine and Israel primarily, among other things. Specifically, the package would provide $61.4 billion to support Ukraine, $14.3 billion to support the Israeli military, and $9.15 billion for humanitarian efforts across the world, including Gaza. Now, Senators are trying to hammer out the final details of the potential package. However, reforms to the immigration system have emerged as a potential sticking point in the bipartisan negotiations. While the original White House proposal also requested funds to strengthen the southern border, including money for additional border agents, asylum officers, and drug interdiction machines, Republicans are insisting on including parts of H.R. 2, the House-passed Republican anti-immigrant bill. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), however, maintains that Democratic Senators will not vote for a package that includes aspects of H.R.2. Reportedly, Majority Leader Schumer is readying the aid package without Republican border provisions for a vote as early as this week. 

SCOTUS Watch: Moore v. United States 

On December 5, the Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments in Moore v. United States, a case that challenges the constitutionality of a tax provision under the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The law created a one-time Mandatory Repatriation Tax (MRT) on foreign earnings, which affected plaintiffs Charles and Kathleen Moore, who own a 13% stake in a foreign company. Despite never receiving dividends from their investment, the Moores were taxed almost $15,000 on their share of the company's earnings since 1986. They argue that the MRT imposes an unconstitutional direct tax that is not apportioned among the states as required by the U.S. Constitution. Lower courts upheld the tax, finding it within Congress' power under the 16th Amendment and stating that "realization of income is not a constitutional requirement." If the Supreme Court sides with the Moores, it could redefine the scope of congressional taxation powers, potentially restricting Congress’s ability to impose taxes on unrealized income.

 

 

December 7: National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day

December 7: Webinar: Direct Pay and the IRA: Leveraging Federal Funds to Build Publicly-Owned Clean Energy in States

December 10: Human Rights Day and the 75th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

December 15: Bill of Rights Day

December 15: House and Senate expected to adjourn for the rest of the year

December 31: FISA Section 702 expires

January 9: House returns from recess

January 15th: Martin Luther King Jr. Day

January 19: Funding expires for part of the government

February 2: Funding expires for part of the government