What’s Happening in Washington: Week of May 23^rd, 2023

Headlines to Know:

June 1^st Deadline Rapidly Approaching

House leadership in both parties is advising members that they could be kept in session into Memorial Day weekend or be called back to vote mid-way through recess next week. Members have 72 hours to review legislation before voting on it, a rule McCarthy agreed to when securing the speakership in January. Leadership could waive that rule, but there’s appetite in both parties for it to be exercised in the case of such weighty, and potentially lengthy, legislation. After a White House meeting with Biden on Monday, McCarthy told reporters, “I thought the meeting was productive,” but “we still have differences.”

 

House Bipartisan Immigration Bill

Rep. María Elvira Salazar supported the House GOP border bill that is expected to stall in the Senate. Now, she is throwing her weight behind a bipartisan immigration measure she claims is “tighter” and more likely to end up on the president’s desk. The question is whether she can get her party on board. The Florida Republican has made it a goal to address immigration. As a freshman, she put forward the Dignity Act where she argued for a path to legalization for undocumented immigrants.

 

President Biden Approves F-16 Jets to Ukraine

For more than a year, Kyiv has asked for modern fighter jets, and the Biden administration’s answer has either been “no,” or “not right now.” That changed late last week, when President Joe Biden told allies that he would support an international coalition to train Ukrainian pilots on Western fighters, paving the way for modern jets to one day be transferred to the front line. A key turning point came in the last few weeks, when the West finished delivering the vast majority of equipment Ukraine needed for a planned spring counteroffensive. The coalition of countries supporting Ukraine has shuttled tons of heavy weaponry, including sophisticated air defense systems and armored vehicles, to the battlefield to help Kyiv repel Russian forces.

 

President Biden Seals Agreements in Pacific Islands

A U.S. diplomatic offensive to counter China’s growing clout in the Pacific Islands appears to be paying dividends, with three agreements sealed within 48 hours. The Biden administration has focused far more attention on the Pacific islands — new embassies, more aid, several high-level visits — since a security pact between China and the Solomon Islands spooked Washington last year.

 

Sen. Tim Scott Enters Presidential Race

South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott announced his run for the Republican presidential nomination Monday morning in North Charleston, S.C. In his 40-minute announcement speech, Scott highlighted his rise from poverty to prosperity and said that America is not a racist country. Scott is the only Black Republican senator in the U.S. Senate. In recent polling he ranks well back in the pack of current and potential candidates, earning support in the low single digits. In contrast, former President Donald Trump’s support sometimes tops 40 or even 50 percent.

Hearings:

May 23^rd

• House Small Business: Full Committee Markup
• House Armed Services: H.R. 2670 – National Defense Authorization Act for FY24
• House Transportation and Infrastructure: R. 3399, the “Soo Locks Security and Economic Reporting Act of 2023”; an Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute to H.R. 1836, the “Ocean Shipping Reform Implementation Act of 2023”
• House Appropriations Markup: Fiscal Year 2024 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies and Legislative Branch Bills and Interim Suballocation of Budget Allocations
• House Veterans Affairs: COVID-19 Supplemental Funding: Did It Protect and Improve Veteran Care?
• House Judiciary: The Biden Border Crisis: Part III
• House Agriculture: “For the purpose of receiving testimony from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service and Farm Service Agency”
• House Oversight and Accountability: “The Role of Pharmacy Benefit Managers in Prescription Drug Markets Part I: Self-Interest or Health Care?”
• House Financial Services: FHFA Oversight: Protecting Homeowners and Taxpayers
• House Energy and Commerce: Oversight and Reauthorization of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration
• House Foreign Affairs: Bring Abducted Children Home
• House Education and the Workforce: “Protecting Employees’ Rights: Ensuring Fair Elections at the NLRB”
• House Natural Resources: Oversight Hearing on “Examining the President’s FY 2024 Budget Proposal for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
• House Energy and Commerce: Growing the Domestic Energy Sector Supply Chain and Manufacturing Base: Are Federal Efforts Working?
• House Homeland Security: “A Security Sprint: Assessing the U.S. Homeland’s Vulnerabilities to Chinese Communist Party Aggression”
• House Natural Resources: Legislative hearing on: • H.R. 188
• House Foreign Affairs: Examining the Fiscal Year 24 State and Foreign Operations Budget Request for Europe

May 24^th

• House Veterans’ Affairs: VA Information Technology Contracting: Challenges in Consolidation of Competition and Conflict of Interest
• House Science, Space, and Technology: Full Committee Markup
• House Transportation and Infrastructure: Never Ending Emergencies – An Examination of the National Emergencies Act
• House Appropriations Markup: Fiscal Year 2024 Homeland Security and Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Bills
• House Natural Resources: Oversight hearing titled “Examining the Biden Administration’s Efforts to Limit Access to Public Lands.”
• House Budget Hearing: Reigniting American Growth and Prosperity Series: Removing the Burdens of Government Overreach
• House Foreign Affairs: Various Measures
• House Oversight and Accountability: “Consumer Choice on the Backburner: Examining the Biden Administration’s Regulatory Assault on Americans’ Gas Stoves”
• House Financial Services: Markup of Various Measures
• House Energy and Commerce: 19 Pieces of Legislation
• House Judiciary: R. 277, the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act
• House Education and the Workforce: “Breaking the System Part II: Examining the Implications of Biden’s Student Loan Policies for Students and Taxpayers”
• House Foreign Affairs: Modernizing U.S. Arms Exports and a Stronger AUKUS
• House Small Business: “Saluting Service: Supporting Veteran Owned Small Businesses”
• House Ways and Means: The Social Security Administration’s Role in Combatting Identity Fraud
• House Oversight and Accountability: “A Failure of Supervision: Bank Failures and The San Francisco Federal Reserve”
• Committee on House Administration: “American Confidence in Elections: Ensuring Every Eligible American has the Opportunity to Vote – and for their Vote to Count According to Law”
• Committee on House Administration: Full Committee Business Meeting

May 25^th

• • House Natural Resources: Oversight Hearing on “Examining the President’s FY 2024 Budget Request for the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Office of Insular Affairs.”
  • House Intelligence: Subcommittee Hearing on Foreign Materiel Acquisition / Exploitation
  • House Financial Services: International Financial Institutions in an Era of Great Power Competition
  • House Ways and Means: Modernizing Customs Policies to Protect American Workers and Secure Supply Chains