What’s Happening in Washington: Week of April 25 th, 2023
Headlines to Know:
House GOP Pitches Debt Ceiling Bill
The House is set to vote this week on a $4.5 trillion GOP bill – the Limit, Save, Grow Act – that raises the
debt limit into 2024 while slashing federal spending by tens of billions of dollars. Furthermore, expect to
hear from the Treasury Department on when the U.S. government could default on its $31.4 trillion
debt. The House Freedom Caucus is pushing their leadership to have new work requirements for social
safety net programs under this legislation kick in during FY 2024 instead of FY 2025. Conservatives also
want to increase the hours covered recipients must work from 20 to 30 per week.
President Biden Set to Launch 2024 Re-Election Bid
Over the weekend, the Washington Post scooped the news that President Biden is set to announce his
2024 bid for a second term on Tuesday April 25 th . In a planned video launch, the campaign
announcement comes as Democrats coalesce around President Biden and Republicans anticipate a
prolonged primary battle between former President Donald Trump and presumptive challenger
Governor Ron DeSantis.
Afghanistan
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Michael McCaul (R-Texas) has decided to push the subpoena
deadline for Secretary of State Antony Blinken back to May 1. This is the second time McCaul has
postponed the deadline for Blinken to hand over to Congress an internal dissent cable written by
officials in the Kabul Embassy criticizing the U.S. decision to withdraw from Afghanistan in 2021.
Last week Sec. Blinken failed to comply with the April 19 th deadline. McCaul had offered to look at the
dissent cable with the names of the signatories redacted. This was an effort to accommodate State’s
concerns but led to no further compliance.
In the meantime, the State Department offered to hold a classified bipartisan briefing for the Foreign
Affairs Committee this week on the concerns raised by Kabul Embassy staff ahead of the pullout. The
panel has asked for the briefing to be held on April 27; a committee spokesperson told us. State hasn’t
replied yet, we’re told.
Comer’s Biden Family Investigation
House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) announced last week that the
panel is investigating six more members of President Joe Biden’s family. We still don’t know who these
individuals are and what precisely they are being investigated for, other than the broad charge of
“influence peddling.”
Week Ahead:
Tuesday: The Senate Appropriations Committee will hold a hearing examining the U.S. Capitol Police’s
budget.
Wednesday:
House Appropriations will have a hearing on the FAA’s budget with Acting Administrator Billy Nolen.
House Judiciary will have an oversight hearing on the ATF. Director Steven Dettelbach will testify in a
session that’s going to be very heavy on gun policy.
The Senate HELP Committee will vote on Julie Su’s nomination to be Labor secretary. Su should clear the
committee easily, but Democrats face potential problems on the floor. Senate Judiciary will have a
hearing on reproductive rights post Dobbs. Senate Foreign Relations will have a hearing on USAID’s
budget with Administrator Samantha Power.
Thursday: House Judiciary will hold a hearing on FISA with DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz.
House Ways and Means will have a hearing with newly confirmed IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel.
Hearings:
April 25 th 3:00pm, House Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee House Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee
on Technology Modernization – Electronic Health Record Modernization Deep Dive: Pharmacy
April 25 th 3:30pm, Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Legislative Branch – Hearings to
examine proposed budget estimates and justification for fiscal year 2024 for the Sergeant at
Arms and Doorkeeper of the Senate and the United States Capitol Police.
April 26 th 10:00am, House Appropriations Subcommittee on Departments of Transportation, and
Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies – Oversight and Budget Hearing –
FY2024 Request for the Federal Aviation Administration
April 26 th 10:00am, House Appropriations Subcommittee on Departments of Labor, Health and
Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies – Oversight Hearing – Provider Relief Fund and
Healthcare Workforce Shortages
April 26 th 10:00am, House Judiciary Committee – Oversight of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
Firearms and Explosives
April 26 th 10:00am, House Agriculture Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities, Risk
Management, and Credit – “Producer Perspectives on the 2023 Farm Bill”
April 26 th 10:00am, House Oversight and Accountability Committee – “The Government
Accountability Office’s 2023 High Risk List”
April 26 th 10:00am, House Small Business Subcommittee on Innovation -Entrepreneurship, and
Workforce Development
April 26 th 10:00am, House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Security – Social Security
Fundamentals: A Fact-Based Foundation
April 26 th 10:15am, House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Federal Lands – Oversight
hearing titled “Examining the President's FY 2024 Budget Request for the U.S. Forest Service”
April 26 th 10:15am, House Education and the Workforce Subcommittee on Health, Employment,
Labor, and Pensions – Reducing Health Care Costs for Working Americans and Their Families
April 26 th 10:30am, House Armed Services Committee – U.S. Military Posture and National
Security Challenges in Europe
April 26 th 10:30am, House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment,
Manufacturing, and Critical Materials – Exposing the Environmental, Human Rights, and National
Security Risks of the Biden Administration’s Rush to Green Policies
April 26 th 1:30pm, House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and
Related Agencies – Budget Hearing – Fiscal Year 2024 Request for the Department of Justice
Grantmaking Components
April 26 th 2:00pm, House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources –
Oversight Hearing on “Examining the President’s FY 2024 Budget Request for the Bureau of
Ocean Energy Management, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, and the U.S.
Geological Survey.”
April 26 th 2:00pm, House Oversight and Accountability Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus
Pandemic – “The Consequences of School Closures, Part 2: The President of the American
Federation of Teachers, Ms. Randi Weingarten”
April 26 th 2:00pm, House Oversight and Accountability Subcommittee on Health Care and
Financial Services – “China in Our Backyard: How Chinese Money Laundering Organizations
Enrich the Cartels”
April 26 th 2:00pm, House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Oversight – Tax-Exempt Hospitals
and the Community Benefit Standard
April 26 th 3:00pm, House Administration Subcommittee on Modernization – "The Path Toward a
More Modern and Effective Congressional Research Service.”
April 26 th 3:00pm, House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and
Enforcement – The Biden Border Crisis: Exploitation of Unaccompanied Alien Children
April 27 th 9:00am, House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance
– Fixing FISA: How a Law Designed to Protect Americans Has Been Weaponized Against Them
April 27 th 9:00am, House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the
Internet – Oversight of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
April 27 th 9:00am, House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and
Related Agencies – Budget Hearing – Fiscal Year 2024 Request for the Drug Enforcement
Administration
April 27 th 12:30pm, House Armed Services Committee – Department of the Air Force Fiscal Year
2024 Budget Request
April 27 th 1:00pm, House Ways and Means Committee – Accountability and Transparency at the
Internal Revenue Service with IRS Commissioner Werfel
April 27 th 1:30pm, House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and
Related Agencies – Budget Hearing – Fiscal Year 2024 Request for the Federal Bureau of
Investigation
April 27 th 2:00pm, House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General
Government – Budget Hearing – Fiscal Year 2024 Request for the Federal Trade Commission
April 27 th 2:00pm, House Agriculture Subcommittee on Commodity Markets, Digital Assets, and
Rural Development – “The Future of Digital Assets: Identifying the Regulatory Gaps in Spot
Market Regulation”
April 27 th 2:00pm, Homeland Security Subcommittee on Cybersecurity and Infrastructure
Protection – “CISA 2025: The State of American Cybersecurity from CISA’s Perspective”
April 27 th 2:00pm, House Financial Services Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial
Technology and Inclusion – The Future of Digital Assets: Identifying the Regulatory Gaps in Digital
Asset Market Structure
April 27 th 2:00pm, House Financial Services Subcommittee on National Security, Illicit Finance,
and International Financial Institutions – Oversight of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network
(FinCEN) and the Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence (TFI)
April 27 th 2:30pm, Committee on House Administration – “American Confidence in Elections:
State Tools to Promote Voter Confidence”
April 28 th 9:00am, House Armed Services Committee – Department of the Navy Fiscal Year 2024
Budget Request
April 28 th 9:00am, House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance – The
Reauthorization of the National Flood Insurance Program: FEMA’s Perspective
April 28 th 10:00am, House Appropriations Subcommittee on Departments of Transportation, and
Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies – Oversight Hearing – Tribal
Perspectives on Housing and Transportation