Having lasted two days so far, the House Education and Labor Committee is still in the process of marking up the Democratic version of a bill to reauthorize the Higher Education Act (HEA). The committee is currently in recess, allowing members to vote on bills being considered on the floor.
By the time the session concludes, the committee will have entertained approximately 60 amendments.
We will follow up with further details after the conclusion of the markup.
The House Education and Labor Committee is scheduled to mark up this morning the HEA reauthorization legislation that was introduced approximately two weeks ago. Yesterday, an amendment to the bill that would essentially serve as the substitute to the original at the markup session was filed.
We expect the markup to be fairly partisan, given the nature of the bill. We will provide further updates.
Last night, Senator McConnell filed cloture last night on a motion to proceed to H.R. 2740, which you may recall is the most expansive/expensive of all the spending packages and includes Labor-HHS, Defense, State/Foreign Ops, and Energy and Water. A successful vote on Wednesday means that the Senate floor debate could begin on this bill with new text from the Senate Republicans. The consideration would not be without a fight from Senate Democrats who want more of their priorities included in the bill and higher spending numbers for the Labor-HHS bill.
Here is a selection of articles the Federal Relations team has read this week.
Supreme Court Strikes Down Gerrymandering Case: The Supreme Court ruled that federal judges cannot interfere in the drawing of electoral maps, reversing a lower court decision that invalidated sections of the redrawn Michigan electoral map. The original case challenged the map as giving the GOP an unfair advantage. Full story at Roll Call.
President Trump Appoints Advisors to Science Panel: The President has made seven of sixteen appointments to the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST). Almost all the nominees come from the private sector, although five hold doctoral degrees. One nominee comes directly from academia, and one nominee previously worked in the government, at the US Department of State and the National Institutes of Health. Full story at Science Magazine.
Both Sides are Unhappy about Syria Withdrawal: Bipartisan outcry over the withdrawal of US troops from Syria, which has allowed Turkey to invade Kurdish-controlled areas, is mounting. Although the President has authority over the armed forces, both chambers of Congress are preparing sanctions against Turkey as a form of condemnation. The House has already passed a resolution condemning the President’s actions. Meanwhile, Russia and Turkey have signed an agreement to control the northern Syrian border. More at Vox.
House Committee Approves Vaping Tax: In response to concerns about vaping-related deaths and illnesses, the House Ways and Means Committee approved a tax on vaping products. The tax is equal to that on tobacco and is estimated to raise $10 billion over a decade. The bill will now advance to the full House for a vote, before moving on to the Senate. See Bloomberg for more.
House Republicans Storm Secure Committee Room: As a form of protest, Republican members of Congress entered and occupied the Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF) where a top Pentagon official was set to begin her deposition related to US policy towards Ukraine and the impeachment inquiry. A screaming match soon began between Republican protesters and Democrats on the committee. The Republicans accused the Democrats of conducting a sham investigation, while the Republicans stand accused of violating security protocols and trying to deflect attention away from mounting evidence against President Trump. The SCIF is designated for highly classified information, and the protesters took no apparent measures to protect any classified material in the room at the time, such as leaving electronic devices outside. More at Roll Call.
Education Secretary Held in Contempt: Federal Magistrate Judge Sallie Kim, of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, held Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos in contempt of court and issued a $100,000 fine. The Department of Education had continued to collect on loan payments made by students who attended a predatory, for-profit school, despite an order to cease collection. A group of the students are suing the Department of Education, Secretary DeVos, and the college. Full story at Politico.
By a vote of 92 to 2, the Senate yesterday agreed to debate a package of four FY2020 spending bills. As noted yesterday, the bundle is a Senate substitute to a set of House-passed bills and includes the following measures: Agriculture, Commerce-Justice-Science, Interior, and Transportation-Housing and Urban Development.
Even if the Senate does ultimately approve the package, what happens after that still remains a mystery, as the second set of bills that may be considered contains some of the most controversial ones, including the Defense and Labor-HHS measures.
The continuing resolution signed into law in late September runs out November 22.