Committee Watch: Week of November 13, 2017

Before bills and nominations are brought up for a passage vote in Congress, they typically have to be considered and approved by relevant committees. Here’s a look at what Congressional committees will be holding hearings on this week.

Schedule subject to change. All times Eastern.

House

Monday

• Rules: Structuring debate around two bills expected on the House floor Tuesday― 5pm:

  • Conference report for H.R. 2810: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018

  • H.R. 2874: 21st Century Flood Reform Act

Tuesday

• House Administration: Hearing on preventing sexual harassment in the Congressional workplace ― 10am.

• Oversight & Government Reform: Joint hearing for two subcommittees titled "Regulatory Reform Task Forces Check-In: Part II" ― 10am.

• Homeland Security

  • Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security: Hearing assessing the current threat at the U.S.-Canada border ― 10am.

• Science, Space, and Technology

  • Subcommittee on Oversight: Hearing assessing the compliance of the federal government with the DHS cybersecurity directive ― 10am.

• Energy and Commerce: Hearing on the response and recovery to environmental concerns from the 2017 hurricane season ― 10am.

Wednesday

• Oversight & Government Reform: Hearing on recommendations and reforms from the Inspectors General ― 10am.

• Foreign Affairs: Markup hearing for nine bills ― 10am:

  • H.Res. 336: Reaffirming a strong commitment to the United States-Mexico partnership

  • H.Res. 401: Urging China, South Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, India, and all nations to outlaw the dog and cat meat trade and to enforce existing laws against the trade

  • H.Res. 407: Condemning the persecution of Christians around the world

  • H.R. 1164: Taylor Force Act

  • H.R. 1415: End Neglected Tropical Diseases Ac

  • H.R. 2712: Palestinian International Terrorism Support Prevention Act of 2017

  • H.R. 3542: Hamas Human Shields Prevention Act

  • H.R. 3776: Cyber Diplomacy Act of 2017

  • H.Con.Res. 90: Condemning ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya and calling for an end to the attacks in and an immediate restoration of humanitarian access to the state of Rakhine in Burma

• Judiciary: Markup of one bill ― 10am:

  • H.R. 170: Protect and Grow American Jobs Act

• Education and the Workforce: Hearing examining the policies and priorities of the Dept. of Labor ― 10am.

• Appropriations

  • Subcommittee on Military Construction Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies: Oversight hearing focused on VA electronic health records ― 10am.

Thursday

• Energy and Commerce

  • Subcommittee on Communications and Technology: Hearing on the race to 5G and its potential to revolutionize American competitiveness ― 10am.

Friday

• Veterans’ Affairs

  • Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity: Field hearing on best practices in veterans education and transition to civilian life, at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas ― 10am.

Senate

Monday

• Finance: Meeting to consider the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ― 3pm.

Tuesday

• Energy & Natural Resources: Oversight hearing examining hurricane recovery efforts in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands ― 9:30am.

• Armed Services: Hearing to consider three nominations, including the Dept. of the Army’s general counsel, an appeals court judge for the Armed Forces, and a principal deputy under secretary of defense ― 10am.

• Environment & Public Works: Meeting to consider four bills ― 10am:

  • S. 1857: Establishing a compliance deadline of May 2023 for emissions standards for home heating systems.

  • S. 203: Reaffirming that the EPA can’t regulate vehicles used solely for competition.

  • S. 839: Allowing for the judicial review of any final rule addressing national emission standards for hazardous air pollutants from brick and clay structural products.

  • S. 1934: To prevent catastrophic failure or shutdown of remote diesel power engines due to emission control devices.

• Foreign Relations: Meeting to consider the nomination of of Eric Ueland to be Under Secretary of State (Management), a hearing on the authority to order the use of nuclear weapons, and to consider one bill ― 10am:

  • S. 1928: Establishing a review of U.S. multilateral aid.

  • Subcommittee on East Asia, the Pacific, and International Cybersecurity Policy: Hearings to examine American leadership in the Asia-Pacific, focusing on the view from Beijing ― 2:30pm.

• Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions: Hearings to examine gene editing technology, focusing on innovation and impact ― 10am.

• Commerce Science, and Transportation

  • Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, Insurance, and Data Security: Hearings to examine technology in agriculture, focusing on data-driven farming ― 2:30pm.

• Intelligence: To receive a closed briefing on certain intelligence matters ― 2:30pm.

Wednesday

• Energy and Natural Resources: Meeting to consider reconciliation legislation to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to establish and administer a competitive oil and gas program in the non-wilderness portion of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge ― 9am.

• Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe: Hearings to examine the victims of Turkey’s failing rule of law ― 9:30am.

• Environment and Public Works: Hearings to examine promoting American leadership in reducing air emissions through innovation ― 10am.

• Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions: Hearings to examine encouraging healthy communities, focusing on perspective from the Surgeon General ― 10am. Hearings to examine four nominations ― 2:30pm.

• Judiciary: Hearings to examine the nominations of two judges to circuit courts and four judges to district courts ― 10am.

  • Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights: Hearings to examine the consumer welfare standard in antitrust ― 2:30pm.

• Foreign Relations

  • Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Transnational Crime, Civilian Security, Democracy, Human Rights, and Global Women’s Issues: Hearings to examine attacks on U.S. diplomats in Cuba, focusing on response and oversight ― 2pm.

• Appropriations

  • Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs: Hearings to examine the Dept. of Veterans Affairs efforts to prevent and combat opioid over-medication ― 2:30pm.

Thursday

• Armed Services: Hearings to examine two nominations to the Dept. of Defense, an under secretary for policy and an assistant secretary ― 10am.

• Commerce, Science, and Transportation

  • Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard: Hearings to examine Coast Guard readiness, focusing on how far we can stretch our nation’s only multi-mission military force ― 10am.

• Foreign Relations: Receiving a closed briefing on new counterterrorism guidance ― 10am.

• Judiciary: Meeting to consider one bill ― 10am:

  • S. 2070: Reauthorizing the Missing Alzheimer’s Disease Patient Alert Program and to promote initiatives that will reduce the risk of injury and death relating to the wandering characteristics of some children with autism.

• Intelligence: To receive a closed briefing on certain intelligence matters ― 2pm

Friday

• No hearings are planned.

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*― Eric Revell