‘Consensus Calendar’ Clash May Derail Bill Protecting Military Survivors' Benefits From 'Widow's Tax'

The second-most bipartisan bill in the House of Representatives faces an uncertain future after House Democrats voted last week to remove its eligibility for consideration on the “Consensus Calendar.” 

The Consensus Calendar was created under the House rules for the 116th Congress. It allows bills which have at least 290 cosponsors but haven’t been reported out of committee to get a vote on the House floor after they’ve maintained at least 290 cosponsors for 25 legislative days. Assuming all 290 lawmakers vote in favor of the bill, it would have the two-thirds support needed to pass under the “suspension of the rules” process which allows for a fast-tracked 40-minute debate without any amendments.

The Military Surviving Spouses Equity Act (H.R. 553), introduced by Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC), was the first bill to qualify for consideration on the Consensus Calendar and is cosponsored by 365 lawmakers, including 202 Democrats and 163 Republicans. It would allow surviving spouses and beneficiaries of fallen servicemembers to receive full benefits from the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) annuity and Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC). Under current law, a provision referred to as the “widow’s tax” reduces SBP benefits by the amount of DIC benefits received.

Before Wilson’s standalone bill could be called up for a vote on the Consensus Calendar last Wednesday, the House Rules Committee Democrats added it to the FY2020 National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 2500) and included language in the rule governing the NDAA debate which stripped Consensus Calendar eligibility for Wilson’s standalone bill, H.R. 553. 

Democrats didn’t inform Wilson of this maneuver, who said “you’re not helping it by putting it into a partisan bill” and that their action “was not done with good intent.” The rule was adopted and the House NDAA passed 220-197 along party-lines despite Republican objections about insufficient defense spending and other partisan provisions in the underlying bill. 

The provision’s future in the NDAA will eventually be determined by a bicameral conference committee tasked with hashing out differences between House Democrats’ bill and the Senate’s bipartisan bill. While Wilson is expected to be on the conference committee, he wasn’t optimistic about the inclusion of the Military Surviving Spouses Equity Act in the final NDAA conference report.

Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) said it was “shameful” how House Democrats’ moved to “change the rules of the House” to take it off the Consensus Calendar. Scalise added the legislation should be brought up as a standalone bill to “solve a real problem for women and men who are the survivors of our men and women in uniform.” 

Pelosi spokesman Henry Connolly retorted that “it’s a shame” that the bill “wasn’t enough of a priority for Whip Scalise to bring to the floor when the GOP held the majority last Congress.”

What else is on the Consensus Calendar?

The House advanced its first Consensus Calendar bill last week, with Rep. Zoe Lofgren’s (D-CA) Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act (H.R. 1044) passing on 365-65 vote. The bill boasts the support of 311 cosponsors (203 Democrats & 108 Republicans) and would eliminate per-country immigration caps.

This Wednesday the House is expected to vote on Rep. Joe Courtney’s (D-CT) Middle Class Health Benefits Tax Repeal Act (H.R. 748), which has more cosponsors than any other bill in the House at 367 cosponsors (200 Democrats & 167 Republicans). The bill would permanently repeal the so-called “Cadillac tax” on high-cost, employer-sponsored health insurance plans imposed under the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare).

— Eric Revell (with contributions from Lorelei Yang)

(Photo Credit: iStock.com / idesignimages)