This Week in Congress: Prescription Drug Pricing, Withdrawing Troops From Syria, & Confirming Judges

While the next steps of the impeachment process will garner much of the focus this week, both chambers of Congress have busy agendas penciled in on their respective floors.

The House convenes Monday for votes on 16 bills that are expected to gain broad bipartisan support when they’re considered under the fast-track “suspension of the rules” process; including a bill to protect CBP personnel from accidental exposure to synthetic opioids like fentanyl. Tuesday will feature votes on bills to fund efforts to mitigate & research the impacts of climate change in coastal communities and to reauthorize the retransmission of TV broadcasts. On Wednesday, the House is expected to vote on a privileged resolution calling for the withdrawal of U.S. military personnel from Syria. Additionally, the House is expected to vote on bills to allow the federal government to negotiate prescription drug prices and establish a guest worker program for the agriculture industry.

The Senate starts its week Monday with a procedural vote on the nomination of Patrick Bumatay to be a judge on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ahead of a likely confirmation vote Tuesday. It will then likely move on to the nomination of Lawrence VanDyke to be a judge on the same circuit court. The rest of the week is expected to feature the consideration of nominees to serve as ambassador to Russia, commissioner of the Food & Drug Administration, and director of the Fish & Wildlife Service.

Check here throughout the week to see the vote results and updates to the schedule.

Schedule subject to change. All times Eastern.

HOUSE

Monday after 6:30pm (under suspension of the rules)

• H.R. 4739: Synthetic Opioid Exposure Prevention and Training Act Passed 393-0.
• H.R. 3469: Covert Testing and Risk Mitigation Improvement Act of 2019 Passed by voice vote.
• H.R. 4713: Department of Homeland Security Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Authorization Act Passed by voice vote.
• S. 737: Building Blocks of STEM Act Passed by voice vote.
• H.R. 4566: Virginia Beach Strong Act Passed by voice vote.
• H.R. 4372: MSI STEM Achievement Act Passed by voice vote.
• H.R. 4373: Engineering Biology Research and Development Act of 2019, as amended Passed by voice vote.
• H.R. 2051: Sustainable Chemistry Research and Development Act of 2019, as amended Passed by voice vote.
• H.R. 5213: NASA Enhanced Use Leasing Extension Act of 2019, as amended Vote postponed.
• H.R. 4355: IOGAN Act Passed by voice vote.
• H.R. 3669: Weatherizing Infrastructure in the North and Terrorism Emergency Readiness Act of 2019 Passed by voice vote.
• H.R. 4761: DHS Opioid Detection Resilience Act of 2019 Passed 393-1.
• H.R. 4727: Department of Homeland Security Mentor-Protégé Program Act of 2019 Passed by voice vote.
• H.R. 3318: Emerging Transportation Security Threats Act of 2019 Passed by voice vote.
• H.R. 4402: Inland Waters Security Review Act Passed by voice vote.
• S. 256: Esther Martinez Native Languages Programs Reauthorization Act Passed by voice vote.

Tuesday after 12pm

• H.R. 729: Coastal and Great Lakes Communities Enhancement Act Passed 262-151.
• H.R. 5035: Television Viewer Protection Act of 2019 Passed by voice vote.
• H.R. 5363: FUTURE Act, as amended Passed 319-96.

Wednesday after 12pm

• H.R. 5038: Farm Workforce Modernization Act of 2019 Passed 260-165, 1 present.
• Conference Report to Accompany S. 1790: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 Adopted 377-48.

Thursday between 9am and 3pm

• H.R. 3: Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act of 2019 Passed 230-192.

SENATE

Monday after 5:30pm

• Cloture motion on the nomination of Patrick Bumatay to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Invoked 47-41.

Tuesday after 2:15pm

• Confirmation vote on the nomination of Patrick Bumatay to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
• Cloture motion on the nomination of Lawrence VanDyke to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
• S. 2740: OTC Monograph Safety, Innovation, and Reform Act of 2019

Wednesday after 12pm

• Confirmation vote on the nomination of Lawrence VanDyke to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Confirmed 51-44.
• H.R. 2333: Support for Suicide Prevention Coordinators Act Passed 95-0.
• Cloture motion on the nomination of John Sullivan to be Ambassador to Russia Invoked 69-25.
• Cloture motion on the nomination of Stephen Hahn to be Commissioner of the Food & Drug Administration Invoked 74-19.
• Cloture motion on the nomination of Aurelia Skipwith to be Director of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Invoked 53-41.

Thursday after 11:45am

• Confirmation vote on the nomination of John Sullivan to be Ambassador to Russia Confirmed 70-22.
• Confirmation vote on the nomination of Stephen Hahn to be Commissioner of the Food & Drug Administration Confirmed 72-18.
• Confirmation vote on the nomination of Aurelia Skipwith to be Director of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Confirmed 52-39.

Tell your reps how to vote on this week's bills and share your thoughts below!

— Eric Revell