Update from Washington, D.C. 06/07/2013
The House and Senate were back in session this week following the
Memorial Day recess. Senators saw their schedules modified,
however, after learning of the death of Senator Frank Lautenberg
(D-NJ), who passed away on June 3. The upper chamber stood in
recess on June 5, allowing members the opportunity to attend
Senator Lautenberg’s funeral in New York.
Upon returning to Washington, senators voted 75-22 to limit
debate on a Farm Bill reauthorization package (S 954). The
legislation, which was approved by the Agriculture Committee on
May 14, would reauthorize for five years a broad range of
agricultural and food-assistance programs. Senate leaders had
been working for weeks to limit the number of amendments that
would be considered, but with no agreement in sight, Majority
Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) moved to end debate. Invoking cloture on
S 954 helps clear the way for a final vote on the bill, which is
expected to occur on Monday, June 10. Notably, an amendment to
expand high-speed broadband service to rural areas will be
considered before the vote on final passage.
After the Senate completes its work on the Farm Bill, it will
shift its focus to a comprehensive immigration reform bill (S
744), which was approved by the Judiciary Committee in May.
Senate leaders have scheduled a June 11 vote to limit debate on a
motion to proceed to consideration of the landmark legislation.
If the motion is adopted, the Senate will need to take another
procedural vote before the underlying bill will be open for
amendment.
It should be noted that while supporters of the legislation have
expressed a willingness to consider amendments, they also want to
ensure that any changes to the bill do not upset the core
framework. For his part, Majority Leader Reid believes that the
Senate will be able to advance the measure before the July 4th
recess, which gives lawmakers three weeks to complete their
work.
Across Capitol Hill, a bipartisan group of House lawmakers has
reportedly come to an agreement on its own comprehensive
immigration reform legislation. However, Representative Raul
Labrador (R-ID), a key conservative member of the coalition, has
refused to sign off on the package. Labrador chose to leave the
group after learning that language he had offered to prevent
newly legalized immigrants from receiving subsidized health care
would not be included. Instead, he plans to write his own
proposal.
In other news, the House continued to move forward with the
fiscal year 2014 appropriations process despite the lack of a
formal budget agreement. On June 4, the GOP-led House agreed to a
$967 billion spending cap set by the Budget Control Act (BCA).
This is down from $1.043 trillion in fiscal year 2013. Senate
Appropriations Chairwoman Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), on the other
hand, is expected to support a higher spending cap of $1.058
trillion.
Following approval of the spending allocations, the House began
consideration of its first two spending bills for the upcoming
fiscal year. On June 4, lawmakers overwhelmingly approved a
Military Construction-Veterans Affairs measure (HR 2216) by a
vote of 421-4. On June 6, the House adopted legislation (HR 2217)
that will fund the Department of Homeland Security and the
programs it oversees. That measure was approved by a vote of
245-182.
For its part, the White House has threatened to veto both
measures, and is likely to veto all spending bills that are based
on the House GOP budget plan.