The House
The House returns for a short week starting Monday and ending Wednesday as lawmakers begin their push to pass important legislation before the August recess. The first order of business in the House will be passing HR 2157, the long awaited disaster aid bill that will provide $19.2 billion in funding for the recovery of areas hit by hurricanes, wildfires, and floods since late 2017. The Senate passed the bill at the end of May before departing for recess and the House is expected to pass it quickly under suspension of the rules. There are also a number of important hearings scheduled for the short week, including:
- The Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee will begin markup on the FY2020 Financial Services Appropriations bill this evening.
- Energy and Commerce’s Communications and Technology Subcommittee will hold a hearing on Tuesday titled “STELAR Review: Protecting Consumers in an Evolving Media Marketplace.”
- Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Technology Modernization will hold a hearing on “Modernizing Health Records for Service members and Veterans” Tuesday afternoon.
- Tuesday morning the House Foreign Affairs Committee will partner with the Congressional-Executive Commission on China and the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission for a hearing titled “Tiananmen at 30: Examining the Evolution of Repression in China.”
- The Armed Services Committee will have various subcommittees markup HR 2500, the National Defense Authorization Act on Tuesday.
- The Financial Services Committee will hold a hearing to discuss the reauthorization of the US Export-Import Bank Tuesday morning.
The Senate
The Senate also returns from recess this week and will commence by resuming consideration of S. 1332, Senator Rand Paul’s FY2020 budget plan which could make individual tax cuts permanent, set spending and revenue targets that would erase the deficit in five years, and make it difficult for Senators to waive budget targets, pass omnibus appropriations packages, or designate emergency spending. The Senate also has a number of relevant hearings on the docket this week, including:
- The Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee will hold a hearing on “Confronting Threats from China” Tuesday morning.
- The Committee on Commerce, Science, and Technology hearing on “The State of the TV and Video Marketplace” Wednesday morning.
- The Defense Subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee will meet for a closed hearing on Wednesday to review the FY2020 budget request for Defense Innovation and Research funding.
- The Foreign Relations Committee will hold a hearing titled “Rule by Fear: 30 Years After Tiananmen Square” in the morning on Wednesday.
The Administration
President Donald Trump is in the United Kingdom this week for an official state visit. The President and his family arrived in London early Monday morning and are scheduled to meet the royal family later today. While a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Theresa May has been cancelled, President Trump is expected to join the Prime Minister for a joint press conference on Tuesday.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is in Europe until Wednesday of this week. Secretary Pompeo spoke at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit at The Hague Monday morning. He also held a joint media availability with Stef Block, the Dutch Foreign Minister, early Monday.
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