MAJORITY WHIPLINE: MONDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2019

Floor Schedule and Procedure:

Suspensions (16 bills):

1. H.R. 4372 – MSI STEM Achievement Act (Rep. Bernice Johnson – Science, Space, and Technology)This bill directs federal science agencies and the Office of Science and Technology Policy to undertake activities to improve the quality of undergraduate STEM education and enhance the research capacity at the nation’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribal Colleges and Universities, and Minority Serving Institutions.
3. H.R. 4373 – Engineering Biology Research and Development Act of 2019, as amended (Rep. Bernice Johnson – Science, Space, and Technology)This bill provides for a coordinated federal research initiative to ensure continued United States leadership in engineering biology.
4. H.R. 2051 – Sustainable Chemistry Research and Development Act of 2019, as amended (Rep. Lipinski – Science, Space, and Technology)This bill provides for federal coordination of activities supporting sustainable chemistry.
6. H.R. 5213 – NASA Enhanced Use Leasing Extension Act of 2019, as amended (Rep. Horn – Science, Space, and Technology)This bill extends the authority of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to enter into leases of nonexcess property of the Administration.
7. S. 737 – Building Blocks of STEM Act (Sen. Rosen – Science, Space, and Technology)

This bill directs the National Science Foundation to support STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, including computer science) education research focused on early childhood.

1. H.R. 4355 – IOGAN Act (Rep. Gonzalez (OH) – Science, Space, and Technology)This bill provides for research on manipulated or synthesized content and information authenticity, including output of generative adversarial networks, otherwise known as deepfakes and to encourage public-private partnerships to develop standards for detecting and identifying such content.
3. H.R. 4566 – Virginia Beach Strong Act (Rep. Luria – Ways and Means)

This bill clarifies that donations made for the relief of the families of the victims of the mass shooting in Virginia Beach, Virginia, on May 31, 2019, are treated as charitable contributions for purposes of the Internal Revenue Code.

1. H.R. 3669 – Weatherizing Infrastructure in the North and Terrorism Emergency Readiness Act of 2019 (Rep. Slotkin – Homeland Security)This bill directs the Department of Homeland Security to develop and conduct a terrorism training exercise that addresses the effects of a successful terrorist attack on critical infrastructure during an extreme cold weather event.  The exercise will include a scenario involving the following: 1) a successful terrorist attack, an extreme cold weather event; 2) the effects on critical infrastructure; and 3) how the effects of a successful attack against critical infrastructure could be mitigated by emergency managers, state officials, and community stakeholders.  DHS is then required to submit a report to the appropriate Congressional committees on the findings of such exercise, lessons learned, and any proposed legislative changes that may be needed.
3. H.R. 4761 – DHS Opioid Detection Resilience Act of 2019 (Rep. Higgins (LA) – Homeland Security)This bill requires Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to implement a strategy to ensure that deployed chemical screening devices are able to identify synthetic opioids in an operational environment at a purity level of 10 percent or lower or provide ports of entry with an alternative method for identifying narcotics at lower purity levels. The bill also directs the DHS Secretary to implement a plan for developing a centralized database for chemical screening devices that includes how newly identified drug compounds will be collected, stored, and distributed to these devices in an operational environment and identifying the appropriate parties responsible for updates and maintenance of the database.
5. H.R. 4739 – Synthetic Opioid Exposure Prevention and Training Act (Rep. Clarke – Homeland Security)This bill would ensure that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel will be protected from accidental contact with synthetic opioids. Vulnerabilities to this threat were exposed in a Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General Management Alert issued in July 2019, which found inadequate training for personnel and that opioid antidotes were not sufficiently available at high-risk locations. In response, the “Synthetic Opioid Exposure Prevention and Training Act” requires that improved training and procedures for handling synthetic opioids be widely shared with CBP personnel. Specifically, training programs must address the dangers posed by synthetic opioids, the necessity for precautionary measures, and the use of protective equipment.
7. H.R. 4727 – Department of Homeland Security Mentor-Protégé Program Act of 2019 (Rep. McEachin – Homeland Security)This bill establishes in law a program in which large businesses (mentor firms) will provide developmental assistance and subcontracting opportunities to small businesses (protégé firms). Mentor firms will be encouraged to offer technical, managerial, and financial assistance to protégé firms, for a period of time no less than three years, through incentives, such as additional credit when being evaluated for the award of future Department contracts. The head of the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization is required to report annually to Congress on program participation and the benefits conferred upon to protégé firms.
9. H.R. 3318 – Emerging Transportation Security Threats Act of 2019 (Rep. Joyce (PA) – Homeland Security)This bill requires establishing a task force to analyze emerging threats to transportation. The analysis includes a review of tactics, explosives, chemical or biological, cyber, unmanned aerial systems, soft targets, information sharing and growing passenger volumes. After the completion of the review, a mitigation strategy must be developed for each identified threat. This review requires collaboration with transportation stakeholders. This legislation mandates a briefing of the appropriate congressional committees on the results of the review and the mitigation strategies developed by this Act.
11. H.R. 4713 – Department of Homeland Security Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Authorization Act (Rep. Green (TX) – Homeland Security)This bill strengthens the role of the Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL) as it works to ensure the protection of individual rights for those affected by the programs and activities of the Department. This bill authorizes CRCL to integrate civil rights and civil liberties into all Department programs by conducting CRCL impact assessments, conducting reviews of Departmental policies, and providing recommendations and other technical assistance to the Secretary and component heads. Specifically, CRCL will publicly publish its reports and reviews of Department programs and will issue annual reports to the President and Congress, without prior comment or amendment by senior Department officials.
13. H.R. 4402 – Inland Waters Security Review Act (Rep. Lesko – Homeland Security)This bill would require DHS to submit to Congress an analysis of the following: (1) current and potential terrorism and criminal threats with respect to inland waters; (2) security challenges at inland water ports; (3) security mitigation efforts with respect to inland waters; (4) any vulnerabilities related to law enforcement cooperation or international agreements with respect to inland waters that may affect security, counterterrorism, anti-trafficking efforts, or trade; and (5) any metrics used by DHS to assess inland waters security. In doing so, DHS must take into account technology, personnel, law enforcement cooperation, public-private partnerships, and challenges posed by geography.
15. H.R. 3469 – Covert Testing and Risk Mitigation Improvement Act of 2019 (Rep. Cummings – Homeland Security)

This bill would require the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to implement a system for conducting at least three projects to covertly test aviation security operations each year. The bill requires significant documentation of identified vulnerabilities as well as retesting to ensure mitigation measures developed are effective. The TSA Administrator must submit annually to Congress a comprehensive document tracking the status of vulnerabilities and mitigation efforts. This bill is informed by the results of a previous GAO study, which identified gaps in TSA’s covert testing practices, and by joint oversight efforts of the Committees on Homeland Security and Oversight and Reform.

1. S. 256 – Esther Martinez Native Languages Programs Reauthorization Act (Sen. Udall – Education and Labor)This bill reauthorizes and makes improvements to the Esther Martinez Native Languages Programs Act through FY 2024, a bill that provides federal support to tribal communities to revitalize and preserve their native languages in childcare and school programs. It also increases the maximum duration of grants and reduces the number of enrollees needed in a program to qualify for a grant. It reauthorizes the program at $13 million annually.

QUOTE OF THE DAY:

“There are uses to adversity, and they don’t reveal themselves until tested. Whether it’s serious illness, financial hardship, or the simple constraint of parents who speak limited English, difficulty can tap unexpected strengths.”

Sonia Sotomayor