WEDNESDAY, JULY 10, 2019                                                                                                           

House Meets At… Votes Predicted At…
10:00 a.m. Morning Hour

12:00 p.m. Legislative Business

Fifteen “One Minutes” Per Side

 First/ Last Votes: 3:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.

 

ANY ANTICIPATED MEMBER ABSENCES FOR VOTES TODAY SHOULD BE REPORTED

IMMEDIATELY TO THE OFFICE OF THE MAJORITY WHIP AT 6-3210.

Floor Schedule and Procedure:
Under a Rule (1 bill):

Begin Consideration of H.R. 2500 – National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (Rep. Smith (WA) – Armed Services)

Materials from the House Armed Services Committee:

Click here for a fact sheet.

Click here for a summary of the Democratic priorities in the bill.

The Rule provides for one hour of general debate, makes in order 439 amendments, and allows for amendments to be offered en bloc. A full list of amendments can be found here.

Suspensions (5 bills):

  1. H.R. 1044 – Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2019 (Rep. Lofgren – Judiciary)

This bill would amend the so-called “per-country” limits on the issuance of immigrant visas (i.e., green cards). These limits currently restrict the nationals of any one country from obtaining more than 7% of the total number of immigrant visas provided by statute to employment- and family-based immigrants. The bill phases-out the per-country limits for employment-based immigrants over 3 years, thus making the employment-based system responsive on a first-come, first-served basis regardless of nationality.  For family-sponsored immigrants, the bill modifies the 7% limit to a 15% limit. These two changes are intended to even out current backlogs and soften the particularly harsh impacts felt by certain nationalities.

  1. H.R. 1569 – To amend title 28, United States Code, to add Flagstaff and Yuma to the list of locations in which court shall be held in the judicial district for the State of Arizona (Rep. O’Halleran – Judiciary)

This bill would authorize district court judges to hear cases at the already-existing federal courthouses in Flagstaff and Tucson, Arizona.

  1. S. 998 – Supporting and Treating Officers in Crisis Act of 2019 (Sen. Hawley – Judiciary)

This bill would modify an existing, but expired, authorization that provided support to law enforcement officers’ (LEO) families to add mental health and suicide prevention programs directed at LEOs. It would also reauthorize the family support provisions and would appropriate up to $7,500,000 per fiscal year, from 2020 to 2024, to carry out both family and LEO mental health programs.

  1. S. 744 – Effective Prosecution of Possession of Biological Toxins and Agents Act of 2019 (Sen. Grassley – Judiciary)

This bill would correct what is termed a “scrivener’s error” in section 175b of title 18 of the United States Code, to ensure that the statute prohibits the shipment, transportation, possession or receipt of the complete list of biological toxins and agents that Congress intends to prohibit.

  1. H.R. 677 – 21st Century President Act (Rep. Pocan – Judiciary)

Federal law currently prohibits the making of certain threats against certain current and former officials, such as the President, Vice President, and former presidents and vice presidents, and their families. This bill would amend the code to replace gendered terms in the code, such as “wife” and “widow” with “spouse.”
QUOTE OF THE DAY:

“There is hope in dreams, imagination, and in the courage of those who wish to make those dreams a reality.”

Jonas Salk