MAJORITY WHIPLINE: WEDNESDAY, JULY 17, 2019

Floor Schedule and Procedure:
Under a Rule (5 bills):

1. S.J.Res. 36 – A joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval of the proposed transfer to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Kingdom of Spain, and the Italian Republic of certain defense articles and services (Sen. Menendez – Foreign Affairs)

This resolution would prohibit a license under the Arms Export Control Act for the export of 64,000 Paveway precision-guided munitions and related equipment to Saudi Arabia, and for the manufacture and co-production in Saudi Arabia of components for these weapons. The Senate passed this resolution to block the license on June 20, utilizing a provision of the Act that allows Congress to enact a resolution of disapproval of a license.  Preventing this license is urgent because the weapons are scheduled to be delivered in the next 60 days. Paveway precision-guided munitions are bombs delivered by aircraft that are guided to targets by lasers and GPS sensors and have killed and injured thousands of civilians in Yemen. The latest UN estimate is that airstrikes have caused 67% of the estimate 8,000 civilian deaths in Yemen since 2015.

1. S.J.Res. 37 – A joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval of the proposed export to the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the Republic of France of certain defense articles and services (Sen. Menendez – Foreign Affairs)

This resolution would prohibit a license under the Arms Export Control Act for the export of 60,000 Paveway precision-guided munitions and related equipment to the United Arab Emirates.  As a condition of this export, the U.S. company is prepared to reach an agreement with the UAE for co-production in the Emirates of components for these weapons and other defense materiel.

The Senate passed this resolution to block the license on June 20, utilizing a provision of the Act that allows Congress to enact a resolution of disapproval of a license.  Preventing this license is urgent because the weapons are scheduled to be delivered in the next 60 days. Precision-guided munitions are bombs delivered by aircraft that are guided to targets by lasers and GPS sensors and have killed and injured thousands of civilians in Yemen.

1. S.J.Res. 38 – A joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval of the proposed export to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland of certain defense articles and services (Sen. Menendez – Foreign Affairs)

This resolution would prohibit a license under the Arms Export Control Act for the export of $209 million in fuzes for Paveway precision-guided munitions to Saudi Arabia.  Fuzes control the height above ground at which bombs explode, maximizing the destructive effect. The Senate passed this resolution to block the license on June 20, utilizing a provision of the Act that allows Congress to enact a resolution of disapproval of a license.

1. H.Res. __ – Resolution Recommending that the House of Representatives find William P. Barr, Attorney General of the United States, and Wilbur L. Ross, Jr., Secretary of Commerce, in Contempt of Congress for Refusal to Comply with Subpoenas Duly Issued by the Committee on Oversight and Reform (Rep. Cummings – Oversight and Reform)

The Trump Administration is obstructing the Oversight Committee’s investigation into the pretext used for more than two years to try to add a citizenship question to the Census. Today’s resolution is to hold Attorney General William Barr and Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross in criminal contempt of Congress for defying the Committee’s bipartisan subpoenas for documents critical to the Committee’s investigation.

Contempt report from the House Committee on Oversight and Reform can be found here.

Executive summary of the contempt report can be found here.

The Rule, which was adopted today, provides for one hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the Chair and Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Reform.

1. Complete Consideration of H.R. 3494 – Damon Paul Nelson and Matthew Young Pollard Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (Rep. Schiff – Intelligence)

This bill authorizes funding and enables comprehensive congressional oversight of elements of the U.S. Intelligence Community and was passed unanimously in the Committee on June 27, 2019.

Fact sheet from the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence can be found here.

As of last night tonight, the House has completed general and amendment debate on H.R. 3494.

Postponed Amendment Votes (2):

Chabot Amendment

Strikes section 401 of the bill which establishes the Climate Security Advisory Council under the Director of National Intelligence.

Kennedy Amendment

Establishes the Foreign Threat Response Center, comprised of analysts from all elements of the Intelligence Community, to provide comprehensive assessments of foreign efforts to influence the United States’ political processes and elections by the Governments of Russia, Iran, North Korea, China, and any other foreign country the Director determines appropriate.

Suspensions (8 bills):

1. H.R. 1847 – Inspector General Protection Act, as amended (Rep. Lieu – Oversight and Reform)

This bill would require notification of Congress in advance of an Inspector General (IG) being placed in a paid or unpaid non-duty status (administrative leave).  The bill would also require the President to report to Congress if an IG has not been nominated within 210 days after a vacancy occurs for the position, including the reasons the nomination has not been made and a target date for doing so.

1. H.R. 736 – Access to Congressionally Mandated Reports Act, as amended (Rep. Quigley – Oversight and Reform)

The bill would require the Director of the Government Publishing Office to establish and maintain an online portal that allows the public to obtain electronic copies of all congressionally mandated reports.

1. H.R. 1250 – To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 11158 Highway 146 North in Hardin, Texas, as the “Lucas Lowe Memorial Post Office,” as amended (Rep. Babin – Oversight and Reform)
3. H.R. 1526 – To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 200 Israel Road Southeast in Tumwater, Washington, as the “Eva G. Hewitt Post Office” (Rep. Heck – Oversight and Reform)
5. H.R. 1844 – To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 66 Grove Court in Elgin, Illinois, as the “Corporal Alex Martinez Memorial Post Office Building” (Rep. Krishnamoorthi – Oversight and Reform)
7. H.R. 3305 – To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 2509 George Mason Drive in Virginia Beach, Virginia, as the “Ryan Keith Cox Post Office Building” (Rep. Luria – Oversight and Reform)
9. H.R. 2325 – To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 100 Calle Alondra in San Juan, Puerto Rice, as the “65^th Infantry Regiment Post Office Building” (Rep. Gonzalez-Colon – Oversight and Reform)
11. H.R. 748 – Middle Class Health Benefits Tax Repeal Act of 2019, as amended (Rep. Courtney – Ways and Means)

This bill introduced by Rep. Courtney (D-CT) and with more than 360 bi-partisan co-sponsors, would repeal the 40 percent excise tax on high value employer-sponsored health insurance, also known as the “Cadillac Tax”. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) included a provision to impose a 40 percent excise tax on high-cost and high-value employer-sponsored insurance beginning in 2018 but the tax has been delayed three times, and now will take effect in 2022.  More than 181 million Americans – the majority of Americans – currently depend on employer-sponsored health insurance and the Cadillac Tax is pushing deductibles and out-of-pocket costs higher as employers are forced to make changes in plan design to avoid the tax. Even so, Kaiser Family Foundation expects 1 in 5 employers to hit the taxable threshold in 2022.  JCT estimates the cost of repealing the Cadillac Tax at $197 billion.

“There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow men. True nobility lies in being superior to your former self.”

Ernest Hemingway