Congressional Outlook

Congressional Outlook

The House and Senate are in session.

The House will vote on 28 bills under suspension of the rules, including the Consumer Fuel Price Gouging Prevention Act (H.R. 7688), that would make it unlawful to increase gasoline and home energy fuel prices in an excessive or exploitative manner, and the Senate-Passed State and Local Government Cybersecurity Act of 2021 (S. 2499), which expands DHS responsibilities through grants and cooperative agreements, including the provision of assistance and education related to cyber threat indicators, proactive and defensive measures and cybersecurity technologies, cybersecurity risks and vulnerabilities, incident response and management, analysis, and warnings. The House will also vote on legislation to address the supply chain disruptions and recalls to baby formula following a Dear Colleague letter from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) addressing the matter. House lawmakers will begin publicly posting their 2023 fiscal year Community Project Funding (earmark) requests this week as well. The House Appropriations Committee asked Members to wait 15 days after the submission deadlines before posting their requests.

Following weeks of negotiations, the Senate is slated to vote on the House-passed $40.1 billion Ukrainian assistance package (H.R. 7691). The movement comes after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) led a weekend Senate delegation visit to Ukraine, including a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and told reporters on passage of the package that “we'll get the job done by Wednesday.” Last week, President Biden urged Congress in a statement to separate the Ukraine and COVID packages in order to not “slow down action on the urgently needed Ukrainian aid.” Many Republicans voiced opposition to the COVID package following concerns over the potential end to Title 42, a pandemic-related immigration restriction impacting asylum seekers on the southern border with Mexico. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) filed a cloture motion for the bill, but the vote could face delays with Sen. Chris Van Hollen’s (D-MD) office announcing the Senator was hospitalized for a minor stroke.

For the remainder of the week, the House and Senate will hold several committee hearings, including a House Science, Space and Technology hearing on “Building a Workforce to Navigate the Electric Vehicle Future” and a House Homeland Security Committee hearing on “Creating a More Resilient Nation: Stakeholder Perspectives.” Cabinet members and other agency leaders will appear on Capitol Hill to testify on their FY 2023 budget requests, including Labor Secretary Marty Walsh before the House Labor, Health and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee; U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Robert Califf before the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration Subcommittee; National Park Service Director Charles Sams before the Interior and Environment Subcommittee; and National Aeronautics and Space Administration Secretary Bill Nelson before the Commerce-Justice-Science Subcommittee.

The Senate will vote on several nominations, including three district court judges: Jennifer Rochon for the Southern District of New York, Trina Thompson for the Northern District of California, and Sunshine Suzanne Sykes for the Central District of California. The Senate may vote on Mary Boyle as a Consumer Product Safety Commission. Several states, including Idaho, Kentucky, North Carolina, Oregon, and Pennsylvania, will hold primaries.

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