Congresspedia Preview: This Week in Congress (Nov. 10–16, 2007)

by Conor Kenny — November 13, 2007 - 11:29am
  • Topics: This Week In Congress
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    Bills, bills bills: The big order of business for Congress this week is to continue passing the federal budget for the 2008 fiscal year (which started on Oct. 30), including funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The big farm bill and legislation aimed at the mortgage crisis are also on the front burner.

    Last week Congress sent the first two 2008 appropriation bills, on domestic and defense spending, to President Bush (twelve must eventually be passed). Congressional Democratic leaders abandoned plans several weeks ago to attach $50 billion in "bridge" funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (about 1/4 of the $196 billion Bush requested for 2008) to the Defense appropriation bill. They now plan to offer the same $50 billion in the Senate this week with language being tied to the money that would require the draw-down of combat forces within 2 weeks of passage, with a complete withdrawal complete by Dec. 15, 2008. If Republicans block that bill, Democratic leaders have vowed to make Bush pay for the wars out of the regular budget until they are allowed to pass such language.

    On the domestic side, the $151 billion budget for the departments of Labor, Education and Health and Human Services was vetoed, so Democrats will be working their Republican colleagues this week looking for enough votes to override. The House will be the battleground, since the roll-call there was several votes shy of a veto-proof majority.

    The $51 billion Transportation-HUD spending bill faces a similar fate: Bush has promised to veto it as well. Debate is expected to continue this week on the nine other remaining measures.

    Partisan differences over amendments offered on the 2007 farm bill will likely keep the measure off the Senate calendar again this week. Work on a new energy bill might relieve some of the pressure on the farm bill, since Sen. Energy Committee ranking member Pete Domenici wants to include alternate fuels language in whichever bill moves forward.

    Finally, with the stock market still feeling the effects of the housing credit crisis, lawmakers are working on a bill to place new regulations on lenders. The Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act of 2007 would require lenders to prove borrowers could repay adjustable-rate mortgages, and increase the oversight responsibility of federal banking regulators.

    Have something to say about these bills? Each Congresspedia profile on members of Congress has phone numbers to their DC and Washington offices. Find your senator or representative and speak out.

    Click through the jump to a full listing of this week's committee schedules.

    Here are the committee hearings scheduled for this week in Congress:

    Hearings Schedules:

    November 13, 2007

    Senate

    House

    November 14, 2007

    Senate

    • Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
      Business meeting to consider S. 1551, to amend the Public Health Service Act with respect to making progress toward the goal of eliminating tuberculosis, S. 1858, to amend the Public Health Service Act to establish grant programs to provide for education and outreach on newborn screening and coordinated follow-up care once newborn screening has been conducted, to reauthorize programs under part A of title XI of such Act, S. 911, to amend the Public Health Service Act to advance medical research and treatments into pediatric cancers, ensure patients and families have access to the current treatments and information regarding pediatric cancers, establish a population-based national childhood cancer database, and promote public awareness of pediatric cancers, S. 1916, to amend the Public Health Service Act to modify the program for the sanctuary system for surplus chimpanzees by terminating the authority for the removal of chimpanzees from the system for research purposes, S. 1382, to amend the Public Health Service Act to provide the establishment of an Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Registry, S. 1970, to establish a National Commission on Children and Disasters, a National Resource Center on Children and Disasters, and an original bill entitled, “Health Centers Renewal Act of 2007”, and any pending nominations, 9:30 a.m., SD-430.
    • Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs
      Business meeting to mark up pending legislation; to be immediately followed by a hearing to examine the nomination of Michael W. Hager, of Virginia, to be an Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs (Human Resources and Management), 9:30 a.m., SD-562.
    • Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
      Business meeting to consider S. 1667, to establish a pilot program for the expedited disposal of Federal real property, S. 1000, to enhance the Federal Telework Program, H.R. 390, to require the establishment of a national database in the National Archives to preserve records of servitude, emancipation, and post-Civil War reconstruction and to provide grants to State and local entities to establish similar local databases, H.R. 3571, to amend the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 to permit individuals who have served as employees of the Office of Compliance to serve as Executive Director, Deputy Executive Director, or General Counsel of the Office, and to permit individuals appointed to such positions to serve one additional term, S. 2174, to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 175 South Monroe Street in Tiffin, Ohio, as the “Paul E. Gillmor Post Office Building”, H.R. 2089, to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 701 Loyola Avenue in New Orleans, Louisiana, as the “Louisiana Armed Services Veterans Post Office”, S. 2292, to amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002, to establish the Office for Bombing Prevention, to address terrorist explosive threats, H.R. 3297, to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 950 West Trenton Avenue in Morrisville, Pennsylvania, as the “Nate DeTample Post Office Building”, H.R. 3308, to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 216 East Main Street in Atwood, Indiana, as the “Lance Corporal David K. Fribley Post Office”, H.R. 3530, to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1400 Highway 41 North in Inverness, Florida, as the “Chief Warrant Officer Aaron Weaver Post Office Building”, H.R. 2276, to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 203 North Main Street in Vassar, Michigan, as the “Corporal Christopher E. Esckelson Post Office Building”, H.R. 3325, to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 235 Mountain Road in Suffield, Connecticut, as the “Corporal Stephen R. Bixler Post Office”, S. 2110, to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 427 North Street in Taft, California, as the “Larry S. Pierce Post Office”, H.R. 3382, to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 200 North William Street in Goldsboro, North Carolina, as the “Philip A. Baddour, Sr. Post Office”, S. 2290, to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 16731 Santa Ana Avenue in Fontana, California, as the “Beatrice E. Watson Post Office Building'', S. 2272, to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service known as the Southpark Station in Alexandria, Louisiana, as the John “Marty” Thiels Southpark Station, in honor and memory of Thiels, a Louisiana postal worker who was killed in the line of duty on October 4, 2007, H.R. 3446, to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 202 East Michigan Avenue in Marshall, Michigan, as the “Michael W. Schragg Post Office Building”, S. 2150 and H.R. 3572, bills to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 4320 Blue Parkway in Kansas City, Missouri, as the “Wallace S. Hartsfield Post Office Building”, S. 2107 and H.R. 3307, bills to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 570 Broadway in Bayonne, New Jersey, as the “Dennis P. Collins Post Office Building”, H.R. 3518, to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1430 South Highway 29 in Cantonment, Florida, as the “Charles H. Hendrix Post Office D1508Building”, and other pending calendar business, 10 a.m., SD-342.
    • Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
      Full Committee, to hold hearings to examine ways to improve the Federal Climate Change Research and Information Program, 10 a.m., SR-253.
    • Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
      To hold hearings to examine the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership relating to the United States policy on nuclear fuel management, 10 a.m., SD-366.
    • Senate Committee on Finance
      To hold hearings to examine the federal estate tax, focusing on uncertainty in planning under the current law, 10 a.m., SD-215.
    • Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law
      To hold hearings to examine accountability for human rights violators in the United States, 10 a.m., SD-226.
    • Joint Hearing: Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety
      To hold joint hearings with the House Committee on Education and Labor Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions
      To examine the National Labor Relations Board, focusing on recent decisions and the adjudication process, 10 a.m., 2175-RHOB.
    • Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
      To hold hearings to examine shareholder rights and proxy access, 10:30 a.m., SD-538
    • Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
      Full committee, to hold hearings to examine sovereign wealth fund acquisitions and other foreign government investments in the United States, focusing on economic and national security implications, 2 p.m., SD-538.
    • Permanent Senate Subcommittee on Investigation
      To hold hearings to examine Medicaid providers, focusing on a recent study conducted by the Government Accountability Office on unpaid taxes, the extent of the problem, and possible solutions, 2:30 p.m., SD-342.
    • Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
      Full Committee, meeting of conferees on proposed legislation authorizing funds for fiscal year 2008 for the intelligence community, 4:30 p.m., S-407, Capitol.

    House

    November 15, 2007

    Senate

    House