Six things to watch in Congress this week
Eden Villalovas
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Congress has a busy schedule this week. It includes addressing the GOP’s long-awaited plan to raise the debt limit and confirming President Joe Biden’s labor secretary nominee, Julie Su, which has sparked a bipartisan debate.
Here is what to look out for in Congress this week:
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GOP debt limit bill; pressure on Biden to negotiate
Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has expressed he is hopeful the House will pass his $1.5 trillion debt ceiling increase plan this week.
The plan, which would hold off U.S. payments until March 31, 2024, at the latest, seeks to cut $4.5 trillion in spending over the course of a decade. It would slash funding by more than $130 billion from current levels.
“We will hold a vote this week, and we will pass it,” McCarthy said on Fox News’s Sunday Morning Futures.
Democrats and Republicans have urged President Joe Biden to end the inaction, voicing concerns about a debt crisis.
“President Biden has a choice,” McCarthy said on the House floor Wednesday. “Come to the table and stop playing partisan political games — or cover his ears, refuse to negotiate, and risk bumbling his way into the first default in our nation’s history.”
McCarthy needs to secure 218 votes for the bill to pass the House.
House Homeland Security Committee pushes forward with markup of its border security bill
On Wednesday, the House Homeland Security Committee will hold a markup to consider the Border Reinforcement Act of 2023. It would require the Department of Homeland Security to resume construction of the border wall introduced by the Trump administration.
The bill was introduced by Rep. Mark E. Green (R-TN), the House Homeland Security Committee chairman, and it is one part of the GOP’s plan to combat U.S.-Mexico border security concerns. The legislation would add more agents to the field and ensure U.S. Customs and Border Protection has the technology and resources needed to perform their duties.
“This border crisis is one of the greatest security threats facing the American people. Republicans on the Homeland Security Committee won’t stand by and let it continue,” Green said in a press release.
The bill includes a proposal from Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX). It calls for a reimbursement program, requiring the Government Office of Accountability to research what the states have paid to secure their borders.
The bill markup is set for 10 a.m. ET.
Julie Su’s nomination to serve as secretary of labor
Another Hill happening to flag for Wednesday: The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee will vote on Biden’s nomination of Julie Su for secretary of labor. The Senate confirmed Su as deputy secretary for the agency in 2021.
Last week, Su faced backlash from Republicans in a HELP Committee hearing. They said her California labor policy is too radical and wrongfully allocated over $30 billion in taxpayer money to tackle unemployment during the pandemic.
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) questioned Su for lacking negotiation experience between unions and management.
The confirmation is expected to begin at 10 a.m. ET.
House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic holds school closure hearing
Chairman Brad Wenstrup (R-OH) of the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic will hold a hearing on Wednesday focusing on the Biden administration’s closure of schools and the effect the restrictions had on students.
The hearing, titled “The Consequences of School Closures, Part 2: The President of the American Federation of Teachers Ms. Randi Weingarten,” will seek to examine American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten’s role in revising reopening guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendations.
The committee will look into if schools were shut down longer than necessary.
“Even when healthy and successful learning environments were possible, Ms. Weingarten and the AFT advocated against school reopenings,” a statement from Wenstrup reads. “Safely returning our children to school as soon as possible should have been our top priority.”
The hearing will commence at 2 p.m. ET, and witnesses include a former high school teacher, Weingarten, and the former president of the United Federation of Teachers.
House Ways and Means Committee IRS accountability hearing with IRS Commissioner Werfel
On Thursday, House Committee on Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO) will hold a hearing on accountability and transparency at the IRS with IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel.
Last week, during a floor hearing introducing the GOP’s Limit, Save, Grow Act of 2023, the plan to raise the debt ceiling, the IRS’s nearly $80 billion in funding as part of the Inflation Reduction Act was brought into question.
McCarthy said in a speech that the measure would eliminate “Biden’s army of 87,000 IRS agents.” This number has been widely criticized and deemed false by many Democrats.
The hearing will take place at 1 p.m. ET.
House vote on canceling Biden’s emergency solar panel policy
The White House said on Monday it would veto the congressional efforts to overturn Biden’s solar tariff waiver.
Last week, the House Ways and Means Committee voted to advance restoring tariffs on solar panels from four Southeast Asian nations, Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam, in an attempt to overturn Biden’s policy allowing Chinese solar manufacturers to bypass U.S. tariffs.
“Today’s resolution is an important step to ensure the United States maintains crucial protections for American workers and our economy as a whole,” Smith, the panel chairman, said in a statement last week.
“I appreciate that concern for China’s behavior is shared by so many of us, and I hope this is the first of several bipartisan things we can work together on as it relates to confronting the continued threat China poses on so many fronts,” he added.
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Other prominent topics to keep tabs on include Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough testifying before the Senate Appropriations Committee on Wednesday. This hearing comes after the pausing of the Veterans Affairs electronic health records modernization project.
The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs will hold a hearing on Wednesday to explore the lessons learned from the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing following the 10-year anniversary on April 15.