The House and Senate are back in session this week. Congressional appropriators are knee-deep in the appropriations process as committees continue to consider President Biden’s proposed budget. House lawmakers are readying a historic resolution to allow staff to unionize. Meanwhile, the Senate is teeing up a bill to protect reproductive freedom in response to a leaked SCOTUS decision that would overturn Roe v. Wade.
Table of Contents:
- Progressive Playbook
- House
- Senate
- Issues to Watch
- Key Dates
- What We’re Reading
Progressive Playbook
All people deserve to pursue their dreams and get a high-quality higher education. But while certain politicians continue to slash funding for public education, universities are exploding tuition and big banks are profiting off of our pain. Today, far too many people are priced out of college or burdened with a lifetime of debt, preventing them from even getting by, much less getting ahead or saving for their future. We must come together, as we have in the past, to ensure that everyone can go to college and start a business, start a family, buy a home, or simply pay their bills. We need to cancel student debt and make sure everyone can get a good education and live a full life.
WORDS THAT WORK
- We all benefit when students can pursue their dreams to start new businesses, buy homes, or start families without a lifetime of debt holding them back.
- The student debt trap hurts everyone–students, families, and all of our communities.
- Debt keeps education out of reach for too many.
- Decades ago, we decided that K-12 education was a commonsense right that belongs to every American. In the 21st century, it’s time to extend that right to higher education too.
House
House Floor
The House will vote on 28 suspension bills from the Committees on Financial Services, Oversight & Reform, Science, Space, & Technology, and Judiciary. Suspension bills require a ⅔ majority to pass. For a list of all suspension bills being considered, click here.
The House will also consider the following bills, subject to rules:
H.R. 2499 – Federal Firefighters Fairness Act of 2022 (Rep. Carbajal): The bill would expand federal workers’ compensation to firefighters who contract certain illnesses as a result of their service. The benefits include medical expenses, disability payments, and survivors benefits if there’s a demonstrable link between their federal employment and their injury or illness.
- Press Release (Rep. Carbajal)
H.R. 903 – Rights for the TSA Workforce Act of 2022 (Rep. Thompson (MS)): The bill would modify the workplace rights, protections, and benefits applicable to Transportation Security Administration personnel. Specifically, the bill makes employees subject to the personnel management system applicable to other federal employees, sets rules that protect the pay rates and leave rights of employees, and provides the same collective bargaining rights as other federal employees.
- Press Release (Committee on Homeland Security)
H.R. 5129 – Community Services Block Grant Modernization Act of 2022 (Rep. Bonamici): The bill would reauthorize the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) program for 10 years at $1 billion annually for the grants from fiscal 2023 through 2027 and such sums as necessary each year from fiscal 2028 through 2032. The bill would also permanently raise income eligibility to 200 percent of the poverty line, as temporarily provided in the CARES Act.
- Press Release (Rep. Bonamici)
Additional legislative items are possible including a Resolution Recognizing Congressional Workers’ Right to Organize.
House Committee Highlights
A full list of this week’s hearings and markups can be found here. Notable hearings and markups include:
Tuesday Hearings
FY 2023 Budget Request for the Department of Transportation (Appropriations)
- Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg is testifying
Wednesday Hearings
Standing Up for Workers: Preventing Wage Theft and Recovering Stolen Wages (Education & Labor)
Bringing Prosperity to Left-Behind Communities: Using Targeted Place-based Development to Expand Economic Opportunity (Economic Disparity and Fairness in Growth)
Accountability and Justice for War Crimes Committed in Ukraine by the Russian Federation (Foreign Affairs)
Fiscal Year 2023 Budget Request for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (Appropriations)
- Commissioner of CBP Chris Magnus is testifying
FY 2023 Budget Request for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (Appropriations)
- Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Marcia Fudge is testifying
FY 2023 Budget Request for the National Institutes of Health (Appropriations)
- Director of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Dr. Anthony Fauci is testifying
FY 2023 Department of Defense (Appropriations)
- Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller)/Chief Financial Officer Michael J. McCord, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark A. Milley are testifying
Thursday Hearings
Board Member Views on Surface Transportation Board Reauthorization (Transportation & Infrastructure)
Modernizing Hydropower: Licensing and Reforms for a Clean Energy Future (Energy & Commerce)
Examining DHS’s Efforts to Combat the Opioid Epidemic (Homeland Security)
Fiscal Year 2023 Budget Request for the Judiciary (Appropriations)
FY 2023 Budget Request for the Department of Commerce (Appropriations)
- Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo is testifying
Senate
Senate Floor
S.4132 – Women’s Health Protection Act of 2022 (Sen. Blumenthal): The bill would guarantee a pregnant person’s right to access an abortion—and the right of an abortion provider to deliver these abortion services—free from medically unnecessary restrictions that interfere with a patient’s individual choice or the provider-patient relationship.A similar bill passed the House of Representatives last September by a 218-211 vote.
- Press Release (Sen. Blumenthal)
Nominations
The Senate this week has teed up votes on the following nominees:
- Ann Claire Phillips to be Administrator of the Maritime Administration
- Asmeret Asefaw Berhe to be Director of the Office of Science, Department of Energy
Senate Committee Highlights
A full list of this week’s Senate committee hearings, including confirmation hearings, can be found here. Notable committee hearings include:
Tuesday Hearings
A Review of the President’s Fiscal Year 2023 Budget Request for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (Appropriations)
- Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack is testifying
Wednesday Hearings
Oversight of the Council on Environmental Quality: A Year in Review (Environment & Public Works)
The Global Food Security and COVID-19 Crises: U.S. Response and Policy Options (Appropriations)
A Review of the President’s Fiscal Year 2023 Funding Request for the Department of Commerce (Appropriations)
- Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo is testifying
A Review of the Fiscal Year 2023 Budget Requests of the Architect of the Capitol, the Senate Sergeant at Arms, and the Congressional Budget Office (Appropriations)
- Architect of the Capitol J. Brett Blanton, Senate Sergeant at Arms Karen Gibson, and Director of the CBO Dr. Phillip Swagel are testifying
Thursday Hearings
A Review of the President’s FY 2023 Funding Request and Budget Justification for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (Appropriations)
- Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Marcia Fudge is testifying
Issues to Watch
Roe v. Wade
Last week, a leaked draft opinion authored by Justice Samuel Alito suggested that the Supreme Court was preparing to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 Supreme Court decision that ruled that the U.S. Constitution protects a pregnant person’s right to choose to have an abortion. If Roe is overturned, nearly 33.6 million individuals of reproductive age could lose access to abortion as states move to restrict or ban abortion entirely. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer quickly announced plans to hold a vote to codify abortion rights into federal law this week. The measure, the Women’s Health Protection Act (S.4132), would prohibit medically unnecessary government restrictions on abortion access prior to fetal viability. The bill would require 60 votes in the evenly divided Senate to avoid a filibuster. The Supreme Court’s final opinion is expected to be published before the end of the Court’s term in June.
- The end of Roe v. Wade: Here’s what Democrats need to know about the challenges ahead. (Slate)
- The Fight Over Abortion History (The New York Times)
- Roe is in jeopardy, and it’s a voting rights issue (Mic)
- The dire health consequences of denying abortions, explained (Vox)
Congressional Staff Unionization
Last week, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that the House of Representatives will vote on a resolution that would recognize congressional workers’ right to unionize. Rep. Andy Levin’s H.Res. 915, Recognizing Congressional Workers’ Right to Organize, has 165 cosponsors and would be the final step under the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 to provide House congressional workers legal protection to organize and bargain collectively. Speaker Pelosi also announced that starting on September 1, the minimum annual pay for staffers in the House would be set at $45,000.
- Protecting the Right to Organize in Congress (PCAF)
- The House will vote on a measure to allow congressional staffers to unionize (NPR)
- The fight for a union in Congress, explained (Vox)
Invasion of Ukraine
Over the weekend, First Lady Jill Biden met with Ukraine’s First Lady, Olena Zelenska, in an unannounced visit to Western Ukraine. The pair met at a school that now serves as temporary housing for internally displaced Ukrainians, of which there are now more than 7 million. An estimated 5.5 million people have fled to neighboring countries since the invasion began. First Lady Jill Biden also traveled to Romania and Slovakia and met with humanitarian aid organizations, government officials, and refugee families. The First Lady’s trip makes her the latest high-profile American to visit the region after trips from Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. Congressional lawmakers are currently negotiating a supplemental appropriations package that would provide Ukraine with billions more in military, humanitarian, and direct economic assistance. While the timeline for the package is unclear, Speaker Pelosi in an interview over the weekend said she would like to pass a bill before June.
- Jill Biden’s Secret Ukraine Trip (The New York Times)
- UNHCR Ukraine Emergency (UNHCR)
Key Dates
May: AAPI Heritage Month
May: Jewish American Heritage Month
May: Mental Health Awareness Month
May 2 – May 9: House is out of session
May 9: A Day Without Child Care: A National Day of Action
May 14: House remote voting expires
May 17: International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia
May 20 – June 6: House is out of session
May 23: Title 42 officially ends
May 30: Memorial Day
May 30 – June 5: Senate is out of session
May 31 – June 1: Anniversary of the Tulsa Massacre
June: Immigrant Heritage Month
June: LGBTQ+ Pride Month
What We’re Reading
Facebook Provided Warning to FBI Before January 6, GAO Report Reveals (Just Security)
Supreme Court leak strikes fear among environmental lawyers (The Washington Post)
I Listened In on Big Business. It’s Profiting From Inflation, and You’re Paying for It. (The New York Times)
Don’t Overinflate the Pentagon Budget (Defense One)
White House documents detail a looming squeeze on Covid-19 boosters (STAT)
Strong and equitable unemployment insurance systems require broadening the UI tax base (Economic Policy Institute)
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