Good morning. The NDAA goes to the House floor. Appropriators race ahead of August recess. And Biden’s pick to lead the Joint Chiefs testifies. Here’s your Federal CapWatch for Monday, July 10.
Gear Up: Lawmakers are readying for debate on scores of amendments when the NDAA hits the floor later this week.
Race Before Recess: Appropriators are expected to try over the next three works to finish work on more spending bills before the summer break sets in.
Joint Chiefs: Biden’s historic pick to be chairman of the Joint Chiefs testifies to Senate Armed Services amid Tuberville’s block on Pentagon nominees.
On the Radar: Biden is off to Europe, where he meets with King Charles III before heading to the NATO summit.
White House: In the United Kingdom, Biden meets with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and King Charles III. Later, Biden flies to Lithuania.
House:Convenes at 2:30 p.m. in a pro forma session.
Senate: Convenes at 3 p.m. At 5:30 p.m. the Senate is expected to vote on a motion to invoke cloture on the nomination of Xochitl Torres Small to be a deputy secretary of Agriculture.
Committees: The PGA’s chief operating officer testifies Tuesday to a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs subcommittee on the PGA-LIV deal and Saudi Arabia’s influence in the U.S.
FBI Director Christopher Wray testifies to House Judiciary on Wednesday.
FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell testifies Thursday on the future of the agency to a House Homeland Security subcommittee.
John Kerry, special presidential envoy for climate at the State Department, testifies Thursday to the House Foreign Affairs Oversight and Accountability Subcommittee on the department’s climate agenda.
The fiscal 2024 National Defense Authorization Act hits the House floor this week but faces a road to final passage made precarious by culture wars. The NDAA is up in the Rules Committee on Tuesday. Lawmakers have filed over 1,400 amendments to the House version of the Pentagon policy bill. House Republican leaders will determine which of those proposed changes will get a vote on the floor. The amendments preview possible debates on political issues like abortion, diversity, and gender identity.
Those culture wars could endanger the final passage of the must-pass measure. If Republican members are able to attach additional proposals on such issues to the bill, it could mean losing Democratic votes on the floor. But not adopting changes to the bill on issues like abortion could mean some Republicans won’t back the measure. Ukraine funding is also likely to come up. While there is bipartisan support to continue security assistance for Kyiv, some Republicans are wary of additional spending on the war or want more oversight of the billions already delivered. One amendment, by Congresswoman Sara Jacobs, D-CA, would prohibit the transfer of cluster munitions to Ukraine. The controversial explosives release smaller submunitions over a certain area. The amendment is not likely to be made in order but reflects opposition by some Democrats to the Biden administration’s decision to green-light the transfer, over concerns that the munitions could harm civilians.
Congress is expected to race over the next three weeks to work on fiscal 2024 appropriations before the August recess hits. Senators plan to mark up three more of the 12 annual spending bills Thursday. The Financial Services measure had been teed up to be the first fiscal 2024 appropriations bill to get a Senate subcommittee markup. But the panel announced last week that it would instead mark it up in full committee Thursday, alongside the Commerce-Justice-Science and Legislative Branch bills.
The Agriculture and Military Construction-VA bills were the first off the blocks, approved by the panel last month. Over in the House, appropriators have approved six of the 12 bills. The markups are an effort by Senate Appropriations Chair Patty Murray, D-WA, and ranking member Susan Collins, R-ME, to return to regular order for the appropriations process. But the progress in both chambers only hurtles Congress closer to sharp political disagreements over spending under the debt limit law that are expected to slow things down. Those pitfalls could necessitate a stopgap spending measure to avoid a partial government shutdown when the new fiscal year begins on October 1st.
President Joe Biden’s pick to be chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff testifies this week amid an ongoing block of Pentagon nominees. Air Force General Charles Q. Brown Jr. goes before the Senate Armed Services Committee for his confirmation hearing on Tuesday. Biden tapped the general, the current Air Force chief of staff, in May. He is a historic pick. His confirmation would mean that for the first time, Black Americans would fill the top military and civilian positions at the Pentagon. Brown would replace Army Gen. Mark Milley, who is set to retire in September.
The Senate panel is also set to hold a confirmation hearing for Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George to serve as the service’s top officer. But the timing on both nominees is cloudy amid Alabama Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s ongoing blockade of Pentagon nominees. Tuberville for months has blocked hundreds of military nominations in a bid to roll back a Defense Department memo reimbursing servicemembers who must travel to obtain reproductive care.
On the Radar: Biden sets off for a royal sit-down and NATO summit
President Joe Biden departed for Europe on Sunday, a trip that will include his first meeting, scheduled for Monday, with King Charles III since his coronation, followed by a NATO summit. The NATO meeting comes after Finland joined the alliance, but Sweden’s accession remains on hold because of objections from Turkey.
Supreme Ethics: Senate Judiciary Chair Richard J. Durbin, D-IL, is gearing up for legislative action to hold the Supreme Court justices to an enforceable ethics code. Durbin plans to announce a date for a markup of yet-to-be-unveiled legislation as early as Monday. “Since the Chief Justice has refused to act, the Judiciary Committee must,” Durbin said in a statement, referring to Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. declining Durbin’s invitation to testify to the panel, and his lack of action in the face of calls from Democrats to establish a stricter ethics standard for the high court.
The markup comes after reports of Justice Clarence Thomas not disclosing luxury trips or a real estate transaction with a billionaire donor and Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. not disclosing a private jet flight from a hedge fund billionaire.
