Weekly Legislative Update
 Week of May 21, 2018 
  
Congressional Outlook

The House and Senate are in session this week. The House will consider 17 bills under suspension of the rules, including the FIRST STEP Act (H.R. 5682), a bipartisan prison reform bill. For the remainder of the week, the House will vote on the Senate-passed Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act (S. 2155), which would roll back several Dodd-Frank Act regulations for small and medium-sized banks and includes the Municipal Finance Support Act that classifies certain municipal bonds as high quality liquid assets; the Senate-passed Right to Try Act of 2017 (S. 204), which aims to establish a new pathway for terminally ill patients to gain access to experimental drugs that have not been approved by the FDA; and the $716 billion FY 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 5515), which authorizes FY 2019 appropriations for DoD activities and military construction. The House may also attempt to vote on the Farm Bill (H.R. 2) again, which was initially rejected on May 18 by a vote of 198-213.
 
The Senate will vote on the House-passed VA MISSION Act of 2018 (S. 2372), which would consolidate programs allowing veterans to seek health care outside of the VA and also provide $5.2 billion in mandatory funding to extend the current Veterans Choice Program until it's replaced by the consolidated program a year after enactment. The Senate will also vote on four nominations: Dana Baiocco to be a Commissioner of the Consumer Product Safety Commission; Jelena McWilliams to be Chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; James Evans to be U.S. Ambassador to Luxembourg; and Brian Montgomery to be HUD's Assistant Secretary for Housing.
 
Lawmakers continue to work on a new set of spending bills for FY 2019. The House Appropriations Committee this week is marking up its FY19 Interior-Environment and Transportation-HUD spending bills. The Senate Appropriations Committee is marking up its FY 2019 Energy-Water Development and Agriculture-Rural Development spending bills. Both the House and Senate Appropriations Committees will also be releasing the FY 2019 Report on the Suballocation of Budget Allocations (302(b)s).
 
On Tuesday, the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee will markup the America's Water Infrastructure Act of 2018 (S. 2800) and on Wednesday, the House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee will markup its Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2018 (H.R. 8). The House bill stays very close to affecting only Corps programs and policies, while the Senate bill includes other authorizations, including reauthorizing the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) and other clean water and wastewater provisions under the Clean Water Act.
 
On Tuesday, voters in Arkansas, Georgia, and Kentucky head to the polls to vote in Democratic and Republican primaries for local, state, and federal offices, while Texas voters will participate in primary runoff elections for those races where no candidate got more than 50 percent of the vote on March 6.
Week in Review

House Fails to Pass Farm Bill
 
On May 18, the House failed to pass, by a vote of 198-213, the 2018 Farm Bill (H.R. 2; i.e., the Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018). 30 House Republicans voted with all 183 House Democrats against the bill, amid a dispute over unrelated immigration legislation and other policy concerns with the Farm Bill. Right after the Farm Bill was defeated, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) immediately made a motion to reconsider the Farm Bill, which will allow for a re-vote on the bill at any point in the future, including the week of May 21. The House approved 40 amendments and rejected 7 amendments to the Farm Bill, including approving an amendment repealing the 2015 "Waters of the United States" (WOTUS) rule by a vote of 238-173. The White House stated that President Trump would sign the bill into law if it reached his desk. The Senate Agriculture Committee is likely to unveil its own, less controversial, Farm Bill within the next two weeks, with a markup likely taking place in early June. Read more.
House Appropriations Committee Passes Three FY 2019 Appropriations Bills
 
During the week of May 14, the House Appropriations Committee (HAC) marked up and passed the following three FY 2019 Appropriations bills:
  • Energy-Water Development: By a vote of 29-20, the HAC passed this $44.7 billion spending bill, which includes $7.28 billion for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; and $1.56 billion for the Bureau of Reclamation. The bill also includes policy riders to repeal the 2015 "Waters of the United States" (WOTUS) rule and restrict the application of the Clean Water Act in certain agricultural areas, including farm ponds and irrigation ditches. The Trump Administration explained its views on the bill here.
  • Agriculture-Rural Development: By a vote of 31-20, the HAC passed this $23.27 billion spending bill, which includes $3.079 billion for rural development programs, including $620 million for the expansion of broadband services; $1.05 billion for conservation programs to help farmers, ranchers, and private forest landowners conserve and protect their land; and mandatory funding for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), child nutrition programs, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The Trump Administration explained its views on the bill here.
  • Commerce-Justice-Science: By a vote of 32-19, the HAC passed this $62.5 billion spending bill, which includes $2.9 billion for various state and local law enforcement assistance grant programs; $447 million for grant programs to help stem opioid abuse; $875.26 million for the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS); $302 million for the Economic Development Administration (EDA); and $4.8 billion for the Census Bureau to ramp up for the 2020 Decennial Census. The Trump Administration explained its views on the bill here.
House T&I Committee Unveils WRDA 2018 Bill
 
On May 18, House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-PA) and Ranking Member Peter DeFazio (D-OR) introduced the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2018 ( H.R. 8), along with Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee Chairman Garret Graves (R-LA) and Ranking Member Grace Napolitano (D-CA). The bill will be marked up by the House T&I Committee at 10am EST on Wednesday, May 23. The 58-page bill contains four Titles (General Provisions; Studies; Deauthorizations, Modifications, and Related Provisions; and Water Resources Infrastructure." Additional information on the WRDA 2018 bill may be found here. Read more.
House Passes Justice Served Act
 
On May 15, the House passed, by a vote of 377-1, the Justice Served Act of 2018 ( H.R. 4854),  which directs funding to state and local jurisdictions to aid in the prosecution of violent criminals who have been identified through newly discovered DNA evidence. Under the bill, the Department of Justice must allocate at least 5% for grants to prosecute cold cases involving violent crime, where suspects have been identified through DNA evidence.  Read more.
Senate Passes Project Safe Neighborhoods Grant Program Authorization Act
 
On May 16, the Senate passed, by voice vote, the Project Safe Neighborhoods Grant Program Authorization Act of 2018 (H.R. 3249). The bill establishes the Project Safe Neighborhoods Block Grant Program within the Department of Justice's Office of Justice Programs to provide resources to state and local entities to curb the rise in crimes committed by criminal street gangs and transnational organized crime groups. The Program is funded at $50 million annually for FYs 2019-2021. The bill now heads back to the House where, if it passes, will be sent to President Trump to be signed into law. Read more.
House Passes Protect and Serve Act
 
On May 16, the House passed, by a vote of 382-35, the Protect and Serve Act of 2018 ( H.R. 5698), which would  create federal penalties of 10 years to life in prison for individuals who deliberately target local, state, or federal law enforcement officers with violence. The White House stated that President Trump would sign the bill into law if it reached his desk. Read more.
House Passes VA MISSION Act
 
On May 16, the House passed, by a vote of 347-70, the VA Maintaining Internal Systems and Strengthening Integrated Outside Networks (MISSION) Act of 2018 ( S. 2372), which would consolidate programs allowing veterans to seek health care outside of the Veterans Affairs Department and also provide $5.2 billion in mandatory funding to extend the current Veterans Choice Program until it's replaced by the consolidated program a year after enactment. The White House stated that President Trump would sign the bill into law if it reached his desk. Read more.
Senate Passes CRA Disapproval Resolution on Net Neutrality
 
On May 16, the Senate passed, by a vote of 52-47, a Congressional Review Act (CRA) disapproval resolution ( S.J. Res. 52) which would restore 2015 net neutrality rules repealed by the Federal Communications Commission this past December (and published in the Federal Register on February 22, 2018). Three Senate Republicans (Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and John Kennedy of Louisiana) joined the entire 49-member Senate Democratic Caucus in voting for the resolution. If the House considers the resolution and passes it with a simple majority it would then be sent to President Trump to be signed into law or vetoed. The FCC has set June 11, 2018 as the date when the Obama-era net neutrality rules expire. Read more.
Trump Signs Executive Order on Efficient Federal Operations
 
On May 17, President Trump signed Executive Order (E.O.) 13834 regarding "Efficient Federal Operations." The E.O.  calls on federal agencies to "prioritize actions that reduce waste, cut costs, enhance the resilience of Federal infrastructure and operations, and enable more effective accomplishment of its mission." It directs the Council on Environmental Quality and the Office of Management and Budget to streamline energy and environmental requirements, in a simplified and accountable manner. The E.O. also rescinds E.O. 13693 , signed by former President Obama on March 19, 2015, that focused on sustainability, requiring agencies to slash its greenhouse gas emissions and address climate change, and which set a goal of cutting the federal government's greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent from 2008 levels over the next 10 years. Trump's order makes no mention of climate change or emissions reductions and, instead, calls on agencies to track and report greenhouse gas emissions. Read more.
Trump Announces Robert Wilkie as New VA Secretary Nominee
 
On May 18, President Trump announced his intention to nominate Acting Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert Wilkie as the 10th U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs.  Wilkie has served as Acting VA Secretary since March 28, 2018 when former VA Secretary David Shulkin was fired by Trump. Since November 2017, Wilkie has also served as Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness. Prior to joining the Trump Administration, Wilkie served as senior advisor to Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC). Read more.