The House and Senate are both in session this week, the first time both chambers are in Washington since October 1. The House will vote on 54 bills and resolutions under suspension of the rules, including the Housing Survivors of Major Disasters Act of 2020 (H.R. 2914), which allows individuals to use a broader range of evidence to prove their eligibility for FEMA housing disaster aid; and the FEMA Assistance Relief Act of 2020 (H.R. 8266), which requires FEMA to raise the federal cost share for all emergency and major disasters declared by the President in calendar year 2020 from 75 percent to at least 90 percent, and for COVID-19-related declarations, the federal share would increase to 100 percent. The House will also vote on the National Apprenticeship Act of 2020 (H.R. 8294), which authorizes $3.9 billion over five years to expand registered apprenticeships through grants and modify the approval process for apprenticeship programs.
The Senate will vote on six judicial and executive nominations: Kristi Johnson to be U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Mississippi; Benjamin Beaton to be U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Kentucky; Judy Shelton to be a Member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System for a term expiring on February 1, 2024; Toby Crouse to be U.S. District Judge for the District of Kansas; Stephen Vaden to be a Judge of the United States Court of International Trade; Kathryn Mizelle to be U.S. District Judge for the Middle District of Florida; and Taylor McNeel to be U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Mississippi.
Bicameral negotiations on a FY 2021 appropriations measure to avoid a government shutdown after December 11 and a potential COVID-19 stimulus package will resume for the remainder of the lame-duck session. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) have both said they want a full spending deal, not another short-term continuing resolution (CR). Congressional staffers have begun the first steps of negotiating a final FY 2021 omnibus appropriations deal in an effort to agree to a set of top-line spending levels soon for each of the 12 bills. Once there is an agreement on those basic spending figures, the 12 subcommittees will negotiate the details. That will be an informal process, rather than a formal conference between House and Senate appropriators. Talks on a coronavirus stimulus measure still appear stalled. Despite separate calls to move on a measure from Speaker Pelosi on Friday and President Trump on Saturday, neither side has made a revised offer.
House Democrats will hold virtual leadership elections for the new 117th Congress, on Wednesday and Thursday, which appear to offer a reprise of the existing team at the top, led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD), and House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-SC). Reps. Katherine Clark (D-MA) and David Cicilline (D-RI) are vying to be the new Assistant Speaker of the House; Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) is running unopposed to be the House Democratic Caucus Chair; and Reps. Pete Aguilar (D-CA), Robin Kelly (D-IL), and Deb Haaland (D-NM) are vying to be the new House Democratic Caucus Vice Chair. The House Democratic Caucus’ internal election for the new chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and for the new Chairmanships of the House Appropriations, Agriculture, and Foreign Affairs Committees, will be held in late November and early December.
House Republicans will hold their in-person leadership elections for the 117th Congress on Tuesday. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA), and House Republican Caucus Chair Liz Cheney (R-WY) are all running unopposed for the top three positions. House GOP conference rules for the 117th Congress and Steering Committee structure ratification are slated to be voted on this Wednesday. After the House GOP Steering Committee is ratified, the panel will meet at a later date, likely in early December, to select which members lead and sit on committees.
Last Tuesday, the Biden-Harris Transition team announced key members of their agency review teams (ARTs), which are “responsible for evaluating the operations of the federal agencies so that the incoming Biden-Harris administration is prepared to lead our country on Day One.” Additional information regarding transition news and other 2020 election results will be found in future 2020 Election Updates. For details on the election results and a lame-duck preview (as of Nov. 9), please see TFG's Special Report here.
