The TRCP’s scouting report on sportsmen’s issues in Congress.
The Senate will be in session Monday through Friday. The House will conduct legislative business Monday through Thursday.
The election for Speaker of the House will occur on secret ballots within the Republican caucus on Wednesday of this week, and the (recorded) floor vote will occur the following day. House Ways and Means Chairman and 2012 GOP Vice Presidential nominee Paul Ryan (R-WI) appears to have the votes to become the next Speaker, although he will immediately find out just how difficult the job will be, as key deadlines loom on a debt ceiling deal, an extension of the highway trust fund, and a long-term budget agreement. His ascendance has already kick-started a fight between Pat Tiberi of Ohio and Kevin Brady of Texas for the powerful Ways and Means gavel.
Last week, House GOP leadership had to pull a deal to pair a debt-ceiling increase with conservative reforms, because it lacked the votes for passage, even in the House. Senate Majority Leader McConnell has said that “the House should go first” on the debt ceiling, which runs out on November 3, but the path forward is unclear. Many in the Senate have a growing sense that, if the House doesn’t move soon on a deal, the Senate will indeed have to take the lead. Both chambers have reserved floor time this week for consideration of a deal. The President has threatened to veto any debt ceiling bill that includes spending cuts.
Last week, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee approved a bipartisan transportation bill through the next six years, but with the Highway Trust Fund—reminder: that’s funded by the federal tax on gasoline at the pump—set to expire this Thursday, there is no time to negotiate between the House T&I bill and the long-term bill that the Senate passed in July. A short-term patch of the Highway Trust Fund is expected later this week.
And ICYMI, President Obama kept his word and vetoed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) last week. The NDAA was sent back to Congress with the President’s clear message of disapproval due to “irresponsible” spending caps. The pressure for a budget deal that raises sequester caps and increases funding for things like key conservation programs is certainly growing in advance of the December 11 deadline. This promises to be a very real test for the new Speaker of the House.
Obama also urged Congress to reauthorize and fully fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund in his weekly address on Saturday. Watch the clip below.
What We’re Tracking
Tuesday, October 27, 2015
Stream protection, in a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing on Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation, and Enforcement hearing on the proposed rule
Wednesday, October 28, 2015
Public lands, to be discussed in a House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Federal Lands hearing regarding the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Modernization Act of 2015
Legislation on projects related to public lands, water, and tribes, the subject of a House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Power and Oceans hearing