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News and updates

House Democrats Unveil HEA Legislation

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To counter the House Republican proposal to reauthorize the Higher Education Act (HEA), the House Democrats today will introduce their own version of a reauthorization bill.  The Democrats’ package, the Aim Higher Act, will serve as their messaging document moving forward.  It is not expected to move through the legislative process.

A number of documents related to the legislation are available:

  • a detailed summary of the bill produced by the Democrats on the Education and the Workforce Committee is available here;
  • the committee Democrats have also produced a “fact sheet”; and
  • a press release about the measure is available here.

The House Republicans’ bill, the PROSPER Act, was passed by the Education and the Workforce Committee late last year but has not yet come to the floor for a vote as the committee chairwoman has not been able to generate enough support for its passage.

Second Spending Package Clears House

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After three days of debating amendments on the floor, the House passed this morning a spending package that includes the FY2019 Interior and Financial Services appropriations bills.  This morning’s action means that half of the 12 annual spending bills have now cleared the House.

On a related note, the last of the House appropriations bills, the Homeland Security funding bill, is scheduled to be marked up in subcommittee today.  The markup is expected to be contentious as a result of a number of controversies, such as those surrounding family separations at the border and the Administration’s push for funding for a border wall.

 

Labor-HHS Spending Bill Clears House Committee

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After an all-day markup, the FY2019 House Labor-HHS-Education bill was cleared by the Appropriations Committee last night. The committee’s adoption of the bill means that 11 of the 12 spending bills have cleared the House Appropriations Committee; the Senate committee has cleared all of its bills.

The 13-hour markup was contentious at times, with heated debates on a number of issues, including child separation.  Of the roughly 50 amendments offered and debated during the session, a significant number of them focused on child separation practices at the border.

Although the bill has now cleared the committee process, it is unclear at this point whether it will see floor action in the near future.

A copy of the bill is available here and the accompanying report is available here.

 

 

Brett Kavanaugh Nominated for Seat on Supreme Court

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Last night, President Trump nominated Brett Kavanaugh to replace Anthony Kennedy on the U.S. Supreme Court. The nominee currently serves on the D.C. Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals.

Kavanaugh was a clerk for Kennedy and previously worked in the George W. Bush White House.

Read more about the nomination here and here in the Washington Post and here in Politico.

The confirmation process is expected to consume a significant amount of time and energy in the Senate for the rest of the summer and a part of the fall.

 

SCOTUS Nomination Expected, Congress Returns

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In a televised address this evening, President Trump is expected to announce his nominee to replace Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, who is retiring from the bench at the end of July.  The upcoming nomination fight could overshadow almost everything in Congress this summer.

Congress returns this week after its July Fourth recess last week.