A Packed July for Congress, Long To-Do List Before Summer Recess
Summer is in full steam ahead. Here’s what we’re keeping an eye on…Both the House and Senate are back this week; Members roll up their sleeves to tackle a long to-do list before the August recess; NDAA action coming this week in the House, with FAA to follow next week; and the Appropriations slog continues.
Catch up on the latest from Capitol Hill below.
A Packed July: The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization, spending bills, the Farm Bill…just like your kid ignoring the list of summer vacation homework required before the return to school in September, Congress is facing a backlog of “must pass” bills that need action before a fast-approaching Sept 30. deadline after months of dithering.
First up, the House plans to consider this week the fiscal 2024 national defense authorization (NDAA) bill. (The Senate advanced its bill out of committee last month, although a floor consideration is not yet scheduled.)
Despite partisan headwinds, the NDAA remains one of Washington’s few annual bipartisan endeavors. Congress has successfully navigated a bill being enacted into law annually for six straight decades, although some heartburn is always associated with the negotiations. Recent versions of the bill have looked to promote critical mineral access and climate vulnerability assessments of coastal bases.
Even so, hot button issues still hang over the process, and the wide-reaching breadth of the jurisdiction covered by the bill always makes for a raucous amendment process as it hits either chamber’s floor.
Conservatives are lining up to lob culture war related provisions into the amendment consideration across abortion access, diversity training and transgender care, among other areas, that are sure to provoke Democrat ire. Ukraine aid also remains divisive.
Climate and clean energy action may also join that list as coastal Republicans in the Gulf and Atlantic shores accuse offshore wind installations of interfering with military readiness in key training and defense bases. Democrats have cited similar concerns in their opposition to offshore oil and gas drilling in the same regions, so the line of questioning may sound familiar.
Still, the bill’s consideration could mark a House Republican trend for the elevation of offshore wind concerns into the floor consideration of energy tangential legislation. As a reminder, moderate Republicans in New York and New Jersey caused headaches back in March during the consideration of the GOP’s signature energy and permitting legislation (H.R. 1) over their concerns related to injured and beached whales in areas with active offshore wind construction – an elevation of conservative media conspiracy accusations on offshore wind. The lawmakers were ultimately placated with a GAO study.
In total, some 1,500 amendments were filed to the defense bill. The expectation, according to discussions we at Lot Sixteen have had with key floor staff, is that Republican leadership will move to consider amendments as larger en bloc amendments, so key provisions may get lumped with other priorities for floor votes.
Among the amendments on our radar are:
An amendment from Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) that requires the Secretary of Defense to certify offshore wind projects in the North Atlantic Planning Area will not compromise radar and sonar capabilities or create risks to national defense.
An amendment from Reps. Ryan Zinke (R-MT) and Andy Harris (R-MD) that gives key defense agencies authority to review antenna structure projects like wind turbines or cell towers located within 2 nautical miles of any ICBM launch facility to inform the FAAs risk assessment/clearance decision.
An amendment led by Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-IA) that would amend the Defense Production Act of 1950 to prohibit investment by foreign adversaries in United States real estate suitable for renewable energy or renewable fuels production.
An amendment from Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) that would limit the use of the Defense Production Act to promote solar panel development.
An amendment from Perry that would limit the use of grants reserved for port improvements from going to projects related to offshore wind development.
A bipartisan amendment from Rep. Bill Posey (R-FL) and Rep. Shontel Brown (D-OH) that would establish a national bipartisan commission to identify critical supply chain vulnerabilities and recommend strategies and policies to eliminate those vulnerabilities.
An amendment from Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) that would limit the Defense Department’s ability to contract for electric vehicles for non-tactical vehicles.
A bipartisan amendment from Reps. Sam Graves (R-MO) and Rick Larsen (D-WA) that would clarify the application of section 12111(d) of title 46 as amended by section 341 of H.R. 2741 to apply only to floating wind turbines, and not to vessels used for the installation of such turbines.
An amendment from Rep. Welsey Hunt (R-TX) that would strike a section from a Coast Guard reauthorization bill proposed as another amendment to the bill that would make tweaks to the exemption process for manning and crewing requirements.
Across Capitol Hill, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said in a “Dear Colleague” letter released over the weekend that the Senate’s version of the defense authorization bill is among a lengthy list of agenda items that he said was primed for the Senate’s consideration before the August recess.
Other items include: work on a rail safety bill, government spending, farm bill, cannabis banking, FAA reauthorization, China competition, and permitting reform updates, among other areas.
FAA on Tap: House Republicans have already started to begin plans for the chamber to consider the FAA reauthorization bill next week. Considered a must-pass bill (the agency’s authorization expires September 30), the legislation is sure to attract a robust amendment debate, including with tangentially related provisions tied to energy policies. And like the NDAA consideration, leadership may look to move those amendments via en bloc vote packages.
The House bill moved out of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee with unanimous, bipartisan support, so its passage is all but guaranteed. The bill contains some permitting-tied measures that would extend the “one federal decision” framework to airport construction projects and the expansion of categorical exclusions to the bulk of airport projects.
The question remains how quickly the House and Senate can find common ground on a bill. The Senate version of the bill hit a committee hiccup last month after an amendment from Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) and John Thune (R-SD) concerning pilot flight training hour requirements caused Commerce Chair Maria Cantwell (D-WA) to pull the bill from the markup. A second markup has yet to be scheduled.
McCarthy’s Spending Needle: Also pressing for House Republicans, leadership is still working with hardline conservatives over a path forward for fiscal 2024 spending bills. The goal has been to pass all 12 bills individually by the end of September, but no bill has yet hit the floor. The delays may result in the House considering a short-term funding extension this work period prior to August recess, according to Roll Call, although any CR is likely to prove a heavy lift with so much still up in the air.
Despite negotiating spending levels with the White House as part of the debt ceiling negotiation, members of the Freedom Caucus are insisting they will only support spending bills that match their desired spending cuts, equal to fiscal 2022 funding levels. The impasse is causing a pile up of spending bills, with no additional committee markups planned. Among the bills still pending is the Interior-Environment spending bill, expected to slash EPA funding and constrict Biden climate policies.
The Senate for its part remains at a steady pace for spending bill consideration. The Appropriations Committee plans to meet Thursday for a markup of bills related to the Legislative Branch; Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies; and Financial Services and General Government Appropriations.
Farm Bill TBD: No text or committee votes in either chamber have occurred yet on the Farm bill, although committee progress could occur this month. With rural energy and agriculture climate programs on the table, the bill is sure to have an energy and environment tilt. (h/t to Lot Sixteen’s Jeremy Dillon for the above agenda summary)
As always, we’ll be keeping our finger on the pulse for the latest from Capitol Hill. Check back here for more updates.
