This Week in Congress
This week, Congressional committees voted on the bill holding nearly all of President Trump’s legislative priorities to include the extension of his 2017 tax cuts. After committee votes, the real hard deadline for Hill Republicans is August, which is when Treasury expects the U.S. to hit its debt limit. The Trump Administration wants Congress to act on that by mid-July.
Cabinet secretaries returned to Capitol Hill for more budget hearings, headlined by:
- HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday.
- Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem at House Homeland Security on Wednesday.
- Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy in House Appropriations Wednesday and Senate Appropriations Thursday.
- EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin in Senate Appropriations Wednesday and House Appropriations Thursday.
- Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer in House Appropriations Thursday.
- Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins in House Appropriations Thursday.
Law enforcement-related measures to mark National Police Week were set for House votes this week, including bills that would allow officers to carry concealed firearms in more locations and to buy surplus firearms from the federal government. The House also considered 18 measures including to authorize community efforts to reclaim abandoned coal mines and prohibit health-care providers from billing patients for care authorized by the Indian Health Service. Meanwhile, the Senate voted on Trump administration nominees including Reed Rubinstein as legal adviser to the State Department, Troy Meink for secretary of the Air Force, James Danly for deputy Energy secretary; Katharine MacGregor for deputy Interior secretary and Michael Rigas for deputy secretary of State for Management and Resources.