This Week in Congress
Both chambers are scheduled to recess at the end of the week and reconvene in the first full week of January. In the interim, Happy Holidays!
This week, the House voted on several significant bills, including H.R. 498, which would prohibit using Medicaid funding for gender-affirming care for minors. Additionally, the House addressed two energy bills: the Reliable Power Act (H.R. 3616) and the Power Plant Reliability Act (H.R. 3632). Two other bills from the Judiciary Committee were also voted on; H.R. 4371, which mandates criminal and gang-affiliation screening for certain unaccompanied minors arriving in the U.S., and H.R. 3492, which criminalizes gender-affirming care for minors.
Furthermore, the Natural Resources Committee presented several bills, including H.R. 4776 to streamline the environmental review process for fossil fuel and renewable energy projects, H.R. 1366 relating to the establishment of an Abandoned Hardrock Mine Fund, and H.R. 845 to remove the gray wolf from the endangered species list. The House also considered twelve bills from the Natural Resources Committee concerning the management of public land and water, three bills from the Transportation Committee (including H.R. 3962 to reauthorize the National Estuary Program and H.R. 4183 to reauthorize the Federal Maritime Commission), two bills from the Education and Workforce Committee, two from the Oversight Committee, and one measure from the Armed Services Committee honoring the two National Guard members shot in Washington, D.C., in November.
Additionally, the House deliberated on H. Con. Res. 61, brought pursuant to the War Powers Resolution, which would direct the President to cease military activities with presidentially-designated terrorist organizations in the Western Hemisphere, and H. Con. Res. 64, which would direct the removal of troops from activities within or against Venezuela that have not been authorized by Congress.
Meanwhile, the Senate confirmed a slate of administration nominees, including Derek Theurer as Deputy Undersecretary for Legislative Affairs at Treasury. The Senate also voted on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and a bipartisan resolution (S. J. Res. 98) to restrain President Trump from taking military action against Venezuela.