Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearings are already underway, kicking off a busy week and month on the Hill. Both the House and Senate are back in session today.
Appropriations — Congress has 11 legislative days to agree on how to fund the government in FY 2019. They’ve made progress, passing individual spending bills through the House and Senate, though they still need to agree on final language that can pass both chambers. Much of the government will probably be funded by September 30th via this process, thus averting a complete government shutdown. (The first “minibus” package of Energy-Water, Legislative Branch, and Military Construction-VA funding will make it to the president’s desk as soon as this week.) But significant sticking points remain, particularly on health care and on the DHS bill, which Trump has threatened to use to force a shutdown over wall funding. Reportedly, some immigration hardliners are encouraging Trump to do so.
Supreme Court — Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing started today in the Senate Judiciary Committee, and it could continue all week. The committee is on track to approve his nomination on a party-line vote, even though Republicans are hiding millions of pages of Kavanaugh’s records from the American people. The Trump administration itself is withholding 100,000 pages, a Republican lawyer who used to work for Kavanaugh pre-screened and dumped 42,000 pages of records last night, and Republican Senators are refusing to allow Democratic Senators to use many of Kavanaugh’s records at his hearing.
Health Care — Hearings begin on Wednesday in Texas v. United States, a case Republican Attorneys General are using to try, once again, to gut the Affordable Care Act. Republicans’ argument is legally dubious at best, but if the case makes its way up to the Supreme Court, ACA-skeptic Brett Kavanaugh could be the deciding vote in eliminating protections for people with pre-existing conditions. Meanwhile, some Republican Senators have put up a bill they claim would proactively protect people with pre-existing conditions if the ACA is struck down. But the bill actually allows insurance companies to sell junk plans to people with pre-existing conditions instead, offering no real protections at all. And the Trump Administration is backing the Republican AGs in their efforts to attack the ACA.
Other Floor Activity — Congress is also going to conference on the Farm Bill this week, with members of the House and Senate meeting for the first time on Wednesday to try hash out the significant differences between their two versions of the bills. Republicans say they want a final bill finished by the end of the month; if they do not meet that ambitious target, Congress will need to extend the current farm bill by Oct. 1st. Continue reading “More Information About: Washington Policy This Week”