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Congressional legislation, June 13, 2016 – June 17, 2016
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The Senate and House held votes on appropriations bills. The Senate passed S 2943 - the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 on Tuesday, and the House passed HR 5293 - the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2017 on Thursday.
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) held a 14 hour and 50 minute filibuster in an effort to get the Senate to vote on gun control measures. The Senate agreed to vote on gun control legislation on Monday, June 20, 2016.
The United States Senate was in session Monday - Friday. The United States House of Representatives was in session Monday - Thursday.
June 13, 2016
House
- The House passed S 337 - the FOIA Improvement Act of 2016 by voice vote. The bill proposes amending the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to make it easier for the public to access federal records. It passed the Senate on March 13, 2016.
- The House passed HR 5312 - the Networking and Information Technology Research and Development Modernization Act of 2016 by a vote of 385-7. The legislation proposes “conduct[ing] or arrang[ing] for research and development on human-computer interactions, visualization, and big data, as well as the enhancement of cybersecurity; and creat[ing] a research framework to leverage cyber-physical systems, high capacity and high speed communication networks, and large-scale data analytics to integrate city-scale information technology and physical infrastructures.”
- The House passed HR 4939 - the United States-Caribbean Strategic Engagement Act of 2016 by a vote of 386-6. The legislation proposes creating a strategy to further engage with the “governments of the Caribbean region, the Caribbean diaspora community in the United States, and the private sector and civil society in both the United States and the Caribbean.”
June 14, 2016
Senate
- Key vote: The Senate passed S 2943 - the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 by a vote of 85-13. The $602 billion act “authorizes FY2017 appropriations and sets forth policies regarding the military activities of the Department of Defense (DOD), military construction, and the defense activities of the Department of Energy (DOE).” The House passed its version of the NDAA on May 18, 2016.
- The legislation includes an amendment requiring women to register for the military draft.
House
- The House passed HR 5053 - the Preventing IRS Abuse and Protecting Free Speech Act by a vote of 240-182. The legislation proposes barring the IRS from collecting the names of donors to tax-exempt groups. The bill would prohibit the IRS from collecting identifying information, such as names or addresses, of donors to tax-exempt groups.
June 15, 2016
Senate
- Filibuster: Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) held a 14 hour and 50 minute filibuster in an effort to get the Senate to vote on gun control measures. In a statement, Murphy said, "It is our understanding ... that we have been given a commitment on a path forward to get votes on the floor of the Senate -- on a measure to assure that those on the terrorist watch list do not get guns and an amendment ... to expand background checks to gun shows and to internet sales.” The Senate agreed to vote on gun control legislation on Monday, June 20, 2016.
June 16, 2016
House
- Key vote: The House passed HR 5293 - the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2017 by a vote of 282-138. The $575.7 billion defense spending bill “[p]rovides FY2017 appropriations to the Department of Defense (DOD) for military activities.” According to The Hill, “The defense appropriations bill would provide $575.7 billion for defense spending. The total is divided into $517.1 billion for base requirements and $58.6 billion for a war fund known as the Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) account. But of the total OCO account, $15.7 billion would be used for base requirements such as readiness, infrastructure and modernization. That would leave war funding dry by April 2017, forcing the next president to request supplemental funding when he or she takes office if overseas operations are to continue.”
- H Amdt 1201 to HR 5293, which proposed prohibiting funds from being “used to transfer a detainee at Guantanamo Bay to any other location,” passed by voice vote.
- Two amendments that proposed barring individuals who entered the country illegally from serving in the military failed. H Amdt 1200 to HR 5293, which proposed “ensur[ing] no funds are used by the Department of Defense to enlist DACA youth in the United States military,” failed by a vote of 207-214. H Amdt 1199 to HR 5293, which proposed “prohibit[ing] funds from being used by this Act to enlist DACA aliens in the military, who are currently only considered eligible through the MAVNI program as a result of a September 2014 memo from the administration,” failed by a vote of 210-211.
- H Amdt 1204 to HR 5293, which proposed “prohibit[ing] warrantless searches of government databases for the communications of U.S. persons and prohibits government agencies from mandating data security vulnerabilities in products or services for surveillance purposes,” failed by a vote of 198-222.
- The House passed HR 5471 - the Countering Terrorist Radicalization Act by a vote of 402-15. The legislation proposes directing the Secretary of Homeland Security to provide training for personnel at the federal, state, and local levels to “counter violent extremism, identify and report suspicious activities, and increase awareness of and more quickly identify terrorism threats.” The legislation also proposes directing the Secretary of Homeland Security to collect testimonials of former violent extremists or their associates to combat terrorist recruitment and establish a board to coordinate the department’s efforts to combat terrorism.
June 17, 2016
- The Senate was in session, but no votes were held. The House was not in session.
