Congressional legislation, September 12, 2016 – September 16, 2016
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This week on Capitol Hill, members of Congress continued negotiating funding proposals to avoid a government shutdown on October 1, 2016. The Senate was expected to vote on a short-term funding bill on Monday that would last through Dec. 9, 2016. The Senate passed a major water resources bill that included aid to help residents of Flint, Michigan, address the city's lead-contaminated water crisis. The $9.4 billion package proposed providing funding for water-related infrastructure projects, water conservation projects, and emergency funding for Flint, Michigan, and other cities with contaminated water. The House passed legislation that proposed prohibiting the use of federal funding to transfer or release any individual detained at Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, which President Barack Obama vowed to veto. Closing the detention center was one of his priorities before he left office.
Monday, September 12
Senate
- Veto threat: Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas) said that he was confident his colleagues would override a promised veto from President Barack Obama of S 2040—the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA). Cornyn said, "This would be the first one under this president and I think it would be well deserved.” He added that it was "baffling that... Obama would rather make life easier for state sponsors of terrorism than he would lend support to the families of 9/11." The legislation proposed allowing victims of terror attacks to sue countries that support terrorism, even if the country is not on a designated list of state sponsors of terrorism. The legislation would specifically allow the victims of the 9/11 terror attacks to sue Saudi Arabia. Fifteen of the 19 terrorists who carried out the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks were Saudi nationals, but the Saudi government has denied having anything to do with the attacks.
- The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) issued statements of condemnation concerning the JASTA. The head of the GCC said the law was "contrary to the foundations and principles of relations between states and the principle of sovereign immunity enjoyed by states," according to Reuters. Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) also issued condemnations of the bill. UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan said in a statement, "Such laws will negatively affect the international efforts and international cooperation to combat terrorism."
House
- The House passed HR 5484—the State Sponsors of Terrorism Review Enhancement Act—by voice vote. The legislation proposed prohibiting the president from removing a country designated as a state sponsor of terrorism from the sponsor list until it has been verified that the country has refrained from sponsoring terrorism for 24 months, instead of six months. Additionally, the president would be required to submit to Congress a report justifying the removal of a country from the sponsor list 90 days before the country is removed, instead of 45 days.
Tuesday, September 13
- The Senate and House did not cast any key votes.
Wednesday, September 14
House
- Impeachment vote: The House was expected to hold a vote to impeach IRS Commissioner John Koskinen on Thursday, but House Freedom Caucus Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) agreed to postpone the vote. Jordan and Goodlatte agreed to hold a hearing on Wednesday, September 21, 2016. Koskinen was expected to testify before the Judiciary panel. The Freedom Caucus released the following statement after the agreement was reached: "The House Judiciary Committee will finally hold impeachment proceedings of IRS Commissioner John Koskinen next Wednesday. This hearing will give every American the opportunity to hear John Koskinen answer under oath why he misled Congress, allowed evidence pertinent to an investigation to be destroyed, and defied Congressional subpoenas and preservation orders." According to Politico, “Conservatives say Koskinen impeded a congressional investigation when subpoenaed documents related to the IRS-tea party controversy were destroyed on his watch. Koskinen says he had nothing to do with lower-level employees erasing backup tapes of emails written by Lois Lerner, the IRS official who led the department that singled out conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status.”
- On Thursday, Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-Kan.) said he would hold a vote on impeaching Koskinen after Wednesday’s hearing. He said, “It only takes one. We're going to have a vote next week. I would be very disappointed if they waited till November or December or next year.”
- Veto threat: The House passed HR 5226—the Regulatory Integrity Act of 2016—by a vote of 250-171. The legislation proposed requiring each executive agency to make information about all pending regulatory actions an agency is considering available for public view online. The legislation also proposed preventing agencies from posting information on social media that does not directly relate to the substance or status of a rule. HR 5226 stated that an agency “may not solicit support for or promote the action nor include statements of aggrandizement for the agency, any federal employee, or the action.”
- The Obama administration threatened to veto the bill, saying that it would be "duplicative and costly to the American taxpayer," and "would provide little to no value while diverting agency resources from important priorities. If the president were presented with H.R. 5226, his senior advisors would recommend that he veto the bill.”
- The House passed HR 5620—the VA Accountability First and Appeals Modernization Act of 2016—by a vote of 310-116. The legislation proposed allowing “the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to remove or demote a VA employee based on performance or misconduct.” The legislation also proposed making it easier for the VA Secretary to reprimand or terminate employees for poor performance or improper behavior. Additionally, the bill proposed eliminating all bonuses for VA senior executives through the 2021 fiscal year.
Thursday, September 15
Senate
- Key vote: The Senate passed S 2848—the Water Resources Development Act of 2016—by a vote of 95-3. The $9.4 billion package proposed providing funding for water-related infrastructure projects, water conservation projects, and emergency funding for Flint, Michigan, and other cities with lead-contaminated water.
House
- Key vote: The House passed HR 5351—To prohibit the transfer of any individual detained at United States Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba—by a vote of 244-174. The legislation proposed prohibiting the use of federal funding to transfer or release any individual detained at Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
- Veto threat: The Office of Management and Budget released the following statement explaining that President Barack Obama would veto the bill if it reached his desk: “This bill represents an effort not only to extend the facility's operation — as have the other unwarranted legislative restrictions on transfers — but to bring to a standstill the substantial progress the administration has made in safely and securely reducing the facility's population. If the president were presented with H.R. 5351, his senior advisors would recommend he veto the bill.”
Friday, September 16
- The Senate and House were not in session.
