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Congressional legislation, September 26, 2016 – September 30, 2016
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This week on Capitol Hill, members of Congress voted to override President Barack Obama's veto of S 2040—the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA)—and avoided a government shutdown by passing a continuing resolution to fund the government until December 9, 2016.
On Wednesday, members of the Senate, who stayed in Washington, D.C., instead of returning home to campaign, voted 97-1 to override Obama's veto of JASTA. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) cast the only vote to uphold the veto. On the same day, the House voted 342-85 to override the veto, effectively making JASTA law. It was the first veto override of Obama's presidency.
- See also: Barack Obama: Vetoed legislation
After congressional leadership reached an agreement on funding for residents of Flint, Michigan, to address their lead-contaminated water crisis, Congress was able to move forward with a continuing resolution (CR) that was initially blocked by Senate Democrats. The CR included funding for federal agencies until December 9, 2016. It also included funding to fight the Zika virus; to help residents in Louisiana, West Virginia, and Maryland recover from recent floods; and to address opioid addiction.
On Tuesday, Senate Democrats voted against the CR because it included funding for flood victims but not for residents of Flint. Democrats did not oppose including flood relief in the CR, but they argued that if flood victims received funding, residents of Flint should also receive funding for safe drinking water, whether that was in the CR or another measure. Congressional leaders agreed to provide $170 million in funding for Flint in an amendment to the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), which passed on Wednesday. Passage of the WRDA paved the way for the CR to pass. Residents of Flint will have to wait until after the elections for the Senate and House to work out the differences between each chamber’s bill before it heads to Obama’s desk.
Negotiations to avoid a government shutdown on December 10, 2016, resumed when members of Congress returned to Capitol Hill on November 14, 2016.
Monday, September 26
House
- The House passed HR 3537—To amend the Controlled Substances Act to add certain synthetic substances to schedule I, and for other purposes—by a vote of 258-101. The bill proposed adding synthetic substances used to make synthetic marijuana, bath salts, and synthetic opioids to Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA).
- The House unanimously passed HR 5392—the No Veterans Crisis Line Call Should Go Unanswered Act. The legislation proposed improving the Veterans Crisis Line and suicide prevention resources to better serve veterans.
Tuesday, September 27
Senate
- Key vote: The Senate rejected a continuing resolution (CR), which was a 10-week stopgap bill to fund the government until December 9, 2016, by a vote of 45-55. Sixty votes were needed to move forward with the bill.
- Key vote: The Senate held a second procedural vote on the CR, but it failed by a vote of 40-59. Sixty votes were needed to move forward with the bill.
House
- The House passed HR 954—the CO-OP Consumer Protection Act of 2016—by a vote of 258-165. The legislation proposed temporarily exempting individuals whose coverage was terminated or discontinued by the closure of a qualified nonprofit health insurance issuer that was established through the Consumer Operated and Oriented Plan program (known as co-ops) from having to pay a penalty for not having insurance as required by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare.
- Veto threat: In a statement, the White House threatened to veto the bill. The statement said that the bill “would be a step in the wrong direction, because it would create a precedent that undermines a key part of the [Obamacare] law and would do nothing to help middle-class families obtain affordable health care. The individual-responsibility provision is a necessary part of a system that prohibits discrimination against individuals with pre-existing conditions and requires guaranteed issuance. The provision helps prevent people from waiting until they get sick to buy health insurance or dropping health insurance when they believe they do not need it. Weakening the individual responsibility provision would increase health insurance premiums and decrease the number of Americans with coverage.”
- The House unanimously passed HR 5065—the Bottles and Breastfeeding Equipment Screening Act. According to Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, the goal of the legislation was "to ensure that families aren’t penalized for simply trying to travel with supplies and equipment necessary to take care of their babies." Although the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) allows airline passengers to bring breast milk, bottles, and feeding equipment on aircraft, Herrera Beutler said the TSA had made it difficult for some parents and caretakers travelling with children. The legislation proposed requiring the TSA to provide better training to agents and consistently enforce the procedures allowing passengers to travel with feeding supplies.
Wednesday, September 28
Veto override
- The Senate voted 97-1 to override President Barack Obama's veto of S 2040—the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA). Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) cast the only vote against overriding the veto. The House voted 348-77 to override the veto, effectively making JASTA law. It was the first veto override of Obama's presidency. JASTA allows 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 specifically allows the victims of the 9/11 terror attacks to sue Saudi Arabia.
- See also: Barack Obama: Vetoed legislation
Continuing resolution to fund the government
- The Senate passed a continuing resolution (CR) to fund the government until December 9, 2016, by a vote of 72-26. The House passed the CR by a vote of 342-85. The CR proposed providing funding for federal agencies until December 9. It also included funding to fight the Zika virus; to help residents in Louisiana, West Virginia, and Maryland recover from recent floods; and to address opioid addiction.
Senate
- The Senate passed by unanimous consent HR 5578—the Survivors' Bill of Rights Act of 2016. The bill proposed providing sexual assault survivors with access to forensic evidence collection kits in federal criminal cases. According to a press release from Rep. Mimi Walters (R-Calif.), the sponsor of the bill, “This bipartisan legislation will ensure that sexual assault survivors in federal criminal cases have a right to: a sexual assault evidence collection kit; be notified in writing before the kit is destroyed; request preservation of the kit; and be informed of important results from a forensic examination. The Survivors’ Bill of Rights Act will also require the Attorney General and the United States Department of Health and Human Services to convene a joint working group on best practices regarding the care and treatment of sexual assault survivors and the preservation of forensic evidence.” It passed the House unanimously on September 6, 2016.
House
- Key vote: The House passed HR 5303—the Water Resources Development Act of 2016 (WRDA)—by a vote of 399-25. The legislation proposed providing funding for water-related infrastructure projects and water conservation projects. It passed the Senate on September 15, 2016.
- Key vote: The House approved an amendment to the WRDA that allocated funding to Flint, Michigan, and other cities with contaminated drinking water by a vote of 284-141. Although the Senate version of the WRDA included funding for Flint, the original House version did not.
- Key vote: The House passed HR 6094—the Regulatory Relief for Small Businesses, Schools, and Nonprofits Act—by a vote of 246-177. The bill proposed delaying for six months the Obama administration’s overtime rule from taking effect. The rule would make anyone earning up to $47,476 a year, eligible for overtime pay.
- Veto threat: President Barack Obama threatened to veto the bill, saying in a statement that while the legislation “seeks to delay implementation, the real goal is clear — delay and then deny overtime pay to workers.”
Thursday, September 29
- The House and Senate was in recess until November 14, 2016.
Friday, September 30
- The House and Senate was in recess until November 14, 2016.
