After a somewhat slow start, the 118th Congress kicks into high gear this week with a number of high-profile hearings, votes, and proposals for lawmakers in both chambers.
As lawmakers get to work, the White House will unveil the Fiscal Year 2024 budget, which will rev up debate on spending fights ahead of the looming debt ceiling fight.
SENATE PLOWS FORWARD WITH VOTE ON CRIME BILL DESPITE DC COUNCIL BACKPEDAL
Here’s a look at what's on tap this week in the Senate and House.
TUESDAY
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell will appear before Congress for two days of hearings. He will first testify before the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday and then before the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday.
Powell will face questions about efforts to bring down inflation while not hurting the economy and the possibility of a recession.
WEDNESDAY
Wednesday has the most jammed-packed Capitol Hill schedule.
The Senate could hold a vote to block a change to the Washington D.C. criminal code, even after the head of the D.C. Council withdrew the sweeping rewrite of the criminal code from consideration.
GOP efforts to overturn the bill, which lessens penalties for certain crimes, including robberies and homicides, proved successful in the House in early February. The legislation headed to the Senate, where President Joe Biden surprised his party by announcing he will not veto the bill — likely acknowledging that Democrats cannot be seen as soft on crime ahead of the 2024 election cycle.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), the chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, confirmed Monday that the committee will hold a vote Wednesday to open an investigation into federal labor law violations by major companies and subpoena Howard Schultz, the chief executive of Starbucks.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is slated to vote on the nomination of former Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti to be the next ambassador to India. Garcetti’s nomination has been in limbo over accusations he ignored sexual harassment and bullying by a former aide. The former L.A. mayor has denied the allegations. It is unclear if Garcetti will garner enough votes to clear the full Senate.
The Republican-led House Foreign Affairs Committee will begin to probe the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. A suicide attack that killed 13 Americans will be front and center during this hearing, which will feature testimony from volunteers who assisted in the evacuation.
The country’s top five intelligence officials will appear before the Senate Intelligence panel to discuss the biggest security threats to the U.S. They will also appear before the House Intelligence Committee on Thursday.
Additionally, the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus is holding a hearing on the origins of the virus on Wednesday, with former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield slated to testify.
THURSDAY
President Joe Biden is expected to release his budget plans in Pennsylvania. Biden hinted on Monday that the tax increases on the wealthy will be at the center of the proposal.
Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw is expected to testify before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee as lawmakers look for answers after a train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, released toxic chemicals into the small town. State and local officials will also be testifying about how they responded to the Feb. 3 incident. A second train derailment in Ohio over the weekend has led to increased scrutiny over rail safety measures.
The House panel probing the "weaponization" of the federal government will hear from the journalists given access to Twitter's internal communications as it explores alleged collusion between social media companies and the executive branch. Matt Taibbi and Michael Shellenberger will testify before the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government about their findings in the "Twitter Files.”
FRIDAY
The House Oversight Committee will hold a hearing on the Treasury Department’s failure to provide bank activity reports for President Joe Biden’s son Hunter, brother James Biden, and several other Biden relatives and their related companies. The Republican-led committee has vowed to investigate the Biden family’s foreign business dealings and financial transactions.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is expected to testify before the House Ways and Means Committee about the department’s budget. The hearing will likely also feature questions about the nation’s looming default if lawmakers don’t act and raise the borrowing limit.
After the Senate passed a measure calling on Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines to declassify information on links between the Wuhan Institute and COVID-19, the House Rules Committee and the House Intelligence Committee are slated to take up the issue this week. A final House vote on legislation to declassify the pandemic's origins could occur Friday.