Today in Congress/Open Thread

post from Daily Kos on 29 July 2008 10:19:58 AM. © Daily Kos

In the House, courtesy of the Office of the Majority Leader:

FLOOR SCHEDULE FOR TUESDAY, JULY 29, 2008

House meets at 10:30 a.m.: Morning Hour
12:00 p.m.: Legislative Business
Unlimited "One Minutes" Per Side

Last vote predicted: 7:00 p.m.

Suspensions (38 Bills):

H.R. 6340 - To designate the Federal building and United States Courthouse located at 300 Quarropas Street in White Plains, New York, as the "Charles L. Brieant, Jr. Federal Building and United States Courthouse". (Rep. Lowey – Transportation and Infrastructure)

H.R. 5170 - Department of Homeland Security Component Privacy Officer Act of 2008 (Rep. Carney – Homeland Security)

H.R. 5983 - Homeland Security Network Defense and Accountability Act of 2008 (Rep. Langevin – Homeland Security)

H.R. 5531 - Next Generation Radiation Screening Act of 2008 (Rep. Peter King – Homeland Security)

H.R. 2490 - To require the Secretary of Homeland Security to conduct a pilot program for the mobile biometric identification in the maritime environment of aliens unlawfully attempting to enter the United States (Rep. Bilirakis – Homeland Security)

H.R. 6193 - Improving Public Access to Documents Act of 2008 (Rep. Harman – Homeland Security)

H.R. 4806 - Reducing Over-Classification Act of 2007 (Rep. Harman – Homeland Security)

H.R. 3815 - Homeland Security Open Source Information Enhancement Act of 2008 (Rep. Perlmutter – Homeland Security)

H.R. 6098 Personnel Reimbursement for Intelligence Cooperation and Enhancement of Homeland Security Act (Rep. Reichert – Homeland Security)

H.R. 6388 – The Government Accountability Office Improvement Act of 2008 (Rep. Waxman – Oversight and Government Reform)

H.R. 6576 – The Reducing Information Control Designations Act (Rep. Waxman – Oversight and Government Reform)

H.R. 6073 – To provide that Federal employees receiving their pay by electronic funds transfer shall be given the option of receiving their pay stubs electronically (Rep. Foxx – Oversight and Government Reform)

H.R. 6113 - To amend title 44, United States Code, to require each agency to include a contact telephone number in its collection of information would assist people with filling out government forms (Rep. Boyda – Oversight and Government Reform)

H.Res. 1143 - Apple Crunch and the Nation’s domestic apple industry (Rep. Platts – Oversight and Government Reform)

H.R. 6208 - Lance Corporal Matthew P Pathenos Post office (Rep. Akin – Oversight and Government Reform)

H.R. 6437 - Corporal Alfred Mac Wilson Post Office (Rep. Conaway – Oversight and Government Reform)

H.Res. 194 - Apologizing for the enslavement and racial segregation of African-Americans (Rep. Cohen – Judiciary)

H.Res. 1357 - Recognizing the significance of the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 by President Ronald Reagan and the greatness of America in her ability to admit and remedy past mistakes (Rep. Matsui – Judiciary)

H.R. 6083 - To authorize funding for the National Advocacy Center (Rep. Spratt – Judiciary)

S. 3295 - A bill to amend title 35, United States Code, and the Trademark Act of 1946 to provide that the Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with the Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, shall appoint administrative patent judges and administrative trademark judges, and for other purposes (Sen. Leahy - Judiciary)

H.Res. 1324 - Requesting that the President focus appropriate attention on neighborhood crime prevention and community policing, and coordinate certain Federal efforts to participate in National Night Out, which occurs the first Tuesday of August each year, including by supporting local efforts and community watch groups and by supporting local officials, to promote community safety and help provide homeland security (Rep. Stupak – Judiciary)

S. 3294 - United States Parole Commission Extension Act of 2008 (Sen. Leahy – Judiciary)

H.R. 6295 - To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit operation by any means or embarking in any submersible or semi-submersible vessel that is without nationality and that is navigating or has navigated into, through or from waters beyond the outer limit of the territorial sea of a single country or a lateral limit of that country's territorial sea with an adjacent country, and for other purposes (Rep. Lungren – Judiciary)

H.R. 6445 - To amend title 38, United States Code, to prohibit the Secretary of Veterans Affairs from collecting certain copayments from veterans who are catastrophically disabled (Rep. Cazayoux – Veterans’ Affairs)

H.R. 1527 - Rural Veterans Access to Care Act (Rep. Moran (KS) – Veterans’ Affairs)

H.R. 2192 – To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish an Ombudsman within the Department of Veterans Affairs (Rep. Hodes – Veterans’ Affairs)

H.R. 4255 - United States Olympic Committee Paralympic Program Act of 2008 (Rep. Filner – Veterans’ Affairs)

H.R. 6225 - Injunctive Relief for Veterans Act of 2008 (Rep. Herseth Sandlin – Veterans’ Affairs)

H.R. 6221 - Veteran-Owned Small Business Protection and Clarification Act of 2008 (Rep. Boozman – Veterans’ Affairs)

H.R. 674 - To amend title 38, United States Code, to repeal the provision of law requiring termination of the Advisory Committee on Minority Veterans as of December 31, 2009 (Rep. Gutierrez – Veterans’ Affairs)

H.R. 5892 – Veterans Disability Benefits Claims Modernization Act of 2008 (Rep. Hall (NY) – Veterans’ Affairs)

H.Res. 1332 - Recognizing the importance of connecting foster youth to the workforce through internship programs, and encouraging employers to increase employment of former foster youth. (Rep. Cardoza – Education and Labor)

H.Res. 1288 - Supporting the goals and ideals of National Campus Safety Awareness Month (Rep. Sestak – Education and Labor)

H.Res. 901 - Congratulating University of Florida Quarterback Timothy "Tim" Tebow for winning the Heisman Trophy and honoring both his athletic and academic achievements (Rep. Crenshaw –Education and Labor)

H.Res. 1151 - Congratulating the University of Tennessee women's basketball team for winning the 2008 National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Women's Basketball Championship (Rep. Duncan – Education and Labor)

H.R. 6560 - To establish an earned import allowance program under Public Law 109-53 [Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act], and for other purposes (Rep. Rangel – Ways and Means)

H.R. 6580 - The Hubbard Act of 2008 (Rep. Kind – Ways and Means)

H.R. 6309 - Lead-Safe Housing for Kids Act (Rep. Ellison – Financial Services)

Conference Reports may be brought up at any time.

Motions to go to Conference should they become available.

Possible Motions to Instruct Conferees.

Tuesday's House schedule managed to actually pick up six more suspensions than were on the calendar in yesterday's look at the week ahead (actually adding seven new bills and dropping the H.R. 6518, the Securities Act of 2008), bringing the total slated for today to 38. Without voice votes or unanimous consent agreements, there's no way in the world they'll get to all of these today, and we'll likely see suspensions voted on every day this week.

Note the little mini-themes they've got going here:

Five Homeland Security bills
Five bills aimed at prying open government secrecy
Eight Veterans Affairs bills

In the Senate, courtesy of the Office of the Majority Leader:

Convenes: 10:00am

Period of morning business until 12:30pm with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each with the Republicans controlling the first 30 minutes and the Majority controlling the next 30 minutes.

12:30pm - 2:15pm recess for the weekly party conferences

Following the failure of the cloture vote on the Tomnibus(the bill formerly known as the Coburn Omnibus), the Senate is scrambling to hammer out a schedule for the last week before the August recess, with some Senators even threatening to force the Senate to stay in session longer if they don't get their way. The threat didn't seem to worry Harry Reid much, though, since he appears ready to have the Senate continue to hold pro forma sessions to prevent Bush "administration" recess appointments.

Most likely subjects for the balance of the week: some kind of deal bringing back the energy speculation bill filibustered last week, along with a package of Republican amendments to allow them to drill for oil inside your shorts, and/or; a bill to extend expiring tax credits for business, alternative energy, etc. that's also being filibustered, but could see a cloture vote on Wednesday.