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This Week in Congress
Monday, September 21, 2009
8:00 AM

On the Floor...

As fiscal year (FY) 2009 nears its end on Sept. 30, House Democratic leaders this week are preparing to bring to the floor temporary funding extensions for all federal departments along with an expected three-month extension of surface transportation programs. Standalone bills extending Small Business Act programs, Federal Aviation Administration operations, and unemployment benefits are also slated for House floor action this week.

A continuing resolution, or CR, will likely keep agencies' regular operations running through the end of October, providing leaders with some cushioning to reassess the appropriations situation after the first few weeks of FY 2010. In the meantime, look for House and Senate appropriators to begin ramping up negotiations on finalizing the five annual spending measures that have cleared both chambers thus far.




Other legislation on this week's House floor schedule include:

  • Defense Production Act Reauthorization (S. 1677) - Passed by the Senate last week, S. 1677 aims to modernize the president's authority to require companies to set aside their commercial business obligations and fulfill government contracts first in order to meet national defense needs, among other provisions.

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  • Coral Reef Conservation Act Reauthorization and Enhancement Amendments (H.R. 860) - Authorizes $214 million in discretionary funding over the FY 2010-2014 period to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Department of the Interior (DOI) for programs and research on conserving coral reefs.
  • Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing Enforcement Act (H.R. 1080) - Would strengthen the authority of NOAA to enforce fisheries laws and combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing by foreign vessels.
  • Santa Cruz Valley National Heritage Area Act (H.R. 324) - Establishes the Santa Cruz Valley National Heritage Area in Arizona, and requires the Santa Cruz Valley Heritage Alliance, Inc. (the local coordinating entity for the area) to prepare and submit a management plan.



The Senate gavels in Monday afternoon and continues debate on the FY 2010 Interior and Environment appropriations bill (H.R. 2996), legislation that would fund programs within the Department of the Interior and Environmental Protection Agency during the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, 2009. The bill provides a total of $32.1 billion in discretionary funding, $225 million below the administration's request and the House-passed level.

In Committee...

Most of this week's attention will be focused primarily on the Senate Finance Committee's markup of Chairman Max Baucus' (D-MT) health care overhaul legislation. The markup begins on Tuesday. Last week, Baucus released the details and supplemental information on his health care bill. The Baucus proposal represents the fifth of five health care reform bills floating around the House and Senate. The four other pieces of legislation were reported from the following committees: Senate HELP Committee; House Education & Labor Committee; House Ways and Means Committee; and House Energy & Commerce Committee

Get this week's Senate committee schedule here. A daily listing of House committee action can be found here.




© Copyright Capitol Hill Reports, Inc. (2009). No claim to original government works.