Cloakroom: December 16 – December 20
Katherine Rosario /
The House is out of session this week.
Senate
Analysis: This week, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) is expected to file cloture on the Ryan-Murray budget. The House passed the budget deal last week by a vote of 331 to 94. It is comprised of short-term spending increases and a short-term deficit increase, among many other flawed policies. It replaces part of the sequester, increasing spending by $63 billion over the next two years in the process. If this gimmicky budget deal becomes law, it will contribute further to our $17 trillion debt. Reid is also expected to file cloture on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which The Heritage Foundation explains “sets forth the policies that guide how that money is spent” on defense and “provides direction and guidance on a host of Pentagon activities.” The Senate should pass the NDAA to provide our military with certainty about how it will operate in 2014.
Major Floor Action
- H.J.Res.59 – Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013
- H.R.3304 – National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014
Major Committee Action
- The Senate Finance Committee will hold a hearing entitled “The Role of Social Security, Defined Benefits, and Private Retirement Accounts in the Face of the Retirement Crisis.”
- The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing entitled “Protecting Small Businesses and Promoting Innovation by Limiting Patent Troll Abuse.”