Today on the Hill: Coats Cloture Vote in Senate; Suspension Bills in House

In a relatively quiet day on the chamber floors of Congress, the Senate moves back to confirming nominations from the White House by considering President Trump’s choice for Director of National Intelligence (DNI), former U.S. senator from Indiana, Dan Coats. The DNI position was created after the Sept. 11 attacks to coordinate the work of the various agencies that make up the Intelligence Community. A cloture vote on Coats’ nomination is expected today, setting up a final vote later this week.

The House returns from its snow day with the Republican plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA) continuing to dominate conversation. The House Budget Committee will meet tomorrow to combine the portions of the plan that were advanced by the Energy and Commerce and House Ways and Means Committees last week. Republican senators, some of which have voiced opposition to the bill as currently drafted, are expecting changes to come during the House Budget panel’s markup.

On the House floor today, lawmakers will consider three bills under suspension of the rules that were originally scheduled to be considered last week. Those bills are:

• H.R. 132 – The Arbuckle Project Maintenance Complex and District Office Conveyance Act would transfer a maintenance complex associated with the Arbuckle Dam to the Arbuckle Master Conservancy District.
• H.R. 648 – A bill that would authorize the Secretary of the interior to amend the Definite Plan Report for the Seedskadee Project in Wyoming that would allow for the use of the Fontenelle Reservoir.
• H.R. 267 – The Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park Act would re-designate the MLK Jr. National Historic Site in Atlanta as a national historical park and expand the site to include the original headquarters of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.