This Week on the Hill: Senate Preps for SCOTUS Nominee Drama as Easter Recess Approaches

Jet fumes are in the air as lawmakers eye the end of a six-week stretch in Washington with the beginning of a two-week recess this Friday. The impending battle over Neil Gorsuch’s nomination to the Supreme Court will be the week’s highlight, but ongoing negotiations on funding the government beyond the expiration of the current continuing resolution (CR) and a resurrection of Republican health care legislation will also be items to watch.

Debate over Gorsuch’s nomination is set to reach a fever pitch this week as the last few Senate Democrats decide whether or not to join a filibuster against the confirmation of the conservative judge. At least 37 Democrats – many of whom feel the court’s vacancy should belong to Obama nominee Merrick Garland – have announced they will join the blockade, meaning that a commitment from only four more senators will give Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) the votes he needs to lead a filibuster. Over the weekend, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) sent his clearest message yet that Republicans will seek to use change Senate rules if Gorsuch does not get 60 votes, saying that “one way or another” Gorsuch will be confirmed by the end of the week. The use of the so-called “nuclear option” is controversial to parliamentarians in both parties, but activists on either side have strongly encouraged senators to take a stand on Gorsuch. The drama will begin today after the Senate Judiciary Committee takes a vote on advancing Gorsuch to the Senate floor, setting up a midweek vote on cloture and a final vote late by the end of the week.

On the House floor, lawmakers have three measures set for consideration pursuant to a rule. The first (H.R. 1304) is a non-partisan healthcare measure that would exempt stop-loss insurance from being regulated as traditional healthcare insurance. The bill passed out of the House Education and the Workforce Committee by voice vote on Mar. 8 and has seen floor consideration delayed over the past two weeks. Another measure (H.R. 1343) to be considered next week would double the threshold at which companies are required by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to disclose their employee stock options. Finally, the House will consider a bill (H.R. 1219) designed to bolster business investment by allowing up to 250 people to invest in a venture capital fund before the fund would have to register with the SEC. Both financial services measures were passed out of committee with significant Democratic support.

With only four legislative days between the end of the Easter recess and the expiration of the CR on Apr. 28, lawmakers are continuing their discussions to find an agreement on funding the government for the remainder of the fiscal 2017 year. House and Senate appropriators are planning to file legislation when Congress returns on Apr. 24, which will necessitate quick passage in both chambers in order to beat the deadline. It remains unclear whether appropriators can put together an omnibus bill – which would likely include supplemental spending for defense – or whether they will simply extend the current CR through the end of the 2017 fiscal year. Leader McConnell has expressed optimism that Congress will avoid a government shutdown, but the final agreement will need to be bipartisan as any spending legislation will require 60 votes in the upper chamber.

The Senate will start today with floor consideration of a measure (S.89) to exempt the Mississippi riverboat Delta Queen from Coast Guard fire safety requirements and a vote on the nomination of Elaine Duke to be Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security. Neither move is expected to be controversial. The House has three foreign policy suspension measures to consider today, namely:

• H.R. 479 –  A bill requiring the State Department to determine whether North Korea should be designated as a state sponsor of terrorism. Foggy Bottom would need to report its determination within 30 days of the bill’s enactment.
• H.Res. 92 – A resolution condemning North Korea’s ballistic missile development and offering support for missile defense systems in South Korea. The missile program has been a particularly concerning development for American allies in Asia, and the nonbinding resolution would encourage China to “use its considerable leverage” over North Korean leaders to dissuade them from continuing the program.
• H.Res. 54 – A resolution to recognize and reaffirm the partnership between the United States and Argentina, highlighting the South American nation’s ongoing economic changes and resolution of a dispute before the World Bank.