This Week on the Hill: Lawmakers Return As End-of-Year Legislative Sprint Looms

Congress returns to action today as lawmakers gear up for a three-week work session. With 28 legislative days left on the 2019 congressional calendar, House and Senate appropriators are expected to continue negotiations on subcommittee allocations for each of the 12 fiscal year (FY) 2020 spending measures. If they reach an agreement, they could begin “pre conferencing” the 12 fiscal year (FY) 2020 spending bills ahead of the Senate’s votes on the floor. However, disagreements over the Trump administration’s border security and family planning policies — as well as the recent developments on impeachment — could complicate matters for FY 2020 government funding bills.

On the floor this week, the House is expected to consider a pair of Securities and Exchange Commission-related measures. Lawmakers will take up a bill that would require the disclosure of the total number of domestic and foreign employees of certain public companies, as well as legislation that would mandate the SEC to conduct investor testing and surveys when developing regulations about disclosures for retail investors. For today, the House is expected to consider eight suspension bills out of the Foreign Affairs and Veterans’ Affairs Committees. Meanwhile, Senators are expected to resume consideration of pending presidential nominations, starting with Barbara McConnell Barrett’s nomination to be Secretary of the Air Force.