This Week on the Hill: Senate to Consider Refugee Resettlement; School Lunch Bill Markup

With the House in recess this week in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, the Senate will first vote on the nomination of Wilhelmina Marie Wright to be U.S. district court judge in Minnesota before moving on to the contentious debate over settling Syrian refugees in the United States. On Wednesday, the upper chamber will hold a cloture vote on whether to proceed to legislation (H.R. 4038) the House passed last year, which would require top U.S. law-enforcement and national security officials to affirm to Congress that each individual Syrian refugee doesn’t pose a security threat. The Obama administration contends the refugee program would grind to a halt, and has threatened to veto the measure. 

Tomorrow, the Senate Agriculture Committee will mark up a compromise bill reauthorizing child nutrition programs, after committee Chairman Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS) and ranking member Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) were able to negotiate an agreement on draft language. The bill would provide additional flexibility to local school districts in deciding the contents of school lunches and limit some of the nutrition standards put forth by First Lady Michelle Obama.

Although the House is not in session this week, House Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) suggested last week that top tax writers from both chambers plan to start an effort to make significant changes to international corporate tax law. Despite the early negotiations, Brady said he was uncertain whether a bill could be completed this year. The House is set to return on Monday, January 25.

‘This Week on the Hill’ includes updates provided by the House and Senate majority leaders, as well information derived from publications including Bloomberg Government, The Hill, Politico, Roll Call, and National Journal.