With just the House technically in session and the Senate meeting in pro forma session, there were 15 bills introduced. One of those bills may receive additional coverage in this blog:
HR 5672 Making continuing appropriations for fiscal year 2024, and for other purposes. Bacon, Don [Rep.-R-NE-2]
Not sure if this is the version of the CR that would be
considered by the House if the House were able to get its act together.
Rockwell reports surge in cyberattacks on critical infrastructure, intense focus on energy sector. IndustrialCyber.co article. Pull quote: “Titled ‘Anatomy of 100+ Cybersecurity Incidents in Industrial Operations,’ Rockwell’s research disclosed that OT/ICS cybersecurity incidents in the last three years have already exceeded the total number reported between 1991-2000. Hackers are most intensely focused on the energy sector (39 percent of attacks) – over three times more than the next most frequently attacked verticals, critical manufacturing (11 percent) and transportation (10 percent).”
Alarm bells ring as lawmakers prep for possible shutdown. TheHill.com article. Pull quote: ““Many of our offices have been talking about how to make sure that our staff is going to be able to survive because the [legislative] branch appropriations budget hasn’t been passed, which means, while our staff will continue to work as essential workers, they won’t necessarily get paid,” Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) told reporters this week.”
101st and 82nd Airborne Division soldiers deploying to Eastern Europe. TaskAndPurpose.com article. Pull quote: “The deployments will not increase the U.S. military’s presence on the continent, but holding that number steady with unit rotations signals that the United States continues to be committed to the region, said Marta Kepe, a senior defense analyst with the RAND Corporation.”
Tropical Storm Ophelia Heads for North Carolina Coast.
NYTimes.com article.
Pull quote: “Rainfall totals across the area will vary and could lead to some
flooding, forecasters said. Portions of North Carolina and Virginia could
receive up to seven inches while points northward could get up to four inches.”
The House met today in a previously unscheduled meeting (announced Thursday night). A brief meeting (about 1 minute according to the Clerk of the House site) was held at just after 9:00 am EDT and some minor housekeeping actions were taken. The House then recessed subject to the call of the Chair. It then met again at a little after 6:00 pm EDT (again for just a bit more than a minute). Again, some minor housekeeping (including closing out action on reconsideration of H Res 712 – voided the request for a vote on the motion to reconsider and laid the motion on the table) and adjourned until 10:30 am tomorrow.
Meanwhile, the House Rules Committee held a hearing (video link) on the four spending bills I discussed this morning. No action was taken, just four hours of talking. The hearing will resume sometime tomorrow.
The Rules Committee also announced amendment deadlines for HR 4821, IER spending (October 3rd) and HR 4394, EWR (September 29th).
The whole point of today’s exercise was to allow the Rules Committee
to formulate a rule and introduce the resolution for that rule. That way the
House could take up that new rule tomorrow. So, it looks like we are going to
wash and repeat tomorrow with a real House meeting on Sunday. Maybe...
Yesterday, the Senate began the process of bringing HR 3935 [removed from paywall], the Securing Growth and Robust Leadership in American Aviation Act, to the floor. A cloture motion was filed for “consideration of the motion to proceed to consideration of H.R. 3539” (NOTE the Congressional Record has misprinted the bill number). A vote is scheduled for Tuesday at 5:30 pm EDT.
TheHill.com is reporting that Sen Schumer is planning on
using this bill as a vessel for a relatively clean continuing resolution. No
amendment to that effect has been yet proposed.
Yesterday, the Senate took no action on HR 4366, the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2024. Ten additional amendments were proposed, none were of specific interest here.
Yesterday, the OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory
Affairs (OIRA) announced
that it had approved a final rule from DOC’s Bureau of Industry and Security
(BIS) on “Revisions to Certain Australia Group Controls and Reasons for Control”.
The rulemaking was submitted
to ORIA on August 25th, 2023. The rulemaking was not listed in
the Spring 2023 Unified Agenda, so it is not clear what revisions were
included. The final rule could be published in the Federal Register next week.
After recessing yesterday morning ‘subject to the call of the Chair’, the House reconvened at 10:00 pm last night to adjourn. Added at the last minute, however, was a notice that: “The next meeting is scheduled for 9:00 a.m. on September 22, 2023.” The House was originally scheduled to be in a ‘District Work Day’, and many members had departed Washington.
Shortly before the House adjourned last night it was announced that the House Rules Committee would meet today at 1:00 pm “to begin consideration of the following emergency measures [emphasis added]”:
• HR 4367 –
Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Bill, 2024
• HR 4665 – Department of
State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2024
• HR 4365 –
Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2024 [Rule Markup Only]
• HR 4368 - Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2024 [Rule Markup Only]
The annotation ‘Rule Markup Only’ means that the Committee is not planning on considering changing the amendments that it had already approved for consideration on the floor of the House. The Rules Committee had previously called for the submission of amendments for HR 4367 and HR 4665, so the Committee Staff will have something to work with in preparing the rule for the consideration of those two bills.
There is nothing currently (06:56 EDT) on the Majority Leader’s
Schedule for today, but it looks like the Speaker has decided to try yet
again to pass spending bills. There is a good chance that since these are being
considered as ‘emergency measures’ that the House will work through the
weekend, if, of course, a rule can be approved on the floor. There is a chance
that the leadership is hoping that a sufficient number of no votes (mostly
Democrats) will not make it back to Washington in time for a vote on the Rule
to counteract the defecting Republican votes. If that succeeds, I suspect that
there would be a motion to vacate submitted quite quickly.
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