Civic Register
| 6.17.21

Senate to Confirm Circuit Court Nominee, House Returns to Lift Iraq Military Force Authorization
How do you feel about this week’s congressional schedule?
What’s happening in Congress?
- The House returns this week after a three-week break from floor work to consider a bill to repeal the 2002 Authorization for Use of Military Force in Iraq, while the Senate is set to confirm President Joe Biden’s first nominee to a federal appeals court.
SENATE SCHEDULE
- The Senate starts its week on Monday with a confirmation vote on the nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to fill the vacancy on the District of Columbia Circuit that was created when Attorney General Merrick Garland retired from the bench.
- The Senate voted 52-46 to advance her nomination last week with three Republican senators joining Democrats by voting in favor, so it’s likely that Jackson will be confirmed.
- After the Senate finishes its consideration of the Jackson nomination, it’s expected to take up the nominations of Lina Khan to be a Federal Trade Commissioner and Kiran Ahuja to be Director of the Office of Personnel Management.
- Committees will hold hearings on Democrats’ American Dream and Promise Act; oversight of the Capitol Police following the January 6th attack on the Capitol; and infrastructure needs at the state and municipal level.
HOUSE SCHEDULE
- The House starts its week Monday. Early in the week, it’s expected to consider several bills under the fast-track “suspension of the rules” process, including a bill to award Congressional Gold Medals to the Capitol Police for their actions during the January 6th riot at the Capitol.
- Further votes on suspension bills are possible later in the week, and at a time to be announced between Tuesday and Thursday the House is expected to vote on bills to repeal the 2002 Iraq Authorization for Use of Military Force and reform corporate governance procedures.
- Committees will hold hearings on the potential creation of a digital dollar; oversight of first responders from the Capitol Police during the January 6th riot; and bills to allow Puerto Rico to become a state.
Check below throughout the week to see the vote results and updates to the schedule.
Schedule subject to change. All times Eastern.
HOUSE
Monday after 6:30pm
- Rule debate and vote for H.R. 256 and H.R. 1187.
Tuesday after 12pm
- H.R. 3325: To award four congressional gold medals to the United States Capitol Police and those who protected the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021 Passed 406-21.
- H.R. 1703: National Children’s Museum Act, as amended Passed en bloc 287-140.
- H.R. 587: Ocean Pollution Reduction Act II Passed en bloc 287-140.
- H.R. 610: San Francisco Bay Restoration Act, as amended Passed en bloc 287-140.
- H.R. 1144: PUGET SOS Act, as amended Passed en bloc 287-140.
- H.R. 2008: Local Water Protection Act Passed en bloc 287-140.
- H.R. 1921: To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to reauthorize the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Restoration Program, and for other purposes Passed en bloc 287-140.
- H.R. 539: Preventing Disaster Revictimization Act Passed by voice vote.
- H.R. 468: Expedited Delivery of Airport Infrastructure Act of 2021 Passed by voice vote.
- H.R. 2016: Federal Disaster Assistance Coordination Act Passed by voice vote.
- H.R. 1262: Notice to Airmen Improvement Act of 2021, as amended Passed by voice vote.
- H.R. 2093: Veterans and Family Information Act Passed by voice vote.
- H.R. 239: Equal Access to Contraception for Veterans Act Failed 240-188 (2/3 majority required).
- H.R. 1257: Homeless Veterans CREDIT Act, as amended Passed by voice vote.
- H.R. 2429: VA Police Improvement and Accountability Act Passed by voice vote.
- H.R. 2726: VA FOIA Reform Act of 2021 Passed by voice vote.
- H.R. 2545: To amend title 38, United States Code, to clarify the role of doctors of podiatric medicine in the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes Passed en bloc 287-140.
- H.R. 293: VA Hospitals Establishing Leadership Performance Act Passed en bloc 287-140.
- H.R. 290: To amend title 38, United States Code, to render an individual, who transfers certain educational assistance, to which the individual is entitled because of an agreement by such individual to serve in the Armed Forces, to a dependent of that individual, and who fails to complete such agreement, solely liable for the overpayment of such educational assistance, as amended Passed by voice vote.
- H.R. 3642: Harlem Hellfighters Congressional Gold Medal Act, as amended Passed en bloc 287-140.
- H.R. 2332: Debt Bondage Repair Act, as amended Passed en bloc 287-140.
- H.R. 1443: LGBTQ Business Equal Credit Enforcement and Investment Act, as amended Failed 248-177 (2/3 majority required).
Wednesday after 12pm
- Amendments to H.R. 1187: Corporate Governance Improvement and Investor Protection Act
- H.R. 1187: Corporate Governance Improvement and Investor Protection Act Passed 215-214.
- S. 475: Juneteenth National Independence Day Act Passed 415-14.
Thursday between 9am and 3pm
- H.R. 256: To repeal the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 Passed 268-161.
SENATE
Monday after 5:30pm
- Confirmation of Kentanji Brown Jackson as U.S. Circuit Judge for the District of Columbia Circuit Confirmed 53-44.
- Cloture motion on the nomination of Lina Khan to be a Federal Trade Commissioner Invoked 72-25.
Tuesday after 12pm
- Confirmation of Lina Khan as a Federal Trade Commissioner Confirmed 69-28.
- S. 475: Juneteenth National Independence Day Act Passed by unanimous consent.
Wednesday after 11:30am
- Cloture motion on the nomination of Radhika Fox to be an Assistant Administrator of the EPA Invoked 55-43.
- Cloture motion on the nomination of Lydia Griggsby to be U.S. District Judge for the District of Maryland Invoked 57-41.
- Confirmation of Radhika Fox as an Assistant Administrator of the EPA Confirmed 55-43.
- Confirmation of Lydia Griggsby as U.S. District Judge for the District of Maryland Confirmed 59-39.
- Cloture motion on the nomination of Tommy Beaudreau to be Deputy Secretary of the Interior Invoked 89-9.
Thursday after 11:30am
- Confirmation of Tommy Beaudreau as Deputy Secretary of the Interior Confirmed 88-9.
- Cloture motion on the nomination of John Tien to be Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Invoked 66-33.
- Confirmation of John Tien as Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Confirmed 60-34.
Next Week / TBA
- Cloture motion on the nomination of Kiran Ahuja to be Director of the Office of Personnel Management
- (If cloture is invoked) Confirmation of Kiran Ahuja as Director of the Office of Personnel Management
Tell your reps how to vote on this week's bills and share your thoughts below!
— Eric Revell
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@jimk. Totally dug your post on this topic. You end it by saying “we have a lot of work to do”. From context a infer “to fix this government”. I think it’s worth at least considering that this government is unfixable. It’s an entropy thing - all systems tend toward their low energy state, you can’t unscramble an egg, etc. Something I like to do each year around this time is to go back and read the declaration of independence. In particular the list of grievances against the king. It is shocking the level of similarities that we have today to the problems that we had then. I don’t know why the solution today would be any different than it was then. Id also add, why do the work? Personally I don’t see much in our form of government worth saving. And… I think the amount of energy required to push this government over is much less than people think. New and creative tactics would be required but with the people unified against government and the oligarchs I think the us would fold like a lawn chair.
I guess I am having difficulty reconciling how a democratic republic is supposed to work with how our government is currently operating. In any representative democracy, representatives are elected to represent the will of the people. Our Country’s representatives all swear an oath to defend the Constitution and the Country as their highest purpose and defining reason for them to serve in our legislature. The Country in this case is, by definition, the all of us. … … … There is no oath for legislators to just serve themselves, their political party, their benefactors or even just their constituents - none of these things define the nature of their sworn duty to our country, their service in the offices that they hold or the privileges that they afford to themselves in lieu of the public trust. NONE. … … … So, just how is it that the Congressional Republican Senate can just ignore the overwhelming will of the people because honoring the will of the people may give political points to an opposing party? Aren’t they all in office to honor the will of the people? Isn’t honoring the will of the people a paramount responsibly of the people’s elected representatives? … … … All of Biden’s initiatives are supported by a majority of the voters including majorities of Republican, Independent and Democratic voters alike. The HR.1 legislation is supported by over a 60 point spread in WV; supported by 81% of Democratic voters, 79% of Independents and 76% of Republican voters. Politicians benefiting from dark money donations will not support this bill out of their own self interests because of the limitations that HR.1 imposes on dark money donations. Again, these representatives have the paramount duty to honor the collective will of the people and are not elected to protect their cash flow from benefactors. Representing the people’s will - isn’t that how a representative democracy is supposed to work? … … … How can a political party’s leadership, representing the minority of the people, simply declare that they will stop all of the legislative packages sponsored by representatives of the majority as well as being broadly supported the majority of the minority party’s own voters? Just who does the minority party’s representatives actually represent? It is not the will of the people nor the will of their own voters. Is this not putting the will of these legislators over the will of the people of this country and the will of the people that they purport to represent? How can this be tolerated in a democratic republic, a representative democracy, or any form of democracy? Isn’t this action alone a constitutional violation of their oath’s of office and their sworn duty? … … … Just how can the will of the governing supersede the will of the governed in a democracy? Do some of the governing feel that they are somehow some form of Royalty whose purpose is to placate the unfortunate, uniformed serfs that they ‘represent’ and ignore their desires and needs? Just who the f@¢k do they think they are? … … … Why should a minority party which is ignoring the will of the people for their own interests be able to require a 20 plus point spread in Senate voting to pass legislation supported broadly by the people with a 60 point spread? None of our elected official are required to win their elections with a 20 point spread - so why should the overwhelming will of the people even conceivably be allowed to be thwarted by a political party acting in bad faith, solely for the purpose of attaining and retaining political power and their substantial perks of office? I would think that the will of the people should be much more important that the will of a minority of legislators who do not find political advantage in carrying out their duties to the people, or that arcane Senate rules which allow a minority party to overwhelm the majority’s will is somehow more important than their primary duty to represent the all of us. They were not elected to let an abuse of Senate norms excuse them from their primary Constitutional duties. … … … People generally mistrust the Congress, complain about perpetual gridlock and the continued reduced performance of our country in education, life expectancy, homelessness, healthcare, hunger, incarceration rates, social justice, poverty and world status. These are all trends which started when Republican’s sold the public on the failed promises of trickle down economics and Gingrich regimented the House to block-vote and essentially declare war on the Democratic Party for the sole purpose of winning elections by any means possible. All of these things together explain Congressional gridlock and the great damages done to the very foundation that supports this country, our people. It would not have been this way had we insisted that our legislators took a fifth grade civics class and learned how a representative democracy is supposed to work and if we collectively demanded that they honor their duty to our country, their oath’s of office and hold them all to account for spewing of disinformation to convince us otherwise. … … … We have a lot of work to do.
Mitch, I had to laugh at your comment regarding adding a judge to the Supreme Court that was nominated by Democrats. You must have made the comment to “own the libs” and see their reaction. Certainly no elected official in actuality would stoop so low to stop our government from working properly. Oh wait, that’s what you Republicans have been doing for the last 4+ years.
Stop any fraudulent p Biden's nominees. Our great President T4ump won in 2020, and You allowed biden to fraudulently t take office, based on Judges, Governors, and elected officials changes of Sacred election rules. Only the specific States' Legistrature have Legal, and Constitutional authority to change election law, in their States. Your hatred of Our Great President Trump pushed You to violate Our Sacred Constitution. Our Constitution is not "a living document". Original Intent matters. You are on the brink of destroying America.
Everything JimK said plus: it feels as though so many seek GOP office as a fast way to acquiring riches. The longer these senators stay in office the more wealth they attain... funny how that works. Virtually everything the Republican Party opposes is due to flow of money and they won’t stop it flowing into their pockets. This country really was founded on oath breaking, and were the worst oath breakers in the would. We need to go back to treating an oath taken as worth more than its weight in gold. When people break their oaths they should be properly punished so as to learn from it. People need to learn an oath given needs to be kept or there’s consequences. We had a president that violated his oath of office, most of a congressional party that run on violating their oath to The People, and many others. If you can’t be trusted to keep your word... you can’t be trusted ever.
Representative Greene Came back today and said she just now found out what happened at the holocaust and apologize remarks she made 3 weeks earlier! How old is this bimbo idiot that she’s just now finding out about the holocaust if she is that damn stupid what the hell is she doing in Congress. The Republican party is no longer in a race to the bottom they are at the bottom.
I am tired of the stalemate in Congress. I agree with jimK that our “representatives” must be reminded that they are not “free agents”. The trumplicans that are guilty of sedition for their activities last year are the bulk of the roadblock. If they had lost their seats per Constitutional Amendment, perhaps the work for the people would get done. Get the dead wood out!
Dave C: Thanks! I strongly agree with your ‘certain’ people qualifier. No interest, energy, patience nor enough self restraint to be any form of politician - would be and should be booted out fairly quickly. I enjoy staying up late in the quiet times to think about bizarre things that interest or scare me. I call this my time to ‘think great thoughts’ as an excuse for indulging in my fantasies and to justify the time spent on this, for me, enjoyable endeavor. Although, I really could use more sleep!
Nancy B: Please feel free to not read my comments. I really do not mind. My comments tend to be long because I feel compelled to explain why I make the comments that I make. Now, if you can cite any facts (not opinions based on known disinformation or spewed by pundits living in some alternate universe), that you feel are incorrect - I would be glad to listen. Otherwise, not so much!
As long as they can try to work together - Republicans please put country over trump
@Nancy wrote: "After thought to my post, I’m so tired of that blowhard Jimk or whatever his. Sign on is! Didn’t think anyone could come close to that “Hindsight”person but who just rattled on & on but jimk has topped her. Nothing worse than a person who loves to hear themselves talk/write. " Lol! I do miss Hindsight, and have wondered whatever happened to him (or her). Hindsight kept a running log of Trump's governmental malfeasance. I’m sure conservatives really hated that. Speaking of a running list of Trump's inapropriate actions as president, are you following the Boston Globes series? Latest is “The case for prosecuting Donald Trump - The Boston Globe” https://apps.bostonglobe.com/opinion/graphics/2021/06/future-proofing-the-presidency/part-6-the-case-for-prosecuting-donald-trump/ You probably only read or heard of the Greek saying, "Know thyself." Read the Chinese version… as translated into English “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.” Sun Tzu, 544 - 496 BCE, Military general, tactician, writer, philosopher As for writing style, it's a judgement call. There are advantages and disadvantages to many styles. They range from the wisdom of keeping completely quiet to saying very little to trying to put what you mean into words even if you don't know exactly what you mean. Some measure ability in numbers you have 24 followers, jimK has 1,665. So there's that. Is he a blowhard? Or are you experiencing jealousy? JimK reminds me of a classmate who was really favored by our Third Year English teacher. He made the kid read his work aloud regularly. I didn't get the teacher's point. Flowery language? Reasoning that went over my head? That same teacher convinced me that I couldn’t write to save my life. My second year teacher convinced me I could make good speeches. Go figure! It wasn’t until I realized a few things in graduate school that I finally began acing writing assignments. But, onto the point, what do _you_ have to offer beyond acting the part of a Troll? Make a reasoned case for something. Stop regurgiting the propaganda and think then write. Make an articulate case for something. I bet its hard. See the Chinese saying quoted above. You can't just denounce the "other" you have to really understand the "other's" goals as well as you own. Please just dont repeat what some talking head says. At least paraphrase it. Why do you hate whatever it is you hate? Why do you like whomever it is you like?
I will be amazed if this country can progress given the stalemate over EVERYTHING including how to divide a stick of chewing gum!
Work toward Medicare for all, GREEN NEW DEAL, cancel student debt.
I'm still waiting for passage of the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, the For the People Act, and the Equality Act. This is the month to get all those signed, and then we can start signing an infrastructure bill. It's fine to want bipartisanship, but because the Republicans don't seem to want to do that, then Democrats should just get everything done they can while they have the power.
I do not OBJECT to the steps planned, but I feel the Infrastructure bill and the "For The People Act" shoudl be a higher priority. We NEED to protect our form of government against those, foreign and domestic, that would attack or weaken it. We NEED the infrastructure to strengthen the economy and enable the workforce. If our Senators were worth spit we would already have passed those bills!
Do something half ass good for our country and not for your personal benefit. Doubt that you will.
Not enough information to comment
Nice to see they return to Capital Hill after a 3 week rest. These people have more time off than certain individuals on unemployment! Disgusting but combine the ages of most of these relics and one can easily see why the needed the rest.I would ask Pelosi if she will include the officer who shot and killed the veteran from California on January 6th for the “ Medal”. This is just another one of her ways to push the egregious dirty ploys under the rug and to heap praise upon those who some may question their motives on that day. Americans have seen the videos of many of the officers beckoning people into the Capital on that day. These officers were more than eager to move barriers to accommodate the crowd. Yet no-one questions why they did so nor does anyone question why the officers who stood around the victim who was shot did not appear to give any kind of assistance to her! Video certainly shows not one of them attempting first aid treatment to her. Means nothing to Pelosi, don’t question her motives, don’t ask questions which she has no interest in answering. The leadership in both the House and the Senate is evil with lack of any empathy and reeks of personal power trips. Do any of us really believe Pelosi and Chuck want to help the American people or to place America first before any other country? We all know those answers.
TERM LIMITS!
None of this fake president (Biden) initiatives are supported by Americans - China supports them, but not America. The G7 was a disaster and the fake government is a laughing stock. Covid; its China origin and likely support by the deep state - Fauci and many others is being uncovered (as if we did not know the real story before this), the election audits are making leftist communist shake in the knees. Remember the states control elections - not the central government. If American voted in such numbers for Biden why is there such effort to even attempt to shutdown audits. Is it because Treason charges are the only outcome of this movement. Sure it is; all the communists have shown themselves and know it's coming. Actions as egregious as what Democrats commies are doing demand it.