The POPVOX Blog

From our Hill Sources:

The first full week of June should see House passage of a few major spending bills for fiscal year 2013, while the Senate is expected to consider farm legislation.

The Week Ahead in Congress: June 4 - 8

In the House

• HR 5325 Energy and Water spending bill: The House started work last week on HR 5325, which appropriates money for the Department of Energy, the Department of Interior, and other related agencies. It increases spending by nearly $90 million compared to the 2012 bill.
• HR 5855 The Department of Homeland Security spending bill: Work may commence on this bill, HR 5855. The bill cuts nearly $400 million from the current DHS spending levels.
• HR 5882 The Legislative Branch spending bill: The House might also start work on HR 5882, which spends $3.3 billion on the House and Capitol operations, $34 million less than current levels. This bill does not include spending for the Senate, which will propose its own spending.
• HR 4282 The International Child Support Recovery Improvement Act ensures that the United States can comply fully with the obligations of the Hague Convention of 23 November 2007 on the International Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Maintenance. (From Rep. Rick Berg [R, ND-0]).

Land Use Bills in the House

The House also has plans to take up 10 non-controversial bills dealing with land use across the country:

• HR 241 Authorizes the conveyance of certain National Forest System lands in the Los Padres National Forest in California. (From Rep. Elton Gallegly [R, CA-24]).
• HR 1740 Amends the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate a segment of Illabot Creek in Skagit County, Washington, as a component of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. (From Rep. Rick Larsen [D, WA-2]).
• HR 2060 The Central Oregon Jobs and Water Security Act adjusts the Crooked River boundary, provides water certainty for the City of Prineville, Oregon. (From Rep. Greg Walden [R, OR-2]).
• HR 2336 The York River Wild and Scenic River Study Act designates segments of the York River and associated tributaries for study for potential inclusion in the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. (From Rep. Chellie Pingree [D, ME-1]).
• HR 2512 The Three Kids Mine Remediation and Reclamation Act provides for the conveyance of certain Federal land in Clark County, Nevada, for the environmental remediation and reclamation of the Three Kids Mine Project Site. (From Rep. Joe Heck [R, NV-3]).
• HR 3263 The Lake Thunderbird Efficient Use Act authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to allow the storage and conveyance of nonproject water at the Norman project in Oklahoma. (From Rep. Tom Cole [R, OK-4]).
• HR 4222 Provides for the conveyance of certain land inholdings owned by the United States to the Tucson Unified School District and to the Pascua Yaqui Tribe of Arizona. (From Rep. Raul Grijalva [D, AZ-7]).
• S 363 Authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to convey property of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to the City of Pascagoula, Mississippi. (From Sen. Roger Wicker [R, MS]).
• S 292 The Salmon Lake Land Selection Resolution Act resolves the claims of the Bering Straits Native Corporation and the State of Alaska to land adjacent to Salmon Lake in the State of Alaska and to provide for the conveyance to the Bering Straits Native Corporation of certain other public land in partial satisfaction of the land entitlement of the Corporation under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. (From Sen. Lisa Murkowski [R, AK]).

In the Senate

• S 3220 The Paycheck Fairness Act: The Senate will hold a procedural vote on this bill, which Democrats say is needed to boost enforcement of federal fair-pay laws. (From Sen. Barbara Mikulski [D, MD]).
• S 3240 The Agriculture Reform, Food and Jobs Act: This is a five year reauthorization of federal farm programs.

Other Bills of Interest

• HR 5846 The Second Amendment Sovereignty Act (number one on POPVOX last week). This bill, from Rep. Ben Quayle (R-Ariz.), would ensure that a UN arms trade treaty does not infringe on the Second Amendment rights of U.S. citizens. It was introduced in May, and has not advanced in the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
• SRes 446 Expressing the Senate of the Senate that the UN should not be allowed to control the Internet (number three on POPVOX). This resolution from Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) is a response to worries that an international consensus is growing to give the UN control over the Internet. The bill has not advanced in the Senate.
• HR 3541 The Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act (number four on POPVOX last week), which would impose penalties against doctors who perform abortions solely to select the sex of an unborn child. A majority of House members supported this bill last week, but it was brought up under a process that required a two-thirds vote in order to pass. House Republicans have given no indication that they would bring up the bill again under a regular process requiring a simple majority vote. (From Rep. Trent Franks [R, AZ-2]).

(If you'd like this alert emailed to you directly once a week, please send me an email at rachna@popvox.com.)

Please keep in mind that highlighting a bill doesn't imply a POPVOX endorsement in any way. Rather, we're simply trying to offer one more way to stay informed of an overwhelmingly complex legislative system.