Capitol Hill This Week - What to Watch For

This week may be the last that Congress is in session before the November 4 mid-term elections. And if some Congressional leaders are to be believed, even afterward not much is going to happen legislatively before a new Congress is seated in 2015. After Congress returns in mid-November, there will really only be one key item for its members to attend to in 2014: averting a federal government shutdown after December 11: the expiration date of the proposed stop-gap Continuing Resolution that the House released last Tuesday.  Following a last-minute White House request on Wednesday to include authority to take action against the Islamic State in the bill, Congressional work on the government funding measure was delayed until this week, further condensing the tight time frame lawmakers already faced.  Although the current two-week session (scheduled to end this week) may be extended into the week of September 22, that seems to be an unlikely option at this point.

Below are the Mississippi River Basin-related Capitol Hill happenings currently on tap for the week Links are provided to the relevant committee web pages, and, where appropriate, to pieces of legislation. Many Congressional proceedings are webcast live, and these should be, as well (follow the appropriate link). All times are Eastern. This page will be updated as warranted.

Tuesday

• House Rules Committee meeting to determine the rules for consideration of the ‘‘American Energy Solutions for Lower Costs and More American Jobs Act’’(regarding, in part, expedited Keystone XL pipeline approval); 3:00 PM, room H-313 The Capitol.

Wednesday

• House Science, Space and Technology Committee hearing on "The Administration’s Climate Plan: Failure by Design;" 10:00 AM, room 2318 Rayburn House Office Building.
• House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources legislative hearing on two bills, including H.R. 5066, the  “Data Preservation Act of 2014,” that would reauthorize a USGS program that: archives geological, geophysical, and engineering data, maps, well logs, and samples, provides a national catalog of archived materials, and provides technical and financial assistance to State geological surveys and relevant Department of the Interior bureaus for archived materials; 2:00 PM, room 1324 Longworth House Office Building.

Thursday

• House Natural Resources Committee, Full Committee markup on legislation as yet to be announced, 11:00 AM, room 1324 Longworth House Office Building.
• House Agriculture Subcommittee on Conservation, Energy, and Forestry hearing on the benefits of promoting soil health in agriculture and rural America; 11:30 AM, room 1300 Longworth House Office Building.

Friday

• House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health hearing on 21st Century Cures: Examining Ways to Combat Antibiotic Resistance and Foster New Drug Development; 9:00 AM, room 2123 Rayburn House Office Building.