Both the House and Senate are in this week.

On Tuesday, President Joe Biden will meet with top congressional leaders, including House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), to discuss raising the debt limit. Two weeks ago, McCarthy rallied House Republicans to pass a GOP bill that would increase the debt ceiling in exchange for repealing most of the clean-energy provisions that passed as part of the Inflation Reduction Act and enacting substantial social spending cuts. To date, Biden has publicly vowed not to negotiate over the debt limit, calling for a clean debt ceiling increase. However, McCarthy and most of the Republican members have maintained that option is a nonstarter and have stated that any increase to the debt ceiling must be paired with cuts in spending. Over the weekend, 43 GOP Senators including McConnell vowed not to support a clean debt limit increase, which indicated that Schumer could not find the votes to break a filibuster and pass a clean bill through the Senate.

The negotiators are operating under an increasingly short time schedule, as Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told Congress last week that the federal government reached the statutory cap on borrowing in January and the Treasury has since been using extraordinary measures to make cash available, which is due to run out as early as June 1. If that happens, Yellen and other economists have warned it would result in a global and economic meltdown, including the loss of millions of jobs. 

Also this week, House Republicans are planning votes on a partisan border security and immigration package, which would restart construction of a border wall, offer bonuses to Border Patrol agents, and resume the Trump Administration’s “Remain in Mexico” program for migrants seeking asylum in the United States. Republicans are hoping to pass the legislation on the last day of Title 42, which is the pandemic-era policy that allowed border agents to rapidly expel many migrants to Mexico. However, the legislation is dead on arrival in the Democrat-controlled Senate. 

Schumer has stated that he is hoping to have Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) back in the upper chamber this week after an extended period of absence due to shingles. Feinstein’s return would allow Democrats to move forward with the confirmation of contentious judicial nominees that have been stuck in the Judiciary Committee during her absence.

Administration

On Wednesday, President Biden will address the debt limit in New York’s Hudson Valley. Then on Friday, he will host Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez at the White House for a bilateral meeting. They are slated to discuss a myriad of issues, including the ongoing war in Ukraine, as Spain prepares to assume the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union in July. 

House Side

On Tuesday, the House will meet to consider multiple bills under suspension.

• Bills expected under suspension of the rules.
  • H.R. 676 – Coastal Communities Ocean Acidification Act of 2023 (Rep. Pingree – Science, Space, and Technology). The legislation would require the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Ocean Acidification Advisory Board to collaborate with state and local governments and tribes that are affected by ocean and coastal acidification.
  • H.R. 1715 – Advanced Weather Model Computing Development Act (Rep. Max Miller – Science, Space, and Technology). The bill would direct the Energy Department and NOAA to collaborate on research to advance weather and climate prediction in the United States.
  • H.R. 1734 – TRANQ Research Act (Rep. Collins – Science, Space, and Technology). The bill would require the National Institute of Standards and Technology to conduct research on illicit drugs, including those containing xylazine, novel synthetic opioids, or other substances of concern.

Wednesday – Friday, the House is scheduled to meet for legislative business.

• Bills expected under a rule.
  • H.R. 2 – Secure the Border Act of 2023. The legislation would restart construction of a border wall, offer bonuses to Border Patrol agents, resume the Trump Administration’s “Remain in Mexico” program for migrants seeking asylum in the United States, and require employers to verify the legal status of workers.
  • H.R. 1163 – Protecting Taxpayers and Victims of Unemployment Fraud Act. The legislation would permit states to retain 25% of any recovered fraudulent overpayments of pandemic and regular unemployment benefits. Funds recouped could be used to update unemployment systems, hire fraud investigators and prosecutors, and for other activities to prevent improper payments.

Senate Side

On Tuesday, the Senate will vote to advance L. Felice Gorordo’s nomination to be U.S. alternate executive director of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Schumer has also filed cloture on Glenna Laureen Wright-Gallo’s nomination to be assistant secretary for special education and rehabilitative services, Colleen Joy Shogan to lead the National Archives, and Geeta Rao Gupta to be ambassador at large for global women’s issues.

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