Look Ahead to the Week of March 11: The House Goes After TikTok

Both the Senate and House are in session this week, although the House will adjourn early as Republicans head to West Virginia on Wednesday for their annual party retreat. It is expected that the GOP members will discuss their policy priorities and messaging for the remainder of the year, including a continued focus on border security, high inflation, and the nation’s crime rates.

Last week, Congress avoided a partial government shutdown when it passed a “minibus,” which included six of the 12 fiscal year spending bills. The measure includes funding for the departments of Agriculture, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, Veterans Affairs, Energy, Commerce, Justice, and Interior; the Food and Drug Administration; and the Environmental Protection Agency through September 30, 2024.

Lawmakers must now turn to the remaining six bills, which have proven more contentious and difficult to resolve. Those funding bills, which include the departments of Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, and Defense, are set to expire on March 22, giving appropriators only two weeks to resolve their differences.

Additionally, the House will consider a bill this week, under suspension of the rules, that would require ByteDance—TikTok's Chinese parent company—to divest its ownership of the app within 165 days or face a ban in the United States. The legislation passed unanimously out of the Energy and Commerce Committee only days after it was introduced amid a public pressure campaign from TikTok users opposing the bill. While President Biden has indicated he would sign the legislation, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) wants to hear from his colleagues on how best to proceed.

Administration

On Monday, President Biden will transmit to Congress his fiscal year 2025 budget proposal. According to reports, the proposal will include modest spending increases, including for defense, due to the caps imposed by last year’s debt-limit deal.

On Tuesday, Shalanda Young, director of the Office of Management and Budget, will appear before the Senate Budget Committee to discuss Biden’s budget proposal.

Separately on Tuesday, Biden will host Polish President Andrzej Duda and Prime Minister Donald Tusk to discuss bilateral relations and the ongoing war in Ukraine. Then on Friday, he and Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar will participate in a meeting at the White House and attend the Friends of Ireland luncheon at the Capitol.

House Side

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

• Bills expected under suspension of the rules.
  • H.R. 6277 – FASTA Reform Act of 2023 (Rep. Perry – Transportation and Infrastructure). The bill would extend the Public Buildings Reform Board through 2026. The board is an independent entity established to help the federal government sell unused property.
  • H.Con.Res. 83 – Authorizing the use of the Capitol Grounds for the National Peace Officers Memorial Service and the National Honor Guard and Pipe Band Exhibition (Rep. Perry – Transportation and Infrastructure).
  • H.R. 6316 – To amend title 40, United States Code, to establish an expiration date of certain committee resolutions with respect to leases or projects, and for other purposes (Rep. Titus – Transportation and Infrastructure).
  • H.R. 6254 – Public Buildings Accountability Act of 2023 (Rep. Van Orden – Transportation and Infrastructure). The bill would require the Government Accountability Office to review the General Services Administration’s Public Buildings Service, including an accounting of its employees and an analysis of its effectiveness.
  • H.R. 6249 – Think Differently About Emergencies Act (Rep. Molinaro – Transportation and Infrastructure). The legislation would require the Federal Emergency Management Agency to report to Congress on the disaster assistance it provides to people with disabilities and their families.
  • S.1858 – Disaster Assistance Deadlines Alignment Act (Sen. Peters – Transportation and Infrastructure). The legislation would extend for 30 days the application deadline for an individual to receive Disaster Unemployment Assistance benefits.
  • H.R. 1752 – E-BRIDGE Act, as amended (Rep. Sam Graves – Transportation and Infrastructure). The legislation would permit the Commerce Department’s Economic Development Administration to make grants to public-private partnerships for broadband projects.
  • H.R. 886 – Save Our Seas 2.0 Amendments Act, as amended (Rep. Bonamici – Transportation and Infrastructure). The measure would extend and modify programs to combat marine debris in U.S. waters.
  • H.R. 4693 – Tennessee Valley Authority Salary Transparency Act, as amended (Rep. Cohen – Transportation and Infrastructure). The measure would require the Tennessee Valley Authority, a self-financed, federally owned electric utility, to report to Congress on the names, salaries, and duties of management-level employees.

Tuesday – Wednesday, the House is scheduled to meet for legislative business and to consider an additional bill under suspension of the rules.

• Bills expected under a rule.
  • H.R. 6276 – Utilizing Space Efficiently and Improving Technologies Act of 2023 (Rep. Perry – Transportation and Infrastructure). The legislation would require the General Services Administration to reduce the office space of federal agencies that don’t maintain a 60% utilization rate of their buildings.
  • H.Res. 1065 – Denouncing the Biden Administration's immigration policies (Rep. De La Cruz – Judiciary). The legislation would denounce the Biden Administration’s immigration policies and urge it to use its authorities to curtail the surge of migrants crossing the southwest border.
• Bills expected under a rule.
  • H.R. 7521 – Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act (Rep. Gallagher – Energy and Commerce). The measure would require TikTok’s Chinese parent company to sell the popular video-sharing social media platform or face a ban from operating in the United States.

Senate Side

On Monday, the Senate will resume consideration of the nomination of Jasmine Hyejung Yoon to be U.S. district judge for the Western District of Virginia.

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