Hearings

The Senate Finance Committee will begin to examine how the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) determines tax-exempt status.

Lawmakers started calling for investigations after reports that the IRS targeted politically conservative groups.

House committees will hear testimony next week on a wide range of topics, from controversial issues of the day like immigration and healthcare, to forward-looking issues like traveling to Mars.

The House Judiciary Committee holds two hearings Wednesday — one on lessons learned from the 1986 immigration law, and another on protecting constitutional rights during the war on terror.

A Senate committee will hear about technical advances in cars, such as self-driving vehicles.

On Wednesday, the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee will hold a hearing on “advanced vehicle technology and its implications.”

The House next week will hear testimony from Attorney General Eric Holder during a Wednesday oversight hearing held by the House Judiciary Committee.

The hearing could address issues ranging from gun control to immigration to voter ID laws — and possibly the legal status and questioning of suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing.

Several Senate committees will begin examining the implications of the Gang of Eight’s comprehensive immigration reform plan next week.

On Thursday morning, the Senate Judiciary Committee will start marking up the Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act.

The House Homeland Security Committee next week will begin a series of hearings on the April 15 bomb attack in Boston, which killed three and later led to the shooting death of another as the two suspects tried to elude capture.

The committee will meet Thursday in a hearing titled, "The Boston Bombings: A First Look." Invited to testify are Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis, former Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.), and Massachusetts Undersecretary for Homeland Security Director Kurt Schwartz.

The House Ways and Means Committee next week will hold a hearing to examine how tax reform, such as changes to the mortgage interest deduction, might affect homeownership.

The committee will meet Thursday in a hearing titled "Tax Reform and Residential Real Estate," which will could also explore the current tax deduction for state and local property taxes. Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.) said that as tax reform proposals are discussed, the implications of changes to these deductions on homeownership need to be explored.

The Senate Judiciary Committee will continue its consideration of comprehensive immigration reform on Monday.

The committee pushed back hearings on the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act so that the Gang of Eight could officially release the legislation.

Senate committee members will start debating comprehensive immigration reform next week. 

On Wednesday afternoon, the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing to discuss immigration reforms. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano is expected to testify.

Several House committees will meet next week to conduct oversight hearings on issues including financial services, the sequester, the Postal Service and other issues.

On Tuesday, the House Financial Services will analyze the Dodd-Frank financial reform law in a hearing that asks if the law allows the government to break up financial institutions.