House

Members of the House on Wednesday introduced two flag bills on Wednesday, just days before the House and Senate will break for Memorial Day recess.

Reps. Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.) and Dan Lipinski (D-Ill.) proposed an amendment to the Constitution that would give Congress the power to prohibit the physical desecration of the U.S. flag.

The House starts at 9 a.m., and will consider H.R. 1911, the Smarter Solutions for Students Act.

This bill would peg the interest rate on federal student loans to the 10-year Treasury note. The rate would equal the 10-year rate plus 2.5 percent, and would be reset every year.

The House late Wednesday quickly passed two suspension bills by voice vote — one dealing with education, and the other dealing with the reliability of electricity generators around the country.

Members first passed H.R. 1949, the Improving Postsecondary Education Data for Students Act. This bill would require the Department of Education to assess how best to present information about college costs to parents and students trying to decide where to attend.

The Obama administration said Wednesday that it would veto a Republican bill that would permanently base the interest rate on federally backed student loans on the 10-year Treasury note.

The House is expected to pass H.R. 1911, the Smarter Solutions for Students Act, on Thursday. The bill is meant to provide a permanent fix to what has become an annual problem for Congress of how to set student loan interest rates.

The House on Wednesday approved a rule governing floor consideration of a bill that would approve the construction of the northern leg of the Keystone XL pipeline, setting up a Thursday vote to pass the bill.

Members approved the rule for H.R. 3, the Northern Route Approval Act, in a 228-185 vote. Nine Democrats supported the rule, a sign that several will support the final bill on Thursday.

A member of the House who spoke on the floor wearing a USO sticker drew a quick warning on Wednesday that members are not permitted to wear "communicative badges" while speaking in the chamber.

Rep. Rick Crawford (R-Ark.) was the first to deliver a "one minute" speech on the House floor on Wednesday. He had just been assembling a care package for overseas members of the Armed Forces and had left his USO sticker on his suit jacket.

Rep. Bill Johnson (R-Ohio) on Wednesday said the recent scandals involving the IRS and the Justice Department — and claims that the White House was unaware of them until they were reported — should be seen as an urgent warning that the government is too big for anyone to manage, even the president.

"The recent admission by IRS that it used its considerable authority and resources to target certain Americans because of their political affiliation should serve as an urgent warning to all Americans," Johnson said on the House floor. "The federal government is getting too large and has too much control."

A House bill would require Amtrak to open at least one car of each train for passengers transporting dogs and cats.

The House starts at 10 a.m., and in the afternoon, it will begin work on a bill to authorize the construction of the northern leg of the Keystone pipeline.

Members will start with the rule for the bill, which is H.R. 3, the Northern Route Approval Act. Once the rule is approved in the early afternoon, the House will hold 90 minutes of debate, followed by consideration of up to 10 amendments.

Republicans on the House Rules Committee agreed Tuesday to make nine Democratic amendments in order to a bill authorizing construction of the Keystone pipeline, including one that would gut the bill entirely.

The House will take up H.R. 3, the Northern Route Approval Act, on Wednesday, when it is expected to pass with GOP support. Allowing debate on the nine amendments will give Democrats a chance to raise several problems they have with the bill, even though the substantive amendments are likely to fail.