House

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.

In the run-up to the Memorial Day weekend, the House has approved legislation aimed at boosting jobs training programs for veterans, and a separate bill meant to ease airport screenings for injured or disabled veterans.

In a 416-0 vote, members passed H.R. 1412, the Improving Job Opportunities for Veterans Act. This bill would make it easier for companies to bear the costs of hiring veterans as part of a federal job training program.

House Republicans on Tuesday rejected a Democratic attempt to derail legislation that would deem the northern leg of the Keystone pipeline as approved.

This bit of technical jujitsu on the House floor came just a day before the House is expected to take up H.R. 3, the Northern Route Approval Act. That bill is expected to pass the House on Wednesday with the support of at least a dozen Democrats.

Members of the House on Tuesday afternoon approved a veterans bill, and a bill aimed at ensuring the federal government cannot block fishing rights in Tennessee and Kentucky.

By unanimous consent, the House approved H.R. 570, the American Heroes COLA Act, which would make permanent annual increases in cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) for disabled veterans. These adjustments are now made every year by Congress, but members noted that they often occurred late, and members easily agreed to approve the concept of making these automatic.

Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) on Tuesday said the House would continue to investigate the growing list of scandals plaguing the Obama administration, and said it would do so because people "deserve the truth."

"We have a responsibility to the American people to provide oversight of the Executive Branch," Boehner said in rare remarks on the House floor. "And I think Americans understand, and our colleagues understand, that the American people deserve the truth."

"Whether it's Benghazi, whether it's the IRS, whether it's the Justice Department investigating journalists, the Congress of the United States and the American people need to know what the truth is, to hold this administration accountable. Those of us in public office understand that our job is to serve the American people, not the other way around."

Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Calif.) on Tuesday said the ongoing scandal about the government's scrutiny of conservative groups shows that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has an 'insatiable appetite' for gathering names.

"Conservative groups, and only conservative groups, seeking to organize under Section 501 were subjected to pages of intrusive and irrelevant questions, but with a common theme: Give us the names," McClintock said on the House floor.

Freshman Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.) on Tuesday marked Harvey Milk day, which is tomorrow, by reading a famous speech on the House floor from Milk, the first openly gay person to win election in California.

Takano, the first openly gay non-white member of Congress in U.S. history, recalled Milk's comments that the election of gay people helps bring hope to gay children across the country.

"Two days after I was elected, I got a phone call, and the voice was quite young," Takano said as he read Milk's speech. "It was from Altoona, Pa. And the person said, 'Thanks.'

The bill, authored by Rep. Van Hollen, contains $181 billion in replacement deficit reduction over 10 years.

House Democrats this week will challenge Republican plans to call up legislation that provides for congressional approval of the Keystone pipeline, and removes the need for presidential approval.

Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) on Monday said he would raise a question of the privileges of the House in order to challenge consideration of H.R. 3, the Northern Route Approval Act. House Republicans are expected to call up that bill on Wednesday.

The House meets at 10 a.m., and in the afternoon it will consider several suspension bills aimed at helping veterans, just days before Congress breaks for its Memorial Day recess.

One veterans bill, the Improving Job Opportunities for Veterans Act (H.R. 1412), would increase job training and apprenticeship programs for veterans. Another, the American Heroes COLA Act (H.R. 570), would provide for automatic cost-of-living adjustments for veterans' disability payments.