Good morning ... more spending amendments in the House

The House returns at 10 a.m., and at noon is expected once again to take up amendments to H.R. 1, the spending bill for the rest of fiscal 2011.

The House is reading the entire bill and accepting germane amendments along the way. Members got through about two-thirds of the bill Tuesday night and into early Wednesday morning, and will start today by considering amendments to Title VII, dealing with the Department of the Interior and related agencies.

On Tuesday night, the House considered amendments to titles of the bill dealing with the departments of Defense, Agriculture, Commerce, Justice, Energy and Homeland Security, as well as financial services-related amendments. But in most cases, votes on these amendments were either postponed for a roll call vote or subject to points of order because they were non-germane.

On Wednesday, votes are expected by 6 or 7 p.m. Amendments can be considered as long as they are printed in the Congressional Record; today, 180 additional amendments were printed. However, not all amendments are coming up, as some are duplicative and many are not germane to the bill.

Wednesday is also expected to bring a vote on a rule for considering a bill that would extend three expiring Patriot Act surveillance authorities until May.