House

Nevada's House delegation is fighting back over a new bias against holding government conferences at resorts and casinos, and has proposed a bill that would prevent discrimination toward Las Vegas and other resort cities as conference sites.

The federal government has reason to be shy about holding meetings in resort cities — the General Services Administration (GSA) held an infamous $800,000 retreat in Nevada in 2010 that drew universal scorn from members of Congress. That criticism has prompted several federal agencies to scale back travel plans, find alternative conference sites or cancel trips altogether.

The House meets at 9 a.m., and is expected to pass a debt ceiling contingency plan before noon, then leave town for the weekend.

The bill is H.R. 807, the Full Faith and Credit Act. It would allow the government to borrow money above the debt ceiling to pay interest on the debt and make payments related to the Social Security Trust Fund.

Rep. Lois Frankel (D-Fla.) on Wednesday evening became so emotional when delivering a one-minute tribute to a Vietnam War veteran that she had to stop and start over.

Frankel started by saying veteran Raymond Clark Thompson's name would soon be added to the Vietnam Memorial Wall. She then started saying he was a native of Indiana, and served as a radio specialist.

The House on Wednesday took a step toward passing a bill that would let the government borrow money above and beyond the debt ceiling to pay interest on the debt and for the Social Security Trust Fund.

Members approved a rule for the Full Faith and Credit Act, H.R. 807, in a party-line 226-199 vote. The rule calls for an hour of debate and consideration of one amendment — the House is expected to approve it later in the week.

The workplace bill gives private workers the option of using overtime for paid time off instead of taking extra pay.

A bipartisan group of House members has proposed legislation that would force the government to close thousands of unused bank accounts it holds that are costing taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees.

The Closing Long-Empty Accounts Now (CLEAN) Act is meant to address a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report that said the government was spending more than $2 million a year to maintain 28,000 empty bank accounts.

"The Republic of Korea will never accept a nuclear-armed North Korea," President Park Geun-hye told Congress.

Democrats in the House and Senate have proposed a bill that would provide millions of dollars in federal grant money to pregnant teens to help keep them from dropping out of high school.

The Pregnant and Parenting Students Access to Education Act proposes to spend at least $85 million over the next five years in these grants, which the bill's sponsors say are necessary to lower the high dropout rates of pregnant teens.

The House and Senate will start work together at 10:30 a.m., in a joint session to hear remarks from Park Geun-hye, president of the Republic of Korea. Both the House and Senate will convene separately early in the morning, but then quickly adjourn to gather in the House chamber for Park's speech.

After the House chamber returns to normal, members will take up legislation on overtime pay and the debt ceiling.

President Obama on Tuesday told Congress he is extending the imposition of sanctions against Syria for another year — they were due to expire on May 11.

In a notice to Congress, Obama said Syria has reduced the facilitation of foreign fighters into Iraq, it's ongoing civil war against Syrian civilians means the sanctions will continue.