House

The House next week will pass legislation reaffirming that it is U.S. policy to keep the government out of the business of managing the Internet.

Early in the week, members will vote on H.R. 1580, which states simply that the policy of the U.S. is to "preserve and advance the successful multistakeholder model that governs the Internet."

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.

Under the Republican bill, rates would likely rise slightly, possibly to 5 percent, in the next two years.

Three House Republicans have introduced a resolution calling for a congressional and state review of public policies that have led to illegal abortion practices.

The resolution from Reps. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Stephen Fincher (R-Tenn.), and Marlin Stutzman (R-Ind.) is a reaction to the Kermit Gosnell trial, in which Gosnell is accused of illegal abortions and unsafe practices that led to the death of one woman.

"I hear the president reducing or lowering American values by his comments" the Iowa Republican said.

Republicans will wait until after the Memorial Day recess to begin the process of passing annual appropriations bills for fiscal 2014.

"The majority leader announced we'll begin the process of funding our government in June through an open appropriation," Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas) said on the House floor Thursday.

The legislation allows government to borrow money to fulfill bondholders and Social Security payments. 

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.