Scheduling

The House convened briefly at 10 a.m. Friday morning, but adjourned after just a few minutes for the Memorial Day weekend.

House members return Tuesday at noon for speeches, and begins legislative work at 2 p.m. The Senate is essentially out until the week of June 6, but will hold a pro-forma session Tuesday morning at 10 a.m.

Republicans are preventing the Senate from completely adjourning for the Memorial Day recess, preventing any recess appointments.

The House returns Thursday at 10 a.m. to finish work on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). This involves debate on just seven more amendments, plus four en bloc amendments.

One amendment to be debated Thursday is from Reps. James McGovern (D-Mass.), Justin Amash (R-Mich.) and others that would require the Defense Department to establish a plan for the "accelerated transition of military operations to Afghan authorities."

The House on Wednesday afternoon voted 243-170 in favor of a rule governing consideration of amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act.

With that vote, the House was expected to begin considering the 152 amendments submitted to the bill. That process is expected to continue late into Wednesday night and into Thursday.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said on the House floor just before 3 p.m. that he expects House votes on amendments to this bill will go past 3 p.m. on Thursday.

The House convenes at 10 a.m. for morning speeches, then at noon is looking to complete work on H.R. 1216. That bill would scale back funding for graduate-level medical education, and also remove the automatic nature of that funding.

One controversial amendment will be voted on before the final vote on H.R. 1216. The amendment, from Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.), would ensure that the graduate education funding program is not used to train medical residents on abortion procedures.

Tuesday is shaping up to be a busy day in the House, partly because legislative work won't begin until sometime after noon in order to make room for a joint meeting of Congress to hear an address from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. That address starts at 11 a.m.

When the House resumes work, it is expected to take up two bills before moving to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

The world didn't end, which makes us even more comfortable in our prediction that the House and Senate will both return at 2 p.m. Monday.

The Senate on Monday evening is planning a cloture vote on S. 1038, which would extend Patriot Act surveillance authorities until June 1, 2015. That bill reflects a deal worked out late last week between House and Senate leaders on these surveillance techniques, which expire this Friday.

When the House returns, it will take up five non-controversial bills under a suspension of House rules. Four of these are related to veterans, while the fifth extends funding for the Airport and Airway Trust Fund, details here.

Congress returns next week with two key national security issues on its plate: an extension of intelligence surveillance authority, and passage of the FY 2012 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

The Senate adjourned on Thursday night shortly before 7 p.m., just after it quickly passed a one-year extension to the Small Business Act.

The Senate approved the bill, S. 990, by unanimous consent. It extends certain authorities of the Small Business Administration from May 31, 2011 through May 31, 2012.

The Senate also approved three minor resolutions, and adjourned until 2 p.m. May 23.

With the House in recess next week, the Democrat-led Senate will take center stage as Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) tries to move controversial legislation to raise taxes on oil companies.

The vote will test how much support there is for stripping tax breaks from profitable oil companies that are also enjoyed by other companies. The legislation isn't expected to pass, but Democrats are hoping it can help them win a debate with Republicans over how best to lower the deficit and deal with high gas prices.