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A closer look at next week…
The House and Senate return to a week of work that may well be dominated by reaction to President Obama's decision to stop deporting younger illegal immigrants who join the military or graduate from high school.
The Republican response to that Friday announcement has a good chance of playing out particularly loudly in the Senate. The upper chamber is planning more behind-the-scenes work on a farm bill, so Republicans will have plenty of time to fill the empty stage of the Senate floor with complaints about the immigration decision.
Late this week, Republicans were already calling Obama's decision 'politically motivated,' and openly questioned whether the administration could interpret U.S. law in a way that lets selectively deport some illegals, but not others.
The immigration decision undoubtedly makes tougher what was already tough, like the farm bill, which was already starting to get attacked by Republicans as a $400 billion increase in spending. Or cooperation on moving judicial nominations — Senate Republicans had already decided not to move any more circuit court nominees until the November elections.
The House is likely find time for partisanship on immigration, and Republicans may even find a way to deal with a issue with a legislative response. But in the meantime, the more methodical lower chamber House seems ready to pass a large federal land use bill, much of which is non-controversial, and a more controversial energy bill.
The energy bill would force the Obama administration to assess how its energy regulations affect gas prices, require a plan for more domestic energy production if the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is tapped, and call for opening more federal lands to drilling.
Below is a more details look at the week ahead:
Monday
The Senate meets at 3 p.m., and off the floor, senators will continue working on an amendment deal for the farm bill. At 5 p.m., the Senate will take up the the nomination of Mary Lewis to be a U.S. District Judge for the District of South Carolina, and will vote on her nomination at 5:30 p.m.
The Senate is in for the rest of the week, but has no definitive plans past Monday.
The House meets at 2 p.m. Monday, and in the afternoon will debate up to nine suspension bills, with votes on all or some later Monday evening. The suspension bills are:
H.R. 4027, to clarify authority granted under the Act entitled `An Act to define the exterior boundary of the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation in the State of Utah,
H.R. 1272, the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe Judgment Fund Distribution Act,
H.R. 1556, to amend the Omnibus Indian Advancement Act to allow certain land to be used to generate income to provide funding for academic programs,
S. 684, to provide for the conveyance of certain parcels of land to the town of Alta, Utah,
S. 404, to modify a land grant patent issued by the Secretary of the Interior,
S. 997, the East Bench Irrigation District Water Contract Extension Act,
H.R. 2938, the Gila Bend Indian Reservation Lands Replacement Clarification Act,
H.Res. 683,
expressing the regret of the House of Representatives for the passage
of laws that adversely affected the Chinese in the United States,
including the Chinese Exclusion Act, and,
H.R. 3668, the Counterfeit Drug Penalty Enhancement Act of 2012.
Tuesday
The House meets at 10 a.m. for speeches, then at noon to start work on H.R. 2578, the Conservation and Economic Growth Act, which combines several land-use provisions. Members will start with the rule for this bill, and are expected to finish the bill the same day.
Wednesday
The House meets at 10 a.m. for speeches, then at noon to start work on H.R. 4480, the Strategic Energy Protection Act. Members will again start with the rule for this bill, but are expected to finish the bill Thursday.
The House may also consider another motion to instruct conferees on the highway bill, H.R. 4348, although there are increasing signs that the House and Senate will not reach a deal on this bill, and will instead be forced to pass another short-term extension of highway spending.
Thursday
The House meets at 9 a.m. for legislative work, to finish H.R. 4480. Last votes are expected by 3 p.m.
Friday
The House is not in session.
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