Wednesday: Hagel nomination, not much legislation

The Senate meets at 10 a.m., and at some point is expected to take up the nomination of former Sen. Chuck Hagel to be the next secretary of Defense.

On Tuesday, the Senate Armed Services Committee voted 14-11 in favor of Hagel's nomination. The party line vote suggests that most GOP senators will oppose Hagel, a Republican, while most Democratic senators will support him. There are also signs Republicans may have enough support to delay Hagel's nomination until he provides more information about various meetings he's held over the last few years.

Aside from the Hagel nomination, the Senate left Tuesday with no plans to take up any legislation on Wednesday.

The House meets at 10 a.m. for speeches, then at noon for legislative work. The House has a little more in the way of legislative work to do than the Senate, but not much.

Just two suspension bills will be considered Wednesday. One is H.R. 592, which would amend federal law to allow houses of worship to become eligible for federal disaster aid.

That bill comes from Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), whose home state was hit by Hurricane Sandy late last year.

The only other bill that could get a vote in the House is H.R. 267, which was debated Tuesday. The Hydropower Regulatory Efficiency Act would make it easier to develop small hydropower facilities across the country.

Republicans this week will also consider H.R. 273, a bill that would eliminate President Obama's planned 0.5 percent pay hike for federal workers.

But the House Rules Committee has not yet approved a rule for that bill — it meets at 3 p.m. to do so. Approving the rule Wednesday will allow the House to take up this bill on Thursday.

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