Senate Judiciary Committee to markup gun-control bills

The Senate Judiciary Committee will markup gun-control bills next Thursday.

One of the bills is Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s (D-Calif.) S. 150, which would reinstate the assault weapons ban. 

During a Thursday hearing on the bill, the committee heard testimony from witnesses from Newtown, Conn., where a gunman killed 20 children at Sandy Hook Elementary in December. The committee will now take up the bill and consider amendments to the legislation.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has said he'll allow gun-control legislation to come to the Senate floor for a vote, but has not offered more specifics. Some centrist-Democrats up for reelection in 2014 have expressed concern over the possible tough vote. But Feinstein has insisted on bringing gun legislation up for debate in the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is chaired by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.).

The committee will also markup more moderate gun-control measures on reducing illegal gun trafficking and enhancing the national background check system to keep criminals from buying guns.

Sen. Barbara Boxer’s (D-Calif.) bill, S. 146, to better protect schools from gun violence will also be considered in committee on Thursday.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder will testify before Leahy’s committee during an oversight hearing on the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Wednesday. Holder can expect sharp questioning from Republicans who have been critical of his handling of the DOJ.

Details on these and other key hearings next week follow:

Senate Armed Services

- March 5, “U.S. Central Command and U.S. Special Operations Command”

9:30 a.m., 216 Hart Senate Office Building

- March 7, “U.S. Africa Command and U.S. Transportation Command”

9:30 a.m., 106 Dirksen Senate Office Building

Senate Banking

- March 7, “Patterns of Abuse: Assessing Bank Secrecy Act Compliance and Enforcement”

10 a.m., 538 Dirksen Senate Office Building

Senate Budget

- March 5, "Reducing the Deficit by Eliminating Wasteful Spending in the Tax Code”

10:30 a.m., 608 Dirksen Senate Office Building

Senate Energy and Natural Resources

- March 7, “To Consider the Nomination of Sally Jewell to be the Secretary of the Interior”

10 a.m., 366 Dirksen Senate Office Building

Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions

- March 7, “Safe and Supportive Schools: Lessons from the Field”

430 Dirksen Senate Office Building

Senate Homeland Security

- March 6, “The Department of Homeland Security at 10 Years: A Progress Report on Management”

10 a.m., 342 Dirksen Senate Office Building

- March 7, “The Cybersecurity Partnership Between the Private Sector and Our Government: Protecting Our National and Economic Security”

2:30 p.m. G50 Dirksen Senate Office Building

Senate Indian Affairs

- March 7, “Listening Session on Tribal Priorities for the 113th Congress”

9 a.m., 628 Dirksen Senate Office Building

Senate Judiciary

- March 6, “Oversight of the U.S. Department of Justice”

9:30 a.m., 226 Dirksen Senate Office Building

- March 7, “Markup: Gun-Control Legislation”

10 a.m., 226 Dirksen Senate Office Building

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