This week: Farm bill politics take root in House

By Peter Schroeder and Erik Wasson - 07/09/12 05:43 AM ET

Members of the House and Senate will get right down to business when they return from their districts this week.

The House Agriculture Committee will begin a markup Wednesday of a farm bill that exceeds $900 billion in total spending. The panel’s top Democrat, Rep. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.), said he expects a slew of amendments to the bill, including some eliminating controversial cuts to food stamps.

The House markup of the farm bill could last for days, with wide-ranging debates over everything from sugar quotas to biofuel support to increased funding for fruits and vegetable research. There is no sign yet that the bill is headed for a full House vote, although sources says that the markup means there will be no Agricultural appropriations bills, covering administrative funding for USDA, coming to the floor any time soon.

Following the Supreme Court’s dramatic decision to uphold most of the administration’s healthcare reform law, the House Ways and Means Committee is ready to dig in to the impact of one of its most controversial provisions: the mandate to have insurance. On Tuesday, the tax-writing panel will examine the high court’s decision that the penalty for not obtaining insurance is a tax, and consider the repercussions of the court’s ruling for the tax code.

On Monday, the House Rules Committee will set the stage for a second House Republican effort to repeal President Obama’s healthcare law.

House Republicans passed a bill repealing the law outright as their first act in the majority in the 112th Congress, and plan to pass a repeal measure again this week in the wake of the court’s decision to uphold it as constitutional.

Before the House repeal vote, Senate Finance Committee ranking member Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) will speak Monday at the American Enterprise Institute about the healthcare law, and the negative impact he argues it will have on the economy.

The House floor will also be considering a bill that would repeal a requirement that banks post signs beside their ATMs detailing the fees that could be charged.

The Senate Banking Committee will convene Tuesday for its second hearing devoted to mobile payments. They will discuss with experts how developing technology is affecting the way Americans move around their money, and how to establish a safe and effective framework for doing so.

This month, the Dodd-Frank financial reform law will hit its two-year anniversary. Republicans on the House Financial Services Committee plan to commemorate the milestone by holding hearings all month on its various components and what they mean for the economy. The panel will begin the series with a pair of subcommittee hearings, one examining the overhaul’s impact on credit Tuesday, the other discussing its role on mortgages Wednesday.

The Senate Finance Committee has a pair of hearings slated for this week. On Tuesday, it will look through the lens of tax reform at younger Americans, and what can be done to ensure they get a fair shake in an overhauled tax code. And on Wednesday, senators will get the perspective of physicians when it comes to Medicare payments.

Friday’s disappointing jobs report is renewing focus on the Federal Reserve, as many wonder if the central bank will feel pushed to do more to boost a staggering economy. Fed officials are not slated to meet until the end of the month, but on Wednesday will release the minutes of their latest policy meeting. Officials decided at that June meeting to extend the stimulus program “Operation Twist” through the end of the year.