FLOOR SCHEDULE FOR WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2011

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FLOOR SCHEDULE FOR WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2011
http://www.democraticwhip.gov/sites/def ... 052511.pdf

House Meets At:First Vote Predicted:Last Vote Predicted:
10:00 a.m.: Morning Hour
12:00 p.m.: Legislative Business
Fifteen “One Minutes” per side1:00 – 2:00 p.m.7:00 p.m.

Following last votes, the House is expected to continue debating amendments to H.R. 1540 late into the evening.

H.Res. 276 - Rule providing for further consideration of H.R. 1540 - National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 (Rep. McKeon – Armed Services) (One Hour of Debate) The Rules committee has recommended a structured Rule for amendments and it would provide for consideration of 152 amendments, all debatable for 10 minutes. The debate time is equally controlled by the proponent and opponent of the amendment.

H.Res. 276 also provides the Chairman of the committee on Armed Services authority to offer amendments en bloc, consisting of amendments not previously considered. All en bloc amendments are debatable for 20 minutes equally divided between the Chair and Ranking Member of the committee on Armed Services.

Despite repeated promises in their ‘Pledge to America’ that the House would do bills under an open Rule and there would be full debate on issues going forward, this Rule provides only 10 minutes of debate on issues of immense importance, including: authorization of military force, withdrawing armed forces from Libya, and further military commitment in Afghanistan. In addition, despite allowing numerous amendments to the legislation, the Rules committee shut out a large number of other amendments relating to American military policy in Afghanistan.

Continue Consideration of H.R. 1540 - National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 (Rep. McKeon – Armed Services) H.R. 1540 would provide for the authorization of funding for the Department of Defense and other related agencies, programs, and operations for fiscal year 2012. It provides for a total of $690 billion for the entire fiscal year.

In addition to authorizing all operations at the Pentagon, as well as military operations overseas, the bill also includes some policy additions/restrictions, including: a restriction of funds used for the transfer of Guantanamo detainees to U.S. soil ; prohibiting the Pentagon from implementing a repeal of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy until the chiefs of the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marines certify that the change would not be harmful to the military; expanding current policy on the ‘Authorized Use of Military Force’ (AUMF) to give the current and future administrations the ability to prosecute military action against any terrorist-affiliated group anywhere in the world.

There were 152 amendments made in order under the Rule. Some of those amendments include:
Cole Amendment. Precludes an agency from requiring an entity submitting an offer for a Federal contract to disclose political contributions as a condition of participation
Amash/Lee Amendment. Strikes the section (section 1034) in the bill relating to the authorization of military force (AUMF)
McGovern/Amash/Cicilline/Jones/Lewis(GA)/Paul/Welch Amendment. Requires the following: a plan and timeframe for transition of military operations to Afghan authorities in Afghanistan; a plan and timeframe for negotiations leading to political reconciliation in Afghanistan; a new National Intelligence Estimate on Al-Qaeda. It also clarifies that nothing would limit the President’s authority to go after Al-Qaeda or modify military strategy
Chaffetz/Welch Amendment. Requires withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan, except for those involved in smaller counter-terrorism operations. It would also require the Secretary to submit a plan of withdrawal within 60 days of enactment
Conyers/Clarke(NY)/Cohen/Duncan Amendment. Prevents any funds in the bill from being used to deploy, establish, or maintain the presence of Members of the armed forces or private security contractors in Libya
Bill Text for H.R. 1540:
HTML Version
PDF Version
Background for H.R. 1540:
House Report HTML Version
House Report PDF Version
CRS Memo on Authorization to Use Military Force

TOMORROW’S OUTLOOK
The GOP Leadership has announced the following schedule for Thursday, May 26: The House will meet at 9:00 a.m. for legislative business. The House is expected to continue consideration of H.R. 1540 – National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 (Rep. McKeon – Armed Services). The House may also take action on legislation relating to the extension of certain expiring provisions of the Patriot Act.

The Daily Quote
“A GOP plan to overhaul Medicare faces its first vote in the Senate this week, presenting a test of just how risky Republicans view one of the party's signature proposals. Sen. Scott Brown (R., Mass.), who is running for re-election next year in a heavily Democratic state, on Monday became the second Republican to announce opposition to the Medicare plan, joining Sen. Susan Collins of Maine. Mr. Brown's opposition comes a week after he was quoted in a local newspaper saying he would vote for the Ryan plan, but a spokesman said he was misinterpreted….In an op-ed article in Politico, Mr. Brown said he opposed the proposal because he worried it would shift too much financial burden onto elderly beneficiaries. ‘Our country is on an unsustainable fiscal path,’ Mr. Brown wrote. ‘But I do not think it requires us to change Medicare as we know it. We can work inside of Medicare to make it work.’”

- Wall Street Journal, 5/24/22




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