FLOOR SCHEDULE FOR THURSDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2011

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FLOOR SCHEDULE FOR THURSDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2011
http://www.democraticwhip.gov/sites/def ... 120111.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 sid 1:00 – 2:00 p.m.5:30 – 6:30 p.m.

H.R. 3463 – Terminating taxpayer financing of presidential election campaigns and party conventions and the Election Assistance Commission (Rep. Harper – House Administration) H.R. 3463 eliminates the Election Assistance Commission within 60 days of enactment. It also eliminates the Presidential Election Campaign Fund, which provides matching funds and grants for presidential primary candidates, general election candidates and national party conventions.

This combines two bills – the first bill, H.R. 672, eliminates the Election Assistance Commission and every Democrat voted against that bill, defeating it when it was considered under suspension of the Rules in June of this year. Eliminating the EAC is a reckless cut to a program that has served a valuable purpose since its creation. Cutting the EAC would actually shift costs to the FEC and local governments, not save money.

The second bill, H.R. 359, which dealt with eliminating the Presidential Election Campaign Fund, was considered on the floor with near unanimous Democratic opposition. H.R. 359 would not strengthen our federal election campaign process, nor would it help to correct some of its current flaws. It would simply eliminate the program, which aims to give smaller donors an equally important role in the election process.

Democrats offered a different bill at the Rules committee to pay for the two regulatory bills, which would have ended subsidies to large oil companies. The Republicans did not even allow that to be considered on the Floor. Members are urged to VOTE NO on H.R. 3463.

Bill Text for H.R. 3463:
HTML Version
PDF Version

H.R. 527 - The Regulatory Flexibility Act (Rep. Smith (TX) – Judiciary) This legislation gives the Small Business Administration (SBA) expanded authority to ensure that federal agencies comply with certain regulatory review requirements.

It expands the review that agencies must conduct before issuing new regulations and expands the review they must conduct of existing rules to include an evaluation of the "indirect" costs of regulations, especially to Small Businesses. It also grants the SBA authority to intervene in agency rulemaking. The measure also expands the ability of small businesses and other small entities impacted by an agency's regulations to challenges to those rules in court.

The Rule makes in order the following amendments, each debatable for 10 minutes:

Rep. Critz Amendment. Would require the estimated cumulative impact on small businesses of any other rule stemming from the implementation of the Free Trade Agreements
Rep. Jackson Lee Amendment. Would exempt all rules promulgated by the Department of Homeland Security
Rep. Cohen Amendment. Would exempt from the bill any rule that relates to food safety, workplace safety, consumer products safety, air or water quality
Rep. Peters Amendment. Would exempt from the bill all rules that OMB determines would result in net job creation
Rep. Jackson Lee Amendment. Would require a GAO report to determine the cost of carrying out the Act and the effect it will have on federal agency rule making
Rep. Johnson (GA) Amendment. Would create an exception for any rulemaking that seeks to carry out the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act.

Bill Text for H.R. 527:
HTML Version
PDF Version
Background for H.R. 527:
House Report (HTML Version)

Postponed Suspension Vote (1 Vote)
H.Res. 364 - Designating room HVC 215 of the Capitol Visitor Center as the "Gabriel Zimmerman Meeting Room" (Rep. Wasserman Schultz - Transportation and Infrastructure)

TOMORROW’S OUTLOOK
The GOP Leadership has announced the following schedule for Friday, December 2: The House will meet at 9:00 a.m. for legislative business. The House is expected to consider H.R. 3010 – Regulatory Accountability Act (Rep. Smith (TX) – Judiciary).

The Daily Quote
“‘As we negotiated these last three bills, we went into it with a fairly strong position and it was really House Republicans and Senate Democrats that drove the train, but as we go into the next nine bills — now — it’s going to be House Democrats at the table in a major way because we have to have their votes to pass the bill, and they know that and we know that,’ Rep. Kingston [R-GA] said, predicting that ‘sticky issues’ such as contentious riders restricting the power of the Obama administration will likely get tabled.”

The Hill, 11/30/11




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