July 20, 2020 Legislative Preview

Congress To Take on a Heavy Agenda of Migration-
Related Action as the House and Senate
Return to the Nation's Capitol

Monday, July 20, 2020

The full U.S. House of Representatives and full U.S. Senate return this week from their respective two week-long Independence Day recesses, with a full schedule of immigration-related legislative activity, including hearings, markups, and floor activity.

The heaviest lifting during the week ahead will take place in the 'lower chamber."  The full House could take up as many as five bills during the week of July 20 that contain significant migration-related provisions.  This includes the bill that authorizes funding for defense operations, an appropriations bill that funds refugee admissions and overseas refugee assistance operations, a bill to undue several Trump Administration "bans" on the entry of migrants into the United States, and a bill to assure that asylum seekers and other vulnerable migrants presenting themselves at U.S. ports of entry have access to counsel.  

The principal migration-related action in the Senate during the week ahead is the continued consideration of its version of the defense authorization bill, a measure that both contains several migration-related provisions and is a target for multiple migration-related floor amendments. 

As far as the week beginning July 20th is concerned, from the perspective of those interested in migration policy, the week's legislative schedule includes two hearings (both occurring in the House); one markup session (occurring in the Senate); and floor action on as many as seven bills (one in the Senate and the other six in the House).

---

This Week's House and Senate Floor Activities

At the time of this writing, the following measures that contain significant immigration-, refugee-, or human trafficking-related provisions or that could become a target for amendments on those subjects are scheduled for floor consideration in the full House or full Senate during the week ahead:

• House Floor Consideration of FY '21 National Defense Authorization Act:  The full House of Representatives is scheduled to take up H.R. 6395, the "William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021", which contains several immigration-related provisions and is the target of a number of immigration- and refugee-related floor amendments.

• Senate Floor Consideration of the National Defense Authorization Act:  The full U.S. Senate is scheduled on Monday, July 20, 2020, to continue its consideration of S. 4049, the fiscal 2021 National Defense Authorization Act, which contains several immigration-related provisions and is the target of a number of immigration- and refugee-related floor amendments.
  

• House Floor Consideration of the "No Ban Act":  The full House of Representatives could take up H.R. 2214, the ‘National Origin-Based Antidiscrimination  for Nonimmigrants  Act’’ or  the  ‘‘NO BAN Act’’.  

 

• House Floor Consideration of the "Access to Counsel Act":  The full House of Representatives could take up H.R. 5581, the "Access to Counsel Act of 2020".   

 

• House Floor Consideration of FY '21 State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act:  The full House of Representatives is expected to take up a package of four appropriations bills that will include among them H.R. 7608, the House Appropriations Committee-reported version of the FY '21 State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, which funds the federal government's refugee admissions- and overseas refugee assistance-related agencies, programs, functions, and activities.    Also included in the package are  H.R. 7612, the FY '21 Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act; and H.R. 7609, the FY '21 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act.  Both of those bills contain significant migration-related provisions.

This Week's House and Senate Markup

At the time of this writing, the following measures that either contain significant immigration-, refugee-, or human trafficking-related provisions or that could become a target for amendments on those subjects is scheduled for markup in House or Senate committees during the week ahead:

• Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Markup of Various Bills:  The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs has scheduled a business meeting, during which it will markup numerous bills and consider several nominations.  Among the bills that are scheduled to be marked up during the meeting are S. 4133, A bill to modernize the REAL ID Act of 2005, and for other purposes; S. 3658, the "Achieving Racial and Ethnic Equity in Disaster Response, Recovery, and Resilience Act of 2020"; and S. ___, the "Southwest Border Security Technology Improvement Act of 2020".

This Week's Hearings and Briefing

At the time of this writing, the following hearings that are likely to touch on significant immigration-, refugee-, or human trafficking-related matters are scheduled during the week ahead:

• Oversight Hearing on State Department Response to the Pandemic:  The House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations has scheduled a hearing titled, "Consular Affairs and the COVID-19 Crisis Assessing the State Department's Response to the Pandemic."  

• Hearing on the Administration's FY '21 Foreign Affairs Budget Request:  The House Committee on Foreign Affairs has scheduled a hearing on the Trump Administration's Fiscal Year 2021 Foreign Affairs budget request.  
  

---