This Week on the Hill
Week of February 11, 2019
(Last Updated: February 11, 2019 at 9:00 pm EST)
ThisWeekInImmigration.Com's "This Week on the Hill" page lists the immigration-, human trafficking-, and refugee-related hearings, markups, and floor actions that either have been officially scheduled or that are anticipated to occur during the current week.
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U.S. House of Representatives
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U.S. Senate
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Bicameral
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Non-Governmental
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This Week's Hearings
At the time of this writing, three hearings that are likely to examine significant immigration-, refugee-, or human trafficking-related matters were scheduled for this week in the House. However, all or some of them could be postponed due to a conflict with the funeral for former Representative John Dingell, Jr. (D-MI):.
Tuesday, February 12, 2019
- POSTPONED: House Oversight and Reform Committee Hearing on the Administration's Family Separation Policy: The House Committee on Oversight and Reform has scheduled a hearing for this week on the "Failure of DOJ, DHS, and HHS to Produce Documents on Child Separation Policy." The hearing was scheduled originally for 10:00 am EST on Tuesday, February 12, 2019, in Room 2154 of the Rayburn House Office Building. It was postponed in order to acommodate Members wanting to attend the funeral of the late former Representative John Dingell, Jr. (D-MI). At the time of this writing, no new date for the hearing had yet been announced.
Witnesses: At the time of this writing, the witness list for the hearing had not yet been released.
- POSTPONED: House Judiciary Committee Hearing on the Administration's Family Separation Policy: The House Committee on the Judiciary has scheduled a hearing for this week titled, "Oversight of the Trump Administration's Family Separation Policy.." The hearing was scheduled originally for 10:00 am EST on Tuesday, February 12, 2019, in Room 2141 of the Rayburn House Office Building. It was postponed in order to acommodate Members wanting to attend the funeral of the late former Representative John Dingell, Jr. (D-MI). At the time of this writing, no new date for the hearing had yet been announced.
Witnesses: The following witnesses are scheduled to testify at the hearing: Carla Provost, Chief of the U.S. Border Patrol, Customs and Border Protection; Nathalie R. Asher, Acting Executive Associate Director of Enforcement and Removal Operations for Immigration and Customs Enforcement; Scott Lloyd, Senior advisor in the HHS Center for Faith and Opportunity Initiatives; Cmdr. Jonathan White, Commander of the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps; and Joseph Edlow, Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Legal Policy
Wednesday, February 13, 2019
- House Foreign Affairs Committee Hearing on the Situation in Venezuela: The House Committee on Foreign Affairs has scheduled a hearing for this week titled, "Venezuela at a Crossroads." The hearing is scheduled for 11:00 am EST on Wednesday, February 13, 2019, in Room 2175 of the Rayburn House Office Building.
Witnesses: The following witnesses are scheduled to testify at the hearing: Elliott Abrams,U.S. Special Representative for Venezuela; and Steve Olive, Acting Assistant Administrator U.S. Agency for International Development Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean.
This Week's Markups
At the time of this writing, no business meetings or markups that could have an eventual impact on the course of immigration-, refugee-, or human trafficking-related legislation or oversight are scheduled for committee consideration this week in the House.
This Week's Floor Actions
At the time of this writing, one measure that contains significant immigration-, refugee-, or human trafficking-related provisions is scheduled for floor consideration this week in the House:
Date To Be Determined
- FY 19 Consolidated Appropriations Act: The U.S. House of Representatives this week is expected to take up a negotiated agreement on border security funding. that also is expected to be a vehicle carrying negotiated agreements on all seven of the yet-to-be-enacted Fiscal Year 2019 appropriations bills. The vehicle for the bill will be H.J. Res. 31, a bill making further continuing appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security for fiscal year 2019, and for other purposes. The timing of House floor action is dependent, to a large degree, on when negotiator reach an agreement on the many parts of the measure, including its border security parts. The best estimate now is that should an agreement be reached, the House will take up the measure on Wednesday, February 13th or Thursday, February 14th.
Background. As part of an agreement between President Trump and Democrats in Congress to reopen shuttered federal departments, agencies, and functions, the House and Senate agreed to convene a conference committee to come up with a package of provisions to enhance funding for border security. The conferees have been working under a Friday, February 15, 2019, deadline.
The House first passed H.J. Res. 31 on Thursday, January 24, 2019, by a vote of 231-180. The Senate passed its version of the measure on Friday, January 25, 2019, by unanimous consent. At the time of this writing, it is the subject of deliberations in a House-Senate conference committee. However, that Committee could complete its deliberations and reach agreement as soon as Monday, February 11, 2019.
Parliamentary Situation. As a technical matter, the House is expected to take up a conference report on H.J. Res. 31.. Conference Reports are not amendable on the House floor. But generally, the House is required to adopt a special "rule" providing for the consideration of a conference report so that points of order that inevitably lie against the report are waived.
It has become rare for Congress to consider conference reports, and the process for doing so has become arcane.
When a conference agreement is reached, it comes back to the House in the form of a "conference report" which the House must consider and either agree to or disagree to. Unless the requirement is waived, the rules require that a conference report be filed at least three calendar days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays) before it can be called up for consideration. The rules also require that a majority of the conferees sign the conference report. After that time, it becomes privileged and can be called up at any time. If the conference report violates a rule of the House, it may be subject to a point of order that would prevent its consideration.
Debate on a conference report takes up to one hour, the time divided between the Majority and the Minority, unless the Majority party manager and the Minority party manager both support the conference report. In that case, one-third of the debate time will be given to an opponent of the conference report who makes such a demand.
Before adoption of a conference report, a motion may be in order to recommit the conference report to the committee on conference, either with instructions (that must be within the authority of the conferees and comply with the Rules of the House) or without instructions, although no separate debate time is allowed on either motion. Such a motion is only in order if the Senate has not yet acted on the conference report thereby discharging the conferees, and the instructions in the motion to recommit are not binding because the House cannot bind Senate conferees. A Member qualifies to offer the motion if he or she opposes the conference report and states that fact.
If the House is first to act and the motion to recommit is adopted, the conference must meet again and a new conference report must be filed prior to consideration of the measure again. The rule requiring a three-day layover of conference reports, still applies unless waived by special rule.
Following debate on the conference report and in the absence of a motion to recommit or upon the defeat of such a motion, a vote then occurs on adoption of the conference report. A conference report may not be amended on the House Floor.
When dealing with appropriations conference reports, there may be times when conferees cannot reach agreement on all the amendments in disagreement or there may be times when conferees must report provisions that are really in agreement but that are considered in "technical disagreement" because the agreement that they reached is outside of the scope of what they technically can agree to. For example, as a technical matter, conferees may not exceed the scope of the conference, may not include appropriations for unauthorized programs, and may not include legislative provisions. In those cases, the conferees will present a conference report to the House and Senate that includes all amendments on which agreement has been reached but excludes the amendments that remain in real or "technical disagreement." The conference report is considered first and then, assuming adoption of the conference report, the amendments in real or technical disagreement are considered and disposed of individually.
Summary of Immigration-, Refugee-, and Human Trafficking-Related Provisions. At the time of this writing, no conference agreement had yet been reached. Accordingly, no text was available for review.
As a technical matter, the conference committee was established to resolve the differences between the House Amendments and Senate Amendments to H.J. Res. 31. In reality, for all practical purposes, the conferees have been tasked with negotiating the final versions of seven pairs of appropriation bills that were approved last year by the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations but that were not enacted into law. Should they do so, that could pave the way for concluding action on all of the Fiscal Year 2019 appropriations bills.
Three of seven pairs of bills that conferees are negotiating contain significant appropriations for the federal government's immigration-, refugee-, and human trafficking -related functions:
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At the time of this writing, It was widely believed that the conferees were nearing an agreement that would appropriate about $2 BILLION in additional border security funding that could be used for physical barriers along the U.S. border with Mexico. This would be well short of the $5.7 BILLION that the President has demanded. But it might offer him the ability to construct new fencing, which has been strongly opposed by Democrats.
This Week's Hearings
At the time of this writing, no hearings that are likely to examine significant immigration-, refugee-, or human trafficking-related matters are scheduled for this week in the Senate.
This Week's Markups
At the time of this writing, one business meeting that could have an eventual impact on the course of immigration-, refugee-, or human trafficking-related legislation or oversight are scheduled for committee consideration this week in the Senate:
Wednesday, February 13, 2019
- Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Vote on ICE Nominee: The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs has scheduled a markup for this week, during which it will take up several bills and consider several nominees. The markup is scheduled for 10:00 am EST on Wednesday, February 13, 2019, in Room SD-342 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.
Immigration-Related Agenda Items: Among the nominations that the Committee is scheduled to take up is the nomination of Ronald D. Vitiello to be Assistant Homeland Security Secretary for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
At the time of this writing, none of the bills that the Committee is planning to mark-up contained significant immigration-, refugee-, or human trafficking-related provisions.
This Week's Floor Actions
At the time of this writing, two matters or measures that contain significant immigration-, refugee-, or human trafficking-related provisions or could have significant consequence for those subjects are scheduled for floor consideration this week in the Senate.
Monday, February 11, 2019
- Senate Floor Consideration of the Nomination of Attorney General-Designate: The Senate this week is is expected to vote on the nomination of William P. Barr to be Attorney General of the United States.
Parliamentary Situation. The Senate is scheduled to take the first steps on the Barr nomination late on Monday, February 11, 2019, or on Tuesday, February 12th, when it votes on whether to invoke cloture on a motion to proceed to the Barr nomination. The affirmative votes of 51 senators will be needed in order to invoke cloture on the motion.
Department of Justice Jurisdiction Over Immigration. The Department of Justice is the parent agency of several entities with jurisdiction over immigration matters. The most significant of these is the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), which has as its primary mission the adjudication of immigration cases by interpreting and administering the nation's immigration laws. Under delegated authority from the Attorney General, EOIR conducts immigration court proceedings, appellate reviews, and administrative hearings.
Other entities within the Department of Justice that deal with immigration include the Department’s Office of Immigration Litigation (OIL) and Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC).
Outlook. Given the 53-47 seat majority that Republicans enjoy in the Senate, it is almost a certainty that the panel will approve the nomination once it takes it up.
Date To Be Determined
- FY 19 Consolidated Appropriations Act: The U.S. Senate this week is expected to take up a negotiated agreement on border security funding. that also is expected to be a vehicle carrying negotiated agreements on all seven of the yet-to-be-enacted Fiscal Year 2019 appropriations bills. The vehicle for the bill will be H.J. Res. 31, a bill making further continuing appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security for fiscal year 2019, and for other purposes. The timing of this week's Senate floor action is dependent, to a large degree, on when negotiators reach an agreement on the many parts of the measure, including its border security parts. The best estimate now is that should an agreement be reached, the House would take up the measure on Wednesday, February 13th or Thursday, February 14th, and the Senate would take it up after the House passes it.
Background. As part of an agreement between President Trump and Democrats in Congress to reopen shuttered federal departments, agencies, and functions, the House and Senate agreed to convene a conference committee to come up with a package of provisions to enhance funding for border security. The conferees have been working under a Friday, February 15, 2019, deadline.
The House first passed H.J. Res. 31 on Thursday, January 24, 2019, by a vote of 231-180. The Senate passed its version of the measure on Friday, January 25, 2019, by unanimous consent. At the time of this writing, it is the subject of deliberations in a House-Senate conference committee. However, that Committee could complete its deliberations and reach an agreement as soon as Monday, February 11, 2019.
Parliamentary Situation. As a technical matter, the Senate is expected to take up a conference report on H.J. Res. 31.. It is believed that the House will take up the conference report first. And so the Senate will only take it up if it is approved by the House first.
It has become rare for Congress to consider conference reports, and the process for doing so has become arcane.
A motion to proceed to a Conference Report is not debatable, and such reports are not amendable on the Senate floor. That leaves any opponent of a conference report with limited options for defeating it, including filibustering the report, itself, raising points of order against the Report for violating Senate rules, recommitting the report to the conference committee reporting it, or defeating it on an up-or-down vote. If the Senate takes up the report after the House, the options for anyone opposing the report are even more limited; the Senate can either agree to it or disagree to it. It cannot be recommitted at that time.
Summary of Immigration-, Refugee-, and Human Trafficking-Related Provisions. At the time of this writing, no conference agreement had yet been reached. Accordingly, no text was available for review.
As a technical matter, the conference committee was established to resolve the differences between the House Amendments and Senate Amendments to H.J. Res. 31. In reality, for all practical purposes, the conferees have been tasked with negotiating the final versions of seven pairs of appropriation bills that were approved last year by the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations but that were not enacted into law. Should they do so, that could pave the way for concluding action on all of the Fiscal Year 2019 appropriations bills.
Three of seven pairs of bills that conferees are negotiating contain significant appropriations for the federal government's immigration-, refugee-, and human trafficking -related functions:
|
At the time of this writing, It was widely believed that the conferees were nearing an agreement that would appropriate about $2 BILLION in additional border security funding that could be used for physical barriers along the U.S. border with Mexico. This would be well short of the $5.7 BILLION that the President has demanded. But it might offer him the ability to construct new fencing, which has been strongly opposed by Democrats.
Hearings, Briefings, and Conference Deliberations
At the time of this writing, the following events that are likely to include significant mentions of immigration-, refugee-, or human trafficking-related matters are scheduled for this week between the two chambers.
Monday, February 11, 2019
- Conference Committee Deliberations on Fiscal Year 2019 Border Security Funding: The conference committee established to develop a border security package for inclusion in the Fiscal Year 2019 Homeland Security Appropriations Act could meet as soon as Monday, February 11, 2019, to conclude its consideration of the differing versions of H.J. Res. 31, a Fiscal Year 2019 continuing appropriations resolution for the Department of Homeland Security.
When it formally meets again, it will do so in Room HC-5 of the U.S. Capitol Building.
As a technical matter, the conference committee was established to resolve the differences between the House Amendments and Senate Amendments to H.J. Res. 31. In reality, for all practical purposes, the conferees have been tasked with negotiating the final versions of seven pairs of appropriation bills that were approved last year by the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations but that were not enacted into law. Should they do so, that could pave the way for concluding action on all of the Fiscal Year 2019 appropriations bills.
Three of seven pairs of bills that conferees are negotiating contain significant appropriations for the federal government's immigration-, refugee-, and human trafficking -related functions:
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House Conferees. Appointed as House conferees on H.J. Res. 31 are Representatives Nita Lowey (D-NY), Lucile Roybal-Allard (D-CA), David Price (D-NC), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Henry Cuellar (D-TX), Pete Aguilar (D-CA), Kay Granger (R-TX), Chuck Fleischmann (R-TN), Thomas Graves (R-GA), and Steven Palazzo (R-MS).
Senate Conferees Appointed as Senate conferees on H.J. Res. 31 are Senators Richard Shelby (R-AL); Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV); John Hoeven (R-ND); Roy Blunt (R-MO); Patrick Leahy (D-VT); Richard Durbin (D-IL); and Jon Tester (D-MT).
Looming Deadline. Conferees are working against a formal deadline of February 15, 2019, to reach an agreement and have that agreement enacted into law. This is because funding expires on that date for the various departments, agencies, and functions of the federal government that have not yet received a full-year Fiscal Year 2019 appropriation.
Outlook. At the time of this writing, the outlook for conferees reaching a settlement this week appears certain.
This Week's Activities
No Scheduled Immigration-, Human Trafficking, or Refugee-Related Events