This Week in Immigration
This Week on the Hill
Week Beginning March 6, 2017
(Last Updated: March 7, 2017 at 6:54 am 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
Wednesday, March 8, 2017
- Hearing on the Investor Visa Program: The House Committee on the Judiciary has scheduled a hearing for this week titled, "The Department of Homeland Security's Proposed Regulations Reforming the Investor Visa Program." The hearing is scheduled to take place at 10:00 am EST on Wednesday, March 8, 2017, in Room 2141 of the Rayburn House Office Building.
Anticipated Witnesses. Two panels of witnesses are scheduled to testify at the hearing:
Panel I
Testifying on Panel I will be Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley (R-IA) and Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT).
Panel II
Testifying on Panel II will be Rebecca Gambler, Director of the Government Accountability Office's Homeland Security and Justice Team; Sam Walls III, Managing Director of the Pine State Regional Center; Angelique Brunner, Founder and President of EB5 Capital; Dekonti Mends-Cole, Director of Policy at the Center for Community Progress; and David North, fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies.
- Hearing on FY '18 LHHS Appropriations: The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies has scheduled a "Public Witness Day" hearing for this week. The hearing is scheduled to take place at 10:00 am EST on Wednesday, March 8, 2017, in Room 2358-C of the Rayburn House Office Building.
Anticipated Witnesses. At the time of this writing, the witness list for the hearing had not yet been published. However, the hearing is set aside for witnesses from outside of government to testify about their fiscal year 2018 appropriations priorities for agencies, programs, and activities under the Subcommittee's jurisdiction.
Thursday, March 9, 2017
- Hearing on Department of State/Foreign Operations Oversight: The House Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs has scheduled a hearing for this week to conduct oversight over the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the State Department, and the Broadcasting Board of Governors. The hearing is scheduled to take place at 10:00 am EST on Thursday, March 9, 2017, in Room 2358-A of the Rayburn House Office Building.
Anticipated Witnesses. At the time of this writing, the witness list for the hearing included U.S. Agency for International Development Inspector General Ann Calvaresi Barr and State Department and Broadcasting Board of Governors Inspector General Steve Linick.
- Hearing on Department of Labor/HHS/Education Oversight: The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies has scheduled a hearing for this week to conduct oversight over several of the agencies under the Subcommittee's appropriating jurisdiction. The hearing is scheduled to take place at 10:00 am EST on Thursday, March 9, 2017, in Room 2358-B of the Rayburn House Office Building.
Anticipated Witnesses. At the time of this writing, the witness list for the hearing included Labor Inspector General Scott Dahl, HHS Inspector General Daniel Levinson, Acting SSA Inspector General Gale Stallworth Stone, and Department of Education Inspector General General Kathleen Tighe.
This Week's Markups
Wednesday, March 8, 2017
- House Homeland Security Committee to Mark Up 14 Noncontroversial Homeland Security Bills: The House Committee on Homeland Security has scheduled a business meeting for this week, during which it is scheduled to mark up 14 homeland security bills that the Committee suggests are noncontroversial. The business meeting is scheduled for 10:00 am EST on Wednesday, March 8, 2017, In Room 210 of the House Capitol Visitor Center.
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The Bills Being Marked Up. The following are the bills that are the subjects of the mark-up session:
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This Week's Floor Actions
Week Beginning March 6, 2017
- House Floor Consideration of FY '17 Defense Appropriations Act: The full House of Representatives next week is expected to take up H.R. 1301, the FY '17 Department of Defense Appropriations Act. The text of the measure was released by the House Committee on Appropriations on Thursday, March 2, 2017, the same day it was introduced. The House is scheduled to take up the bill on Wednesday, March 8.
As introduced, H.R. 1301 would provide for a total appropriation of $577.9 billion for the Department of Defense for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2017., including , $61.8 billion for Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO). Its expenditures fall within the budget caps negotiated between the House and Senate last year, and it is a product that was negotiated between House and Senate appropriators, based largely on bills that were moved in those chambers last year during the 114th Congress.
Parliamentary Situation. At the time of this writing, the precise parliamentary situation that will govern House floor consideration of H.R. 1301 was not yet known. However, it is widely believed that the House will take it up under procedures that preclude the offering of floor amendments.
Summary of Immigration Provisions. As introduced, H.R. 1301 does not contain any significant immigration-, refugee-, or human trafficking-related provisions. However, in the unlikely event that parliamentary procedures permit floor amendments to be offered to the bill on the House floor, the bill could become a target for amendments on those subjects during floor consideration.
Background. As a general rule, defense appropriations bills do not contain significant immigration-, refugee-, or human trafficking-related provisions at the time they are approved by the Committee on Appropriations. It is not unusual, however, for amendments relating to those subjects to be offered to a Defense Appropriations bill during floor consideration of the measure.
The introduced version of the measure does not contain any significant immigration-, refugee-, or human trafficking-related provisions. Indeed, missing from it is a significant immigration-related provision that was contained in H.R. 5293, the FY '17 Department of Defense Appropriations Act that the House passed during the 114th Congress but that died at the end of that Congress. That provision, added on the House floor by an amendment offered by Representative Bradley Byrne (R-AL), would have barred Department of Defense funding for being used to house unaccompanied alien children at a Department of Defense facility.
Possible Immigration- or Refugee-Related Floor Amendments. At the time of this writing, it was not known what, if any, amendments will be permitted to be offered to the bill on the House floor. However, it is believed that the procedure will preclude floor amendments from being offered to the measure.
This Week's Hearings
Tuesday, March 7, 2017
- Confirmation Hearing for Nominee to be Deputy Attorney General: The Senate Committee on the Judiciary has scheduled a hearing for this week on the nomination of Rod J. Rosenstein to be Deputy Attorney General. The hearing is scheduled for 10:00 am EST on Tuesday, March 7, 2017, in Room SD-226 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.
Anticipated Witnesses. The sole witness testifying at the hearing is the nominee, Rod J. Rosenstein.
Background. The Deputy Attorney General is the second-highest-ranking official in a Department of Justice. He or she oversees the day-to-day operation of the Department, and may act as Attorney General during the absence of the Attorney General.
From an immigration perspective, the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) reports to the Deputy Attorney General.
Wednesday, March 8, 2017
- Confirmation Hearing for Nominee to be Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security: The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs has scheduled a hearing for this week on the nomination of Elaine Duke to be Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security. The hearing is scheduled for 9:30 am EST on Wednesday, March 8, 2017, in Room SD-342 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.
Anticipated Witnesses. The sole witness testifying at the hearing is the nominee, Elaine Duke.
Background. The Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security is the chief operating officer of the Department, with responsibility for managing the Department’s day-to-day operations.
From an immigration perspective, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), U.S Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) components all report to the Deputy Secretary, as so the Office of Policy and Office of Immigration Statistics.
This Week's Markups
No Scheduled Immigration-, Human Trafficking, or Refugee-Related Markups
This Week's Floor Actions
No Scheduled Immigration-, Human Trafficking, or Refugee-Related Floor Actions
Hearings and Briefings
No Scheduled Immigration-, Human Trafficking, or Refugee-Related Events
This Week's Activities
No Scheduled Immigration-, Human Trafficking, or Refugee-Related Events