THE DAILY WHIP: THURSDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2014

Suspensions (4 bills)

1. H.R. 5742 – Soledad Canyon Settlement Act (Rep. McKeon – Natural Resources)
2. Concur in the Senate Amendment to H.R. 2952 – Cybersecurity Workforce Assessment Act (Rep. Meehan – Homeland Security)
3. Concur in the Senate Amendment to H.R. 4007 – Protecting and Securing Chemical Facilities from Terrorist Attacks Act of 2014 (Rep. Meehan – Homeland Security)
4. S. 2519 – National Cybersecurity Protection Act of 2014 (Sen. Carper – Homeland Security)

H.Res. 776 – Rule Providing for Consideration of Motion to Concur in the Senate Amendment with an Amendment to H.R. 83 – Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015 (Rep. Rogers (KY) – Appropriations) (One Hour of Debate). The Rules Committee has recommended a closed Rule that provides for 80 minutes of debate on a motion to concur, with 60 minutes equally divided and controlled by the Chair and Ranking Member of the Committee on Appropriations and 20 minutes equally divided and controlled by the Chair and Ranking Member of the Committee on Education and the Workforce. The Rule also waives all points of order against the resolution.

The Rule includes self-executing language to automatically amend the bill upon adoption of the Rule with an amendment offered by Rep. Kline and Rep. George Miller related to multiemployer pensions.

The resolution also waives Clause 6(a) of Rule XIII, the requirement of a two-thirds vote to consider a Rule on the same day it is reported from the Rules Committee. This waiver will be applied to any bill reported from the Rules Committee through the legislative day of December 12, 2014.

The Rules Committee rejected motions to make in order a number of Democratic amendments. Members are urged to VOTE NO.

Concur in the Senate Amendment with an Amendment to H.R. 83 – Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015 (Rep. Rogers (KY) – Appropriations) (Eighty Minutes of Debate). This package contains FY2015 discretionary funding for federal agencies under eleven of the twelve Appropriations subcommittees and a continuing resolution for the Department of Homeland Security, including immigration enforcement agencies, through February 27, 2015.

The bill abides by the overall regular (base) discretionary level as agreed to in the Bipartisan Budget Act, also known as Ryan-Murray, by including just under $1.014 trillion in regular Defense and non-Defense discretionary funding. It also includes $5.4 billion for Ebola response and preparedness, $6.5 billion for disaster relief, and $73.7 billion for Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO).

In addition to modest funding adjustments to many priority government programs, including level funding for the Affordable Care Act, the bill extends the Internet Tax Freedom Act’s moratorium on state and local taxation of internet access, authorization of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) through FY2015, and Trade Adjustment Assistance.  

The Rule self-executes an amendment to add to the bill a package of pension reforms, including changes to the multiemployer pension system permitting struggling plans to reduce benefits for some current retirees and increasing employers’ safety-net premiums to help replenish the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) backstop.

It would also permit party committees (for example, the DCCC, DSCC, and DNC) to raise money expressly for presidential conventions, recounts, and party building expenses, the effect of which will be to increase the total annual amount an individual contributor can give to the party committees from $97,200 to $324,000.

While many of the most controversial policy riders did not make it through the negotiation process, the bill still includes a number of controversial policy riders. Among these, it would amend the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act’s “push-out provision,” expanding the permissible types of swap activities that can be conducted directly by insured financial institutions without losing their access to federal assistance. It limits an endangered species determination, and limits regulation of lead in shot and tackle, though many more controversial environmental riders were removed. It also includes exemptions for truck weight limits in several states, while allowing for high speed and other passenger rail projects.

Bill Text for H.R. 83:
PDF Version

Postponed Suspensions (2 bills):

1. H.R 5699 – John Muir National Historic Site Expansion Act, as amended (Rep. George Miller – Natural Resources)
2. H.R. 5806 – Supporting America's Charities Act (Rep. Camp – Ways and Means/Budget)