THE DAILY WHIP: TUESDAY, MAY 19, 2015

**Members are advised that following last votes the House is expected to debate the six bills listed for consideration under suspension of the Rules. Any recorded votes requested will be postponed until tomorrow.

H.Res. 271 – Rule Providing for Consideration of H.R. 2353 – Highway and Transportation Funding Act of 2015 (Rep. Shuster – Transportation and Infrastructure), H.R. 2250 – Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2016 (Rep. Graves – Appropriations) and H.R. 880 – American Research and Competitiveness Act (Rep. Brady (TX) – Ways and Means) (One Hour of Debate). The Rules Committee has recommended one Rule which would provide for consideration of three bills.

For H.R. 2353, the Rules Committee has recommended a closed Rule that provides for one hour of general debate, equally divided between the Chair and Ranking Member of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. The Rule allows one motion to recommit, and waives all points of order against the legislation.

For H.R. 2250, the Rules committee has recommended a structured Rule that provides for one hour of general debate equally divided and controlled by the Chair and Ranking Member of the Committee on Appropriations. The Rule allows for 3 amendments, debatable for 10 minutes equally divided between the offeror and an opponent. The Rule allows one motion to recommit, with or without instructions, and waives all points of order against the legislation.

For H.R. 1806, the Rules committee has recommended a structured Rule that provides for one hour of general debate equally divided and controlled by the Chair and Ranking Member of the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. The Rule allows for 11 amendments, debatable for 10 minutes equally divided between the offeror and an opponent. The Rule also makes in order 1 amendment, offered by Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, in the nature of a substitute, debatable for 20 minutes, equally divided between the offeror and an opponent. The Rule allows one motion to recommit, with or without instructions, and waives all points of order against the legislation.

The Rules Committee rejected a motion by Ms. Slaughter of New York to consider both H.R. 2353 and H.R. 1806 under open Rules. Members are urged to VOTE NO.

H.R. 2353 – Highway and Transportation Funding Act of 2015 (Rep. Shuster – Transportation and Infrastructure) (One Hour of Debate). This bill would reauthorize federal-aid highway and transit programs for two months, through July 31, 2015. This bill is coming to the Floor as a stop-gap measure, extending the authorization for the use of funds already in the Highway Trust Fund – which are sufficient financing through the end of July – and as such, does not provide any additional funds or transfers from the General Fund of the Treasury to the Highway Trust Fund. This stop-gap is being brought to the Floor because House Republicans have failed to develop a long-term solution to create a solvent Highway Trust Fund that supports hundreds of thousands of American jobs repairing America’s crumbling roads and bridges. 

Bill Text for H.R. 2353:
PDF Version

H.R. 2250 – Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2016 (Rep. Graves – Appropriations) (One Hour of Debate). This bill appropriates $3.3 billion for the U.S. House of Representatives and other agencies and programs affiliated with the House, like the Capitol Police, the Library of Congress, the Government Accountability Office (GAO), and the Government Printing Office. The $3.3 billion total is the same level of funding as FY 2014 and FY 2015, $172.3 million less than requested by the Administration. The measure freezes House operations at the current level, and continues to freeze the salaries of Members of Congress, preventing any pay increase for FY 2016, while increasing funds for the U.S. Capitol Police and the Library of Congress. Funding for the Government Accountability Office (GAO) is the same as FY 2015, while funding forGovernment Printing Office (GPO)is reduced by 8%. Funding for the Architect of the Capitol is reduced by $9 million (2%), but includes $62 million in funding for restoration of the Cannon House Office Building.

The Rule makes in order 3 amendments, each debatable for 10 minutes, equally divided between the offeror and an opponent. The amendments are:

Blackburn Amendment. Provides for a one percent across the board cut. Exempts Capitol Police, Architect of the Capitol, and the Sergeant at Arms.
Ratcliffe Amendment. Zeros out $5,700,000 in funding for the Open World Leadership Center and applies the savings to the spending reduction account
Flores Amendment. Prohibits any funds for delivering printed copies of the Congressional Pictorial Directory.

Bill Text for H.R. 2250:
PDF Version

Background for H.R. 2250:
House Report (HTML Version)
House Report (PDF Version)

Suspensions (6 bills)

1. H.R. 874– American Super Computing Leadership Act (Rep. Hultgren – Science, Space, and Technology)
2. H.R. 1162 – Science Prize Competitions Act, as amended (Rep. Beyer – Science, Space, and Technology)
3. H.R. 1119 – Research and Development Efficiency Act (Rep. Comstock – Science, Space, and Technology)
4. H.R. 1156 – International Science and Technology Cooperation Act of 2015, as amended (Rep. Lipinski – Science, Space, and Technology)
5. H.R. 1561– Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2015, as amended  (Rep. Lucas – Science, Space, and Technology)
6. H.R. 1158 – Department of Energy Laboratory Modernization and Technology Transfer Act of 2015, as amended (Rep. Hultgren – Science, Space, and Technology)

Postponed Suspension (1 bill)

1. S. 178– Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015 (Sen. Cornyn – Judiciary)

TOMORROW’S OUTLOOK
The GOP Leadership has announced the following schedule for Wednesday, May 20: The House will meet at 12:00 p.m. for legislative business. The House is expected to consider H.R. 880 – American Research and Competitiveness Act (Rep. Brady (TX) – Ways and Means) and H.R. 1806 –America COMPETES Reauthorization Act (Rep. Smith (TX) – Science, Space, and Technology) (Subject to a Rule).