THE DAILY WHIP: WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2014

Suspensions (4 bills)

1. H.R. 5769 – Howard Coble Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2014 (Rep. Hunter – Transportation and Infrastructure) – This bill would authorize $8.7 billion in funds for the Coast Guard and $24.7 million for the Federal Maritime Commission for FY2015.  It authorizes the Coast Guard to enter into procurement contracts with the Department of Homeland Security, continue its authority to hire experienced acquisition personnel, and use funds from other agencies to acquire a new icebreaker.  It also requires the Coast Guard to develop a strategic plan for the Arctic and requires the Department of Transportation to develop a maritime strategy to improve the competitiveness of the U.S.-flagged commercial fleet.
2. H.Res. 758 – Strongly condemning the actions of the Russian Federation, under Vladimir Putin, which has carried out a policy of aggression against neighboring countries aimed at political and economic domination, as amended(Rep. Kinzinger – Foreign Affairs)
3. H.Res. 714– Reaffirming the peaceful and collaborative resolution of maritime and jurisdictional disputes in the South China Sea and the East China Sea as provided for by universally recognized principles of international law, and reaffirming the strong support of the United States Government for freedom of navigation and other internationally lawful uses of sea and airspace in the Asia-Pacific region, as amended (Rep. Faleomavaega – Foreign Affairs)
4. S. 2673– United States-Israel Strategic Partnership Act of 2014 (Sen. Boxer – Foreign Affairs)

H.Res. 766 – Rule Providing for Consideration of both H.R. 647 – ABLE Act of 2014 (Rep. Crenshaw – Ways and Means/Energy and Commerce) and H.R. 5771 – Tax Increase Prevention Act (Rep. Camp – Ways and Means) (One Hour of Debate). The Rules Committee has recommended one Rule which provides for consideration of two bills.

For H.R. 647, 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 Ways and Means. The Rule allows one motion to recommit, with or without instructions, and waives all points of order against the resolution.

For H.R. 5771, 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 Ways and Means. The Rule allows one motion to recommit, with or without instructions, and waives all points of order against the resolution.

The Rule also provides that upon final passage, the Clerk shall, in the engrossment of H.R. 5771, add the text of H.R. 647, and merge the two bills into one text.

H.R. 647 – ABLE Act of 2014 (Rep. Crenshaw – Ways and Means/Energy and Commerce) (One Hour of Debate). Under current law, individuals with disabilities face significant barriers to living independently because their access to certain safety-net programs can be lost once they establish a minimum level of savings and income.

This bill would amend Section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code - which currently provides the framework for 529 Education Savings Plans - to allow for states to create a new program to have tax-exempt Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) accounts, for individuals with disabilities. These accounts would allow for people who have been severely disabled before turning 26 and their families to make pre-tax contributions and build savings.  The accounts will allow the beneficiary to make tax-free payments for qualified expenses – such as expenses for education, including higher education expenses, a primary residence, transportation, obtaining and maintaining employment, health and wellness, and other personal support expenses.  Further, funds held in an ABLE account would be completely excluded in determining eligibility for Medicaid and up to $100,000 would be exempt from being counted toward the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) individual resource limit which is currently $2,000.

The bill’s cost, estimated by the Joint Committee on Taxation to be $2.1 billion over 10 years, is fully offset by a number of payfors, including over $1 billion in savings from Medicare.

Bill Text for H.R. 647:
PDF Version

Background for H.R. 647:
House Report (HTML Version)
House Report (PDF Version)

H.R. 5771 – Tax Increase Prevention Act (Rep. Camp – Ways and Means) (One Hour of Debate). This bill would extend, retroactively for one year, a number tax provisions that expired at the end of 2013, without disrupting tax filing season.

The Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) estimates that the bill's extension of more than 50 provisions will add a combined $44.7 billion to the deficit over 10 years.

The bill would provide extensions for numerous tax provisions for individuals, including the deduction for out of pocket expenses of elementary and secondary school teachers, the exclusion for mortgage debt forgiveness, and the deduction of State and local sales taxes.

It would also provide extensions for numerous tax provisions for businesses, including the research and development credit, the work opportunity credit, “bonus depreciation,” expanded Section 179 small business expensing, and the production tax credit (PTC) for wind and certain other renewable sources of electricity.

Bill Text for H.R. 5771:
PDF Version

TOMORROW’S OUTLOOK
The GOP Leadership has announced the following schedule for Thursday, December 4: The House will meet at 9:00 a.m. for legislative business. The House is expected to consider H.R. 5759 – “Preventing Executive Overreach on Immigration Act” (Rep. Yoho – Judiciary) (Subject to a Rule).  The House is also expected to consider S. 1847 – Carl Levin and Howard P. ‘Buck’ McKeon National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015 (Sen. Levin – Armed Services) (Subject to Rule).