THE DAILY WHIP: WEDNESDAY, MAY 13, 2015

**Members are advised that following last votes, the House is expected to consider general debate of H.R. 1735. Consideration of amendments to H.R. 1735 will begin tomorrow.

H.Res. 255 – Rule providing for consideration of H.R. 2048– USA Freedom Act of 2015 (Rep. Sensenbrenner – Judiciary), H.R. 36 – Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act (Rep. Franks – Judiciary), and H.R. 1735 - National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 (Rep. Thornberry – Armed Services) (One Hour of debate). The Rules committee has recommended one Rule which would provide for consideration of 2 bills as well as general debate of H.R. 1735.

For H.R. 2048, 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 Judiciary. The Rule allows one motion to recommit, and waives all points of order against the legislation.

For H.R. 36, 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 Judiciary. The Rule allows one motion to recommit, and waives all points of order against the legislation.

The Rule also provides for one hour of general debate on H.R. 1735, equally divided between the Chair and Ranking Member of the Committee on Armed Services. A second Rule providing for amendments to H.R. 1735 is expected to be considered on the Floor tomorrow.

Additionally, the Rule allows for Suspension Authority through Friday, May 15.

The Rules Committee rejected a motion by Ms. Slaughter of New York to report individual Rules for each bill.  The Committee also rejected a motion by Mr. McGovern of Massachusetts to consider H.R. 2048 under an open Rule. Members are urged to VOTE NO.

H.R. 2048– USA Freedom Act of 2015 (Rep. Sensenbrenner – Judiciary) (One Hour of Debate).  This bill would modify domestic surveillance authorities by prohibiting the government’s bulk collection and storage of all records under Section 215 of the PATRIOT Act, including business records and telephone metadata. The measure would require the government to obtain pre-approval from the FISA Court to conduct a search of call detail records for individual target phone numbers on a case-by-case basis, except in cases of emergency. Additionally, the bill would mandate a new, stricter definition of “specific selection term,” so that the government could only collect information it actually needs to further an investigation.

The bill also expands reporting on records collection and FISA Court decisions, establishes an amicus to provide outside expertise for significant matters before the FISA Court, and requires the declassification of summaries of FISA court orders and decisions.

Bill Text for H.R. 2048:
PDF Version

Background for H.R. 2048:
House Report (HTML Version)
House Report (PDF Version)

H.R. 36 – Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act (Rep. Franks – Judiciary) (One Hour of Debate). The bill would ban abortions nationwide in cases where the probable age of the fetus is 20 weeks or later. The bill imposes criminal penalties (fines and/or imprisonment of up to 5 years) on medical professionals who violate the ban. The measure provides an exception for cases where the life of the woman is in danger due to a physical illness or physical condition. There are also limited exceptions for cases of incest and rape against a minor, providing the rape or incest has been reported to law enforcement or a social services agency.  There is also a limited rape exception for adult women if they obtain counseling or medical treatment for the rape at least 48 hours before obtaining an abortion.  Such treatment or counseling must be documented and cannot be obtained at a facility that provides abortion services. 

Bill Text for H.R. 36:
PDF Version

Background for H.R. 36:
CRS Report: Abortion: Judicial History and Legislative Response

Begin Consideration of H.R. 1735 - National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 (Rep. Thornberry – Armed Services) (One Hour of Debate). The bill would provide for the authorization of funding for the Department of Defense and other related agencies, programs, and operations for Fiscal Year 2016. It authorizes approximately $605.6 billion in discretionary budget authority in total.  This includes $495.8 billion for the Department of Defense base budget and $17.6 billion for the defense-related activities of the Department of Energy. It also includes $89.2 billion in discretionary budget authority for Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO), shifting $38 billion in funding from the President’s base defense request into the OCO war funding account. This gimmick goes around the sequester level defense spending cap, while leaving the non-defense sequester level cap in place.

The bill supports a 2.3 percent pay increase for military personnel. It also includes important provisions related to sexual assault in the military and authorizes funding for suicide prevention programs among the Special Operations community.

The legislation maintains the current restriction on domestic transfers of Guantanamo detainees and prevents the use of funds for construction or modification of U.S. facilities to house Guantánamo detainees. The bill also reverts to a more onerous certification standard for the transfer of Gitmo detainees and prohibits transfers to any country in which a previously transferred detainee was confirmed to have re-engaged in armed conflict.  In addition, the bill authorizes $200 million for a train and equip effort in Ukraine; $600 million for the Syria train-and-equip effort; and $715 million for the Iraq train-and-equip effort. 

Consideration of amendments to H.R. 1735 will begin tomorrow.

Bill Text for H.R. 1735:
PDF Version

Background for H.R. 1735:
House Report (HTML Version)
House Report (PDF Version)

TOMORROW’S OUTLOOK
The GOP Leadership has announced the following schedule for Thursday, May 14: The House will meet at 12:00 p.m. for legislative business.  The House is expected to continue consideration of H.R. 1735 - National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 (Rep. Thornberry – Armed Services) (Subject to a Rule). The House is also expected to consider bills under suspension of the Rules.