THE DAILY WHIP: WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2015

***Members are advised that, following debate on the Rule, the House is expected to Recess to allow for the Republican Conference Meeting.

H.Res. 495 – Rule providing for consideration of the Motion to Concur in the Senate Amendment with an Amendment to H.R. 1314 – Bipartisan Budget Agreement of 2015 (One hour of debate).  The Rules Committee has recommended a Rule that provides for one hour of general debate on a motion to concur, equally divided and controlled by the Majority Leader and the Minority Leader or their respective designees. The Rule also waives all points of order against the motion to concur.

Concur in the Senate Amendment with an Amendment to H.R. 1314 – Bipartisan Budget Agreement of 2015 (One hour of debate). The Bipartisan Budget Agreement provides for much needed sequester cap relief for both defense and non-defense discretionary priorities.  While it would not specifically implement appropriations, it would raise the sequester level caps by a total of $80 billion over two years, which is fully offset. The bill provides equal sequester relief to both defense and non-defense discretionary spending caps, raising both caps by $25 billion in the current Fiscal Year 2016 and $15 billion in Fiscal Year 2017. 

The Agreement shows that Congress recognizes the importance of domestic priorities that build a strong middle class and boost a growing economy, like education and research, by providing the non-defense discretionary resources necessary to fund a range of critical programs, including programs that support low-income families, Head Start, and research funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF).  

The bill would provide necessary resources for the Department of Defense (DOD) to ensure military readiness and help the Pentagon’s long-term planning process which will allow for stable, multi-year budgeting that our nation’s defense deserves.

This measure would also prevent a 52% spike in Medicare Part B premiums in 2016 for the 30 percent of beneficiaries not covered by the "hold harmless" provision of the Social Security Act. These beneficiaries would instead see base premium increases limited to $120 monthly, the increase that would have applied to all beneficiaries in the absence of the hold harmless provision. All those currently held harmless would continue to pay the $104.90 that they are currently paying and the Part B deductible for all Medicare beneficiaries would be set at approximately $169, versus the $223 deductible projected in 2016 under current law. The bill would also eliminate the “benefit cliff” for the Social Security Disability Insurance Program (SSDI) which currently would take effect in 2016 by reallocating Social Security payroll taxes through 2022.

The Agreement would provide much needed certainty to our economy, ensuring that our nation will pay its bills on time, suspending the debt ceiling until March 2017.  It is imperative that Congress act responsibly and not risk a default as soon as November 3rd.

Suspensions (3 bills)

1. H.R. 455– Northern Border Security Review Act, as amended (Rep. Katko – Homeland Security)
2. Concur in the Senate Amendment to H.R. 623 – DHS Social Media Improvement Act of 2015 (Rep. Brooks (IN) – Transportation and Infrastructure)
3. H.R. 2643– State Licensing Efficiency Act of 2015 (Rep. Williams – Financial Services) 

TOMORROW’S OUTLOOK
The GOP Leadership has announced the following schedule for Thursday, October 29: The House will meet at 9:00 a.m.  ***Members are advised that there will be a recorded Quorum Call vote following the prayer and Pledge of Allegiance. Following that vote, the Election of the Speaker of the House will take place. This election is held by manual roll call vote, with each Member called individually, in alphabetical order, by the Clerk. ***Members are also advised that there will be no one minute speeches or Special Orders on Thursday, October 29.