As the House and Senate work on two critical pieces of legislation this week, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and the continuing resolution (CR), roadblocks have emerged that threaten the timing of both. At least three Republican Senators have put holds on a proposal to vote on 21 amendments to the NDAA, imperiling the chances of getting the legislation passed through the Senate this week. The top-priority legislation has passed on an annual basis for 60 years, but it’s hitting a major snag because of a partisan fight over amending the legislation. The biggest sticking point has been an amendment sponsored by Senators Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) to place sanctions on Nord Stream 2 AG, a company owned by Russian energy giant Gazprom. Senate leaders worked out a deal Tuesday evening to vote on a package of 21 amendments, including Risch’s proposal to sanction the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, and are running it through a “hotline” to see if they can get the agreement of all 100 senators to move forward. But the deal is running into objections from senators whose amendments were left aside with Republican Senators predicting that the hotline will not clear. Senate Republicans will discuss how to proceed on the defense bill in more detail at a conference lunch scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.
As House Democrats work on a CR with a likely end date of January 21st, the House Freedom Caucus on Wednesday called on Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) to use all of the tools at his disposal to deny “timely passage” for government funding legislation in the upper chamber over the Biden administration’s vaccine mandates. With current funding for the government set to expire on Friday, the group of Republicans is putting pressure on party colleagues in the upper chamber to employ what they described in a letter to McConnell as “important leverage” against mandates they say are “unlawful.” The letter comes as lawmakers in both chambers are working to strike a deal to prevent a shutdown on Friday with a continuing resolution, which will temporarily fund the government at the previous year’s fiscal levels until a larger bipartisan agreement can be reached on spending levels for the new year. House Democrats say they have considered introducing legislation to kickstart the process on today. But some have said the process has been held up, pending an agreement on timing in the Senate, where Democrats would need to get 10 votes from Republicans in the upper chamber to pass the bill.
As all this plays out, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) is planning to bring President Joe Biden’s social spending and climate bill to the floor as soon as the week of December 13th, reports say. Leader Schumer’s plan is to bring the bill, known as Build Back Better, to the Senate floor once Democrats finish their conversations with the parliamentarian, who provides guidance on what can be included in a bill passed through budget reconciliation. “As soon as the necessary technical and procedural work with the Senate parliamentarian has been completed, the Senate will take up this legislation,” Leader Schumer told reporters during a press conference on Tuesday.
For today, the Senate will resume consideration of H.R.4350, the National Defense Authorization Act, with discussions ongoing with respect to a path forward and roll call votes possible during Wednesday’s session.
The House will consider up to twenty bills under suspension of the rules out of the Natural Resources and Judiciary Committees.
Adam S. Olsen, Washington, D.C.
