The Senate convened at 10 A.M. and resumed consideration of the motion to proceed to H.R.4521, America COMPETES Act, post-cloture. As stated yesterday, this House-passed version of the China competition bill varies from the package that cleared the Senate in June 2021, which would make investments in semiconductor manufacturing and supply chain resilience. Once the Senate formally takes up H.R. 4521, the text of the legislation will likely be replaced with language from the upper chamber’s U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (S.1620). After the amended America COMPETES Act passes the Senate, which is expected this week, the House will then vote on the measure. When it fails in the House, which could occur next week, the two chambers will be in formal disagreement on the same package, allowing a formal conference process to commence. Once conferees are named, the House and Senate will begin negotiations to reach a compromise agreement—a potentially months-long process. This will be a main legislative focus for the next few months ahead of the November midterm elections.
The second day of the Supreme Court confirmation hearing for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson got underway at 9 A.M. as senators on the Judiciary Committee question her to get a fuller sense of her views on law and policy. Based on prepared statements senators gave during the opening session on Monday and other commentary surrounding the nomination, Democratic lawmakers are widely expected to use their time to present a positive portrait of Judge Jackson and to herald the historic nature of her nomination. Today may be the most important day of her Supreme Court confirmation hearings, taking questions from senators on the Judiciary Committee in what’s poised to be a long day. The questioning began with Senate Judiciary Chair Dick Durbin, (D-Illinois) and Ranking Member Chuck Grassley, (R-Iowa), giving 30 minutes to all 22 members of the panel. Republican Senators today have stepped up their attacks on the Judge asking pointed questions about her religious beliefs, her record of sentencing child pornography offenders, on whether the Supreme Court should be expanded, detainees imprisoned at Guantánamo Bay, and criticisms her work as a public defender from 2005 to 2007 and later for the U.S. Sentencing Commission as evidence that she’s very soft on crime.
While the lower chamber is in recess this week, House Republicans will hold their retreat in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida starting tomorrow. The primary focus will be the various task forces established by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-California) in 2021. The task forces are focused on jobs and the economy, big tech censorship, data, energy and climate and China accountability, among others. The discussion could lay the groundwork for the Republican legislative agenda, should the party potentially retake control of the House next Congress.
