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GOP Congress' Incomplete - Stalled Bills, No Court Nominee
by Associated Press
Congress increasingly is being defined by what it's not doing this
election year.
The Senate returns this week with a strong majority of Republicans
saying no to any consideration of President Barack Obama's nominee to
the Supreme Court. No hearings, no vote and, for some lawmakers, not
even a meeting with federal appeals court Judge Merrick Garland.
Republicans, led by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., insist that
the decision on filling the court vacancy rests with the next president
after voters have their say in November's election.
A bipartisan bill to aid Flint, Michigan, where the city's 100,000
residents are struggling with lead-contaminated water is being blocked
by Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, who wants to ensure that the money is paid
for without adding to the deficit. The dispute over Flint has snagged a
far-reaching measure on energy.
In the House, where lawmakers return from their break April 12,
conservative opposition probably will make it impossible to pass a
budget, in what would be a major embarrassment for Speaker Paul Ryan,
R-Wis. A GOP proposal to aid debt-stricken Puerto Rico has drawn
criticism from House Democrats and conservatives, raising doubts about
Congress' ability to resolve the issue.
The latest Gallup Poll shows public approval of Congress at an abysmal
13 percent. Yet, through a half-dozen state primaries, no incumbent
lawmaker has lost.
A look at the issues in limbo in Congress:
The fight over Garland
Garland plans to meet with 11 senators in the week ahead, including two
Republicans. Democrats are maintaining election-year pressure on the
GOP for blocking the usual Senate committee hearings and vote on a high
court nominee.
Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and John Boozman, R-Ark., are set to sit
down with Garland on Tuesday. Collins is one of just two Republicans
out of 54 who are open to hearings and a vote on Garland; Boozman is up
for re-election this year. Eager to keep the fight in the news,
Democrats say there might be 50 more Garland meetings with senators in
the coming weeks, and they plan repeated Senate floor speeches on the
issue.
Over the Senate's two-week recess, both sides pushed their messages
back home, but Democrats were particularly aggressive as senators held
news conferences and wrote newspaper columns. Swing-state Republicans
facing re-election were top targets, including Sens. Kelly Ayotte of
New Hampshire, Rob Portman of Ohio and Iowa's Chuck Grassley, the
chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, responsible for holding
hearings on judicial nominees.
Garland has met with just one Republican: Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk. He
is embroiled in a difficult re-election fight and has said the Senate
should provide "rational, adult, open-minded consideration'' of
Garland, an Illinois native.
At least 15 GOP senators have said they are willing to meet Garland,
though most oppose letting the confirmation process progress. Only
Collins and Kirk are open to hearings and a vote. Under intense
conservative pressure, Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas backtracked late last
week, saying no to hearings and a vote after signaling support days
earlier.
Spending
It's been years since Congress approved each of the annual
appropriations bills - the 12 measures that fund the budgets of
agencies and departments. The new normal is an all-encompassing bill at
the end of the year. Republicans leaders such as McConnell want to get
process back on track, and the Senate Appropriations Committee is
expected to start the week of April 11.
It'll be a test for the Senate, and pitfalls await, including potential
fights over immigration, environmental regulations, gun rights and
display of the Confederate flag.
In the House, GOP leaders are still trying to win approval of a broader
budget plan that's usually a precursor to action on the spending bills.
Chances are iffy at best. It's not clear what the path forward on the
appropriations bills will be.
Puerto Rico
House Republicans unveiled a plan to help Puerto Rico with its $70
billion debt, but a draft bill by the chairman of the House Natural
Resources Committee, GOP Rep. Rob Bishop of Utah, was rejected by
Democrats, GOP conservatives and Puerto Rican officials.
The proposal would create a five-person board designed to audit the
territory's government and create fiscal plans and budget measures -
steps Republicans say are necessary for Puerto Rico to get its economy
back on track. The board would have the authority to enact the plan if
the territory's governor and legislature failed to do so.
The draft would not give Puerto Rico the broad bankruptcy authority it
has asked for, but would allow the oversight board to decide whether
debt restructuring is necessary
The House Republican Study Committee, a group of around 170
conservatives, expressed concerns about the debt restructuring
provisions. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and other
Democrats said the oversight board would be too controlling.
Puerto Rico's government has defaulted on $37 million in interest on
bonds issued by Puerto Rico's Infrastructure Financing Authority, as
well as nearly $60 million in Public Finance Corporation bonds. The
bonds are not protected by the U.S. territory's government. Gov.
Alejandro Garcia Padilla has warned there is no money for future
payments, including $400 million due in May in bonds issued by the
Government Development Bank.
Bishop said he will continue to work on the bill to gain consensus.
Criminal justice
Advocates for a criminal justice overhaul are hoping Congress will move
legislation in both chambers before the summer, though the effort has
run into roadblocks in the Senate.
The GOP caucus is split over a bipartisan bill that would give judges
the discretion to impose lesser sentences than federal mandatory
minimums and eliminate mandatory life sentences for three-time,
nonviolent drug offenders.
Some conservatives, including Arkansas' Tom Cotton and GOP presidential
candidate Ted Cruz of Texas, say the bill could release violent
offenders from prison. It's a charge that their GOP colleagues backing
the bill strongly deny.
Senators are now rewriting parts of the bill, but even with the
expected changes, it's unclear whether McConnell will choose to move
forward.
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[1]http://www.voanews.com/content/gop-congress-incomplete-stalled-bills
-no-court-nominee/3266801.html
References
1. http://www.voanews.com/content/gop-congress-incomplete-stalled-bills-no-court-nominee/3266801.html