THE DAILY WHIP: WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2011

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For Immediate Release:

December 14, 2011

Contact:

Katie Grant, Daniel Reilly, 202-225-3130

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House Meets At: First Vote Predicted: Last Vote Predicted:

10:00 a.m.: Morning Hour
12:00 p.m.: Legislative Business

Fifteen “One Minutes” per side

1:00 – 2:00 p.m. 3:00 – 4:00 p.m.

Following votes, the House will debate bills listed for consideration under suspension of the Rules. Any recorded votes requested on these bills will be postponed until later in the week.

H.Res. 493 – Rule providing for consideration of The Conference Report to H.R. 1540 – National Defense Authorization Act, FY2012 (Rep. McKeon – Armed Services) The Rules Committee has recommended a closed Rule that provides for 60 minutes of general debate equally divided between the Chair and Ranking Member of the Committee on Armed Services, as well as a Member opposed to the Conference Report. The Rule allows no amendments and one motion to recommit, with or without instructions. It also waives all points of order against the legislation.
 
This Rule also contains numerous unrelated provisions. It allows the Majority to bring up any bill under suspension of the Rules with only 24 hours notice, for the rest of the first session of the 112th Congress. It also provides for the Speaker to have deemed the journal of the previous day’s proceedings approved, without a vote, for the rest of the first session.
 
The Conference Report to H.R. 1540 – National Defense Authorization Act, FY2012 (Rep. McKeon – Armed Services) This bill authorizes almost $670 billion for defense programs in FY 2012 — $24.4 billion less than the president's request and roughly $19 billion less than the authorization under current law. The measure's authorization includes $115.5 billion in FY 2012 contingent funds authorized specifically to support operations in Afghanistan, Iraq and the general war on terrorism.
 
In addition to authorizing funding, the Conference Report contains other policies. It authorizes new sanctions targeting the Central Bank of Iran. It also blocks the use of Defense Department funding to release prisoners at the Guantánamo Bay detention center or transfer them to U.S. jails. The agreement requires terrorism suspects to be held in military, rather than civilian, custody. However, it states that the requirement would not affect "existing criminal enforcement and national security authorities of the Federal Bureau of Investigation or any other domestic law enforcement agency," whether the detainee is in military custody or not. The bill also prohibits the transfer of a detainee to a foreign country until the Defense secretary certifies to Congress that the country meets certain criteria, and provides Congress with 30 days to review the secretary's decision.
 
Bill Text for the Conference Report:
HTML Version  
 
Suspensions (4 bills)
  1. H.R. 2719 - Rattlesnake Mountain Public Access Act of 2011 (Rep. Hastings (WA) - Natural Resources)
  2. H.R. 443 - To provide for the conveyance of certain property from the United States to the Maniilaq Association located in Kotzebue, Alaska (Rep. Young (AK) - Natural Resources)
  3. H.R. 1466 - To resolve the status of certain persons legally residing in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands under the immigration laws of the United States (Rep. Sablan - Natural Resources)
  4. S. 278 - Sugar Loaf Fire Protection District Land Exchange Act (Sen. Udall (CO) - Natural Resources)
Postponed Suspension Votes (6 bills):
  1. H.R. 2668 - A bill to designate the station of the United States Border Patrol located at 2136 South Naco Highway in Bisbee, Arizona, as the “Brian A. Terry Border Patrol Station'” (Rep. Issa - Transportation and Infrastructure)

  2. H.R. 1264 - To designate the property between the United States Federal Courthouse and the Ed Jones Building located at 109 South Highland Avenue in Jackson, Tennessee, as the "M.D. Anderson Plaza" and to authorize the placement of a historical/identification marker on the grounds recognizing the achievements and philanthropy of M.D. Anderson, as amended (Rep. Fincher - Transportation and Infrastructure)
  3. H.R. 3421 - Fallen Heroes of 9/11 Act (Rep. Shuster - Financial Services)
  4. H.R. 886 - United States Marshals Service 225th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act (Rep. Womack - Financial Services)
  5. H.R. 1905 - Iran Threat Reduction Act of 2011 (Rep. Ros-Lehtinen - Foreign Affairs)
  6. H.R. 2105 - Iran, North Korea, and Syria Nonproliferation Reform and Modernization Act of 2011 (Rep. Ros-Lehtinen - Foreign Affairs)
TOMORROW’S OUTLOOK
The GOP Leadership has announced the following schedule for Thursday, December 15: The House will meet at 12:00 p.m. for legislative business. The Republican Majority has not announced the legislative schedule at this time.
 
The Daily Quote

“The year-end rush to extend the payroll tax holiday has House Republicans struggling to keep up with a key promise from last year’s election as they bundle together a hodgepodge of issues before skipping town for Christmas. In the Pledge to America, released by GOP leadership under much fanfare in September 2010, Republicans said they would ‘end the practice of packaging unpopular bills with ‘must-pass’ legislation to circumvent the will of the American people…They’ll be doing the exact opposite this week…. To blunt conservative angst about the bill and to offset its cost, GOP leaders tacked on language to force President Barack Obama to restart the Keystone XL pipeline project, in addition to easing environmental standards on boilers and slashing money from the Democrats’ health care law. But there’s still blowback on the pipeline issue. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), also appearing on NBC, said flatly that the ‘pipeline is probably not gonna sell.’”

-     Politico, 12/11/11