CD188: Welcome to the 116th Congress

We've transitioned! The 115th Congress is finally over and the 116th has begun. In this episode, get the details on the last acts of the 115th Congress, including the play by play of the shutdown drama, and learn about the new rules written by Democrats that will govern the 116th House of Representatives.

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Recommended Congressional Dish Episodes

• CD186: National Endowment for Democracy

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House Rules

116th Congress House Rules Resolution

• Sec. 102(b): Gives delegates and resident commissioners (the representatives of D.C. and the territories) the ability to vote in Congress, but only if they are not casting the deciding vote. If they are the deciding votes, the vote will be re-taken.

• Sec. 102(f): Renames the following committees

  • “Committee on Oversight and Government Reform” will be the “Committee on Oversight and Reform”
  • “Committee on Education and the Workforce” will be the “Committee on Education and Labor”

• Sec. 102(i): The chairmen of the oversight committees need to create and submit their oversight plans to the Committee on Oversight and Reform by March 1, 2019, and then coordinate those plans with other committees for submission to the full House by April 15, 2019.

• Sec. 102(m): Removes the term limit of four out of six consecutive Congresses for members of the Committee on the Budget and removes the term limit for Chairmen of any committee barring them from serving as Chairman for more than three consecutive Congresses.

• Sec. 102(n): Changes the 3 day rule for mark-up notices to clarify that it means 3 calendar days excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays.

• Sec. 102(q): Criminal trial evidence and transcripts will be used as evidence in House ethics investigations

• Sec. 102(r): Between March 1 of the first year and September 30 of the second year of the Congress, the sponsor of a bill with 290 co-sponsors can put their bill on the calendar where it will remain until it is either reported by committee or voted on in the full House.

• Sec. 102(z): Text of bills must be available for "72 hours”

• Sec. 102(dd): Removes the requirement for a supermajority vote to increase taxes

• Sec. 102(ee): PAYGO procedures for the 116th

• Sec. 101(ii): Starting on January 1, 2020, members of the House of Representatives will not be allowed to “serve as an officer or director of any public company”

• Sec. 102(jj): A suspension of the debt ceiling will be automatically included and passed along with the budget resolution.

• Sec. 103(d): Registered lobbyists will not be granted access to the Congressional gym

• Sec. 103(h): Limited the Committee on Agriculture to six subcommittees and the Committee on Financial Services to seven subcommittees

• Sec. 103(i): No bill can get a vote on the House floor unless it has been passed by a committee. Excepts include continuing resolutions and emergency bills.

• Sec. 103(r): Requires members of the House to pay for discrimination settlements for offenses they personally committed

• Sec. 104(a): Creates a commission called the House Democracy Partnership, which will be funded with $52,000 available between January 3, 2019 and March 31, 2019. The commission will be managed but the Committee on Foreign Affairs.

• Sec. 104(d): Creates an Office of Diversity and Inclusion

• Sec. 104(e): Creates an Office of the Whistleblower Ombudsman

• Sec. 104(f): Creates a Select Committee on the Climate Crisis, which will have 15 members, 6 appointed by the Minority Leader, and which will have no power to create or change legislation and will not have subpoena power. “The sole authority of the Select Committee shall be to investigate, study, make findings, and develop recommendations on policies, strategies, and innovations to achieve substantial and permanent reductions in pollution and other activities that contribute to the climate crisis.”

• Sec. 201: Creates a Committee on the Modernization of Congress

• Sec. 301: Authorizes the Speaker of the House to use the General Counsel of the House of Representatives to defend the Affordable Are Act in Federal court.

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Bills/Laws

S.2736 (115th): Asia Reassurance Initiative Act of 2018

• Law Text
• Became law on New Year's Eve 2018

H.R.695 - Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2018

• Law Text

S.2322 - CURD Act

• Law Text
• Final Vote Results: 230-162

H.R.6061 - Secure Fence Act of 2006

• Vote Summary

Public Law 109-13 - Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense, the Global War on Terror, and Tsunami Relief, 2005

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Additional Reading

• Tweet: Eric Blake on the Government Shutdown, Jan 9, 2019.

• Article: FDA says most food inspections halted amid shutdown by Eminy Birnbaum, The Hill, January 9, 2019.

• Article: White House to put Medicare cuts on hold during shutdown by Paul M. Krawszak, Roll Call, January 8, 2019.

• Article: Over 100 affordable housing contracts expire due to shutdown by John Bowden, The Hill, January 8, 2019.

• Article: Indian Health Service urban programs threatened by government shutdown by Susannah Luthi, Modern Healthcare, January 7, 2019.

• Article: House Democrats pass government funding bills, Pelosi jokes she'd give Trump $1 for a wall by Lindsey McPherson, Roll Call, January 2, 2019.

• Report: New house rules for Puerto Rico Resident Commissioner, Puerto Rico Report, January 2, 2019.

• Tweet: House Rules tweet to Rachel Maddow segment on CURD Act, December 21, 2018.

• Article: Republicans are preventing their tax bill from triggering a $25 billion cut to Medicare by Tara Golshan, Vox, December 21, 2017.

• Report: Southwest border security: Additional actions needed to better assess fencing's ontributions to operations and provide guidance for identifying capability gaps, U.S. Government Accountability Office, February 16, 2017.

• Article: Border wall breached 9,000 times. Does it even work? by Scott Bronstein, Curt Devin and Drew Griffin, CNN Politics, February 16, 2017.

• Report: Barriers along the U.S. borders: Key authorities and requirements by Michael John Garcia, Congressional Research Service, January 27, 2017.

• Article: Trump says they were going to build a wall in '06, but environmental rules got in the way by Miriam Valverde, Politifact, August 29, 2016.

• Article: Border-fence project hits a snag by Stephanie Simon, The Wall Street Journal, February 4, 2009.

• Article: Government issues waiver for fencing along border by Randal C. Archibold, The New York Times, April 2, 2008.

• Report: With Senate vote, Congress passes border fence bill by Jonathan Weisman, The Washington Post, September 30, 2006.

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Sound Clip Sources

Video: Call Your Representative and Tell Them to Vote Against PAYGO NOW! The Majority Report with Sam Seder, YouTube, January 8, 2019.

Rep. Ro Khanna: “People hear the word PAYGO, they tune out. They think it’s some inside baseball technical jargon related to Congress. Let me tell you: It is a very important issue. It would be unilateral disarmament for House Democrats to adopt PAYGO. The Republicans never did. They passed massive tax cuts for the 1% and they didn’t have any spending cuts to pay for those tax cuts. They never do.”

Rep. Ro Khanna: "Now that House Democrats are in charge, some folks want us to limit our policies by adopting PAYGO. Here’s what it would mean: If we have PAYGO, then to do something like Medicare for All, to do something like expanding social security, to do something like a bold infrastructure plan or a Green New Deal would require us to negotiate against ourselves. We would require cuts in programs that many of us value and like. We shouldn’t do that. The Republicans didn’t govern that way.”

Rep. Ro Khanna: “Paygo would be a terrible policy"

House Session: Consideration of Rules for New Congress, Part 3, House of Representatives, January 3, 2019.

Hearing: Rules Committee Hearing S. 2322, House of Representatives,YouTube, December 21, 2018.

News Story: Rep. Jordan: We have to fund Trump's border wall now, Fox Business Network, December 18, 2018.

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Resources

• Congress.gov: Appropriations for FY 2019

• Congressional Record: December 21, 2018

• Obama White House Archives: The Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010: A Description

• Roll Call: [A Congressional Glossary

  • Continuing Resolution
  • Emergency Spending
  • Sequester

• Vote Results: Child Protection Improvements Act of 2017, December 20, 2018.

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Community Suggestions

See Community Suggestions HERE.

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Cover Art

Design by Only Child Imaginations

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Music Presented in This Episode

Intro & Exit: Tired of Being Lied To by David Ippolito (found on Music Alley by mevio)