The Week Ahead
House and Senate lawmakers return to Capitol Hill this week following the Columbus Day recess and will face a pile of unfinished business over the coming weeks. Here we discuss legislation related to a looming debt limit breach, the unlawful disclosure of the personal information of citizens of other countries, “sanctuary cities” that do not cooperate with federal immigration policy, and homeland security.
Debt Limit
Treasury Secretary Jack Lew recently informed Congress that the debt limit will be reached in about two weeks (Nov. 3).
The House is scheduled to vote on legislation that, in the event the statutory debt limit is reached, would require the Treasury Department to issue debt to pay principal and interest on “debt held by the public” — debt held by individuals, businesses, state or local governments, and foreign governments — and Social Security benefits.
House Democrats oppose the Default Prevention Act (H.R. 692), arguing that the bill essentially plans for a government default and prioritizes who gets paid under a default. House Democratic lawmakers wrote in the bill’s committee report:
“Under this legislation, the effect would be to pay China first, and some Americans not at all.”
“H.R. 692 would allow the Department of the Treasury to continue borrowing money to pay Chinese and other foreign bondholders, but not to pay our servicemembers, not to pay the doctors and hospitals that care for our seniors on Medicare, not to pay American small businesses, and not to pay our veterans.”
Judicial Redress Act
The House also will consider the Judicial Redress Act (H.R. 1428), which would allow foreign citizens in European countries to sue the United States for unlawful disclosure of personal information — under the terms of the Privacy Act — obtained in connection with international law enforcement efforts. Under current law, only U.S. citizens and legal residents can bring claims against the federal government for unauthorized disclosure of their personal information.
The Privacy Act of 1974 established a code of fair information practices that governs the federal government’s collection, maintenance, use, and dissemination of information about individuals. The Act requires federal agencies to notify the public of their “systems of records” on individuals via the Federal Register, prohibits the disclosure of a record about an individual without the written consent of the individual (with some exceptions), and provides individuals with a way to seek access to and changes to their records.
During a markup last month, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) explained that the intent of the bill is to reestablish the United States’s credibility with the European Union following highly publicized leaks of classified information in recent years.
“As a result, both the federal government and U.S. businesses that operate overseas are facing growing challenges from proposals to limit the international flow of data,” said Goodlatte. “Our allies in Europe, in particular, are concerned that the European public will no longer support law enforcement cooperation with U.S. authorities if we do not enact legislation to restore their public’s trust in U.S. privacy protections.”
U.S. citizens have judicial redress rights in several foreign countries related to the disclosure of personal information, Goodlatte said.
Homeland Security Legislation
Also this week, the House will consider three homeland security bills:
- DHS Headquarters Reform and Improvement Act (H.R. 3572) — Contains a number of provisions aimed at improving the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS’s) program planning and management, with a particular focus on acquisition reforms.
- Know the CBRN Terrorism Threats to Transportation Act (H.R. 3350) — Would require DHS to prepare a threat assessment relating to the transportation of chemical, biological, nuclear, and radiological materials throughout the United States within 90 days of the bill’s enactment.
- Securing the Cities Act (H.R. 3493) — Would establish a program within DHS — called the Securing the Cities initiative — tasked with detecting illicit nuclear and radiological material in urban areas.
In addition, the chamber is slated to take up the Restoring Americans’ Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act (bill text is not yet available) and the SOAR Reauthorization Act (H.R. 10), which would reauthorize the private school voucher program in the District of Columbia.
Immigration Policy
Across the Capitol, the Senate this week will continue its debate on the motion to proceed to the Stop Sanctuary Policies and Protect Americans Act (S.2146), legislation proposing to block federal funding for so-called sanctuary cities that do not comply with DHS-issued detainer requests for illegal immigrants.
“It’s absolutely ridiculous for a U.S. city to ignore our nation’s immigration laws and provide safe harbor for illegal immigrants, and my bill will send the clear message to all sanctuary cities that their dangerous policies won’t be rewarded anymore,” said Senator David Vitter (R-LA), who introduced the bill earlier this month.
According to a press release issued by Vitter’s staff, the legislation would:
- Define a sanctuary jurisdiction as a state or locality that prohibits its law enforcement officers from cooperating with federal immigration officials
- Direct DHS to publicly list which jurisdictions are deemed sanctuary jurisdictions
- Redirect funds withheld from sanctuary cities to other state and localities that allow their law enforcement personnel to cooperate with federal officials
- Establish a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years for illegal immigrants who are convicted of reentering the U.S. after being convicted of an aggravated felony or being convicted of having illegally reentered the U.S. twice before
A procedural vote requiring the support of at least 60 senators must occur before the Senate can formally take up the bill and begin considering amendments.
