WASHINGTON — The House enters its last week of work for the summer with hopes of finalizing the annual defense authorization bill and leaving town with a legislative victory.
The Senate is now scheduled to work through August, but after Thursday House lawmakers won’t return to Capitol Hill until September. When they get back, they’ll face a short window to pass a host of appropriations measures to stave off another partial government shutdown.
That makes finishing up the annual defense policy measure a top priority for defense lawmakers. A House and Senate conference committee has been working on a compromise measure for the past few weeks, and is hopeful they are close to a deal.
The defense authorization bill has been passed by Congress for 57 consecutive years, but the work hasn’t been finalized before the start of the new fiscal year in a decade.
Finishing it well before the November mid-term elections would give incumbent lawmakers from both parties a chance to tell votes how they helped set part of the military budget early, despite increasing political divisions in Washington.
House Veterans' Affairs — 10 a.m. — 334 Cannon
Appeals reform
The committee will hear from department officials on progress implementing new appeals reform measures approved by Congress last year.
House Transportation — 10 a.m. — 2167 Rayburn
Coast Guard missions
Service officials will testify before the committee on Coast Guard acquisition programs and mission balance.
House Homeland Security — 2 p.m. — Visitors Center H-210
National Guard border deployments
Committee members will hear from Guard and border patrol officials on the missions currently being conducted by Guard personnel along the U.S. southern border.
House Foreign Affairs — 2 p.m. — 2172 Rayburn
Egypt
Outside experts will testify before the committee on Egyptian security and human rights issues.
Senate Foreign Relations — 2:30 p.m. — 419 Dirksen
China
Outside experts will testify before the committee on Chinese economic coercion and the implications for U.S. strategy.
Wednesday, July 25
Senate Intelligence — 9:30 a.m. — 216 Hart
Nominations
The committee will consider the nominations of retired Vice Adm. Joseph Maguire to be the director of the National Counterterrorism Center and Ellen McCarthy to be Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence at the State Department.
House Foreign Affairs — 1 p.m. — 2200 Rayburn
Central Europe
Outside experts will testify before the committee on political developments in Central Europe and the impact on U.S. national security.
House Foreign Affairs — 2 p.m. — 2172 Rayburn
South Asia
Outside experts will testify before the committee on budget priorities and strategy in South Asia.
Senate Transportation — 2:15 p.m. — 253 Russell
Missions to Mars
Outside experts will testify before the committee on NASA exploration priorities, with a focus on planned travel to Mars.
Senate Foreign Relations — 2:30 p.m. — 419 Dirksen
National security strategy
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will testify before the committee on a host of issues, including President Donald Trump’s recent meetings with Russian and North Korean leaders.
Leo covers Congress, Veterans Affairs and the White House for Military Times. He has covered Washington, D.C. since 2004, focusing on military personnel and veterans policies. His work has earned numerous honors, including a 2009 Polk award, a 2010 National Headliner Award, the IAVA Leadership in Journalism award and the VFW News Media award.
