[author: Lai Lam]

Congress returns from recess this week. The House and Senate convene today at 2 p.m. and 3 p.m., respectively.

Grab some popcorn and settle in for the Senate Judiciary Committee’s hearing today for Judge Brett Kavanaugh, nominee to be an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. The hearing is expected to last up to four days.

House

Bills Under Suspension. The chamber will take up a series of measures related to homeland security and cybersecurity. Here are the noteworthy bills:

• H.R. 6438 – the DHS Countering Unmanned Aircraft Systems Coordinator Act would establish an unmanned aircraft systems coordinator at the Department of Homeland Security.
• H.R. 4318 – the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill Act.
• H.R. 5576 – the Cyber Deterrence and Response Act addresses state-sponsored cyber activities against the U.S.

Minibus Spending Package. Lawmakers will take up a motion to go to conference on H.R. 6157, the third “minibus” spending package for FY 2019 that covers funding for Defense and Labor-HHS-Ed.

LNG Export. Lawmakers will debate H.R. 4606, the Ensuring Small Scale LNG Certainty and Access Act would provide that applications under the Natural Gas Act for the importation and exportation of small volumes of natural gas shall be granted without modification or delay.

H.R. 5895 Conference Report. The chamber may also take up consideration of the conference report to H.R. 5895 – the first FY 2019 minibus package covering funding for Energy and Water, Milcon-VA, and the Legislative Branch.

Senate

SEC Nominee. The chamber will resume the consideration of Elad L. Roisman to be a member of the SEC. A cloture vote on the nomination is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. today.

Opioids Legislation. Members are putting together a bill to tackle the nation’s opioids crisis. The measure could be taken up as soon as this week.

Key Hearings

Financial Services

• Sept. 5 – House Financial Services Committee to hold the following subcommittee hearings:
  • The Future of Money: Coins and Banknotes
  • The Cost of Regulation on Affordable Multifamily Development
• Sept. 6 –  House Financial Services Committee to hold a hearing on GSE reform.
• Sept. 6 – Senate Banking Committee is expected to hold a hearing to examine outside perspectives on Russia sanctions.

Tax

• Sept. 6 – Joint Economic Committee to hold a hearing to examine the positive economic growth effects of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

Health Care

• Sept. 5 – House Energy and Commerce Committee to hold a subcommittee hearing on “Opportunities to Improve Health Care.”
• Sept. 5 – House Ways and Means Committee to hold a markup of H.R. 6662, “Empowering Seniors’ Enrollment Decision Act of 2018,” and other related measures.

Trade

• Sept. 5 – Senate HELP Committee to hold a hearing on the impact of zero tariffs on U.S. autoworkers.
• Sept. 5 – House Ways and Means Committee to hold a markup for H.Res. 1018, “Requesting the President to transmit to the House of Representatives certain documents in the possession of the President relating to the determination to impose certain tariffs and to the strategy of the U.S.  with respect to China.
• Sept. 5 – Senate Foreign Relations Committee to hold a hearing to examine the China challenge, focusing on security and military developments.
• Sept. 6 – Senate Appropriations Committee to hold a subcommittee hearing to review the FY 2019 budget for the Bureau of Industry and Security, the International Trade Administration, and the U.S. International Trade Commission.

Agriculture

• Sept. 5 – Meeting of the conferees to H.R. 2, the 2018 farm bill.

Labor

• Sept. 5 – House Education and the Workforce Committee to hold a subcommittee hearing titled, “On-The-Job: Rebuilding the Workforce Through Apprenticeships.”

Transportation

• Sept. 6 – House Committee on Homeland Security to hold a subcommittee hearing on “Understanding Cybersecurity Threats to Americas Aviation Sector.”
• Sept. 6 – House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure to hold a hearing on “Airspace Integration of New Aircraft.”
• Sept. 7 – House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure to hold a hearing on “Building a 21^st Century Infrastructure for America: Water Resources Projects and Policy, Part II.”