Below is the Federal Policy team's weekly preview, published each week when Congress is in session.
HEADLINES
- The Trump administration will release its fiscal year 2020 budget request, a largely symbolic document that demonstrates the president's policy priorities but won't be enacted by Congress.
- The Senate is likely to approve a House-passed resolution blocking Trump's emergency declaration along the U.S.-Mexico border, setting up what would be the first veto of his presidency.
- Congressional committees continue their busy pace, including hearings on the budget as well as on net neutrality, the financial services industry and chemical facility safety.
HOUSE
- The House is in session today through Thursday. The agenda includes noncontroversial legislation from the Financial Services, Foreign Affairs and Oversight committees.
- The House will vote on a nonbinding resolution calling for Special Counsel Robert Mueller's upcoming report to be made public.
- Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar are among the senior administration officials appearing before House committees regarding the fiscal 2020 budget request.
- The full list of this week's House committee activity can be found here.
SENATE
- The Senate will continue processing Trump's nominees, beginning with today's proceedings.
- Senators expect to vote Thursday on a House-passed resolution negating Trump's border emergency declaration. It's expected to be approved, sending the resolution to the White House, where Trump will likely cast his first veto. Congress doesn't have the votes to override the veto, so the emergency declaration will stand pending separate efforts in federal courts to block it.
- The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Tuesday will hold a hearing on the recommendations from a presidential task force on overhauling the U.S. Postal Service.
- The current list of Senate committee activity can be found here.
WHITE HOUSE
- Trump's budget will be released today, and he will have lunch with Vice President Mike Pence.
- Trump will receive the Boy Scouts' annual Report to the Nation on Tuesday.
- Trump will receive Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar at the White House on Thursday; he and Prime Minister Varadkar will participate at the annual Friends of Ireland luncheon at the Capitol in advance of Saint Patrick's Day.
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