House and Senate Action

The Senate is the only chamber in session this week. They will recess briefly on Wednesday for Juneteenth before reconvening on Thursday morning. The top priority for Senate Democrats is to reverse a recent Supreme Court decision that removed the Trump-era ban on bump stocks, a device that can convert semiautomatic weapons to ones capable of firing hundreds of rounds per minute. The daily Senate schedule can be accessed here. 

House Panel Advances FY25 Homeland Security Spending Bill

Last week, the House Appropriations Committee voted along party lines to advance the fiscal year 2025 spending bill for the Department of Homeland Security. In all, the measure would provide $94.4 billion in discretionary funding for the department, an increase of nearly $4 billion. When excluding offsetting collections and major disaster funding, the total provided in the bill is $64.8 billion, which is nearly $800 million above current levels. Among other things, the bill recommends over $28 billion (an increase of $2.8 billion) for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), including $22.7 billion for disaster relief. With regard to federal assistance, the measure would provide $360 million each for the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) program and the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant program, an increase of $36 million for both programs. A full summary of the bill is available here. A summary prepared by Democrats on the panel can be accessed here.

House Lawmakers Set to Introduce Wildfire Permitting Legislation

 House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-AK) and Congressman Scott Peters (D-CA) will soon introduce legislation – the Fix Our Forest Act – that would ease permitting reviews for forest management projects meant to reduce the growing risk of destructive wildfires. The measure seeks to expedite reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and curtail litigation that frequently delays projects. Specifically, and among other things, it would enable agencies to adopt categorical exclusions – or specific exemptions from full NEPA review – for some forest management projects. The bill would also limit lawsuits by preventing courts from stopping a project unless the court can prove that it would cause substantial environmental harm. It also would require litigants to sue within 120 days and to have participated in the public comment process. Finally, it would promote collaboration at all levels of government by creating a new Fireshed Center made up of representatives from different agencies. Chairman Westerman is expected to schedule committee action on the bill in the coming weeks.

Relevant Hearings and Markups

Senate Appropriations Committee: On Tuesday morning, the Subcommittee on Transportation-Housing and Urban Development will hold a hearing entitled, “Unlocking Department of Transportation Financing for More Transit-Oriented Housing Development.” Additional details on the hearing, including a livestream of the event, will be available here.

Senate Judiciary – On Thursday morning, the committee will meet to consider legislation (S. 1306) that would reauthorize the COPS program through fiscal year 2029. More information on the markup is available here.