In the House, courtesy of the Office of the Majority Leader:

First Vote of the Week... Monday 6:30 p.m.
Last Vote Predicted.. Friday p.m.

MONDAY, MARCH 30, 2009

On Monday, the House will meet at 12:30 p.m. for Morning Hour debate and 2:00 p.m. for legislative business with votes postponed until 6:30 p.m.

Suspensions (16 Bills)

1)  Senate Amendments to H.R. 1388 - Generations Invigorating Volunteerism and Education Act (Rep. McCarthy (NY) – Education and Labor)
2)  H.R. __ - Making technical corrections and conforming changes to the Higher Education Act (Rep. George Miller – Education and Labor)
3)  H.R. 1171 – Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 (Rep. Boozman – Veterans’ Affairs)
4)  H.R. 1377 – To amend title 38, United States Code, to expand veteran eligibility for reimbursement by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for emergency treatment furnished in a non-Department facility (Rep. Filner - Veterans’ Affairs)
5)  H.R. 1513 - Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2009 (Rep. Kirkpatrick – Veterans’ Affairs)
6)  H.Res. 223 - Honoring the life, achievements, and contributions of Paul Harvey, affectionately known for his signature line, "This is Paul Harvey...Good Day" (Rep. Sullivan – Oversight and Government Reform)
7)  H.Res. 282 - Recognizing the 30th anniversary of the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel (Rep. Fortenberry – Foreign Affairs)
8)  H.Res. 152 - Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States remains committed to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) (Rep. Tanner – Foreign Affairs)
9)  H.R. 1246 - Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Act of 2009 (Rep. Capps – Energy and Commerce)
10)  H.R. 756 - National Pain Care Policy Act of 2009 (Rep. Capps -  Energy and Commerce)
11)  H.R. 20 - Melanie Blocker Stokes Mom's Opportunity to Access Health, Education, Research, and Support for Postpartum Depression Act (Rep. Rush – Energy and Commerce)
12)  H.R. 479 - Wakefield Act (Rep. Matheson – Energy and Commerce)
13)  H.R. 1253 - Health Insurance Restrictions and Limitations Clarification Act of 2009 (Rep. Burgess - Energy and Commerce)
14)  H.R. 1259 - Dextromethorphan Distribution Act of 2009 (Rep. Upton – Energy and Commerce)
15)  H.Con.Res. 60 - Supporting the observance of Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month (Rep. Granger – Energy and Commerce)
16)  H.R. 577 - Vision Care for Kids Act of 2009 (Rep. Gene Green – Energy and Commerce)
Dispose of H.Res. __ - Raising a question of privileges of the House (Rep. Flake – Privileged Resolution)

TUESDAY, MARCH 31, 2009 AND THE BALANCE OF THE WEEK

On Tuesday, the House will meet at 10:30 a.m. for Morning Hour debate and 12:00 p.m. for legislative business. On Wednesday and Thursday, the House will meet at 10:00 a.m. for legislative business. On Friday, the House will meet at 9:00 a.m. for legislative business.

Suspensions (7 Bills)

1)  H.Res. 290 - Honoring the lives and mourning the loss of Sergeant Mark Dunakin, Sergeant Ervin Romans, Sergeant Daniel Sakai, and Officer John Hege, Members of the Oakland Police Department in California who were brutally slain in the line of duty (Rep. Lee (CA) – Judiciary)
2)  H.R. 985 - Free Flow of Information Act of 2009 (Rep. Boucher – Judiciary)
3)  H.R. 1029 – Alien Smuggling and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2009 (Rep. Hill – Judiciary)
4)  H.R. 838 - Miami Dade College Land Conveyance Act (Rep. Ros-Lehtinen – Judiciary)
5)  H.Con.Res. 54 - Permitting the use of the Rotunda of the Capitol for a ceremony as part of the commemoration of the days of remembrance of victims of the Holocaust (Rep. Waxman – House Administration)
6)  H.R. 151 - Daniel Webster Congressional Clerkship Act of 2009 (Rep. Lofgren – House Administration)
7)  H.R. 1299 - Capitol Police Administrative Technical Corrections Act of 2009 (Rep. Brady (PA) – House Administration)

H.Res. 279 - Providing for the expenses of certain committees of the House of Representatives in the One Hundred Eleventh Congress. (Rep. Brady – House Administration) (Subject to a Rule)

H.R. 1664 – To amend the executive compensation provisions of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 to prohibit unreasonable and excessive compensation and compensation not based on performance standards (Reps. Grayson/Himes – Financial Services) (Subject to a Rule)

H.Con.Res. __ - The Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for FY 2010 (Rep. Spratt – Budget) (Subject to a Rule)

* Conference Reports may be brought up at any time.

* Motions to go to Conference should they become available.      

* Possible Motions to Instruct Conferees.

In the Senate, courtesy of the Office of the Majority Leader:

Convenes: 11:00am
Begin consideration of the Budget Resolution reported by the Budget committee.

There will be no roll call votes during Monday's session.

That's it. I'm serious. That's the known Senate schedule to this point. Could any two schedules more perfectly illustrate the difference between the structured operations of the House and the every-Senator-can-block-anything chaos that's always threatening to break out in the outwardly genteel Senate? If you've ever wondered why Senators who by all rights should be at one another's throats every time they meet in public are instead civil to the point of ridiculousness, consider how unpredictable their floor schedules are even when things are running smoothly and you'll get some idea of how bad life can get when things are tense.

The first bill on the list for Monday, actually scheduled for consideration under suspension of the rules could possibly provide some fireworks. It already is inside the feverish brains of the wingnuts, who are sure that this bill is the launching pad for the fascist takeover of the United States. No, really! Read all about it, and exactly how most of Wingnutistan is ignorant of how some of the most-feared provisions actually got there. (Hint: You will say, "Duh!" and find yourself angry enough to punch a kitten.)

Other floor action in the House will include the disposal of what I believe is the third sixth offering of Rep. Jeff Flake's (R-AZ-06) privileged resolution calling for... something to happen about the PMA lobbying scandal. He's doing a good job continuing to make trouble, although he isn't making much headway in changing any votes, and he still hasn't come up with a plan whereby the ethics committee would be asked to do anything that's actually, you know, within their jurisdiction.

There's something else, too, but I forget what it is. Oh, yes, the budget. They'll be dealing with the budget resolution -- complete with numbers, in the Democratic version -- in the Senate first, then in the House later in the week. This is the one that's the "blueprint" for Congressional committees on how much money they can spend, but it doesn't actually spend any money itself. And it's not law (or signed by the president, in either the actual or colloquial sense). But it's another good example of how procedure = destiny. It influences everything the rest of the Congress does for the rest of the year, but no one really knows what's in it, how it works, or whether the stuff we want is made more likely or less likely with its passage. Do you feel like you've got a handle on it? Did you blink and miss when it went from being something that was sort of talked about in the papers, to something they were actually voting on?

Yep. That's the budget.

Committee schedules are below the fold. Lots going on there this week, too. Gen. David Petraeus (remember that guy?) appears before the Senate Armed Services Committee to discuss U.S. policy toward Afghanistan and Pakistan at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday. An AIG hearing Thursday at 10 in the House Oversight Committee. TARP oversight in the Senate Finance Committee at 10 on Tuesday. Nominations hearings for Kathleen Sebelius and Tammy Duckworth. And much, much more! Order now!