One week until the unofficial start of summer, folks. With Memorial Day and DC’s inevitable barrage of heat waves around the corner, it’s easy to forget that Election Day is less than six months away. That leaves us with limited time to pass all of the bills we want before the next Congress starts in January.
So what does this mean? It’s going to be a busy couple of months. With bills like the Smarter Sentencing Act, the Voting Rights Amendment Act, and the USA Freedom Act ready for action, it looks like us ACLU-ers won’t have as much time to sit by the pool as we’d like.
The USA Freedom Act is up first with a vote in the House expected on Thursday. Here’s what else is going on this week:
Monday, May 19th
Women’s Rights
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Financial and Contracting Oversight will hold a hearing on sexual assault on college campuses.
Tuesday, May 20th
Freedom of Religion and Belief
The House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation will hold a hearing on pending legislation, including the World War II War Memorial Prayer Act of 2013.
Employment/Women’s Rights
The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee will hold a hearing titled “Economic Security for Working Women: A Roundtable Discussion.”
First Amendment
The Communications and Technology Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee will hold an oversight hearing of the Federal Communications Commission.
Wednesday, May 21st
NDAA
The Senate Armed Services Personnel Subcommittee will mark up portions of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015 under its jurisdiction.
FBI Oversight
The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing titled “Oversight of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Cybersecurity
The Counterterrorism and Intelligence Subcommittee and the Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection and Security Technologies Subcommittee of the House Homeland Security Committee will hold a joint hearing titled “Assessing Persistent and Emerging Cyber Threats to the U.S. Homeland.”
Surveillance
The USA FREEDOM Act is expected to be on the House Floor for a vote.
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