WASHINGTON WEEK AHEAD

DRIVING THE WEEK:

• The House and Senate will both be in session this week.

• The Senate Judiciary Committee is set to begin hearings this morning on Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court. A lawyer for former President George W. Bush on Sunday night released to lawmakers more than 42,000 pages of documents related to Kavanaugh's work in the 43rd president's White House. The release - to lawmakers, not the public – comes just hours before the Senate Judiciary Committee was set to begin confirmation hearings.

• Republicans are looking to advance a number of appropriations bills before the looming September 30 funding deadline and avoiding a Trump-threatened government shutdown weeks before the midterms.  With a limited number of days in Washington this month, the House and Senate are closing in on nine of the 12 bills, leaving the Homeland Security measure – including funding for the border wall – to be dealt with after the mid-terms.

• Massachusetts will hold primary elections Tuesday, followed by Delaware on Thursday. The final primary elections of the year will be held in New Hampshire, Rhode Island and New York next week.

• Trump is expected to impose tariffs on an additional $200 billion worth of Chinese goods as soon as this week, according to several sources familiar with the matter.

• With the U.S. and Mexico agreeing to a preliminary NAFTA deal, Canadian Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland will return to Washington on Wednesday looking to hammer out a number of remaining sticking points with the U.S. – with dairy at the top of that list.

• The Trump Administration is reportedly considering a plan to send hundreds of Islamic State fighters to a prison in Iraq, and to send many of the highest-valued fighters to the American military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

• In response to client feedback, Merrill Lynch, the wealth management arm of Bank of America Corp., is expected to restore a brokerage option to individual retirement accounts by October, reversing a policy that had been designed to comply with the Labor Department's now-defunct fiduciary rule. In March, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the rule, which was intended to curb financial advisers' conflicts of interests, but Merrill executives at the time said the firm would keep its policy to benefit clients.

U.S. House of Representatives Schedule

Tuesday, September 4, 2018

Hearing: H.R. 1635Empowering Students Through Enhanced Financial Counseling Act; H.R. 4606Ensuring Small Scale LNG Certainty and Access Act

5:00 PM | H-313 CAPITOL

Host: Committee on Rules

Wednesday, September 5, 2018

Hearing: Opportunities to Improve Health Care

10:00 AM | 2123 Rayburn HOB

Host: Committee on Energy and Commerce | Subcommittee on Health

Hearing: Hearing entitled “The Future of Money: Coins and Banknotes”

10:00 AM | 2128 Rayburn HOB

Host: Committee on Financial Services | Monetary Policy and Trade

Hearing: Innovation in Surface Transportation

10:00 AM

Host: Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure | 2167 Rayburn House Office Building

Hearing: “On-The-Job: Rebuilding the Workforce Through Apprenticeships”

10:15 AM

Host: Committee on Education and the Workforce | Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development

Markup: Full Committee Markup

10:15 AM | 1324 Longworth House Office Building

Host: Committee on Natural Resources | Full Committee

Hearing: Surveying Storms: A Deeper Dive into SBA’s Disaster Response

11:00 AM

Host: Committee on Small Business

Hearing: Twitter: Transparency and Accountability

1:30 PM | 2123 Rayburn HOB

Host: Committee on Energy and Commerce

Hearing: Legislative Hearing on Title Transfer Bills

2:00 PM | 1324 Longworth House Office Building

Host: Committee on Natural Resources

Hearing: Hearing entitled “The Cost of Regulation on Affordable Multifamily Development”

2:00 PM | 2128 Rayburn HOB

Host: Committee on Financial Services | Housing and Insurance

Hearing: H.R. 6691Community Safety and Security Act of 2018

3:00 PM | H-313 CAPITOL

Host: Committee on Rules

Thursday, September 6, 2018

Hearing: Perfluorinated Chemicals in the Environment: An Update on the Response to Contamination and Challenges Presented

10:00 AM | 2123 Rayburn HOB

Host: Committee on Energy and Commerce | Subcommittee on Environment

Hearing: Hearing entitled “A Failure to Act: How a Decade without GSE Reform Has Once Again Put Taxpayers at Risk”

10:00 AM | 2128 Rayburn HOB

Host: Committee on Financial Services | Full Committee

Hearing: Joint Hearing: "Understanding Cybersecurity Threats to Americas Aviation Sector"

10:00 AM | HVC-210 CAPITOL

Host: Committee on Homeland Security | Subcommittee on Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection

Hearing: Reauthorization of the Debbie Smith Act

10:00 AM | 2141 Rayburn HOB

Host: Committee on the Judiciary | Full Committee

Hearing: Legislative Hearing on Federal Land Bills

10:00 AM | 1324 Longworth House Office Building

Host: Committee on Natural Resources

Hearing: Permitting: Finding a Path Forward

10:00 AM | 2154 Rayburn HOB

Host: Committee on Oversight and Government Reform | Subcommittee on Intergovernmental Affairs

Hearing: Airspace Integration of New Aircraft

10:00 AM

Host: Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

Hearing: Examining Federal Efforts to Ensure Quality of Care and Resident Safety in Nursing Homes

10:15 AM | 2322 Rayburn HOB

Host: Committee on Energy and Commerce | Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations

Hearing: Evaluating Federal Disaster Response and Recovery Efforts

1:00 PM | 2154 Rayburn HOB

Host: Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

Hearing: Tackling Fentanyl: Holding China Accountable

2:00 PM | 2200 Rayburn HOB

Host: Committee on Foreign Affairs | Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations

Hearing: U.S. Policy Toward Cuba

2:00 PM | 2172 Rayburn HOB

Host: Committee on Foreign Affairs | Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere

Friday, September 7, 2018

Hearing: Building a 21st Century Infrastructure for America: Water Resources Projects and Policy, Part II

9:00 AM

Host: Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

Hearing: Hearing entitled “Survey of Terrorist Groups and Their Means of Financing”

9:15 AM | 2128 Rayburn HOB

Host: Committee on Financial Services | Subcommittee on Terrorism and Illicit Finance

U.S. SENATE SCHEDULE:

Tuesday, Sep 04, 2018 9:30 AM – SH-216	Judiciary	Hearings to examine the nomination of Brett M. Kavanaugh, of Maryland, to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.
Wednesday, Sep 05, 2018 9:30 AM – SD-G50	Intelligence	Hearings to examine foreign influence operations' use of social media platforms.
Wednesday, Sep 05, 2018 9:30 AM – SR-325	Joint Conference Committee	Meeting of conferees on H.R.2, to provide for the reform and continuation of agricultural and other programs of the Department of Agriculture through fiscal year 2023.
Wednesday, Sep 05, 2018 10:00 AM – SD-106	Commerce, Science, and Transportation	Business meeting to consider S.1965, to amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to protect the cultural practices and livelihoods of producers of Alaska Native handicrafts and traditional mammoth ivory products, S.2773, to improve the management of driftnet fishing, S.3367, to amend certain transportation-related reporting requirements to improve congressional oversight, reduce reporting burdens, and promote transparency, H.R.4323, to promote veteran involvement in STEM education, computer science, and scientific research, and the nominations of Rick A. Dearborn, of Oklahoma, to be a Director of the Amtrak Board of Directors, Kelvin Droegemeier, of Oklahoma, to be Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, James Morhard, of Virginia, to be Deputy Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and Joel Szabat, of Maryland, to be an Assistant Secretary of Transportation; to be immediately followed by an oversight hearing to examine the Transportation Security Administration, focusing on keeping our skies secure.
Wednesday, Sep 05, 2018 10:00 AM – SD-419	Foreign Relations	Hearings to examine the value of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization alliance.
Wednesday, Sep 05, 2018 10:00 AM – SD-430	Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions	Hearings to examine the impact of zero tariffs on United States autoworkers.
Wednesday, Sep 05, 2018 2:30 PM – SD-419	Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asia, the Pacific, and International Cybersecurity Policy	Hearings to examine the China challenge, focusing on security and military developments.
Wednesday, Sep 05, 2018 2:30 PM – SR-418	Veterans' Affairs	Hearings to examine the nominations of Tamara Bonzanto, of New Jersey, to be an Assistant Secretary (Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection), and James Paul Gfrerer, of Virginia, to be an Assistant Secretary (Information and Technology), both of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Thursday, Sep 06, 2018 10:00 AM – S-116	Foreign Relations	Business meeting to consider pending calendar business.
Thursday, Sep 06, 2018 10:00 AM – SD-192	Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies	Hearings to examine proposed budget estimates and justification for fiscal year 2019 for the Bureau of Industry and Security, the International Trade Administration, and the United States International Trade Commission.
Thursday, Sep 06, 2018 10:00 AM – SD-406	Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure	Hearings to examine the nomination of Harold B. Parker, of New Hampshire, to be Federal Cochairperson of the Northern Border Regional Commission.
Thursday, Sep 06, 2018 10:00 AM – SD-538	Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs	Hearings to examine outside perspectives on Russia sanctions, focusing on current effectiveness and potential for next steps.