This Week in Congress

The House returned with votes planned this week on three measures under a rule, requiring a simple majority vote for passage: (1) the Critical Mineral Consistency Act, H.R. 8446, would amend the Energy Act of 2020 to include certain critical materials in the definition of critical minerals; (2) the HEATS Act, H.R. 7409, would waive the federal drilling permit requirement for certain geothermal energy activities; and (3) the FAFSA Deadline Act, H.R. 8932, would set an earlier application deadline for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.  The House schedule also includes votes on fifteen measures under suspension of the rules, which requires two-thirds majority support for passage.  This list includes two bills (H.R. 82 and H.R. 5342) that would boost social security for covered public servants, and a bill (H.R. 9495) that would strip the tax-exempt status of nonprofits that support designated terrorist groups and ensure that American hostages held abroad would not face IRS late fees or penalties for failure to file returns while they are unlawfully detained.

The Senate returned with votes planned this week on Biden administration nominees.