January 16, 2020

After a weeks-long partisan standoff over the scope of President Trump’s impending impeachment trial in the Senate, the House on January 15 voted largely along party lines to transmit the articles of impeachment to the upper chamber. The resolution (H Res 798), which officially triggers the start of the trial phase of the process, also names seven managers who will prosecute the case. Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA), Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-NY), and Representative Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), a key member of the Judiciary Committee, were among those selected by Democrats to lead the group.

Once the trial begins, all legislative work in the Senate will grind to a halt until the proceedings have concluded. The upper chamber will take preliminary steps in the impeachment process today, but the trial will begin in earnest on January 21. In the meantime, senators voted on January 16 to approve legislation (HR 5430) that would implement the U.S.-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) trade agreement. The measure, which was cleared by the House late last year, was initially slated to be the first order of business following the trial. Instead, passage of the bill gives President Trump a signature victory heading into the Senate proceedings.

In addition to the USMCA, the Senate voted to confirm the nomination of Peter Gaynor to become the next administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Gaynor had been serving in an acting capacity since March following the resignation of Brock Long.

House Lawmakers Continue to Discuss Legislative Options to Address Homelessness

On January 14, the House Financial Services Committee held a hearing on the rental housing crisis entitled “On the Brink of Homelessness: How the Affordable Housing Crisis and the Gentrification of America is Leaving Families Vulnerable.” The hearing follows the release of an annual report by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that found that there was a 2.7 percent increase in homelessness across the country. It should be noted that California experienced the largest increase, seeing its homeless numbers rise by 16.4 percent.

While there was significant discussion regarding the latest HUD report, the witnesses provided their views on legislative options to combat the growing homelessness problem, including CSAC-endorsed legislation – the Ending Homelessness Act (HR 1856) – which would provide $13.27 billion over five years to a number of critical federal housing programs and initiatives. The panel also received testimony on a measure (HR 5187) that would authorize more than $100 billion in federal funding for affordable housing infrastructure. In addition to HR 1856 and HR 5187, there were two draft bills under discussion.

The first – the Stable Families Act – would establish a demonstration program to provide short-term financial assistance to extremely low-income families that are at risk of eviction. The other measure, titled the Housing Emergencies Lifeline Program (HELP) Act, would provide protections for tenants who have been evicted from their homes by making several key changes to Fair Credit Reporting Act. More information on the hearing, including witness testimony and a committee memo, can be accessed here.

While the Financial Services Committee focused on more comprehensive proposals, the full House overwhelmingly approved two more narrowly focused measures this week. On January 13, the chamber approved the Homeless Assistance Act (HR 4302), which would allow public housing agencies to share client-level data with local governments and nonprofit service providers. The bill also would help housing agencies identify people who experience homelessness and who frequently use multiple services and systems. The other piece of House-passed legislation (HR 2398) is sponsored by Representative Scott Peters (D-CA) and would expand eligibility for the Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) program to veterans experiencing homelessness who have received an “other than honorable” discharge.

House Commerce Committee Debates Pending Cannabis Legislation

On January 15, the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Health held a legislative hearing to discuss several pending cannabis reform bills, including two measures that would legalize the drug. The most comprehensive proposal – the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act (HR 3884) – would decriminalize cannabis at the federal level. The legislation, which the Judiciary Committee approved late last year, also includes various social equity provisions. For starters, it would create a pathway for resentencing individuals with prior cannabis-related convictions. The MORE Act also would authorize a five percent federal tax on cannabis, with revenues designated for job training programs and small business loans in certain communities. Finally, the measure would protect immigrants from being denied citizenship over cannabis-related offenses and prevent federal agencies from blocking public benefits or security clearances due to its use.

In addition to HR 3884, the Marijuana Freedom and Opportunity Act (HR 2843) would remove cannabis and THC from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). The bill includes directives to conduct research on the impact of the drug on the brain, the efficacy of medicinal marijuana, and the identification of additional medical benefits and uses of cannabis. It also provides support for highway safety research. In addition, HR 2843 would provide grants to state and local governments to help expunge the records of those with cannabis-related convictions.

A third proposal (HR 171) would move cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule II of the CSA. It also would clarify that the federal government cannot prohibit or otherwise restrict state-legal use, possession, transportation, production and distribution of medical cannabis. The remaining three bills (HR 601; HR 1151; HR 3797) all seek to increase the supply of cannabis for research purposes and expand state-legal medical cannabis protections to veterans.

The witnesses, made up of administration officials from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), discussed the need to clear federal barriers to research before pursuing broader cannabis reforms. There also was general consensus that the current supply of cannabis for research purposes is inadequate. For his part, DEA Senior Policy Advisor Matthew Strait indicated that his agency is actively developing regulations that would help expand the number of federally authorized cannabis manufacturers for research purposes.

More information on the hearing can be found here.