This Week in Congress

The Senate will be doing nominations this week.

The House is in session Monday through Thursday. Among the legislation the House will consider is S.J. Res. 57 which overturns a federal regulation dealing with auto lending and the equal credit act. This rule holds auto leaders accountable for discriminatory actions done by auto dealers even though the financier had nothing to do with the discriminatory conduct.

The House will also consider H.R. 5645. This legislation limits the Federal Trade Commission’s authority over mergers to those falling in the jurisdiction of the Clayton Act and only in the same procedural manner as the Attorney General. It also requires the Attorney General to notify state Attorney Generals before bringing an antitrust case that could be brought at the state level.

The House will also consider H.R. 2152, which requires states and localities that receive federal grants for pretrial release programs make the name of each defendant participating in the program and their prior offenses public.

The House will also consider H.R. 3033, which changes federal laws governing nuclear waste.

The House will also consider a number of bills under suspension, including:

1. H.R. 3279– Requires small business development centers to provide cybersecurity planning services.

2. H.R. 4668– creates new cybersecurity assistance program in the Small Business Administration. Also protects small business from liability for actions occurring in trying to enhance their cybersecurity.

3. H.R. 1700– Reauthorizes the SCORE program, which uses federal funds to support a volunteer program where retired business executives provide counseling to those looking to start there own businesses.

4. H.R. 1680– Revises federal programs to promote Women’s Business Development Centers.

5. H.R. 1702–Authorizes small business development centers to provide entrepreneurship services (?) and make other changes to these programs.

6. H.R. 4111–  changes to small business investment act to improve the number of small business inventor companies in “underlicensed states”—  defined as states with less licensed small business investment companies per capita than the national average. Doesn’t government interference in the marketplace to promote a particular type of business smack of central planning?

7. H.R. 5236– expands opportunities for employee owned businesses to receive loans from the Small Business Administration.