Congress Is Back To Work–The House Will Begin Work On The Debt Ceiling

The Hill reported today that this will be the week for Congress to begin work on the debt ceiling.  The first vote, tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, will be on a bill to raise the debt ceiling with no spending cuts or reforms.  Representative Dave Camp (R-Mich.), the Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, sponsored the bill.  Representative Camp says that he does not plan to vote for the bill and expects the bill to be voted down.  The purpose of the bill is to send a clear message to the President that the House is serious about spending cuts and debt reduction. 

The article at The Hill lists the schedule for Washington this week.  Some of the events scheduled fof the coming week:

The House Appropriations Committee takes up the spending bill for the Food and Drug Administration.

 The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is holding a hearing on “Cybersecurity: Assessing the Nation’s Ability to Address the Growing Cyber Threat.”

A House Appropriations subcommittee will hold a hearing on the 2012 budget for the U.S. Capitol Police.

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will hold a hearing on “Making the Gulf Coast Whole Again: Assessing the Recovery Efforts of BP and the Obama Administration After the Oil Spill.”

The House (Select) Intelligence Committee will have a closed hearing on “Israel/Palestinian Authority Update.”

The House Energy and Commerce Committee will hold a hearing on “The American Energy Initiative: H.R.909, A Roadmap for America’s Energy Future.”

A House Homeland Security subcommittee will hold a hearing on “Denying Safe Havens: Homeland Security’s Efforts to Counter Threats from Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia.”

This is definitely a week to pay attention.