The Senate is out this week for the Memorial Day holiday and the House is in only a couple of days. But there will be some heated fights anyhow.
One will concern funding of child nutrition programs and others will center on climate change and the use of federal money to help enforce laws on the sales of medical marijuana.
The scandal at the Veterans Affairs Department will also continue to roil Capitol Hill with more GOP lawmakers – and a few Democrats –joining colleagues who have called for the resignation of VA chief Eric Shinseki. Connecticut’s lawmakers have not joined that group — yet.
Tuesday, May 27:
Supreme Court is expected to issue new opinions today.
First Lady Michelle Obama will press her campaign for healthy school lunches by visiting Washington D.C. schools to discuss the issue with school leaders and experts on issues surrounding school nutrition.
Wednesday May 28:
House Veterans Affairs Committee holds a hearing to question three VA officials who failed to show up at an earlier hearing on reports the VA covered reports that showed its hospitals delayed treatment of veterans – with possible fatal results. The committee is prepared to subpoena the witnesses if they fail to appear.
Thursday May 29:
House Appropriations Committee will finalize work on the 2015 Agriculture Appropriations bill. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-3rd District, who is a member of the panel, is expected to participate in a tense battles over the funding of child nutrition programs and other issues.
The House Committee on Science, Space and Technology will hold a hearing on a United Nations report on climate change. It will feature testimony from Roger Pielke, a senior research scientist at the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences who has drawn fire from climate scientists for voicing criticism of the U.N. report.
Also on Thursday, the Energy and Commerce Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee will hold a briefing to highlight the results of a more than year-long investigation into mental health resources and programs across the federal spectrum. The committee’s investigation began in January 2013, following the slaughter in Newtown.