The House is back in session today (Monday, June 29) with votes beginning at 6:30 p.m. on suspension bills, including those under the jurisdiction of the House Ways and Means and Financial Services committees:

• The Recover COVID Unemployment Fraud in Banks Act (H.R. 8873), sponsored by Rep. Beth Van Duyne (R-TX)
• Health Care Efficiency Through Flexibility Act (H.R. 5347), sponsored by Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL)
• TRIA Program Reauthorization Act (H.R. 7128), sponsored by Rep. Mike Flood (R-NE)

Later in the week are planned votes on the Removing Barriers to Work for Disabled Americans Act (H.R. 8884), sponsored by Rep. Austin Scott (R-GA), and H. Res. 1383, Commemorating the one-year anniversary of the enactment of the Working Families Tax Cuts, sponsored by Rep. Van Duyne.

Last week ended with some uncertainty in Congress after President Trump on June 24 canceled a signing ceremony at the Capitol for bipartisan housing affordability legislation (H.R. 6644), the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, at least until Congress passes the SAVE America Act voter ID bill. The move directed further attention to the budget reconciliation process, which House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) called the only path to enacting the voting bill. Conservatives in the House led by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) refused to vote for procedural rules allowing floor consideration of bills in protest of inaction on the voter ID bill (even though the House has already passed the SAVE America Act and sent it to the Senate).

"We passed it three times in the House already. We're going to pass it again. And this time we're going to try to put it on a reconciliation bill," Speaker Johnson said of SAVE America on "Fox Sunday Morning Futures." He cited the backing of the President in calling on conservative members not to block House floor activity. "We will get everybody together on Monday, tomorrow. We're bringing them all back. We have got a big week ahead of us of work before you begin all the celebrations on the weekend, much more left to do." The Speaker cited as unfinished business before the House:

• the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)
• Appropriations bills
• the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) surveillance authority reauthorization
• the surface transportation (highway) bill
• Reconciliation 3.0

"I've got to have everybody working here on all cylinders, and I'm excited to bring them back," he said. Indications of the willingness of conservatives to put their insistence on the SAVE America Act aside and let the House process legislation could be provided at the 4 p.m. Rules Committee consideration of the parameters for considering the NDAA bill plus other measures scheduled for consideration this week.

The Senate is out currently and not due to return until July 13.

Tax — The House Ways and Means Committee has scheduled a hearing for Tuesday, June 30 (10 a.m.) on tax policy in the sports industry.

The staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation has prepared a pamphlet describing "Present Law Relating to Selected Sports Industry Tax Issues."

Crypto — Senate Republicans appear to have decided that the Clarity Act (H.R. 3633), a bill establishing a regulatory market structure for cryptocurrency and other digital assets, should come to the floor in July regardless of whether negotiations with crypto-friendly Senate Democrats have yielded a bipartisan product that could get 60 votes. The crypto bill, a major priority for Republicans and the White House, was reported out of the Senate Banking Committee on May 14 with two Democrats in support, but even those Senators — Ruben Gallego (AZ) and Angela Alsobrooks (MD) — said they would only support the bill on the floor if additional changes were made. One of the biggest hurdles remaining for the bill has been agreeing on ethics language that would prohibit senior federal officials (including the President) from profiting off the issuance of digital tokens. The bipartisan talks appeared to take a step back a few weeks ago when Republican Senators reportedly first agreed to, and then later rejected, language that would have allowed state attorneys general to sue the Justice Department for failing to enforce the ethics rules.

Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) told reporters last week that Senate leaders will bring the Clarity Act to the floor in July and force Democrats to vote. "We're going to put out a draft as soon as we can that is sort of a last opportunity for everybody to look it over and provide comment," Lummis said, according to Politico. "And then we're going to be on the floor in July." On Sunday, Punchbowl News reported that many supporters consider the end of July "a drop-dead deadline" for a market structure bill. The story quoted Senate Majority Leader Thune saying, "If the White House has made a good-faith effort to give [Democrats] something on [ethics provisions], then yeah, I can see forcing the issue. I think the industry needs rules of the road … In the end, there's going to have to be critical mass to do this or there isn't. I hope there is."

Social Security — An editorial in the Washington Post, "How to make Social Security worse," was critical of last week's essay by Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Bernie Moreno (R-OH) proposing to lift the Social Security payroll tax cap of $184,500. "The problem is that removing the cap would have the same effect as raising the top marginal tax rate on labor income by 12.4 percentage points. (The 6.2% collected from employers comes out of a worker's pay as well.)," the editorial said. "That would mean Americans would be paying among the highest top marginal income tax rates in the world."

Elections - In the Louisiana Senate GOP primary runoff on Saturday, June 27, Rep. Julia Letlow (R-LA), endorsed by President Trump, defeated state Treasurer John Fleming. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee Chairman and Finance Committee member Bill Cassidy (R-LA) finished third in his election primary on Saturday, May 16. (Under Louisiana's "jungle primary," if there is no majority vote winner in the primary election then the top two candidates go to a run-off election.) Jamie Davis is the Democratic candidate in the general election.

There are moderate versus progressive dynamics in several races this year, including the upcoming August Senate primaries for open seats in Michigan and Minnesota and some House races. A June 28 CNN story, "Progressives look to Colorado as next test of a rising movement," described the progressive challenger to Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO). "Almost immediately after scoring a series of upset victories in New York last week, members of the rising progressive movement started looking ahead to their next target: Colorado's 1st Congressional District," the story said. Melat Kiros "is challenging 15-term Rep. Diana DeGette for the solidly blue seat in Denver, where she and her allies hope voters are also ready for change."