Week ahead: Senate to vote on gun control measures

Senators are expected to vote on four gun control measures on Monday as Democrats pressure Republicans for action in the wake of the mass shooting in Orlando, Fla.

The measures would expand background checks and close a loophole that critics say allows suspected terrorists to buy firearms.

{mosads}The gun control debate has overtaken Washington after a gunman opened fire in a gay nightclub in Orlando, killing 49 and injuring dozens.

The Senate was not expected to vote on a divisive issue like gun control during an election year, but the Orlando shooting and a 15-hour filibuster by Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) raised pressure on GOP leaders to allow the votes.

The gun control measures will split the chamber along party lines and are unlikely to pass. But Democrats insist that just holding a vote is a victory of its own. They hope to carry the momentum from Murphy’s filibuster into Monday’s votes.

“Those 15 hours struck a cord and touched a nerve with the American people,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) told reporters Friday during a press call organized by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.

A measure backed by Blumenthal and Murphy would expand background checks to all firearm sales, including those made at gun shows and online.

In 2013, the Democratic-controlled Senate failed to pass a similar background check bill introduced by Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) following the Sandy Hook shooting.

Even after the recent Orlando shooting, it remains unlikely Democrats will attract enough Republican support to advance the measure.

Sen. Chuck Grassley (Iowa) is offering a Republican alternative to the background check bill that would fund the FBI’s National Instant Background Check System and encourage states to share mental health records.

Murphy says he is “not sure” whether Democrats can muster enough votes to pass the background check legislation, but he is more optimistic about establishing a terrorism gun ban.

Lawmakers will also consider two bills to keep guns out of the hands of terrorists.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) is pushing legislation that would allow the attorney general to delay gun sales to suspected to terrorists for three days while it requests a court order to completely block the sale.

But Blumenthal argued the measure would be “unenforceable.”

Brady Campaign President Dan Gross called it “a sham” and “a farce” that would do little to solve the problem of gun violence.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) is offering an alternative that would give the attorney general more power to block gun sales to suspected terrorists, but it is unlikely to attract much GOP support in light of Cornyn’s bill.

In other news, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy will testify Wednesday before the House Science Committee about GOP concerns that the agency uses “secret science.” http://1.usa.gov/261NCE2

Republicans say the public should be able to more closely scrutinize the science regulators rely on to write rules.

Also on Wednesday, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on energy and power will hold a hearing on the implementation of the Renewable Fuel Standard. http://1.usa.gov/1V2pE03

That same day the House Natural Resources Committee will hold an oversight hearing on the role of the National Environmental Policy Act in the permitting process. http://1.usa.gov/28LbTgB

Also on Wednesday, the House Judiciary Committee holds a hearing on potentially impeaching IRS chief John Koskinen. http://1.usa.gov/24WsyJn

The House Small Business Committee will hold a hearing Thursday on the impact of the Labor Department’s overtime rule. http://1.usa.gov/1UT25d0

That same day, a subpanel of the House Security & Governmental Affairs Committee will hold a hearing to grill cable executives on their company’s customer services and billing practices. http://1.usa.gov/1ZX0q7F

Across the Capitol, the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday will hold a hearing on bank capital and liquidity regulation. http://1.usa.gov/23gvCRm

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