Wednesday: Repealing 3 percent withholding in the House

Republicans say H.R. 2576 would save the government $13 billion, implying that Republicans believe that repealing the 3 percent rule would “cost” the federal government $13 billion. But the true “cost” of repealing the withholding rule is a bit unclear — last week in the Senate, Republicans put forward a bill that would have repealed the withholding rule and rescinded $30 billion in federal money.

Others say repeal costs the government nothing. Federal contractors, for example, argue that it would cost more to implement the withholding rule than the rule would generate.

The Obama administration on Tuesday took much of the mystery away from the issue, saying it supports both House bills up today. However, it did note that it is willing to work with Congress to “identify acceptable offsets for the budgetary costs associated with the repeal.”

When it meets at noon for legislative work, the House will also debate H.R. 1904, which would provide for a land swap in Arizona to allow a foreign-owned mining company to mine copper at a site where mining is now off-limits. General debate and debate on three Democratic amendments are scheduled today.

Finally, the House will also vote on H.R. 2527, which would provide for the minting of coins in 2015 to mark the 75th anniversary of the Baseball Hall of Fame.