Week ahead: Puerto Rico bill, IRS impeachment hearing top House agenda

Puerto Rico will get one step closer to debt relief when the House Natural Resources Committee takes up the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA) on Tuesday evening.

The long-awaited bill was unveiled on late Wednesday and appears poised for passage, with lawmakers from both parties rallying around the legislation.

{mosads}It’s been a long road for Congress. Lawmakers were scheduled to mark up a bill last month, but committee leaders canceled a meeting at the last minute because Democratic lawmakers and the White House were not on board.

The revised measure would let Puerto Rico restructure $72 billion in debt. It also would establish an outside control board to overlook fiscal matters, a top demand from Republicans.

A full House vote on the bill is unlikely to happen until at least June 7, after the Memorial Day recess.

It’s unclear if the bill will garner support from a majority of Republicans, though, Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) expressed confidence.

Puerto Rico isn’t the only big item on the House agenda in the coming week; Republicans will also take the first step toward the potential impeachment of Internal Revenue Service Commissioner John Koskinen.

The House Judiciary Committee will hear from House Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) and Rep. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) on that panel’s investigation of Koskinen.

House Republicans have long targeted Koskinen for impeachment, claiming the IRS chief lied under oath and deleted records central to their probe of the agency’s targeting of Tea Party groups.

Across the Capitol, the Senate Banking Committee will host two hearings on the role of sanctions under the Iran deal, featuring testimony from Adam Szubin, acting Treasury undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence.

And make sure you join us Tuesday at D.C.’s Newseum for “State of the Sharing Economy: A Discussion on the Future of Cross-Border Commerce.”

Your week ahead: 

Tuesday:

• The Hill Event – “State of the Sharing Economy: A Discussion on the Future of Cross-Border Commerce” at the Newseum. http://bit.ly/1qzhR1U
• Senate Finance Committee: Hearing to examine debt versus equity, focusing on corporate integration considerations, 10 a.m. http://1.usa.gov/22iedY2.
• House Judiciary Committee: Hearing on allegations of misconduct against IRS Commissioner John Koskinen, Part I, 10 a.m. http://1.usa.gov/1ToUgco.
• House Commerce Committee: Hearing on 17 Federal Trade Commission bills, 10 a.m. http://1.usa.gov/1sGx2bo.
• House Financial Services Committee Task Force on Terrorism Financing: Hearing titled “Stopping Terror Finance: A Coordinated Government Effort,” 10 a.m. http://1.usa.gov/1RdBkLp.
• House Ways and Means Committee: Hearing on entitlement reform, 10 a.m., http://1.usa.gov/1OQAtpw.
• Senate Banking Committee: Hearing on the role of sanctions under the Iran nuclear deal, 10:30 a.m. http://1.usa.gov/22ieERW.
• House Small Business Committee: Hearing titled “The Sharing Economy: A Taxing Experience for New Entrepreneurs, Part I,” 11 a.m. http://1.usa.gov/1sGxsPb.
• House Natural Resources Committee: Markup of the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA), Part I, 5 p.m. http://1.usa.gov/27IhnrT.

Wednesday:

• House Budget Committee: Hearing titled “Reclaiming Congressional Authority Through the Power of the Purse,” 9:30 a.m. http://1.usa.gov/1svuoob.
• House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Oversight: Hearing titled “Protecting Small Businesses from IRS Abuse,” 9:30 a.m. http://1.usa.gov/22ihDtP.
• House Natural Resources Committee: Puerto Rico bill markup, Part II, 10 a.m. http://1.usa.gov/1rZeDpB.
• Joint Economic Committee: Hearing on the transformative impact of robots and automation, 2 p.m. http://1.usa.gov/1TuQWjo.
• Senate Banking Committee: Hearing on Obama administration perspectives of the role of sanctions under the Iran nuclear deal, 2:30 p.m. http://1.usa.gov/2563UIk.

Thursday:

• House Small Business Committee: Hearing titled “The Sharing Economy: A Taxing Experience for New Entrepreneurs, Part II,” 10 a.m. http://1.usa.gov/1Tv3Duk.
• Senate Agriculture Committee: Hearing titled “A Review of the U.S. Livestock and Poultry Sectors: Marketplace Opportunities and Challenges,” 10 a.m. http://1.usa.gov/1TjXPpq.

Recap the week with Overnight Finance:

• Monday: House unveils $622M Zika bill; GOP hasn’t given up on budget; New phase in Puerto Rico fight
• Tuesday: Trump would undo Dodd-Frank; Divide on Zika funding; Fed faces new scrutiny; GOP steps up fight with IRS chief
• Wednesday: GOP chairman moves to censure IRS chief; Puerto Rico deal close?; Fed eyes June rate hike; Obama’s secret meeting with China’s richest man
• Thursday: Path clears for Puerto Rico bill; GOP senator casts doubt on IRS impeachment; Senate approves $1.1B for Zika

Today’s stories:

• Obama signs tariff-relief bill, by Vicki Needham
• Labor unions oppose Puerto Rico debt-relief bill, by Vicki Needham
• Trump filings from late ’70s showed he paid no income taxes: report, by Naomi Jagoda
• Trump in 2006: I ‘sort of hope’ real estate market crashes, by Jesse Byrnes
• White House developing legislative strategy to pass Pacific trade deal, by Vicki Needham
• Senate Dems frustrated over lack of action on Ex-Im Bank nominee, by Vicki Needham
• Watchdog: IRS lacks authority needed to correct many erroneous tax-credit claims, by Naomi Jagoda

Write us with tips, suggestions and news: slane@digital-staging.thehill.com, vneedham@digital-staging.thehill.com, pschroeder@digital-staging.thehill.com and njagoda@digital-staging.thehill.com. Follow us on Twitter: @SylvanLane, @VickofTheHill; @PeteSchroeder and @NJagoda.