This Week In Congress - Week of Jan 6, 2025

Written By Victor Acorda

Congressional Recap: January 6th - January 9th, 2025

  • Electoral College Certification (Jan 6th): On January 6th, both the House and Senate met in a joint session to officially count the electoral votes for President and Vice President. The results were:

    • President: Donald J. Trump with 312 votes.

    • Vice President: J.D. Vance with 312 votes.

    • Kamala D. Harris received 226 votes for President and Tim Walz received 226 votes for Vice President.

    • The Vice President, Kamala Harris, presided over the session and announced the results of the certification process, which were entered into the Journals of both Houses.

  • Lying in State for President Carter (Jan 7th): On January 7th, Senators were asked to gather to proceed to the Rotunda of the Capitol for the arrival ceremony for the lying in state of former President James Earl Carter, Jr..

  • House Action:

    • Laken Riley Act (Jan 7th): The House passed H.R. 29, also known as the Laken Riley Act, which requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to take into custody aliens who have been charged with theft. The vote was 264 yeas to 159 nays.

    • Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act (Jan 9th): The House passed H.R. 23, to impose sanctions on the International Criminal Court for investigating, arresting, detaining, or prosecuting any protected person of the U.S. and its allies, by a vote of 243 to 240.

    • New Bills and Resolutions: The House introduced numerous public bills and resolutions:

      • January 6th: 6 public bills (H.R. 210-215) and 5 resolutions (H.J. Res 12, H. Res 13-16).

      • January 7th: 25 public bills (H.R. 216-240) and 4 resolutions (H. Res 17-20).

      • January 9th: 90 public bills (H.R. 241-330) and 14 resolutions (H.J. Res. 13-16 and H. Res. 21-30).

    • Committee Elections: The House agreed to H. Res. 13, 14, 21 and 22, electing members to certain standing committees of the House.

  • Senate Action:

    • Laken Riley Act (Jan 8-9th): The Senate began consideration of the motion to proceed to consideration of S. 5, the Laken Riley Act. On January 9th, the Senate voted to close further debate on the motion to proceed to consideration of the bill by a vote of 84-9. The Senate will resume consideration on January 13.

    • Honoring President Jimmy Carter (Jan 9th): The Senate agreed to S. Res. 19, honoring the life and legacy of President Jimmy Carter.

    • New Bills and Resolutions: The Senate introduced new bills and resolutions:

      • January 6th: 1 bill (S. 5).

      • January 7th: 10 bills (S. 9, 21-29) and 3 resolutions (S.J. Res. 1, S. Res. 16-17).

      • January 8th: 8 bills (S. 30-37) and 1 joint resolution (S.J. Res 2).

      • January 9th: 32 bills (S. 38-69) and 2 resolutions (S. Res. 18-19).

    • Committee Membership: The Senate agreed to S. Res. 16 and S. Res. 17 to constitute the majority and minority party's membership on certain committees.

    • Resignation of Senator J.D. Vance: Senator J.D. Vance resigned from the Senate, effective January 9, 2025, to prepare for duties as Vice President.

  • Other Notable Items:

    • Presidential Message: The Senate received a message from the President transmitting a notification of the issuance of an Executive Order regarding the national emergency in the Western Balkans.

    • New Public Laws: Several bills were signed into law on January 2, 2025, designating various post offices and clinics.

  • Important Note: There were no committee meetings held in either the House or Senate on any of the days covered, and the House was not in session on January 8th.

Disclaimer: This summary is based on the Congressional Record from January 6th-9th, 2025.

Sources

Victor Acorda
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