Why It Matters

The House Rules Committee will meet Aug. 31 to consider four measures spanning endangered species protections, higher education policy, domestic mining and a resolution condemning socialism.

The measures could clear the way for House floor consideration of legislation that would give the lobster industry more time before new whale protections take effect, restrict colleges that participate in certain commercial boycotts of Israel, codify mining and mineral processing as covered sectors under the federal FAST-41 permitting process, and formally condemn socialism.

The Big Picture

Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), who chairs the committee, will oversee consideration of H.R. 9436, H.R. 4795, H.R. 1501 and H. Res. 1490.

H.R. 9436 would extend the period during which existing federal rules governing the lobster and crab fisheries are considered sufficient to protect the North Atlantic right whale from 2028 to 2035, delaying the deadline for new regulations. The legislation comes as U.S. lobster gear was linked to the entanglement of a North Atlantic right whale calf, with gear removed from the animal on Jan. 18 traced to a lobster trap set in Massachusetts state waters in Cape Cod Bay.

H.R. 4795 would prohibit institutions of higher education participating in federal student aid programs from engaging in certain commercial boycotts of Israel. It would also require institutions participating in or applying for certain international education programs to annually certify that students and faculty are permitted to participate in academic programs in Israel under the same terms as programs in other foreign countries and that students and faculty from Israeli institutions receive comparable access to their programs.

H.R. 1501 would codify mining and mineral processing as covered sectors under the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act's FAST-41 permitting process and block implementation of a proposed rule that would narrow the mining projects eligible for the program. The move aligns with a July 20 executive order that encourages defense contractors to begin qualifying new domestic sources of critical minerals, materials and components from domestic and partner-nation sources.

H. Res. 1490, introduced in August, would have the House condemn and denounce socialism in all its forms, including the Democratic Socialists of America, and oppose the implementation of socialist policies in the U.S. It would also reaffirm support for free and secure elections, state that American elections are for U.S. citizens and call for enactment of the SAVE America Act to prevent noncitizens from voting in elections.

The Bottom Line

Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) serves as ranking member of the House Committee on Rules. Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-VA) is a member of the committee.

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