Congressional Calendar May 20, 2010

Safety is the word of the day on Capitol Hill Thursday.

Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., plans to release a new Government Accountability Office report at 10:00 a.m. ET that questions the ability of the Transportation Security Administration to perform its mission to secure the nation’s commercial aviation systems. The report comes weeks after Faisal Shahzad, the alleged Times Square bomber, was almost able to leave the United States aboard an Emirates flight out of New York on May 3.

The House Energy and Commerce Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee holds a hearing at 10:00 a.m. ET to get an update on the government and Toyota’s response to the problem of sudden unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles. Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration David Strickland and James Lentz, President and COO of Toyota Motor Sales USA will testify.

Mine safety is the topic of a hearing held by the Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Committee at 2:00 p.m. ET. Chairman and CEO of Massey Energy Don Blankenship will be a witness in the second panel. Massey is the company that runs the Upper Big Branch mine in Montcoal, West Virginia, the site of April’s mining disaster that killed 29 people.

In financial news, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., may hold another cloture vote to end debate on financial regulatory reform legislation. He’s still looking for one more vote to move the measure to final passage. Meanwhile, a group of Senate Republicans will meet to discuss the nation’s debt, which is approaching $13 trillion.

Mark Critz, the winner of Tuesday’s special election in Pennsylvania’s 12th district, becomes the newest member of Congress at approximately 2:15 p.m. ET.

Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, who was defeated in a primary election earlier this month, will discuss plans for his political future at 12:00 p.m. ET from the headquarters of the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

House leadership hold dueling press conferences. House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, holds his event first at 2:15 p.m. ET; House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., follows at 3:00 p.m. ET

Solicitor General Elena Kagan continues to interview with senators ahead of her confirmation hearings, which are set to begin on June 28.

Congress receives an address from Mexican President Felipe Calderon in the House Chamber at 11:00 a.m. ET.

We’ll be covering all this and more so stay with Fox News for the latest.