IRS, Obama Fundraisers, Immigration: Five Stories You'll Care About in Politics Next Week

A look at several stories that will be in the headlines in the week to come.

ByABC News
June 1, 2013, 6:00 AM

June 1, 2013— -- intro: The past week offered a brief respite from many of the battles that have gripped Washington over the last few weeks, and gave the Obama administration, in particular, a chance to catch its breath after getting clobbered by a trio of scandals. President Obama started the week surveying the post-Superstorm Sandy rebuilding efforts along the Jersey shore with Gov. Chris Christie by his side. The president ended it Friday with a pre-emptive strike at House Republicans ahead of a July 1 deadline to prevent student loan interest rates from doubling. In the meantime, conservative firebrand Rep. Michele Bachmann announced she would not be seeking re-election to Congress in 2014 and Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee informed the political world about a transition of his own -- a party switch from independent to Democrat. With those sideshows in the rearview mirror, members of Congress return from a week-long recess this Monday for the main event. The ABC News Political Unit will be tracking Congressional efforts to keep the heat on the Internal Revenue Service over its targeting of conservative groups as well as several other stories that will be in the headlines next week:

quicklist: 1title: Inquiring Mindstext: On Monday, a House Appropriations subcommittee will hear from IRS Acting Commissioner Danny Werfel about what steps the agency has already taken to address the IRS's controversial practices and to hold those responsible accountable. Also at the witness table will be J. Russell George, the Treasury Department's Inspector General. The House Ways and Means committee will hold a hearing on Tuesday featuring representatives from conservative organizations that were targeted by the IRS (some of those groups filed a joint lawsuit against the agency this week). And that's not all. On Thursday, J. Russell George returns to Capitol Hill to appear before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform "about a newly released audit uncovering information about excessive spending at IRS conferences."

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quicklist: 2title: Top Brass to Testifytext: Top U.S. military officials, including Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey and Army Chief of Staff Ray Odierno, will appear before a Senate panel on Tuesday to testify about sexual assault in the military. The Senate Armed Services Committee will begin considering legislation on the issue next week. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., is one of the senators leading the charge to address military sexual assault with a package of bills that could be included in the National Defense Authorization Act, scheduled for a vote on June 12. Also appearing at Tuesday's hearing are: Admiral Jonathan W. Greenert, Chief of Naval Operations; Gen. James F. Amos, Commandant of the Marine Corps; Gen. Mark A. Welsh III, Chief of Staff of the Air Force; and Admiral Robert J. Papp, Jr., Commandant of the Coast Guard, among others.

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