Congress faces September shutdown tussle

GOP Senator: McConnell says he's only 'frozen' twice

Also in the Labor Day edition of ‘Regular Order’ for September 4, 2023:

• Democrats win a key redistricting case in Florida.

• Which Republican showed up with Biden this weekend?

• Biden says lawmakers should okay extra FEMA aid.

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THIS WEEK. The Senate returns from a summer break on Tuesday. The House is off until next week. Who knows what’s next on spending and a shutdown.

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CONGRESS-SPENDING. After five weeks back home, Senators will head back to Capitol Hill on Tuesday, with no clear path forward on either a deal to fund the operations of the federal government, or how to avoid a shutdown on October 1. That will be the dominant story line this month in both the House and Senate, and for the White House.

• MESSAGE. Democrats are already accusing the Freedom Caucus of trying to force a shutdown. "We cannot afford the brinkmanship or hostage-taking we saw from House Republicans earlier this year," said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer in a letter to fellow Senators, referring to the debt limit showdown.

• FUNDING BILLS. There are 12 bills which fund the operations of the federal government. The House has passed one of those bills. The full Senate has not considered a single one as yet. The deadline for action is October 1, which means the two sides will have to come up with a temporary funding bill.

• FAILURE. The last time the Congress approved all 12 bills by the end of September was 1996. It also happened in 1994, 1988, and 1976. It's a complete failure by both parties, which has also been accompanied by large increases in the federal deficit since the balanced budgets of the late 1990's.

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DISASTER RELIEF. Along with the need to address funding bills and a temporary spending plan, President Biden has asked Congress to approve $16 billion in federal disaster relief money - to fill a FEMA account which is running dry. The President pressed the case for action during a Saturday trip to Florida to see some of the damage from Hurricane Idalia.

• BIDEN. "I can't imagine the Congress saying, 'We're not going to help,'" Biden said when asked about the prospects for the disaster aid. "There are going to be fights about things that don't relate to this," Biden said, "but I think we'll get through it. I just can't imagine people saying, no, they're not going to help.

• SUNSHINE STATE. Even with the unknowns on disaster aid, Biden's message to those hit hard in Florida was direct. "Florida, your nation has your back," Biden said. "We'll be with you until the job is done."

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STORM POLITICS. Maybe the most curious thing that happened during the President's trip to Florida on Saturday was who didn't show up, who did, and what was said. Remember my first rule of natural disasters - they are inherently political events. And this visit by Biden to Live Oak, Florida, was no different.

• FLORIDA. Who didn't show up to accompany President Biden on his Saturday tour? The Governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis. While they've spoken by phone, the idea of DeSantis sharing the stage with Biden - at a critical time during the GOP race for President - just wasn't on the menu for DeSantis.

• RICK SCOTT. Who did show up? Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) not only joined Biden, but very pointedly said nice things about the federal response. "First off, the President did a great job with the early declaration before the storm hit," Scott said before TV cameras. "I want to thank you for doing that very quickly.”

• HAWAII. House Republicans have talked openly about launching an investigation into the federal response to the wildfires in Hawaii. Speaker Kevin McCarthy was there this weekend. "We are going to be there for you," he said - though House Republicans still haven't laid out how they will proceed on a disaster relief bill.

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MCCONNELL. A GOP Senator said Sunday that Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell was in 'good shape' amid speculation over his health, after McConnell for a second time 'froze' during a Q&A session with reporters, unable to speak for an extended period. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) said McConnell told him it has only happened two times.

• ROUNDS. "I spoke with Mitch (Saturday) afternoon," Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD), told CNN's 'State of the Union,' relating McConnell's explanation of how he 'froze' in public for a second time in a news conference. "He said, 'It happened twice,'" Rounds related. "He said, 'It just so happens I'm doing it in front of reporters.'"

• HEALTH. McConnell has made public little information about his health since he suffered a concussion after a bad fall back in March. When he returned to Capitol Hill after that incident, the 81-year-old McConnell was clearly moving more slowly, and seemed to struggle at times while speaking.

• SUPPORT. McConnell has been making calls to shore up support among his GOP flock. "He is fully prepared to continue leading our caucus when the Senate resumes session on Tuesday," said Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), who chatted with McConnell last week.

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FLORIDA MAP. Democrats have won another court challenge involving Congressional district lines in the South. A Florida judge on Saturday ordered the GOP-led state legislature to draw a new map for U.S. House seats, ruling that the state wrongly did away with a black majority district that stretched from Tallahassee to Jacksonville.

• RULING. "This Court will return the matter to the Legislature to enact a new map which complies with the Florida Constitution," wrote Circuit Judge J. Lee Marsh. The decision is just like one made by a panel of federal judges in Alabama, where the state legislature was also ordered to add back a black majority district.

• MAPS. "This is a significant victory in the fight for fair representation for Black Floridians," said Olivia Mendoza of the National Redistricting Foundation, a Democratic group which focuses on such cases. "It should not be lost on the public that Governor DeSantis pushed for the discriminatory map."

• DEMS. The courts could be one of the more important players for 2024, giving Democrats a chance to pick up U.S. House seats in a series of states dominated by the GOP: Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Georgia.

• TRIVIA. Before you tell me that the judge was a Democrat, J. Lee Marsh was put on the bench by former Governor - and now U.S. Senator - Rick Scott (R-FL).

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CONFEDERATE BASES. Two Republicans from Georgia are trying again to force a House vote to halt the Pentagon effort to erase Confederate names on U.S. military bases. Even though the name changes on a series of Army installations have already taken place - some in the GOP are still trying to use a Pentagon spending bill to stop the change.

• JOHNNY REB. While the Pentagon 'Naming Commission' is done with its work to get rid of Confederate names in the military, Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA) wants to offer an amendment to block funding for the recommendations of that panel. In other words, it would allow the Confederate names to stay.

• MRS. GREENE OF GEORGIA. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) submitted an amendment to the Defense Appropriations bill which would block any money from being used to change the name of a military installation. The only bases going through a name change in the past year had Confederate names.

• HOUSE. The House already defeated plans to go back to the old Confederate names, during work on a major Pentagon policy bill. Clyde tried to offer much the same amendments to a military construction funding bill, but the Rules Committee wouldn't give him a vote on the House floor.

• LOST CAUSE. Greene also has an amendment to block any temporary 'stand down' of military units in order to address domestic extremism and white nationalism in the ranks. That's a heck of a daily double - keeping Confederate base names - and not addressing white nationalism in the military.

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RAP SHEET. The arrests continue in the Jan. 6 investigation. A Colorado man, Todd Casey, was arrested last week and charged with multiple assaults on police officers outside the Capitol. Casey was also part of a group of rioters who tried to push through police lines in a tunnel to the Capitol.

• TAR HEEL. A North Carolina man was found guilty last week of charges related to Jan. 6. David Gietzen grappled with police officers repeatedly, and struck one cop with a pole. He also tried to help rioters get inside the Capitol during a lengthy struggle in the Lower West Terrace Tunnel.

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MUSE OF HISTORY.  September 4, 1789.  In the first Congress, lawmakers on this date were debating where to place the permanent seat of U.S. Government.  The favored spot was along the Potomac River.  But there were doubters.  "The Potomac will, no doubt, afford the most safe and convenient communication," said Rep. Thomas Scott of Pennsylvania, "but it does not follow that the seat of Congress should be on the banks of that river."  

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LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM:

The House next has votes on September 12.

The Senate is back for votes on Tuesday.

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