Double Bayou Special - Louisiana votes on pair of U.S. House seats

More details on how money is handed out from the COVID relief law

It’s a Saturday Election Day in Louisiana. Some Republicans don’t mind military coups. The Capitol fence shrinks. This is “Regular Order” for March 20, 2021.

CAJUN SPECIALS. Voters go to the polls today in Louisiana to fill two vacant seats in the U.S. House. The special elections are a classic Louisiana 'Jungle Primary,' with 15 candidates of varying parties vying for the 2nd District seat around Baton Rouge, and 12 candidates in the pileup for the 5th District seat in northeast Louisiana.

• LOUISIANA. The 2nd District seat became vacant when ex-Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-LA) joined the Biden White House. The 5th District seat opened when Republican Luke Letlow died of the Coronavirus. His wife Julia has the endorsement of former President Trump, and is favored to win the seat.

• RUNOFF. If no candidate gets over 50 percent of the vote, then there would be a runoff between the top two finishers on April 24.

• VACANCIES. Five seats are currently vacant in the U.S. House. One in Ohio won’t be filled until November.

BURMA SHAVE. A simple resolution condemning the recent military coup in Burma turned a bit political on Friday in the House, as 14 Republicans voted against the resolution - seemingly placing themselves on the side of the military junta.

• THE BURMA 14. Biggs R-AZ, Boebert R-CO, Buck R-CO, Budd R-NC, Gaetz R-FL, Greene R-GA, Harris R-MD, Hice R-GA, Massie R-KY, Miller R-IL, Mooney R-WV. Moore R-AL, Perry R-PA, and Roy R-TX.

• DEMS. "The House QAnon Caucus refuses to condemn the military coup in Burma," tweeted Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA).

DAILY DOUBLE. Five of the Republicans who voted against the Burma resolution also voted against gold medals for police who defended the Capitol in the January 6 attack: Biggs R-AZ, Gaetz R-FL, Greene R-GA, Harris R-MD, and Massie R-KY.

ATTACK RADIOS. A new set of conspiracy charges against a group of Proud Boys provided more details about their communications on the day of the Capitol Attack. The group used Chinese Baofeng radios set on the frequency of 477.985 MHz.

• QRL. That nugget lined up with various photographs from the day of the attack, which showed rioters using handheld FM radios programmed to that same frequency. Why 477.985 MHz? That’s not explained in the charges.

• COMMUNICATIONS. Take some time to read this indictment. The Proud Boys also created a "Boots on the Ground" encrypted messaging channel.

EDUCATION MONEY. Last weekend, I was able to bring you an in-depth look at how $360 billion in money from the new COVID relief law would be sent to state and local governments. Today's focus is on education money in that aid package.

K-12. $122 billion is being sent to the states just for K-12 schools. Here's your Top Ten in what's known as the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund:

California $15,068,885,000
Texas $12,418,589,000
New York $8,988,781,000
Florida $7,038,246,000
Illinois $5,054,988,000
Pennsylvania $4,996,953,000
Ohio $4,472,067,000
Georgia $4,249,371,000
Michigan $3,719,833,000
N.Carolina $3,599,192,000

MORE DEETS. Here's a link to a broader state-by-state rundown of education money in the COVID relief law for Child Care ($39 billion), Head Start ($1 billion), K-12 ($122 billion), and Higher Ed funding ($40 billion).

• LOCAL FUNDING. I've noticed lots of lawmakers touting exactly how much certain counties and school districts are getting in COVID relief. So, I asked around for that information. I know Democrats have estimates from the Congressional Research Service. But the CRS does not make reports public.

• FEDS. So, I tried the Education Department. They told me that in order to get information on how much money was being distributed to what school districts, I would have to ask each state individually. (Insert sound of Sad Trombone.)

NASA. Former Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL), who lost his seat in 2018 to Republican Rick Scott, has been tapped by President Biden to be the next head of NASA. The 78-year old Nelson has long been a champion of the space agency. Nelson flew on the Space Shuttle in 1986 when he was a Congressman from Florida.

• POLITICS. Nelson would be the second straight NASA Administrator with a political background, following Jim Bridenstine, who was a GOP Congressman from Oklahoma. In the past, NASA chiefs have overwhelmingly been selected from the ranks of scientists and/or former astronauts.

CAPITOL FENCE. Lawmakers were told Friday that some of the outer fencing around the Capitol will be taken down this weekend, as the security perimeter continues to shrink. In a letter, Acting House Sergeant At Arms Timothy Blodgett said the fencing was coming down "sooner than initially anticipated."

• THREAT POSTURE. "The National Guard will continue to maintain a presence," Blodgett wrote. On Monday he told House members 'there does not exist a known, credible threat against Congress' at this time.

• RUSH HOUR. By Monday, Independence and Constitution Avenues - the two main roads running by the Capitol - will again be open to traffic.

DAYLIGHT SAVING(S). Editors would like this one. Officially, it is "Daylight Saving Time,” and not "Daylight Savings Time." Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) has it right in S. 623, a bill 'making daylight saving time permanent.' Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) does not in his bill, H.R. 1876, 'to make daylight savings time permanent.'

MUSE OF HISTORY. 1867 had already been a controversial year for Colorado in the Congress, and that spilled onto the House floor again on this date. At issue was a disputed election for a U.S. House seat from that territory. George Chilcott said he won by 108 votes. A.C. Hunt claimed he was the true victor. A special House committee investigated, but punted on a decision over who should be the Delegate. "The majority of the Committee of Elections have reported a resolution giving the seat to neither of the claimants at present." The debate was messy. In the end, the House voted to seat Chilcott. Colorado would not become a state for another nine years.

LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM:

The House meets next on Monday.

The Senate meets next on Monday.

President Biden is in Washington.  Schedule link.

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