House approves trade penalties on Russia

COVID makes a comeback in D.C. circles

The House votes again to economically punish Russia. The IRS says tax season is off to a good start. And the Coronavirus causes all sorts of St. Patrick’s Day troubles. This is “Regular Order” for March 18, 2022.

UKRAINE. The House moved on Thursday to further tighten the economic screws on Russia, voting 424-8 to approve a bill which suspends normal trade relations with Russia. The plan does the same to Belarus for that nation's complicity in the invasion of Ukraine. "There is no time to waste," said Rep. Richard Neal (D-MA).

• TRADE. The bill would allow the U.S. to slap higher tariffs on imports coming from Russia and Belarus, with the goal of causing even more economic pain for the Ukraine invasion. It now goes to the Senate.

• GOP EIGHT. Eight House Republicans voted against the bill: Biggs AZ, Bishop NC, Boebert CO, Gaetz FL, Greene GA, Grothman WI, Massie KY, and Roy TX. Last week, those same eight Republican lawmakers also voted against the bill which blocked imports of Russian oil and gas.

• OPPOSITION. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) on his opposition: "It gives the President broad authority to sanction virtually anyone, anywhere in the world, whether they are connected to Russia or not.”

• POLITICS. As Republicans demand extra aid for Ukraine, Democrats say the GOP should have voted for the $13.6 billion in aid in the Omnibus funding bill. "'We should send more lethal aid to Ukraine which I voted against last week' is making my brain melt," said Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI).

SENATE. The House trade bill on Russia would seem like a slam dunk in the Senate. But just like last week on a bill blocking Russian oil imports, the Senate left town for the weekend without voting on it. Right now, both the Russian trade bill and the oil ban are just on hold.

• WHAT'S NEXT. Senators said they are ready to act. “It is past time to cut off Vladimir Putin’s regime from the benefits of the global trade system,” said Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR). "The Senate should combine these measures," said Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID).

• SLOW GOING. But these bills may not be going anywhere right now. Republicans might want to offer amendments on the Senate floor related to domestic oil and gas production - and Democratic leaders may not be interested in that type of debate. Stay tuned.

GAS PRICES. Unable to set the agenda in the House, Republicans have tried but failed to force consideration of a bill dealing with expanded oil and gas exploration in the United States - but Democrats have blocked those requests each time.

• GOP BILL. The plan that Republicans are pushing in the House is the 'American Energy Independence from Russia Act.' It would approve the Keystone XL pipeline, end restrictions on liquified natural gas exports, and fully open oil and gas leasing in federal onshore and offshore lands.

CAWTHORN. Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) - who called the President of Ukraine a 'thug' - has now become a star on Russian state television. And that's led to fellow Republicans taking shots at Cawthorn and others, saying they are playing into the hands of Russian propaganda.

• TAR HEEL. "If your comments are being replayed over and over by Russian state propaganda outlets…" Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) tweeted, once again taking a swipe at Cawthorn, who called Ukraine's government 'very vile.'

• GREENE. Cawthorn wasn't the only GOP lawmaker getting flak. After Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) argued 'both sides' were to blame for the Ukraine war, Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) said Greene was a useful idiot.

TAX SEASON. The IRS Commissioner was on Capitol Hill Thursday, telling a House hearing that the 2022 filing season 'got off to a strong start.' As of March 11, the IRS had received more than 63 million individual tax returns and issued more than 45 million refunds totaling more than $151 billion, IRS chief Charles Rettig said.

• PRIORITIES. Rettig said tax returns which involve a refund are getting attention first. "Refund returns continue to be processed on a priority basis ahead of returns with a balance due or full payment of the underlying liabilities," Rettig added.

• RESOURCES. In discussing customer service delays, Rettig again said the IRS is being starved of needed resources. "Over the course of the last decade, the IRS’s budget has decreased by more than 15 percent in real terms," as Rettig said the agency is now close to the full-time staffing levels it had back in 1974.

PROXY VOTING. The House Rules Committee held a nearly five hour open hearing Thursday as lawmakers skirmished over special rules put in place during the Coronavirus outbreak. The question is simple - should rules allowing remote proxy voting and/or virtual committee work continue on in the future.

• BACKERS. It wasn't a surprise how lawmakers felt. Democrats like the remote option. "I think this saved a lot of lives here, I really do," Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) said. Meanwhile, Republicans are fed up and want it over. "It's not the same as working from home,” said Rep. John Rutherford (R-FL)

• WORK. Democrats made very clear that they like the idea of still allowing virtual hearings. But Republicans expressed their outrage during the five hour hearing. "We need to stop now," said Rep. Michelle Fischbach (R-MN).

• THEMES. The back and forth reminded me of the debate about electric vehicles in Congress. Democrats love them and think it's a big help. But many Republicans become visibly agitated at the mere mention of electric vehicles and clean energy. So too with remote work in Congress.

ST. COVID'S DAY. The Irish Prime Minister's annual visit was interrupted by a positive test for the Coronavirus, preventing him from attending two events at the White House, and a St. Patrick’s Day lunch on Capitol Hill. Michaeal Martin, known as the Taoiseach of Ireland, went into quarantine, and met virtually with President Biden.

• TAOISEACH. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was with the Taoiseach at a dinner on Wednesday night when he was pulled away during the appetizer, informed that he had tested positive. The Taoiseach spoke briefly with President Biden just before that dinner began.

• CONGRESS. What a weird week. Masks are off. Multiple Democrats got the Coronavirus. The Vice President’s husband. The Irish PM. Meanwhile, money for COVID treatments isn't going anywhere. Democrats are fighting each other about that. And Congress is moving on. That’s my column this week.

VA CHANGES. The Department of Veterans Affairs set itself up for a lot of pushback from the Congress this week, as it unveiled an 'Asset and Infrastructure Review' report. In other words, this was the VA's version of a Pentagon military base closing package, detailing plans for VA hospitals and health treatment facilities around the nation.

• 30TH STREET. "I intend to use every tool in the toolbox to keep Philadelphia’s VA Medical Center open and serving our veterans,” said Rep. Dwight Evans (D-PA), one of many officials grumbling about the details of the VA review. Most of the closures of VA clinics are in the Northeast and Midwest.

• WHAT'S NEXT. The details can still change, as the VA will now hold public hearings on their realignment plans. A final set of recommendations would be submitted to the President in 2023. In other words, there's still a lot of time for lobbying by Evans and other lawmakers. Read the VA report at this link.

AMERICA COMPETES. The Senate has finally started turning the procedural wheels to set up an official conference committee on a major China competitiveness bill. The plan is to officially start House-Senate negotiations as soon as next week - though work has been going on behind the scenes for weeks.

• PARLIAMENTARY NERD NOTE. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer wants to take up the House-passed COMPETES bill - but instead of then opening it up for amendment, the Senate would just insert the language of the bill it passed last year, and send that back to the House.

• OBJECTIONS. In a floor statement on Thursday, Schumer said some Republicans are objecting to that plan, so it could take much of next week to shut off debate and move to a final vote.

BRACKETOLOGY. While lawmakers enjoy the success of their home state college basketball teams, others are looking for answers from some high profile schools. Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-NJ) has asked some big schools if they should really have a tax-exempt status while they are paying giant salaries to their basketball coaches.

Bill Pascrell, Jr. 🇺🇸🇺🇦 @BillPascrell

With the NCAA tournament tipping off today I’ve written to the presidents of @DukeU @VillanovaU @AuburnU asking if their basketball 🏀 coaches’ massive salaries abuse the tax-exempt status their schools enjoy.

REGULAR ORDER. As my daughter likes to say, “Give the gift of straight news” - give someone a subscription to ‘Regular Order’ and support independent journalism from Capitol Hill.

MUSE OF HISTORY.   March 18, 1918.    On this date in the Senate, the Secretary of Labor sent a letter asking what to do with "useless papers without historic value."  The matter was referred to the appropriately named Joint Select Committee on the Disposition of Useless Papers in the Executive Departments.  This was not a new endeavor - the joint panel had been set up in 1889 as part of a Congressional desire to streamline the operations of the federal government.  The feds actually made money at times by selling their scrap paper for kindling.   

LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM:

The House meets at 9 am.

The Senate meets on Monday.

President Biden’s daily schedule link.

Follow me on Twitter @jamiedupree. Email me at jamiedupree@substack.com

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