Biden gets big win on CHIPS bill
Republicans take heat for blocking veterans health plan
Also in today’s edition of ‘Regular Order’ for July 29, 2022:
Democrats hope they have the magic reconciliation formula.
U.S. economy enters recession territory.
Will Democrats roll the dice on assault weapons today?
CHIPS+. After two years of semiconductor chip shortages which caused economic heartburn for major industries across the nation, the Congress has given final approval to a $52 billion plan to spur the construction of new chip production facilities in the U.S. The final House vote was 243-187 - providing President Biden with a solid legislative victory.
BIDEN. "By making more semiconductors in the United States, this bill will increase domestic manufacturing and lower costs for families," the President said in a written statement. "And, it will strengthen our national security by making us less dependent on foreign sources."
GOP YES. While House GOP leaders asked their members to vote against the bill, 24 Republicans still broke ranks. Eight GOP lawmakers from Ohio voted 'Yes' - because Intel has plans to build a giant chip production facility in the Buckeye State.
O-H-I-O. "My vote in favor of the CHIPS Act was a vote to support a once-in-a-lifetime investment in Ohio," said Rep. Troy Balderson (R-OH). "This legislation will generate billions of dollars in economic growth and tax revenue," said Rep. Bill Johnson (R-OH).
NATIONAL SECURITY. Many Republicans had said they would support this CHIPS bill because it was important to U.S. national security in terms of competition with China. But GOP lawmakers were incensed over efforts by Democrats to forge a climate change bill - so they voted against the CHIPS plan.
SUPREME SECURITY. One irony of the CHIPS+ vote is that the bill included nearly $20 million in funding to help bolster security for the Supreme Court and the individual Justices. Republicans had been calling for that action for weeks - but most of them voted against that funding.
REGULAR ORDER. We welcome back our weekly readers today. You missed a lot this week - and I mean, you missed a lot from behind the scenes. Please think about upgrading to a daily subscription - or give the gift of straight news to someone you know, and support my independent reporting from Capitol Hill.
VETERANS. Democrats spent Thursday blasting Republicans over a Senate GOP filibuster which stopped a bill to extend health benefits for veterans exposed to toxic burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan. "It's hard to explain," Speaker Nancy Pelosi said. "It has an immorality to it, that 80 percent of the Republicans would say no to our veterans."
DEMS. Joining veterans groups, rank and file Democrats piled on the GOP. "Filibustering veterans healthcare is a new low," said Rep. Val Demings (D-FL). "Our veterans deserve better," said Rep. Kathy Manning (D-NC), as the bill remained in limbo as Senators left town for the weekend.
GOP. Republicans claim the bill could promote $400 billion in extra spending - but it’s the same bill the Senate approved 84-14 back in mid-June. There were 25 Republican Senators who voted ‘Yes’ on that day in June - but then voted to filibuster this week.
WHAT GIVES. So why did this happen? It’s the same reason so many Republicans in the House voted against the CHIPS bill. “Republicans are mad that Democrats are on the verge of passing climate change legislation and have decided to take out their anger on vulnerable veterans,” said Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT).
CAPITOL. Veterans advocates were outraged. At a rally outside the Capitol, they denounced the GOP filibuster in harsh terms. “Ain’t this a bitch,” said comedian Jon Stewart, who has led the charge for this bill. Watch his remarks - he was seething with anger as he spoke. Some vets spent the night on the Senate steps in protest.
ELECTIONS. Sensing an opportunity, Democratic candidates immediately grabbed onto this issue for November. Lucas Kunce - a Marine Corps veteran who did tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan - is running for U.S. Senate in Missouri.
ASSAULT WEAPONS. Before the U.S. House leaves today for a summer break, Democrats may roll the dice and try to bring up a bill to ban the future sale of certain assault weapons on the House floor. Short on votes, Democrats had backed off the idea earlier this week - but they've felt pressure from gun control advocates to hold the vote.
SCHEDULE. Lawmakers were told overnight that a vote is possible on “legislation related to public safety.” The House convenes at 9 am - and the departure time is listed as “???” - which is not what lawmakers want to hear when you’re about to start a six week break.
CAPITOL HILL. On Thursday, family members from Uvalde and the sites of other mass shootings pressed top Democrats to hold a vote just on the assault weapons ban bill. "School starts in three weeks," said gun control activist David Hogg. "We can’t wait to get assault weapons banned."
PROTEST. Frustrated by the lack of action, demonstrators - which included family members of those killed in a Texas elementary school massacre - went to Speaker Pelosi's office to make their voices heard. "They should honor my sister, my cousin, & other Uvalde victims," said Jazmin Cazares.
RULES. Democrats approved a plan in the House Rules Committee last night which allows them to bring up any bill on the floor today. The top Republican on the panel, Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK), was not pleased. “Hardly regular order,” Cole fumed.
RECONCILIATION. Democrats were positively giddy on Thursday about the possibility of passing a reconciliation bill dealing with health care, energy, taxes, and climate change. "It's been a momentous 24 hours here in Congress, a legislative one-two punch that the American people rarely see," said Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer.
TALKS. Schumer told reporters that after talks broke down with Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) on July 14, Manchin came back four days later, and asked to open negotiations again. "This legislation will be the greatest pro climate legislation that Congress has ever, ever passed," Schumer said.
DETAILS. Schumer fully acknowledged he didn’t like some of the items Manchin wanted to help spur domestic energy production - but that was part of the deal. "I would have personally never put these provisions in the bill - but we had to get it done - we need 50 votes,” Schumer said.
PARLIAMENTARY NERD NOTE. Democrats hope to pass this plan next week - but it may take a few days for the Senate Parliamentarian to work through the 725 page measure, and make sure none of it runs afoul of the Senate’s intricate reconciliation rules.
WILD CARD. And there’s always the question of what Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) will think of the details. Can Democrats actually pull this off? I think so - but there will probably be a near-death experience at some point in the next week or so.
Here’s the text of the “Inflation Reduction Act.”
Here is the one-page summary from Democrats.
This is the summary of the two tax increases.
The overview of the prescription drug provisions.
The summary of the energy and climate details.
JET FUMES. This is supposed to be the last day of legislative business for the House before the start of an extended summer break, as lawmakers aren't due back until the week after Labor Day. If you're counting - that's over six weeks from now. But if the Senate is able to approve a reconciliation bill - look for Democrats to bring back the House - during August - to vote on that measure.
RECESSION. I learned a long time ago that the definition of a recession was two straight quarters where the U.S. economy shrank - what some might call 'negative growth.' The latest figures released on Thursday show that's where we are, with the economy contracting in the second quarter of 2022 by an annual rate of 0.9 percent.
NUMBERS. The Q2 numbers will be updated two more times - at the end of August and September - so the figures could still change. One side note: it still seems very odd to be reporting about a recession, when the unemployment rate is 3.6 percent and companies are reporting record profits.
GAME PLAN. With midterm elections for Congress just a few months away, you certainly can't blame Republicans for grabbing onto this news and screaming “BIDEN’S RECESSION” from the top of the Capitol Dome. And that’s exactly what they did on Thursday.
GOP. Republicans yelled even louder when the President took no questions about the new report. "I am not surprised that President Biden refused to admit we are in a recession," said Rep. Randy Weber (R-TX). "President Biden doesn't want to admit it," said Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL).
WATER RESOURCES. There's nothing like infrastructure to get a bipartisan vote in the Congress. The Senate voted 93-1 on Thursday in favor of a bill authorizing dozens of water projects around the nation. "This legislation will advance critical Army Corps projects that will improve people’s quality of life, create good-paying jobs, and strengthen our economy," said Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE).
MR. BRAUN OF INDIANA. The one Senator who voted 'No' was Sen. Mike Braun (R-IN), who has been raising red flags about government spending. Braun voted against the bill because it would increase the federal cost sharing for certain inland waterways projects.
PRESS RELEASES. For most other Senators, this water resources bill was chock full of good stuff to tell the folks back home. Money to expand the port in Brunswick, Georgia. Additional aid to rehab the Soo Locks in Michigan. A plan to authorize a coastal protection barrier system in Texas. And much more.
HOUSE-SENATE. The House has already approved its own version of this plan. Even with partisan tensions in this election year, I would fully expect a final bill will get hammered out and approved later this year. Both parties love what's in this kind of bill - they're bringing home the bacon.
IMMIGRATION. Republicans on Thursday were openly mocking the Mayor of Washington, D.C., after she again asked to have the National Guard activated to deal with an influx of illegal immigrants. The migrants are being sent by bus to the nation's capital by the GOP Governors of Texas and Arizona.
GOP. "If Muriel Bowser is overwhelmed, maybe she should call Biden and ask for a national emergency too," said Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD), as he ridiculed Mayor Bowser's assertion that D.C. is at a 'tipping point' with migrants. "Border states have been at their “tipping point” for years," Harris said.
IMMIGRATION. The migrant numbers at the southern border continue to increase - as the average in 2022 is almost at 200,000 each month. It was 81,000 per month at the high point of the Trump Administration. That's the focus of my column this week in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Read it.
SECRET SERVICE. Instead of leaving soon to take a new job, the Director of the Secret Service has told his agents he's staying in his job, partly because of questions about missing internal communications from around the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
MESSAGE. "I feel strongly about using this time to oversee and ensure our agency's continued cooperation, responsiveness, and full support with respect to ongoing Congressional and other inquiries," Director James Murray told his staffers.
COOPERATION. But there hasn't been much cooperation in the eyes of the Jan. 6 committee. Despite being asked for documents last year, the Secret Service only turned over materials on Tuesday. "I wish they had shared a lot of information earlier," panel chair Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) said.
DOCUMENTS. Thompson said the Secret Service handed over 'several hundred thousand' documents, which will keep investigators busy over the August break. "I wish they had cooperated," Thompson told us just off the House floor, "but that's water under the bridge."
DHS. Meanwhile, the Washington Post reported last night that text messages from before the Jan. 6 attack - for the top two officials at the Department of Homeland Security, which includes the Secret Service - just happen to be missing as well. That’s a heck of a coincidence, eh?
REPUBLICAN ROUT. The annual Congressional Baseball Game was no contest, as Republicans shutout the Democrats 10-0. Over 17,000 tickets were sold for the charity game, which survived a short rain delay, along with the antics of a few climate change protesters. GOP lawmakers obviously hope this is a preview of the November midterm elections.
MUSE OF HISTORY. July 29, 1861. On this date during the Civil War, the House was wrestling with the details of a plan to raise money to fund Union military operations. The House Ways and Means Committee reported a bill which would raise $20 million through a combination of direct taxes and internal duties - with each state responsible for a certain portion. The plans included taxes on carriages, gold watches, silver watches, liquor, and more - along with the first federal income tax. After the House initially refused to force a final vote, the bill was passed 77-60 after some extended parliamentary wrangling.
LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM:
The House meets at 9 am.
The Senate is back on Monday.
President Biden’s daily schedule link.
Follow me on Twitter @jamiedupree. Email me at jamiedupree@substack.com
Thanks for linking to Jon Stewart's righteous indignation. When CSPAN tweets it must be something notable.
As for the R-word (recession), my morning channel surfing turned up stories about the rising costs of pop-entertainment tickets (Hundred-plus $), stylish clothes and other luxury goods. Recessions remain a First World problem while much of the world stands at the edge of death by starvation and/or heat resulting from climate change. We remain comfortably distant from the existential threats noted in yesterday's video about The Forgotten March.
i will sound like a prude here but……..I very much appreciate Mr Kunce’s service to our country. However as he is now running for a seat in the US senate, I would hope his public use of such foul language will subside