House set for final vote on $1.7 trillion funding bill
Jan. 6 panel blames Trump in final report
Also in today’s edition of “Regular Order” for December 23, 2022:
Congress advances a major Jan. 6 reform package.
George Santos breaks his silence - sort of.
A final day of remote voting in the House.
OMNIBUS. The House is poised to give final approval today to a $1.7 trillion package of government funding bills, wrapping up the work of the 117th Congress. The plan was approved yesterday by the Senate on a vote of 68-29, as 18 Republicans joined with all Democrats in favor of the measure.
BIPARTISAN. “We know it's not perfect," said Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL), who helped lead Republican negotiations on the final deal. "But it's got a lot of stuff in it. A lot of good stuff."
GOP YES: Blunt MO, Boozman AR, Capito WV, Collins ME, Cornyn TX, Cotton AR, Graham SC, Inhofe OK, McConnell KY, Moran KS, Murkowski AK, Portman OH, Romney UT, Rounds SD, Shelby AL, Thune SD, Wicker MS, and Young IN.
GOP NO. But there were 29 other GOP Senators who opposed the over 4,000 page measure. "We have got to rein in government spending," said Sen. Jim Risch (R-ID). "Not only was it too much money," argued Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), "but there are some really bad things in here."
IMMIGRATION. Lee tried but failed to add provisions to keep Coronavirus restrictions in place at the southern border. Known as 'Title 42,' that power has made it easier to turn back migrants. The White House wants to end the policy.
EARMARKS. While many Republicans denounced the earmarks in the Omnibus, the Senate voted 63-34 against a GOP amendment to strike out those provisions. "This is grotesque," said Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), as he called earmarks a 'gateway drug' for wasteful spending by the Congress.
LATE ADD. The Senate unanimously approved an amendment to the Omnibus to help Ukraine, by allowing seized financial assets from Russian oligarchs to be used for defense and reconstruction projects. "It will be a Godsend," said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC).
MOMNIBUS. The Senate also added two bills to the Omnibus to help moms. Senators voted 73-24 for a bipartisan plan requiring businesses to ensure reasonable on-the-job accommodations for pregnant workers. A second plan expands on-the-job protections for nursing mothers.
PARLIAMENTARY NERD NOTE. Why didn't the House vote last night? Because the Senate approved a series of amendments - and it takes time (maybe all night I was told) to make sure those changes are properly added, enrolled, and checked, before the papers are sent to the House.
ELECTORAL COUNT. Maybe the most important part of the Omnibus has nothing to do with spending - as it contains the only bipartisan legislative reform package forged by lawmakers in the wake of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
REFORM. The plan changes the Electoral Count Act of 1887, which lawmakers said was 'archaic and ambiguous,' establishing clearer rules for certifying and counting electoral votes. "Nothing is more essential to the survival of a democracy than an orderly transfer of power," said Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME).
THE VEEP. For example, Donald Trump wanted Mike Pence to reject the electoral votes of certain states on Jan. 6. This measure says the Vice President has only a ceremonial role, with no power to accept or reject electors.
OBJECTIONS. Instead of allowing one House member and one Senator to object to a state's slate of electors, the threshold would be raised to one-fifth of the Congress - 87 House members and 20 Senators.
LOOPHOLE. The new plan gets rid of an 1845 provision which could let state legislatures declare a 'failed election' - and thus override the results of the Presidential vote. You can read more about the changes at this link.
JANUARY 6. As a special House committee released its final report last night on the Capitol attack, there was fresh evidence about possible witness tampering in the investigation. Transcripts show how a former Trump White House aide said she was pressured by her lawyer to stay silent about certain subjects related to Donald Trump.
THE BEAST. After telling her lawyer about an altercation involving Trump and his Secret Service agents on Jan. 6 - when Trump wanted to go to the U.S. Capitol - Cassidy Hutchinson said the message from her attorney was very clear. "We don't want to go there. We don't want to talk about that."
TRUTH. In her closed door testimony, Hutchinson acknowledged that she initially lied to the committee about what she knew from inside the White House before the Jan. 6 attack. "I felt like I had Trump looking over my shoulder," she said. Read her depositions - September 14 / September 15.
REPORT. As for the report, the committee laid the blame for the Jan. 6 attack on Donald Trump. "The rioters were inside the halls of Congress because the head of the Executive branch of our government, the then President of the United States, told them to attack," said panel chair Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS).
SILENCE. As the Jan. 6 panel wrapped up its work, I was really struck by two things - the silence inside the committee room as the panel revealed its findings, and the silence from most Republicans outside the committee room. That's my column this week for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
REGULAR ORDER. Time is running out to find a gift for your friends and family. Why not just make it easy and give the gift of straight news - or treat yourself to something new for 2023. The next few months will be very busy as Congress moves back to divided government - and “Regular Order” will be there on Capitol Hill.
IRS TAXES. While waiting for the Omnibus, the House voted 220-201 to require yearly IRS audits of a President's tax returns. The bill was developed after the Democrats found out that the IRS had not followed its own internal policies to review Donald Trump's taxes when he was in office.
TRUMP. "No person is above the law," said Rep. Richard Neal (D-MA). But records indicate the IRS acted otherwise, as the tax agency did not audit Trump's tax returns from a single year that he was President. The IRS did start an audit on Trump's 2016 return - but only after Democrats asked about it.
AUDITS. Think about this - the IRS audited Barack Obama and Joe Biden every single year they were President, but not once for Trump. "We need to understand why Donald Trump was apparently receiving special treatment," said Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL).
GOP. Republicans denounced the bill, accusing Democrats of 'targeting a private citizen,’ which didn’t really make much sense, since the measure is about auditing a President. The bill will not become law, as no Senate vote is expected.
GOP FIVE. The five Republicans who voted for the IRS bill were Cheney WY, Katko NY, Kinzinger IL, Rice SC, and Upton MI. All five of them are not returning in 2023 - and all five voted to impeach President Trump.
PROXY VOTING. Today should be the last day that remote voting is allowed for members of the House, as Republicans have vowed to eliminate that option in the next Congress. But with bad winter weather sweeping across the nation, there were an awful lot of lawmakers using proxy voting on Thursday.
REMOTE. On the IRS vote, 184 House members voted remotely - 104 Democrats and 80 Republicans. Some of those Republicans had joined a federal lawsuit against the rule - like Rep. Jody Hice (R-GA). "Members of Congress need to be present to vote," Hice argued back then.
TODAY. There is an outside chance that more than a majority of the House could vote by proxy on this final day of legislative work. It seems odd, but a lot of members who are leaving Congress won’t be here on their last day.
SPEAKER. House members will go home for the holiday break today with no resolution yet on whether GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy will be the next Speaker. One conservative Republican critic on Thursday called McCarthy 'another RINO Establishment hack’ - as this GOP vs. GOP fight continues.
EMAIL. "Kevin McCarthy does NOT have the values, the backbone, or the courage to stand up to Joe Biden and Chuck Schumer," Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) wrote in a fundraising about the race for Speaker.
MCCARTHY. Speaking of the GOP Leader, as we waited on Wednesday night for the start of the speech by the President of Ukraine, I paid close attention to McCarthy to see how he was received by fellow Republicans on the House floor. I thought it provided some good insight.
FLOOR. McCarthy wasn't ignored - but he wasn't a magnet, either. You would think GOP lawmakers wouldn't mind buttonholing him, but very few did. In fact, there were several times when McCarthy stood by himself. It seemed odd.
SPIDEY SENSES. Maybe I’m wrong - but my gut told me that something seemed off for McCarthy and his GOP flock. We’ll find out pretty soon. The vote for Speaker is a week from next Tuesday.
VIVA DE LA SANTOS. Embattled Rep.-Elect George Santos (R-NY) broke his silence on Thursday, after days of press stories raising questions about gaping holes in his personal biography. "I have my story to tell and it will be told next week," Santos said in a written statement.
DETAILS. Santos did not specifically address any of the questions about his resume, like where he went to college, where he lives, where he voted, his business record, his family's heritage, and more - as stories keep popping up about him almost daily.
FUTURE. "I want to assure everyone that I will address your questions and that I remain committed to deliver the results I campaigned on," Santos added.
DEMS. "Hey George, make sure you tell us why you lied about the horrific tragedy at Pulse nightclub," said Rep.-Elect Robert Garcia (D-CA). Santos claimed he had four employees die in that mass killing. But records don't show any of the victims ever worked for his business firms.
FINAL DAYS. The final votes on Thursday brought an end to a lot of Congressional careers. Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) made sure to circle back to say goodbye to Senate floor staffers. "I'll see you at the national championship game," he said to one, referring to Ohio State's football team, which is in the NCAA playoffs.
PRO TEM. Presiding over the Senate for most of Thursday was Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), who finished with 17,374 votes, second most in Senate history. Leahy stayed in the chair after the Omnibus vote, as the Parliamentarian had him sign a series of enrolled bills in his capacity as the President Pro Tempore.
THE THING. Meanwhile, it was a much different conclusion to the career of Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC). The North Carolina Republican gave his farewell speech on Dec. 14 - and it evidently was a farewell. Burr voted once the next day, and then missed the final 28 roll call votes of the 117th Congress.
HOYER. On the House side, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer marked the end of his time in leadership with an extended speech. "I will keep urging bipartisanship whenever possible," Hoyer said, labeling it the “Psychology of Consensus.”
OLD DOMINION. State Sen. Jennifer McClellan was declared the winner of a Democratic firehouse primary this week to fill the seat of the late Rep. Donald McEachin (D-VA). She will be heavily favored in a February 21 special election against Republican Leon Benjamin.
HISTORY. McClellan would be the first Black woman in Congress from Virginia. "I stand on the shoulders of Shirley Chisholm," McClellan told supporters on Thursday, name-checking the first Black woman elected to Congress in 1968.
NEXT WEEK. No votes are planned until January 3, the start of the 118th Congress. But the House and Senate will have very short ‘pro forma’ sessions until then. It’s always possible some bills might get approved by unanimous consent along the way.
SINE DIE. The official adjournment of the 117th Congress won’t happen until just before the House and Senate convene the 118th Congress at 12 noon on January 3, 2023.
MUSE OF HISTORY. December 23, 1783. On this date, Gen. George Washington went to Annapolis, Maryland to resign his commission as commander of the U.S. military before the Continental Congress. "I have now the honor of offering my sincere Congratulations to Congress and of presenting myself before them to surrender into their hands the trust committed to me, and to claim the indulgence of retiring from the Service of my Country," Washington said. He wasn't gone for long - just over five years later, Washington would take charge as the nation's first President.
LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM:
The House meets at 9 am.
The Senate will convene for the 118th Congress on January 3.
President Biden’s daily schedule link.
Follow me on Twitter @jamiedupree. Email me at jamiedupree@substack.com
This policy was started in 1977, a few years after there was a tussle with Richard Nixon over his tax returns. I don't know the specifics about W, but Democrats said Obama and Biden have been audited every year, which makes the 0/4 on Trump pretty crazy.
Excellent AJC Column