House to vote today on pair of abortion bills
Congress is told many Secret Service texts from Jan. 6 were 'erased'
Also in today’s edition of “Regular Order” for July 15, 2022:
It might be Build Back Never.
Security worries for two women Democrats.
House approves $840 billion defense policy bill.
ABORTION. Three weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion, the House will vote today to restore that ruling and to approve a second bill which clarifies that women can cross state lines in order to obtain abortion-related services. "Women understand this is an assault on their dignity," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
BILLS. You can read the bill to codify Roe v. Wade at this link. The plan on interstate abortion services can be found here. Reminder: those bills won’t go anywhere in the Senate because of a GOP filibuster.
TODAY. The House convenes at 9 am. Debate will begin first on the Roe v. Wade bill. Final votes are expected in the early afternoon, but that could slip - depending on how heated the debate gets on the House floor.
HEARINGS. Today’s votes come after a series of hearings in Congress this week on the aftermath of the Supreme Court decision. The hearings mainly produced a bevy of heated video clips breathlessly sent out by each party - characterizing the other side as a bunch of partisan nut jobs.
JANUARY 6. The investigation into the Capitol Attack took a surprise twist on Thursday, as the Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security told Congress that the Secret Service had erased text messages of agents on January 5-6, 2021 - after investigators asked to review those internal communications.
LETTER. In a letter to lawmakers, Inspector General Joseph Cuffari also hinted at resistance inside the Secret Service to requests for documents and records related to Jan. 6. It was not clear why Cuffari was only now notifying the Congress about the text messages.
COMMENT. A Secret Service spokesman quickly denied any wrongdoing. “The insinuation that the Secret Service maliciously deleted text messages following a request is false,” said Anthony Guglielmi. He claimed the texts can still be recovered - though some phone data has been erased.
SPIDEY SENSES. Something just doesn’t add up about this dispute.
BUILD BACK NEVER. The week began with hope for Democrats on a long-stalled budget reconciliation bill. But late last night, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) dealt a body blow to those efforts, announcing that he would not support any climate change spending or tax increases on the wealthy as part of a final deal.
TWO ITEMS. Manchin says he wants to narrow the bill to just two key components - the Medicare prescription drug provisions worked out earlier this month by Democrats, and a two year extension of expanded subsidies for health coverage under the Obama health law.
STATEMENT. A Manchin spokesman said his main concern is inflation. "Senator Manchin believes it’s time for leaders to put political agendas aside, reevaluate and adjust to the economic realities the country faces to avoid taking steps that add fuel to the inflation fire.”
CLIMATE. Manchin’s opposition to climate money outraged fellow Democrats. "I believe in the power of the Green New Deal," said Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA). Others attacked Manchin directly, with some making accusations that he had negotiated in bad faith all along.
WHAT’S NEXT. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer will now try to pick up the pieces. Can Democrats get anything done? Or will this be a repeat of the GOP failure to repeal the Obama health law?
SECURITY. Incidents involving two women Democrats in the House have sparked new concerns about security for lawmakers. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) said she's been dealing with a stalker outside her home. "In my case, I had a guy multiple times over the last several months," Jayapal told reporters. But nothing was done - until the man showed up with a gun.
CAPITOL. That news came a day after a man heckled Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) on the steps of the Capitol. "This creep really thought he did something," said Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-CA), "but he just showed the world how much of an ass he is."
STEPS. I can't believe the Capitol Police let that guy stand up on the steps and take video with a selfie stick while lawmakers were walking into the House side of the Capitol for votes. I used to get run off those steps by the cops on a regular basis - just for trying to interview lawmakers.
COMPETITIVENESS BILL. With negotiations stalled, Senate Democrats say they may break apart a major competitiveness bill, and pass some of the more popular items in that measure as soon as next week. The item most mentioned for a Senate vote was on $52 billion to spur domestic production of semiconductor chips.
GOP. But there were mixed reviews from Republicans. Some quickly embraced the idea of passing the 'CHIPS' bill. Others vowed to block it until Democrats give up on passing a revised Build Back Better / reconciliation bill. And others weren’t sure what was going to happen.
CHIPS. "I don't think anybody really knows what the final bill might look like, or kind of where the votes are," said Sen. John Thune (R-SD). Backers weren’t ready to give up. “Senators should stay in town for as long as it takes to get the competition bill over the finish line,” said Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH).
SENATE. One thing to remember about this - if Democrats do try to break off pieces of the bill, they’ll need 60 votes to move ahead. And that can only happen if 10 Republicans join with them.
BURN PITS. With a technicality holding up a Senate-passed bill dealing with veterans and toxic burn pits, the House this week moved to get around that delay - adding the bipartisan deal reached in the Senate to an unrelated bill. Because of that, another vote from Senators will be needed to get the bill to the President's desk.
VOTE. The final House vote was 342-88. All 88 'No' votes came from GOP lawmakers in the House. What was their concern? There were no poison pills or pork barrel projects. Some Republicans simply believe the plan will cost too much - about $28 billion per year to fund extra treatment benefits for veterans.
DEFENSE BILL. In a strong bipartisan vote, the House on Thursday approved an $840 billion defense policy bill, which authorized $37 billion more for the Pentagon than President Biden had requested. Democrats voted 180-39 for the measure. Republicans went 149-62 in favor. The vote again showed the backing in both parties for larger defense budgets.
DETAILS. Along with a big overall budget increase, the measure authorizes a 4.6 percent pay raise for members of the military. It also adds a 2.4 percent inflation bonus for those earning less than $45,000 per year. The bill repeals the 1991 and 2002 Iraq war authorizations - which were still in effect.
CRITICS. Democrats who voted against the bill mainly objected to the ever-increasing funding for the Pentagon. "Excessive defense spending prevents us from investing in the people we serve," said Rep. Nikema Williams (D-GA).
GOP CRITICS. Why did 62 Republicans vote no? Some didn't like a requirement for Electric Vehicle charging stations on military bases and other clean energy efforts. Others wanted to relax COVID vaccination requirements. GOP lawmakers also railed against 'woke' provisions in the plan.
BORDER TRIP. A group of GOP Senators will head to the U.S-Mexico border today meet with Border Patrol officials, local elected officials, and the Texas National Guard. They'll be hosted by the two GOP Senators from Texas, Sen. John Cornyn and Sen. Ted Cruz.
MIGRANT SURGE. What's been notable to me about the surge in illegal immigration over the past year is how the White House has just sort of brushed it off. Over 239,000 migrants were stopped by the feds in the month of May - 10 times the number in May of 2020.
DONALD TRUMP. I've been surprised by the number of messages I've received from readers this week questioning my observation that Donald Trump is the favorite for the GOP nomination for President in 2024. I'll say it again. Trump is the favorite. For all of his baggage, he is still the most powerful player in the GOP.
POLLING. Yes, there were polls out this week showing half of GOP voters were ready to move on from Trump. That's fine. But that brings into play an old saying from my father about campaigns: "You can't beat someone with no one." And who exactly is going to stop Trump in the GOP primaries?
FLORIDA. I think there's only one Republican who has a legitimate chance to go up against Trump and win - that's Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. But will DeSantis actually get in the race? Reports indicate Trump may formally declare his candidacy in coming months.
PELOSI. Asked at her weekly news conference about a Trump bid in 2024, Speaker Nancy Pelosi bristled at the question. "Do I ever even mention his name? When have I ever wasted my time talking about him?" Pelosi then referred to Trump as the 'former occasional occupant of the White House.'
INFLATION. Democrats are still hoping that falling gas prices and falling commodity prices will reduce the level of inflation that consumers are feeling - but there isn't much time before the November elections. In fact, Thursday brought another concerning statistic, as the Producer Price Index went up 11.3 percent - that measures wholesale inflation. But there are some good signs.
REGULAR ORDER. We welcome our weekly readers today. You missed a lot this week. 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.
ROBERT E. LEE. Democrats from Virginia have introduced a bill to strip the name of a celebrated Confederate general from a historic site just across the Potomac River. Instead of "Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial," the Lee mansion would be referred to as the "Arlington House National Historic Site."
STORY. "If we are serious about ending racial disparities, we need to stop honoring those who fought to protect slavery,” said Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA). "Arlington House has a larger history which deserves memorialization and reflection," added Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA). You can read more at this link.
NAMES. The move comes as a town just outside Washington, D.C. voted this week to rename 14 roads with names tied to the Confederacy. The Fairfax City Council voted to do away with roads like Confederate Lane, Plantation Parkway, Reb Street, and Lee Highway.
CAPITOL HISTORY. There was a notable change this week in the U.S. Capitol, as the state of Florida replaced the statue of a Confederate general with one of a Black educator and civil rights activist. Speaker Nancy Pelosi hailed the trade of ‘a traitor for a civil rights hero,’ as the Confederate retreat continues in the halls of Congress. That’s my column this week for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
MUSE OF HISTORY. July 15, 1861. On this date, the House sent the Senate a bill which would pay $1,150 to musicians and soldiers who were stationed at Fort Moultrie, South Carolina. The money went to help offset 'losses of private property' by troops and the Army band when they were suddenly evacuated from Fort Moultrie, and moved to Fort Sumter for better security against possible Confederate attacks in Charleston Harbor. The funding was signed into law by President Lincoln on July 24.
LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM:
The House meets at 9 am.
The Senate meets next on Monday.
President Biden’s daily schedule link.
Follow me on Twitter @jamiedupree. Email me at jamiedupree@substack.com
I love this very carefully worded “denial”: A Secret Service spokesman quickly denied any wrongdoing. “The insinuation that the Secret Service maliciously deleted text messages following a request is false,” said Anthony Guglielmi.
How about intentionally deleted, Mr. Guglielmi?
It appears the 45 cult has even compromised our USSS.
Since it’s highly unlikely anything the Jan 6 committee finds will disqualify Trump from running again I’m betting he will. And people will once again underestimate his chances.