It's a BFD - Supreme Court saves Obamacare again
Election reform gets thumbs down again from Senate Republicans
A familiar Supreme Court outcome for the Affordable Care Act. The GOP rejects a Joe Manchin bid at compromise on election reforms. And yet another reminder that January 6 was not about tourism. This is your free weekly edition of “Regular Order.” Step up to a daily subscription and support independent journalism on Capitol Hill.
ACA SURVIVES AGAIN. In a 7-2 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday struck down a lawsuit led by the state of Texas which sought to overturn the Obama health law. The decision found those GOP states did not have legal standing to sue over the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate. It was yet another victory for supporters of the health law at the High Court.
OBAMA HEALTH LAW. Ever since the ACA was signed into law by President Obama in 2010, Republicans have been trying to repeal it, whether in the Congress, or through the courts. "At this point, it sure seems like the ACA isn’t going away for the foreseeable future," said Larry Levitt of the Kaiser Family Foundation.
BFD. Down the street, Democrats celebrated the decision. "The Affordable Care Act is (still) the law of the land," tweeted Rep. Bill Foster (D-IL). "It’s a big deal that the Affordable Care Act is here to stay,” President Biden said, leaving out one particular word that he used after the law’s original approval.
FOR THE RECORD. It should be noted that Democrats loudly declared last year that Justice Amy Coney Barrett (nominated by President Trump) would be the fifth vote on the Supreme Court to get rid of the ACA. Instead, Barrett was the seventh vote to throw out a GOP lawsuit against it.
ELECTION REFORM. It only took 24 hours for Senate Republicans to brush aside a compromise offer from Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) on election reform and voting rights. Manchin had laid out a series of changes to the sweeping package from Democrats - but GOP Senators swiftly said, 'No thanks.'
MCCONNELL. "I think all of you surely know how all Republicans feel about this proposal," Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters at the Capitol on Thursday. "It's a solution in search of a problem," as McConnell led Republicans in again denouncing the plan as a federal 'takeover' of elections.
NEXT WEEK. Democrats say they'll still bring the bill to the floor, but Republicans are expected to filibuster the motion to start debate on the bill. And Democrats certainly don't have 60 votes to overcome that opposition.
JUNETEENTH. Congressional offices and most federal government offices will be closed today to mark the nation’s newest federal holiday - Juneteenth, after it was signed into law on Thursday at the White House by President Biden. The action came a day after the House gave the plan final approval in a strong bipartisan vote.
WHITE HOUSE. "By making Juneteenth a federal holiday, all Americans can feel the power of this day, and learn from our history, and celebrate progress, and grapple with the distance we’ve come but the distance we have to travel," President Biden said.
GOOD MORNING SUNSHINE. The new day off did not please Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), one of the 14 House Republicans to vote against the holiday, grumbled about it on Twitter Friday morning. “This week, you’re apt to be labeled a racist if you didn’t vote for the 11th paid federal holiday,” Massie tweeted.
SVOG GRUMBLING. Lawmakers in both parties are still not happy with the rollout of a new COVID relief program targeted at live music venues, museums, theaters, and performing arts groups. Government figures show 411 grants have been awarded for $304 million - out of the $11.5 billion requested so far.
CONGRESS. In another letter to the Small Business Administrator, lawmakers from both parties are demanding faster action by the SBA on what’s known as Shuttered Venue Operator Grants. "The slow pace is becoming increasingly untenable for the small businesses in our districts," the latest letter reads from over 200 House members.
FAKE SHOOTING. Twitter lit up for a few minutes on Thursday about a shooting in a U.S. House office building. But it was not true. Instead, it was part of an online game through the global platform known as Roblox, where someone created a Capitol Hill, and role-played as the Capitol Police.
GAMING. If Roblox is your thing, that’s fine. But when you are tweeting about shootings on Capitol Hill that did not happen, that might be a problem if other people don't know you are in a game. The person behind the Twitter account @apcapitolpolice apologized, but it was deactivated by Thursday evening.
BACK THE BLUE. Republicans in Congress often talk proudly of their support for police. But there seems to be an exception when it comes to the January 6 attack on the US Capitol. My column this week for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
DEMS. “It’s true some GOP members of Congress who are treating Capitol Police like shit were the most scared on the floor,” Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) tweeted Thursday night. “Jody Hice (R-GA) took apart a hand sanitizer station to make into a club, Gosar & Biggs (R-AZ) were the first to leave the floor and Rep. Clyde (R-GA) was screaming like a banshee,” Gallego said.
CAPITOL ATTACK. If you need a reminder of what the Capitol Police and D.C. Police went through that day - here’s some new video released on Thursday by the Justice Department of officers being attacked. The guy in red swinging the flagpole at police is a former NYPD officer.
JANUARY 6. Some Republicans initially tried to blame Antifa and BLM elements for the Capitol Attack, instead of Trump supporters. That didn't work. Now some in the GOP say the FBI was involved. Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) put that forward on the floor of the House. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) pressed it on conservative TV.
EARMARK OF THE DAY. Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA) has requested $1.5 million to provide free public Wi-Fi at 15 parks and park facilities in Pasadena, California, 'to further increase access to broadband for underserved communities, students and all residents.' All of Chu’s local funding requests can be found at this link. Links to funding requests of all House members.
MUSE OF HISTORY. June 18, 1945. On this date, massive crowds lined Pennsylvania Avenue up to the Capitol to get a glimpse of American war hero Gen. Dwight Eisenhower, who rolled through the streets of Washington, D.C. in an open Army Jeep. "My imagination cannot picture a more dramatic moment than this in the life of an American," Eisenhower told lawmakers gathered in the House chamber, as he paid tribute to the American and Allied forces who vanquished Nazi Germany. "The American fighting man has never failed to recognize his dependence upon you at home," the General said. With battles still raging in the Pacific against the Japanese, Eisenhower ended his speech by saying, 'we know that final victory is certain.' Little did anyone know that Eisenhower would be back at this same lectern giving a State of the Union Address in 1953.
LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM:
The House next has votes on Tuesday.
The Senate meets next on Monday.
President Biden’s daily schedule link.
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