This Week In Congress (TWIC)
Your One Stop Shop For Learning What Our Congress Critters Are Up To!
Every week Congress is in session (usually on Sunday evening or Monday morning) I will recap the previous weeks important legislative and committee activity and look ahead to what Congress has planned for the coming week, with my 2 cents of opinion from time to time of course. Hope you find it both informative and worthy of discussion in the comments section.
Last Week in Congress: Here is your C-Span Link where you can view some of last week’s events.
Here Are The Previous Week’s Headlines:
Say Good Bye To The Trump Budget And Say Hello To The Biden Budget — House & Senate Finally Pass Omnibus Appropriations Bill Allowing For Increase Defense And Domestic Spending!
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House & Senate Authorize $13.6 Billion In Ukraine Aid Through Omnibus Bill!
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House Passes Bill Banning US Russian Oil & Gas Imports
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Senate Finally Goes Postal — Passes House Postal Service Reform Act!
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Jan. 6 Committee — Flynn Appears But Says Nothing & Committee Getting Sued
Legislative Activity -
House:
1. 3/9/22 — House Resolution 2471 (H.R. 2471) - Vote on Passage (as Amended) of Division 1 of H.R. 2471 — The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022 — This Bill as amended by the Senate and subsequently by the House is a consolidation of several Bills to provide both Defense and Domestic Appropriations for the Fiscal Year ending September 2022, and provides $13.6 Billion in aid to Ukraine. It also reauthorizes the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and other programs. (You can read the titles of all the individual Bills contained in the Consolidated Appropriations Act HERE.) (You can read the Full Text of the Bill HERE). NOTE: The additional/extension of COVID Funding that may appear in the text of this Bill was pulled out at the last minute before the vote. The voting results below are for Division 1 of the Act which includes mainly Defense Appropriations.
Democrats- 206 Yes 15 No 0 Present 1 Not Voting
Republicans- 155 Yes 54 No 0 Present 2 Not Voting
Independents- 0 Yes 0 No 0 Present 0 Not Voting
Totals- 361 Yes 69 No 0 Present 3 Not Voting
PASSED
Voting Details HERE.
2. 3/9/22 — House Resolution 2471 (H.R. 2471) - Vote on Passage (as Amended) of Division 2 of H.R. 2471 — The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022 — This Bill as amended by the Senate and subsequently by the House is a consolidation of several Bills to provide both Defense and Domestic Appropriations for the Fiscal Year ending September 2022, and provides $13.6 Billion in aid to Ukraine. It also reauthorizes the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and other programs. (You can read the titles of all the individual Bills contained in the Consolidated Appropriations Act HERE.) (You can read the Full Text of the Bill HERE). NOTE: The additional/extension of COVID Funding that may appear in the text of this Bill was pulled out at the last minute before the vote. The voting results below are for Division 2 of the Act which includes mainly Domestic Appropriations.
Democrats- 221 Yes 0 No 1 Present 0 Not Voting
Republicans- 39 Yes 171 No 0 Present 1 Not Voting
Independents- 0 Yes 0 No 0 Present 0 Not Voting
Totals- 260 Yes 171 No 1 Present 1 Not Voting
PASSED
Voting Details HERE.
3. 3/9/22 — House Resolution 6968 (H.R. 6968) - Vote on Passage of H.R.6968 - Suspending Energy Imports from Russia Act — This bill bans US imports of oil and gas from Russia. (You can read the Full Text of the Bill HERE).
Democrats- 220 Yes 2 No 0 Present 0 Not Voting
Republicans- 194 Yes 15 No 0 Present 2 Not Voting
Independents- 0 Yes 0 No 0 Present 0 Not Voting
Totals- 414 Yes 17 No 0 Present 2 Not Voting
PASSED
Voting Details HERE.
Details & Commentary —
- Omnibus Bill — H.R. 2471 — The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022 (commonly referred to as the “Omnibus Bill”, contains appropriations for all Defense and Domestic spending at, on average, a 6% increase across the board. It basically authorizes Federal spending at the increased “Biden Levels” and does away with the woefully inadequate “Trump Levels” which we were stuck at by the frequent passage of Continuing Resolutions (CRs). Yeah, no more CRs! It also includes $13.6 Billion in Ukraine Aid, and non-monetary items such as the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and many other good things. The only negative was the fact that Republicans forced the removal of additional extended COVID spending from the Bill, which our side was forced to accept in order to avoid a Senate GOP filibuster.
With regard to the votes, the Bill was passed in two, separate Divisions, with Division 1 including Defense spending and I think the Ukraine Aid, and Division 2 including all Domestic spending. My guess this was done to appease House Republicans who wanted to vote for Defense Spending, but didn’t want to, “God Forbid” be labeled as voting for increased domestic social spending. This is pretty evident by the results of the two votes with 116 more Republicans voting for Division 1 (Defense) than Division 2 (Domestic). It also could have been done to accommodate the 15 Democrats who voted against the Defense portion, but voted for the Domestic part.
I will have more to say on what a GREAT strategic play this was on the part of Democrats under the Senate section below.
- Russia Energy Ban Bill — This Bill would apparently put into law the Russian Oil & Gas importation ban that Biden has already put in place via Executive Order. I haven’t had a chance to look at the actual Bill to see what, if any caveats are in it with regard to terminating the ban in the event Putin backs off, but I assume it’s not a forever ban.
With regard to the vote, it’s interesting that 194 Republicans voted for the ban knowing full well what effect it will have on gas prices in the US. I know they will still blame Biden and Democrats for rising gas prices, but for most of them, our side can say “you voted for the ban which increased prices”. But the real bizarre thing about this vote in a “Strange Bedfellows” sort of way, are the Representatives who voted “no”. On the Republican side we have some of the same Trump/Putin loving MAGA crazies you'd expect (e.g., Boebert, Cawthorne, Gaetz, Gohmert, Gosar, Greene, etc.). But on the Democratic side we have Bush and Omar voting “no”, for reasons?
Senate:
1. 3/8/22 — House Resolution 3076 (H.R. 3076) - Vote on Passage of H.R.3076 - Postal Service Reform Act of 2022 — This bill addresses the finances and operations of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS). (You can read the Complete Bill Summary HERE and/or the Full Text of the Bill HERE).
Democrats- 48 Yes 0 No 0 Present 0 Not Voting
Republicans- 29 Yes 19 No 0 Present 2 Not Voting
Independents- 2 Yes 0 No 0 Present 0 Not Voting
Totals- 79 Yes 19 No 0 Present 2 Not voting
PASSED
Voting Details HERE.
2. 3/10/22 — Amendment to House Resolution 2471 (H.R. 2471) - Vote on the Amendment S.Amdt. 4989: Lee Amdt. No. 4989; To prohibit funding for COVID-19 vaccine mandates.
Democrats- 0 Yes 48 No 0 Present 0 Not Voting
Republicans- 49 Yes 0 No 0 Present 1 Not Voting
Independents- 0 Yes 2 No 0 Present 0 Not Voting
Totals- 49 Yes 50 No 0 Present 1 Not Voting
REJECTED
Voting Details HERE.
3. 3/10/22 — Amendment to House Resolution 2471 (H.R. 2471) - Vote on the Amendment S.Amdt. 4990: Braun Amdt. No. 4990; To prohibit funds from being used for earmarks.
Democrats- 1 Yes 47 No 0 Present 0 Not Voting
Republicans- 34 Yes 15 No 0 Present 1 Not Voting
Independents- 0 Yes 2 No 0 Present 0 Not Voting
Totals- 35 Yes 64 No 0 Present 1 Not Voting
REJECTED
Voting Details HERE.
4. 3/10/22 — Amendment to House Resolution 2471 (H.R. 2471) - Vote on the Amendment S.Amdt. 4983: Kennedy Amdt. No. 4983; To provide emergency assistance for disaster response and recovery, and for other expenses, directly related to Hurricanes Laura, Delta, and Ida and to provide assistance for the Port Infrastructure Development Program.
Democrats- 5 Yes 43 No 0 Present 0 Not Voting
Republicans- 30 Yes 19 No 0 Present 1 Not Voting
Independents- 0 Yes 2 No 0 Present 0 Not Voting
Totals- 35 Yes 64 No 0 Present 1 Not Voting
REJECTED (60 Votes Needed For Adoption)
Voting Details HERE.
5. 3/10/22 — House Resolution 2471 (H.R. 2471) - Vote on Senate Concurrence in the House Amendment to the Senate Amendment to H.R. 2471 — The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022 — This Bill as amended by the Senate and subsequently by the House is a consolidation of several Bills to provide both Defense and Domestic Appropriations for the Fiscal Year ending September 2022, and provides $13.6 Billion in aid to Ukraine. It also reauthorizes the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and other programs. (You can read the titles of all the individual Bills contained in the Consolidated Appropriations Act HERE.) (You can read the Full Text of the Bill HERE). NOTE: The additional/extension of COVID Funding that may appear in the text of this Bill was pulled out at the last minute before the vote.
Democrats- 48 Yes 0 No 0 Present 0 Not Voting
Republicans- 18 Yes 31 No 0 Present 1 Not Voting
Independents- 2 Yes 0 No 0 Present 0 Not Voting
Totals- 68 Yes 31 No 0 Present 1 Not Voting
PASSED
Voting Details HERE.
Details & Commentary —
- Postal Service Reform Act — Well after a week’s delay courtesy of Florida Senator Rick (A’ Hole ) Scott, the Senate finally got around to passing H.R.3076 - the Postal Service Reform Act which restores fiscal solvency to the postal service and makes a bunch of much needed changes including mandating 6 day a week mail delivery. Now if the new Board can only show Trump holdover DeJoy (current inept and corrupt Postmaster General) the door and proceed with ordering a fleet of electric postal vehicles instead of the gas guzzlers Dejoy wants to purchase to reward his Oil Executive friends, we will be making some real progress.
- Omnibus Appropriations / Ukraine Aid Bill — Before I get into the details of the Senate’s miraculous one day debate and passage of H.R. 2471 — The Consolidated Appropriations Act, let me pick up where I left off above on the GREAT political Strategy devised and carried out by the Democrat Leadership Team (Pelosi, Hoyer, Schumer, Durbin and others) and a unified Democratic Caucus. By putting Ukraine Aid in the Omnibus Bill, and then introducing it just before the expiration date of the current CR on March 11 (i.e., government funding/shutdown deadline), they created the perfect storm against the usual Republican obstruction. Although Republicans really didn’t want to give Biden the spending increase he requested by passing the Omnibus Appropriations Bill (much rather keep sticking Biden with the inadequate Trump Budget), with the possible exception of Defense spending, Dems. knew there were two things that Republicans really didn’t want. One — they didn’t want to get blamed for a government shutdown, and Two — they didn’t want to vote against Ukraine Aid (at least the non-Putin loving ones). So putting the Ukraine Aid in the Omnibus and against a deadline was an unusual but amazing bit of political hardball by the Democrats. But what was even more amazing to me is that they carried through with this political game of chicken and did not blink near the end as we have so often seen them do. I have to be honest, up until the last minute I thought they would cave by putting the Ukraine Aid into another CR, and doom their best chance to pass the Omnibus Bill. But thankfully they held out this time and got almost the whole Omnibus, except for the COVID Funding, passed by the House and Senate in just two days, which is beyond light speed from a Congressional timeframe. So hands clapping for the Dem. Leadership and Caucus for once having a spine and getting much needed legislation across the finish line 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏!
With regard to the Senate Action on the Bill, you will notice the Senate voted on three Republican amendments before passage of the Bill. They were allowed on the floor as a sort of consolation prize to some GOP Senators who may have been threatening to filibuster the Omnibus Bill. In the end they were all voted down by mainly Democrats and a handful of Republicans, because passage of such amendments would require the Bill be sent back to the House, and assure a government shutdown on March 11, which almost no one wanted. A couple of interesting items regarding the votes on these particular amendments.
On the Braun Amendment to prohibit funds from being used for earmarks, it’s interesting that 15 Republicans voted against that amendment. I would bet that each of these 15 had earmarks for their States in the Bill.
On the Kennedy Amendment to provide additional emergency assistance for past hurricane damage in his State, it’s interesting that 30 Republicans voted for such additional aid. I would bet those same Republicans would vote against such aid for a Blue State impacted by natural disasters as they have done in the past.
In the end, the Bill past without being filibustered and with 18 Republicans voting for it. A truly AMAZING accomplishment for a Senate where such Bills usually go to die!
Nominations — The Senate confirmed one Nominee this week.
1. Confirmed — Maria L. Pagan, of Puerto Rico, to be a Deputy United States Trade Representative (Geneva Office), with the rank of Ambassador. Vote 80 to 19.
Committee Activity:
House Jan. 6 Select Committee: Let me apologize upfront in case I missed some important development last week with respect to the Select Committee’s work. Frankly, there is so much happening so fast it’s hard to keep up. But I’ll do my best.
- 3/9/22 — Steven Miller Sues Committee — From CBS News:
Stephen Miller, who served as a senior adviser to former President Donald Trump, is suing the House select committee investigating the January 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol in an effort to block enforcement of a subpoena for his cell phone records.
Miller's complaint, filed with the federal district court in Washington on Wednesday, states T-Mobile was served with the subpoena on February 22 for subscriber information and records of phone calls and text messages from November 1, 2020, to January 31, 2021, for the phone number assigned to Miller's cell phone.
Miller's phone is part of a family plan account with his parents that is held by Carron Drive Apartments LP, a California limited partnership formed in August 1997, according to his suit. T-Mobile notified Carron Drive at the end of February it had been served with the subpoena from the House panel for Miller's phone information and intends to comply unless Carron Drive sought a court order to block it from turning over the records to investigators.
"Carron Drive and Mr. Miller have filed this complaint to obtain this court's protection from the select committee's intrusive and unjustified attempt to violate the privacy rights that Mr. Miller and, potentially, the other members of the Miller family have under the Family Plan Account," he said in his suit.
Miller claimed the House panel lacks the authority to obtain his phone records and called the subpoena "overly broad." The request, he continued, "seeks information that is unrelated to the purposes whereby Congress established the select committee" and violates his First and Fourth Amendment rights.
- 3/9/22 — RNC to Sue Committee — From Axios:
The Jan. 6 select committee has subpoenaed Salesforce, the customer relationship management giant and a major Republican National Committee vendor, for sensitive information about the RNC's fundraising, Axios has learned.
- The RNC plans to sue to stop the disclosure, according to three sources with direct knowledge of the dispute. An advance copy of the complaint filed was reviewed by Axios.
Why it matters: It's the most significant legal confrontation so far between the GOP's official apparatus and the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
Details: The substance of the Salesforce subpoena seeks documents from the RNC's fundraising platform vendor, owned by Salesforce, that the committee says could contain evidence of fundraising practices based on falsehoods that may have contributed to the attack.
- The RNC lawsuit characterizes the subpoena as a political ploy that is "staggeringly broad and unduly burdensome" and a "fishing expedition" designed to expose confidential information about donors and fundraising practices.
- 3/10/22 — Michael Flynn Appears Before Committee — From CBS News:
Onetime Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn appeared on Thursday before the House select committee investigating the January 6 Capitol attack, his attorney confirmed.
The deposition comes after the committee subpoenaed Flynn last year, requesting information about a December 2020 meeting he reportedly attended with then-President Trump in the Oval Office. Topics of discussion allegedly included seizing voting machines, declaring a national emergency and invoking certain national emergency powers.
"General Michael Flynn appeared before the January 6th Committee today in compliance with their subpoena and, on advice of counsel, exercised his 5th amendment right to decline to answer the Committee's questions," attorney David Warrington said in a statement.
Details & Commentary — First the law suits. Miller’s suit claims the subpoena of his cell phone records is overly broad and violates his right to privacy. I am not a lawyer , but this seems rather frivolous on its face. However, it will delay the Committee from obtaining Miller’s phone records. Not sure how critical they are to the investigation. In the case of the RNC, they are going to try to sue to block the Committee’s access to RNC financial records through their vendor, “Salesforce”. The Committee believes the records may show RNC fundraising based on falsehoods. Again, this will delay the Committee getting records that I have no idea how vital they may be to their investigation.
Finally, Flynn did appear before the Committee last week, but said nothing. Through Counsel he simply invoked his Fifth Amendment privilege multiple times to join the growing band of Trump alleged criminals who have done the same.
Next Week in Congress: Here is your
C-Span Link where you can view some of next week’s events.
Here Are The Coming Week’s Headlines:?
Senate/House May Consider Russian Trade Status Degrade Bill This Week
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Senate May Vote On House Russian Oil/Gas Ban Bill This Week
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Jan. 6 Committee Could Get A Ruling This Week In The Eastman E-mails Case
Legislative Activity —
House:
- Revocation of Russian Favored Nation Trade Status — From Time:
President Joe Biden announced Friday the U.S. will dramatically downgrade its trade status with Russia as punishment for its invasion of Ukraine and also ban imports of Russian seafood, alcohol and diamonds.
The broad trade shift, which revokes the “most favored nation” status for Russia, is being taken in coordination with the European Union and Group of Seven countries.
Biden’s changes on Russia’s trade status come as bipartisan pressure has been building in Washington to revoke what is formally known as “permanent normal trade relations” with Russia. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pressed the U.S. and allies to take the action against Russia in remarks to Congress over the weekend. It follows days after the Biden moved to ban imports of Russian oil and gas products.
Details & Commentary — Don’t quote me on this, but I am certain I heard a news report over the weekend which said Congressional action would be needed to enact these changes in trade status. Even if it’s not required, look for Congress to jump on this with a piece of legislation as many want to do all they can to help Ukraine and punish Russia. So I will be watching for legislation on this to come up in the House this week, or maybe in the Senate.
Senate:
Per the Senate's Web Site, the Senate will convene on Monday, March 14 at 3:00 pm and proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the nomination of Shalanda D. Young, of Louisiana, to be Director of the Office of Management and Budget.
- Russian Oil & Gas Import Ban — As noted above, last week the House passed H.R.6968 - Suspending Energy Imports from Russia Act, a bill that bans US imports of oil and gas from Russia. It passed the House by a wide Bipartisan margin, so look for the Senate to take it up this week and pass it, likely by a similar Bipartisan margin.
Details & Commentary — Watching for passage of the Russian Oil & Gas ban and possibly also a Bill degrading Russian trade status, as both sides seek to be helpful to Ukraine and tough on Putin, with the possible exception of the few remaining GOP Trump MAGA , Putin Loving Crazies.
Committee Activity:
House:
The following are links to the House Calendar of Committee Activity for March 15, 16 & 17 (there are no scheduled activities for March 14 or 18):
Committee Activity —
March 15 House Schedule
March 16 House Schedule
March 17 House Schedule
Looking at the above House Schedule for this coming week, there are a few Committee Meetings/Hearings that might be interesting.
March 16 —
- Markup: H.R. 350 the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act of 2021
10:00 AM | 2141 Rayburn HOB
- Hearing: Fighting Fire with Fire: Evaluating the Role of Forest Management in Reducing Catastrophic Wildfires
10:00 AM | 2154 Rayburn HOB
March 17 —
- Hearing: Member Day Hearing on Proxy Voting and Remote Committee Proceedings as Established by H. Res. 965 of the 116th Congress Original Jurisdiction Hearing
9:00 AM | H-313 CAPITOL
- Hearing: The Targeting of Black Institutions: From Church Violence to University Bomb Threats
House Jan. 6 Select Committee: According to the Committee's Official Schedule there are no Hearings or Meetings this coming week. But a lot continues to happen behind the scenes. But here are some things to watch for this week:
- Eastman Court Hearing — Here’s the latest from The LA Times:
A federal judge on Wednesday handed an incremental victory to the congressional panel investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection in a case involving California attorney John Eastman.
The judge ruled against Eastman for now, saying the court would review the documents to determine which can be turned over to the panel.
Details & Commentary — Since the Judge in this case has been very aware of the “need for speed” in these legal proceedings, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him rule on the E-mails this week.
Senate:
Here is the list of Senate Committee Hearings/Meetings for the coming week. Below is a list of some you may find interesting:
Wednesday, Mar 16, 2022
10:00 AM – SD-215 |
Finance |
Hearings to examine prescription drug price inflation, focusing on the urgent need to lower drug prices in Medicare. |
Wednesday, Mar 16, 2022
3:00 PM – SR-222 |
Armed Services
Subcommittee on Personnel |
Hearings to examine the health effects of exposure to airborne hazards, including toxic fumes from burn pits.
|
Thursday, Mar 17, 2022
10:00 AM – SD-106 |
Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe |
Hearings to examine the Baltics under pressure. |
Details & Commentary — I would recommend the last one for viewing due to current events.
Also:
- Senate Judiciary Committee — SCOTUS Nomination — Nothing happening this week, but Hearings are scheduled to begin on March 21.
That’s All until Next Week! See Ya Then!
