(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . THIS WEEK IN CONGRESS: Dems. FINALLY Are Playing HARDBALL! [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags'] Date: 2022-08-02 This Week In Congress (TWIC) Your One Stop Shop For Learning What Our Congress Critters Are Up To! Well, the Doctor is back from my vacation Space/Time Adventure . Sorry for the Belated weekly post! Anything much happen in Congress while I was gone? HOLY CRAP! A Shitload of Crap Happened! As you may already know, every week Congress is in session (usually on Sunday evening or Monday morning, but this time I’m late) I recap the previous week’s 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. For the sake of brevity, I will not be going back to before I left in June, but only provide highlights on the big stuff that has happened in the last week or two. I of course will cover what should be happening this week A lot going on, so let’s get right down to it! Hope you find it both informative and worthy of recommending and discussion in the comments section. But before I get into the usual stuff, I have to highlight the Schumer — Manchin Bromance that seems to have popped up from nowhere. There has been a lot of ink put to paper about what might have caused Manchin’s sudden 180 on the Reconciliation Bill. But let me just give you my crazy theory. Back on Christmas Day 2021, I posted a Special “This Week In Congress” which I entitled A Manchin-Scrooge Christmas Carol. This was just after Manchin publicly torpedoed the BBB Bill for the first time. The tale patterned after the Dickens’ classic starred Joe Manchin as Scrooge of course, the ghost of John McCain (Manchin’s former Senate Colleague) as Scrooges partner Jacob Marley, Representative Primila Jayapal (who Manchin lied to) as the Ghost of Christmas Past, Senator Chris Coons (Manchin’s friend in the Senate) as the Ghost of Christmas Present, and Senator Bernie Sanders (Manchin’s nemesis in the Senate) as the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come. In my political version of a Christmas Carol, Manchin experiences a 180 degree turn on the BBB after the one night visit by the four spirits and announces his full throat support for the Bill. Now did this actually happen to Manchin in a “Christmas in July” sort of way? Probably not. But I have no better explanation for his overnight support for a somewhat scaled down and renamed Bill. More Details on the Schumer-Manchin screwing of McConnell later on down the page. BTW, Click on this LINK to give my previous post a quick read. I think you will find it amusing. Now back to your regularly scheduled TWIC: Here Are The Previous Weeks’ Headlines : House Passes Two Abortion Rights Bills! __________________________________________________________________________________ House Passes Same Sex & Inter-Racial Marriage Bill! __________________________________________________________________________________ House Passes Right to Contraception Bill! __________________________________________________________________________________ House Passes Assault Weapons Ban! __________________________________________________________________________________ House & Senate Pass CHIPS Semi-Conductor Bill! __________________________________________________________________________________ Senate Republicans Have Tantrum and Vote Against Cloture on a Veterans’ Health Bill! __________________________________________________________________________________ Jan. 6 Committee — Sharing Transcripts with DoJ and Interviewing Former Trump Cabinet Officials Legislative Activity - House : 1. 7 /15/22 — House Resolution 8296 (H.R. 8296) - Vote on Passage of H.R.8296 - Women’s Health Protection Act of 2022 — This bill prohibits governmental restrictions on the provision of, and access to, abortion services. Specifically, governments may not limit a provider's ability to prescribe certain drugs, offer abortion services via telemedicine, or immediately provide abortion services when the provider determines a delay risks the patient's health. Furthermore, governments may not require a provider to perform unnecessary medical procedures, provide medically inaccurate information, comply with credentialing or other conditions that do not apply to providers whose services are medically comparable to abortions, or carry out all services connected to an abortion. (You can read the Full Summary of this Bill HERE and the Bill’s Full Text HERE.) Democrats- 219 Yes 1 No 0 Present 0 Not Voting Republicans- 0 Yes 209 No 0 Present 2 Not Voting Independents- 0 Yes 0 No 0 Present 0 Not Voting Totals- 219 Yes 210 No 0 Present 2 Not Voting PASSED Voting Details HERE. 2. 7/15/22 — House Resolution 8297 (H.R. 8297) - Vote on Passage of H.R.8297 - Ensuring Access to Abortion Act of 2022 — This bill prohibits anyone acting under state law from interfering with a person's ability to access out-of-state abortion services. (Abortion services includes the use of any drugs that are approved to terminate pregnancies and any health care services related to an abortion, whether or not provided at the same time or on the same day.) Specifically, the bill prohibits any person acting under state law from preventing, restricting, impeding, or retaliating against health care providers who provide legal abortion services to out-of-state residents, any person or entity who helps health care providers to provide such services, any person who travels to another state to obtain such services, any person or entity who helps another person travel to another state to obtain such services, or the movement in interstate commerce of drugs that are approved to terminate pregnancies. (You can read the Full Text of this Bill HERE.) Democrats- 220 Yes 0 No 0 Present 0 Not Voting Republicans- 3 Yes 205 No 0 Present 3 Not Voting Independents- 0 Yes 0 No 0 Present 0 Not Voting Totals- 223 Yes 205 No 0 Present 3 Not Voting PASSED Voting Details HERE. 3. 7/15/22 — House Resolution 8351 (H.R. 8351) - Vote on Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass H.R.8351 - Formula Act — This bill provides through December 31, 2022, duty-free treatment to infant formula. During this time period, articles of infant formula shall not be subject to (1) any additional safeguard duties that may be imposed under subchapter IV of chapter 99 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule; or (2) any other import quotas, tariff-rate quotas, additional duties, or any other duties, fees, exactions, or charges that otherwise would apply to such articles. (You can read the Full Text of this Bill HERE.) Democrats- 218 Yes 0 No 0 Present 1 Not Voting Republicans- 203 Yes 2 No 0 Present 6 Not Voting Independents- 0 Yes 0 No 0 Present 0 Not Voting Totals- 421 Yes 2 No 0 Present 7 Not Voting PASSED (2/3s Required to Pass) Voting Details HERE. 4. 7/19/22 — House Resolution 8404 (H.R. 8404) - Vote on Passage of H.R.8404 - Respect for Marriage Act — This bill provides statutory authority for same-sex and interracial marriages. Specifically, the bill repeals and replaces provisions that define, for purposes of federal law, marriage as between a man and a woman and spouse as a person of the opposite sex with provisions that recognize any marriage that is valid under state law. (The Supreme Court held that the current provisions were unconstitutional in United States v. Windsor in 2013.) (You can read the Full Text of this Bill HERE.) Democrats- 220 Yes 0 No 0 Present 0 Not Voting Republicans- 47 Yes 157 No 0 Present 7 Not Voting Independents- 0 Yes 0 No 0 Present 0 Not Voting Totals- 267 Yes 157 No 0 Present 7 Not Voting PASSED Voting Details HERE. 5. 7/21/22 — House Resolution 8373 (H.R. 8373) - Vote on Passage of H.R.8373 - Right to Contraception Act — This bill sets out statutory protections for an individual's right to access and a health care provider's right to provide contraception and related information. Contraception refers to an action taken to prevent pregnancy, including the use of contraceptives (i.e., a device or medication used to prevent pregnancy), fertility-awareness based methods, and sterilization procedures. Generally, the bill prohibits measures that single out and impede access to contraception and related information. However, a party may defend against a claim that a measure violates the bill's prohibitions by demonstrating, through clear and convincing evidence, that the measure significantly advances access to contraception and cannot be achieved through less restrictive means. (You can read the Full Text of this Bill HERE.) Democrats- 220 Yes 0 No 0 Present 0 Not Voting Republicans- 8 Yes 195 No 2 Present 6 Not Voting Independents- 0 Yes 0 No 0 Present 0 Not Voting Totals- 228 Yes 195 No 2 Present 6 Not Voting PASSED Voting Details HERE. 6. 7/29/22 — House Resolution 1808 (H.R. 1808) - Vote on Passage of H.R.1808 - Assault Weapons Ban of 2022​​​​​​​ — This bill makes it a crime to knowingly import, sell, manufacture, transfer, or possess a semiautomatic assault weapon (SAW) or large capacity ammunition feeding device (LCAFD). The prohibition does not apply to a firearm that is (1) manually operated by bolt, pump, lever, or slide action, except for certain shotguns; (2) permanently inoperable; (3) an antique; (4) only capable of firing rimfire ammunition; or (5) a rifle or shotgun specifically identified by make and model. The bill also exempts from the prohibition the following, with respect to a SAW or LCAFD: importation, sale, manufacture, transfer, or possession related to certain law enforcement efforts, or authorized tests or experiments; importation, sale, transfer, or possession related to securing nuclear materials; and possession by a retired law enforcement officer. The bill permits continued possession, sale, or transfer of a grandfathered SAW, which must be securely stored. A licensed gun dealer must conduct a background check prior to the sale or transfer of a grandfathered SAW between private parties. The bill permits continued possession of, but prohibits sale or transfer of, a grandfathered LCAFD. Newly manufactured LCAFDs must display serial number identification. Newly manufactured SAWs and LCAFDs must display the date of manufacture. The bill also allows a state or local government to use Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program funds to compensate individuals who surrender a SAW or LCAFD under a buy-back program. (You can read the Full Text of this Bill HERE.) Democrats- 215 Yes 5 No 0 Present 0 Not Voting Republicans- 2 Yes 208 No 0 Present 1 Not Voting Independents- 0 Yes 0 No 0 Present 0 Not Voting Totals- 217 Yes 213 No 0 Present 1 Not Voting PASSED Voting Details HERE. 7. 7/29/22 — House Resolution 4346 (H.R. 4346) - Vote on Motion to Concur in the Senate Adt to the House Adt to the Senate Adton of the CHIPS and Science Act​​​​​​​ — This bill provides $52 billion for semiconductor production subsidies and R&D. It also outlines an ambitious vision for US science policy more broadly, with expansion plans for NSF, NIST, and the Department of Energy. You can read a House Summary of the Bill HERE and download a copy of the text HERE. A couple of warnings however: 1. The Bill # does not correspond to the CHIPS and Science Bill, since that Bill was likely amended to replace it entirely by the CHIPS Bill. 2. Since this Bill has gone through a number of Senate and House amendments, I’m not sure the links provided above necessarily reflect the final passed Bill. Democrats- 219 Yes 0 No 1 Present 0 Not Voting Republicans- 24 Yes 187 No 0 Present 0 Not Voting Independents- 0 Yes 0 No 0 Present 0 Not Voting Totals- 243 Yes 187 No 1 Present 0 Not Voting PASSED Voting Details HERE. Details & Commentary — In general, the votes on the Bills above are good examples of Democrats playing political HARDBALL with Republicans, by making them take votes on issues they would prefer to not vote on, with the exception of the Baby Formula and CHIPS Bills. Taking these votes before the mid-terms are extremely important politically. They clearly establish that Democrats are for things the large majority of voters support, while the Republicans are against them. Also, since these all (except the Baby Formula Bill) won’t get passed by the Senate because of Manchin, Sinema and the GOP filibusters, it allows us to show voters who favor these that they can be passed in 2023 by holding the House and flipping at least two more Senate seats. That is if Democrats can make these the major issues for the 2022 mid-terms. With respect to the two Abortion Rights Bills, the Marriage Bill and the Contraception Bill, I find it a little disconcerting that these things which are unenumerated rights in the Constitution need to be codified into Federal Law to preserve them. With respect to other multiple unenumerated rights, it’s a slippery slope that unfortunately we have to go down. - H.R.8296 - Women’s Health Protection Act & H.R.8297 - Ensuring Access to Abortion Act of 2022 — Looking at the voting outliers on these two abortion rights bills, one Democrat (Cuellar of Texas) voted against the first Bill codifying abortion nationally, but apparently voted for interstate access to abortion. On the other side of the aisle, no Republicans voted for the Bill codifying abortion, while three (3) (Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Kinzinger of Illinois and Upton of Michigan). - H.R.8351 - Formula Act — Amazingly two (2) Republicans (Allen of Georgia and Gohmert of Texas) actually voted against helping Mom’s obtain baby formula. Since these are also pro-birth Republicans, I guess they figure all mothers should breast feed (hand maiden’s style). - H.R.8404 - Respect for Marriage Act — With this Bill, 47 Republicans voted for it, while 157 Republicans decided to vote against codifying same sex and inter-racial marriage, leaving us all to wonder if they are anti-gay or racists or both. - H.R.8373 - Right to Contraception Act — On this Bill, eight (8) Republicans (Cheney of Wyoming, Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Gonzalez of Ohio, Katko of New York, Kinzinger of Illinois, Mace of South Carolina, Salazar of Florida and Upton of Michigan) voted to codify the right to obtain contraception, while 195 Republicans voted against it. I have to wonder how many of those Republicans who voted against it have actually used some form of contraception in their lives. I would expect all of them. - H.R.1808 - Assault Weapons Ban of 2022 ​​​​​​​ — I have to say the mere fact that we finally got an Assault weapons ban on the House Floor and passed it, is a tremendous accomplishment, even if it can go nowhere in the Senate. It’s still important progress. On the vote the outliers were five (5) Democrats (Cuellar of Texas, Golden of Maine, Gonzales of Texas, Kind of Wisconsin and Schrader of Oregon) who voted against the ban, while two (2) Republicans (Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Jacobs of New York) voted for the ban. While the 5 Democrats are likely from “pro-gun” Districts and probably voted “no” to save their own political skin, the mere fact that 2 Republicans voted for it is amazing since they were the deciding votes that allowed it to pass. - ​​​​​​​CHIPS and Science Act — See below under Senate Section. Senate : Legislation — 1. 7/27/22 — House Resolution 4346 (H.R. 4346) - Vote on the Motion: Motion to Concur in the House Amendment to the Senate Amendment to H.R. 4346 with Amendment No. 5135 of the CHIPS and Science Act​​​​​​​ — This bill provides $52 billion for semiconductor production subsidies and R&D. It also outlines an ambitious vision for US science policy more broadly, with expansion plans for NSF, NIST, and the Department of Energy. You can read a House Summary of the Bill HERE and download a copy of the text HERE. A couple of warnings however: 1. The Bill # does not correspond to the CHIPS and Science Bill, since that Bill was likely amended to replace it entirely by the CHIPS Bill. 2. Since this Bill has gone through a number of Senate and House amendments, I’m not sure the links provided above necessarily reflect the final passed Bill. Democrats- 46 Yes 0 No 0 Present 2 Not Voting Republicans- 17 Yes 32 No 0 Present 1 Not Voting Independents- 1 Yes 1 No 0 Present 0 Not Voting Totals- 64 Yes 33 No 0 Present 3 Not Voting PASSED Voting Details HERE. 2. 7/27/22 — Senate Resolution 3373 (S. 3373) - Vote on Motion to Invoke Cloture: Motion to Concur in the House Amendment to S.3373 - Honoring our PACT Act — This bill addresses health care, presumption of service-connection, research, resources, and other matters related to veterans who were exposed to toxic substances during military service. (You can read a Complete Summary HERE and the Full Text of this Bill HERE.) Democrats- 45 Yes 1 No 0 Present 2 Not Voting Republicans- 8 Yes 41 No 0 Present 1 Not Voting Independents- 2 Yes 0 No 0 Present 0 Not Voting Totals- 55 Yes 42 No 0 Present 3 Not Voting FAILED (60 Votes Needed) Voting Details HERE. Details & Commentary — The CHIPS and Science Act finally got enough votes for Cloture and passed both the Senate and House last week, after much arm twisting. This Bill is designed to boost the US Semi-conductor / Chip industry and help them compete with China. Democrats like it because it has the potential to create more US jobs and some Republicans like it because it helps Big Business (nor surprising). However, it’s passage combined with the Manchin-Schumer announced deal on a Reconciliation Bill caused Republicans to throw a hissy fit and block a slightly amended version of the Honoring our PACT Act, a Bill that would extend VA health care benefits to our Veterans who have illnesses related to their toxic exposure to PFOS chemicals while in the Service, which is certainly a good thing. Yes, 41 Senate Republicans voted against our Veterans because they got played by Chuck Schumer. Not too smart on their part, but good for our side. More on this below on this weeks events. Nominations — Since I last posted there have been fourteen (14) Biden nominees confirmed, including three (3) judges. Committee Activity : House : House Jan. 6 Select Committee : For the sake of brevity and since you all have watched or read about the last public hearing by now, I’m going to skip it and just focus on the latest developments. - 7/29/22 — Committee to Share Transcripts with DoJ — Per CNN: The House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol intends to share 20 transcripts with the Justice Department, a select committee spokesperson told CNN. "The select committee intends to share 20 transcripts. We have no plans to share additional transcripts at this time," the spokesperson said. The official sharing of transcripts between the committee and the Justice Department comes as the department's criminal investigation into January 6 is heating up Although it is not immediately clear which transcripts the committee would be handing over to the Justice Department, Rep. Bennie Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat who chairs the panel, previously said the department was interested in individuals connected to the plan to put forward "fake electors" for former President Donald Trump. 7/29/22 — Mulvaney Testifies — Per POLITICO: — Per Mick Mulvaney, the former acting chief of staff from the Trump administration, said Friday that his interview this week with the House committee probing the Jan. 6 insurrection focused on day-to-day operations in the Trump White House as well as Mulvaney’s own communications surrounding the 2020 election and the Capitol riot. Mulvaney said the panel’s makeup — it is comprised of seven Democrats and two Republicans, all of whom were appointed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi — makes its structure “politically biased.” But he insisted that the information the committee has obtained, mostly from Republicans, has been “good and sound.” Next This Week in Congress : Here is your C-Span Link where you can view some of next week’s events. Here is yourwhere you can view some of next week’s events. Here Are The Coming or This Week’s Headlines : Senate may Try Again This Week To Pass the Pass PACT Act To Help Sick Veterans! ______________________________________________________________________________________ Schumer May Bring the Mini-BBB Reconciliation Bill to the Floor This Week! Legislative Activity — [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/8/2/2113914/-THIS-WEEK-IN-CONGRESS-Dems-FINALLY-Are-Playing-HARDBALL Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/