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December 16, 2022
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PRESENTED BY
THE TOP
Happy Friday morning.
At 9:50 p.m. last night, the Senate passed a bill to fund federal agencies through next week, averting a government shutdown that was never really going to happen (just like we told you.) The stopgap bill, which extends funding through Dec. 23, was approved by a 71-19 margin.
That final vote came after senators rejected a proposal by Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) to extend the funding deadline until early March. That would’ve essentially killed the FY2023 omnibus package that House and Senate appropriators are drafting for consideration next week. The Senate also voted down another amendment by Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) to eliminate $80 billion in new money for the IRS included in the Inflation Reduction Act.
Earlier in the evening, the Senate passed the annual defense policy bill by a huge bipartisan margin, 83-11. The legislation, named after retiring Sen. Jim Inhofe (Okla.), the ranking Republican on the Armed Services Committee, authorizes $857 billion for defense programs, a huge boost from last year. Senators from the left and right opposed the NDAA for various reasons, including a repeal of the Covid vaccine mandate for members of the armed forces. Yet an overwhelming number of lawmakers in both parties – like their House counterparts – back a major increase in the Pentagon’s budget.
So what’s next? Glad you asked.
Let’s start with this: Passage of the NDAA and the new CR cleared the way for the last, and most important, issue of this lame-duck session – the FY2023 omnibus. It will be the final drama of the post-election period and caps off the historic 117th Congress.
We don’t expect to see text for the roughly $1.7 trillion omnibus package until Monday. Staff-level “readouts” of the 12 annual bills that make up the package are expected to start Sunday. That’s when GOP and Democratic appropriations aides scrub the individual bills for problems, an arduous process.
We scooped yesterday that Senate negotiators had reached an agreement on the allocation levels for each of the bills, which allowed staffers to move ahead with drafting the individual measures. There’s still work to be done on policy riders, and we caution that partisan disputes over these issues could slow down the process.
If the omnibus text is ready to go by Monday, then the Senate can vote to get on the bill. Once that Senate formally takes up the legislation, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer can file cloture. Assuming this occurs Monday, that sets up a cloture vote on Wednesday, and final passage by the Senate sometime Thursday. The measure would be sent to the House for action on Friday. Once passed by the House – again, we’re assuming it is – then the legislation would head to President Joe Biden’s desk for his signature.
This is one potential path, a slow but steady procession that can’t be stopped, provided there are 60 votes for the measure in the Senate and 218 in the House.
“We’re moving along, we’re moving internally along on allocations and everything,” Sen. Richard Shelby (Ala.), the top Republican on the Appropriations Committee, said Thursday night. “We haven’t sealed [up] everything, but we’re close to it.”
The Senate’s timetable, of course, could be accelerated if all 100 senators agreed to do so. But in speaking with Senate GOP conservatives on Thursday night, it doesn’t seem like they’re going to go along with that.
“I think my job mainly is to oppose the omnibus,” said Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who pointed out that no one outside of House and Senate appropriators or the leadership will know what it’s in the package before it hits the floor.
Lee added: “I want to make sure we have, at a minimum, adequate opportunity for votes.”
The Utah Republican noted that he “tries not to telegraph in advance what procedural objections I might raise, especially something happening next week.”
The House has alerted its members that it will come back into session Wednesday. The chamber will stay in session until the omnibus package is passed. Speaker Nancy Pelosi has a very thin majority – only a two-vote margin on her side – although she can count on some GOP support. Nine Republicans crossed the aisle and voted with Democrats on the Dec. 23 funding extension.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and other top Republicans are going to whip against the omnibus, although this may be a case of “Vote no but hope yes.” There will be earmarks in this package sought by Republicans, which is Democrats’ attempt to try to pick up some GOP support. We’ll see if it happens.
Also: Pelosi is advocating for Sen. Josh Hawley’s (R-Mo.) bill banning TikTok on government devices be added to the omnibus spending package.
Read our story from last night’s PM edition on the Senate’s TikTok deal, including the behind-the-scenes scramble between Hawley and Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) on nominees.
– John Bresnahan and Jake Sherman
NOT SO SAFE
McHenry opposes the SAFE Banking Act, but won’t obstruct it in 2023
You’ve probably heard us say that cannabis banking reform is bipartisan and popular. That’s still true! When the Secure and Fair Enforcement Banking Act first passed the House in 2019, more than 100 Republicans voted for the bill championed by outgoing Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-Colo.).
But we should note that one rather important Republican didn’t vote in favor of the measure – House Financial Services Committee Chair-elect Patrick McHenry (N.C.), who gave this speech opposing the bill at that time.
This is relevant today for two reasons. One, Senate Banking Committee Chair Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) told us yesterday that he’d throw the weight of his panel behind cannabis reform in 2023.
Two, it’s looking less likely by the hour that the SAFE Banking Act will be included in next week’s omnibus funding package, meaning that the 118th Congress is the bill’s next best shot.
So we asked McHenry last night if he’s still opposed to cannabis banking reform. The North Carolina Republican said yes.
But there’s an important caveat: McHenry said he would not stand in the way of any of his GOP colleagues who wanted to support the bill next year.
Here’s more from McHenry:
Thus, even without direct support from the House’s top financial policy leader – which, to be clear, would be helpful – SAFE Banking has a shot with a standalone vote, even in a Republican-controlled chamber.
That deference could be crucial to the bill’s passage. Rep. William Timmons (R-S.C.), a member of the House Financial Services Committee and a co-sponsor of the SAFE Banking Act, told us yesterday he “wouldn’t have been a co-sponsor if [McHenry] didn’t want me to.”
Yet there’s also a conflict here between the relatively narrow bill the House has passed and the package negotiated in the Senate.
The reason Brown is more interested in SAFE Banking today is because the Senate version will include some limited progressive priorities, including restorative justice components that would provide federal funds for state record expungement efforts.
The broader a cannabis bill becomes in the Senate, the more likely House Republicans will balk en masse. McHenry made that point to us:
– Brendan Pedersen
JAN. 6
Jan. 6 panel preps for final hearing on Monday
The Jan. 6 select committee will present portions of the panel’s final report and vote on whether to issue criminal referrals during its final meeting on Monday.
With just weeks to go until Republicans take over the House, the Jan. 6 committee is scrambling to release its conclusions to the public. Committee leaders moved up the release of the final report from Wednesday to Monday. Chair Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) said the executive summary and eight chapters of the report will be unveiled at the committee’s 1 p.m. meeting that day.
Thompson said he didn’t know what names would be brought up when the panel turns to the matter of issuing criminal referrals. Four committee members — Reps. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) and Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) — are leading the charge in determining what individuals should be referred for potential prosecution by the Justice Department.
“We’ve made no secret that we’re going to present our findings to the American public and this will help fulfill that,” committee member Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) said of Monday’s session.
The select committee has set new standards for congressional investigations. The panel interviewed more than 1,000 witnesses while combing through millions of documents and video records. The narrative it put together showed just how vast the scheme was by former President Donald Trump and his allies to overturn the 2020 elections – and how close they came to doing so.
— Max Cohen
PRESENTED BY INTUIT
Intuit and the Suh Family Foundation are giving students the personal finance skills and confidence to empower them in the real world. Learn how.
THE MONEY GAME
| → | Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) is getting a head start on the next election, donating $250,000 to the DCCC for the 2024 cycle. The Illinois Democrat’s dues are only $175,000. |
“While Republicans fight internally, Democrats are already organizing to win back the majority,” Krishnamoorthi said. “I’m eager to do everything in my power to support this effort, which includes donating dues to the DCCC.We have no time to waste, and I’m confident many of my colleagues will follow suit.”
| → | Like the PGA Tour? Have a craving to be in Phoenix in February? Are you a fan of Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), who could be prepping for a 2024 presidential run? Then we have the event for you. |
Scott is inviting donors to his Tomorrow Is Meaningful PAC to a Phoenix Open trip from Feb. 10-13. It’ll set you back $2,500 if you want to attend.
— Max Cohen
DOWNTOWN DOWNLOAD
| → | Children’s Health Fund, which was co-founded by singer Paul Simon (who knew!), has hired Obsidian Strategists to make “[i[ntroductions to lawmakers, federal earmarks, budget, appropriations legislation.” |
– Jake Sherman
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