The Archive
Every issue of the Punchbowl News newsletter, including our special editions, right here at your fingertips.
Join the community, and get the morning edition delivered straight to your inbox.
Presented by Apollo Global Management
Apollo is helping fuel the economy and promote resiliency in the financial system by originating investment-grade private credit. Learn how Apollo is helping the great American businesses of today become leaders of tomorrow.
PRESENTED BY
![](https://punchbowl.news/wp-content/uploads/null-1381.png)
THE TOP
Happy Monday morning.
In the mad legislative dash that is July, the theme of this week in the Senate will be “Wait, wait, hurry up.”
Senate Democrats are moving forward with a narrow reconciliation package, but the vote may slide into early August. In the meantime, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer will try to put together a bill to provide tens of billions of dollars in aid to the U.S. semiconductor industry, while all his colleagues lobby furiously to get their provisions included. And the Senate Foreign Relations Committee begins the process of giving formal U.S. approval to Sweden and Finland joining NATO.
Meanwhile the House will vote on a series of FY 2023 spending bills, as well as legislation to guarantee access to contraception nationwide. The House Judiciary Committee will take up an assault weapons ban for the first time since 1994, something gun-control advocates have been demanding.
Topping it off, on Thursday, the Jan. 6 select committee will hold a prime time hearing laying out a minute-by-minute timetable detailing what former President Donald Trump and his top aides did during the deadly insurrection at the Capitol.
So yeah, it will be kind of busy. Let’s get into it.
→ | Build Back Manchin. Senate Democratic leaders have agreed to move forward on a reconciliation package that allows Medicare to negotiate on drug prices and extends Obamacare subsidies for two years. No, it’s not the Build Back Better bill – or anything close. |
But at this point, it’s all that Schumer and other Democrats can get Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) to support. President Joe Biden has already signaled he’ll take this deal, as narrow as it is, so Schumer must turn it into legislative text and push it through the Senate as quickly as possible.
Manchin, for his part, says he’s still at the table and ready to negotiate, although at this point, it seems pretty clear that Schumer and Biden will just take what they can get and move on. They still need Manchin for this package and other votes, meaning no burning of bridges here.
Timing: The Senate parliamentarian is expected to hold a bipartisan meeting with staffers on Thursday as part of the “Byrd bath” for the Democrats’ Medicare proposal. That means it will be next week at the earliest before any reconciliation package is ready to go. And it will take a week of floor time for a vote-a-rama on the package.
The Senate is currently scheduled to be in session until early August. We assume that passing the reconciliation package takes Democrats up until then.
There is some liberal angst both in the House and Senate about setting aside all of the party’s long-held priorities on taxes, climate and social programs. But we spent the latter part of last week asking Senate Democrats whether they would accept this extremely pared back package, and it seems as if they will. That may change, of course. But Democrats face the distinct choice of passing something or nothing at all. The president’s approval rating is in the 30s. Polls consistently show that Americans believe the country is heading in the wrong direction. Passing something is mission critical.
Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) sums up most Democrats’ thinking pretty well:
“Whatever subset of Build Back Better that he’ll agree to, we will accept,” Beyer said of Manchin. “It will be a win. It won’t be exactly perfect, but nothing is in this world.
→ | Chips. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, the Biden administration’s top negotiator on the USICA package, said last week that if Congress doesn’t pass $52 billion in financial aid for the semiconductor industry, China will win and America will lose. |
There are early signs that the White House is going to get a break here. Schumer is scrambling to put a final CHIPS (Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors) bill together. We’ll get a better idea of what’s in it later today or early tomorrow. In addition to the $52 billion in chipmaker subsidies, the bill is also expected to include an investment tax credit that was initially part of the bipartisan FABS (Facilitating American Built Semiconductors) Act. This provides a tax credit for building or modernizing semiconductor fabrication facilities, the real cornerstones of the industry. And Sens. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) are lobbying for language to promote non-Chinese 5G equipment manufacturers.
However, you should know that there’s a lot of lobbying going on behind the scenes as senators in both parties push to get their favored provision included. The final bill may get revised.
If Schumer files a motion to proceed on Tuesday, that sets up a cloture vote on Thursday. This would line up final passage next week.
On Sunday, Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) tweeted that Republicans were ready to move forward on this legislation because Democrats pared back their big reconciliation package.
House Democrats believe they’ll be able to pass any bill the Senate approves, but they may need some GOP votes to do so.
Overall, the Senate this week will feature a lot of waiting to find out what’s actually in legislation to then hurry up and vote on it the next two weeks as the August recess looms.
→ | Across the Capitol: We broke the news on Friday that the House Judiciary Committee will be voting this week on Rep. David Cicilline’s (D-R.I.) assault weapons ban. It’s the first time the panel has taken up such a ban in decades. The bill is expected to pass in the committee and then move to the House floor before members leave for the August recess. |
Also, before the rhetoric really starts to crank up – and it will – here’s the Cicilline legislation. The bill does not take guns away from anyone.
Another big House vote will take place on Rep. Kathy Manning’s (D-N.C.) bill establishing a right to contraceptives. Here’s the bill. This vote is part of Democrats’ response to the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade. Justice Clarence Thomas suggested other Supreme Court cases involving personal privacy could be overturned as well, such as the 1965 Griswold decision allowing married couples to use contraception. The court later ruled everyone had that right no matter their marital status. Democrats want to pass legislation stating this clearly.
House Appropriations Committee Chair Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) will bring a $560 billion-plus package of six annual spending bills to the floor as well. None of these are going anywhere in the Senate, which hasn’t offered its own bills at this point.
→ | One more thing: We wanted to offer our condolences on the passing of John Sullivan, the former House parliamentarian. He was a patient, friendly man who was endlessly kind to us in responding to all our inquiries. Sullivan served in the House from 1984 to 2012, the last eight as parliamentarian. |
– Jake Sherman, John Bresnahan and Heather Caygle
PRESENTED BY PHRMA
Today, there are 90 medicines in development for Alzheimer’s disease, 119 medicines for breast cancer, 26 medicines for childhood diabetes… But government price setting could mean fewer medicines in the coming years. Which diseases could go untreated if Congress passes government price setting? There is a better way to lower costs without risking new medicines.
JULY EVENTS
We have lots of exciting in-person and virtual events coming up this week and next. RSVP below!
Wednesday, July 20 at 7:45 a.m. ET: Join us in-person at Nationals Park for our interview with Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Ben Cardin (D-Md.). We’ll be talking to them about the challenges facing small business owners during Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Advocacy Day. The event will also feature additional special guest speakers. RSVP Here.
Tuesday, July 26 at 9 a.m. ET: We’ll be sitting down in-person at the Roost with Commerce Deputy Secretary Don Graves to talk about the semiconductor chips shortage. You can also join us on the livestream. RSVP Here.
Wednesday, July 27 at 9 a.m. ET: Tune in for our virtual conversation with Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) about the importance of privacy and security in new and existing technologies. It’s the first event in our new series, “Building Trust in Technology.” RSVP Here.
2022
Inside a nasty member-on-member primary
![](https://punchbowl.news/wp-content/uploads/null-1440.png)
The final weeks of the member-on-member primary between Michigan Democratic Reps. Andy Levin and Haley Stevens are turning pretty nasty. Levin and his allies are starting to air negative attacks against Stevens in order to counter what they say is an avalanche in ad spending from AIPAC’s United Democracy Project ahead of the Aug. 2 election.
While having Israel-related advocacy groups flex their muscles in Democratic primaries is nothing new, the Stevens-Levin primary marks the only race this cycle where AIPAC, via its super PAC, is seeking to unseat an incumbent.
In the eight other Democratic primaries where the United Democracy Project has spent money this cycle, two were to defend Democratic incumbents (Reps. Shontel Brown in Ohio and Henry Cuellar in Texas) and six were in open-seat races.
When AIPAC launched UDP, progressives speculated the group would target high-profile anti-AIPAC lawmakers like the Squad. But to date, the super PAC has focused on blocking left-wing candidates from winning safe Democratic seats while protecting pro-Israel incumbents from progressive challengers.
This dynamic is playing out tomorrow in Maryland’s 4th District Democratic primary pitting former Rep. Donna Edwards (D-Md.) against UDP-backed Glenn Ivey. J Street Action Fund — the political wing of the progressive pro-Israel advocacy group — has attacked Ivey as a big business lobbyist; UDP has spent millions trying to paint Edwards as an ineffective representative and boost Ivey.
In Michigan’s 11th District, the United Democracy Project has poured more than $2.2 million into ads supporting Stevens, a second-term member who’s aligned with the moderate wing of the Democratic Party. J Street Action Fund has spent roughly $700,000 to back Levin. The disparity in resources, Levin and his allies say, is justification for the recent attacks on Stevens.
“Whatever moves are happening are purely defensive moves because of the efforts to inject millions of outside dollars in spending in my primary,” Levin said.
A Levin campaign ad recently labeled Stevens “the wrong kind of Democrat,” while a spot from J Street Action Fund linked Stevens with the Jan. 6 insurrection.
Stevens dismissed the ads as a sign of desperation from the Levin camp.
“It’s what all my opponents do before they’re about to lose to me, which is attack,” Stevens told us.
Stevens’ allies have objected in particular to a J Street ad that criticizes Stevens for receiving donations from AIPAC’s PAC. The spot says AIPAC’s PAC endorsed 109 Republicans who voted against certifying Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election.
“[AIPAC is] supporting the likes of Jim Jordan and Ronny Jackson and Scott Perry and this Loudermilk guy who organized the tours of the insurrection on Jan. 5. I mean, this isn’t a joke,” Levin told us. Here’s more from Levin:
“My opponent is taking dollars from Republican billionaires to try to win a Democratic primary. Sorry, that’s just wrong. And I’m happy to say it’s wrong.”
“No campaign cash is worth abandoning our democracy,” the narrator in the J Street ad says while images of the attack on the Capitol flash across the screen.
UDP responded in a new ad over the weekend saying Levin should be “ashamed” of the “despicable” J Street ad.
“Evoking one of the darkest days in the history of our country in an attack ad against a sitting Democrat who voted twice to impeach Donald Trump and who lived through Jan. 6 on Capitol Hill is dangerous and in extremely poor taste,” Rep. Elaine Luria (D-Va.), a member of the Jan. 6 committee, told us.
AIPAC spokesperson Marshall Wittmann also hit back at J Street:
“Unlike partisan PACs, the sole mission of our PAC is to support Democrats and Republicans who work to strengthen the US-Israel relationship.”
The Levins-Stevens race has been fractious from the start. Levin’s decision to run in the 11th District enraged other House Democrats who thought he should run in the redrawn, politically competitive 10th District.
Instead, Levin and Stevens are now battling it out for a safe Democratic seat. Several Democratic lawmakers and aides told us they think Stevens has the upper hand in the race, hence the negative ads from Levin and J Street.
The J Street ad in particular, which infers a link between Stevens and the Jan. 6 insurrection, left several Democrats fuming.
“It reeks of desperation on J Street’s part,” said one senior Democratic aide.
Levin says outside groups supporting Stevens went negative on him “months ago.” Levin cited a January email from a former AIPAC president sent to pro-Israel donors that labeled Levin – who is Jewish – as “arguably the most corrosive member of Congress to the US-Israel relationship.” Multiple former and current Jewish members of Congress condemned David Victor’s comments.
Victor told us that he stood by this characterization. “[Levin] has all this sort of platform and credibility, and he’s claiming to be pro-Israel yet he’s acting in the opposite way,” Victor said. “There’s this huge disconnect between who he thinks he is on the issue and the way he behaves.”
Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), a Levin endorser, acknowledged the brutal reality of the Democratic infighting has prompted the negative ads.
“We hate member-against-member races, right, because they’re tough,” Pocan said.
“Democratic primary voters are going to find more appealing someone who votes with them more often, like Andy,” Pocan added.
— Max Cohen
PRESENTED BY PHRMA
![](https://punchbowl.news/wp-content/uploads/null-806.jpeg)
Which diseases could go untreated if Congress passes government price setting? There is a better way to lower costs without risking new medicines.
PREMIUM MEMBERS EVENT
Join us this Thursday, July 21 at 12 p.m. ET for our July Brown Bag Lunch conversation. Each month Anna, Jake, Bres and Heather have a virtual briefing with and exclusively for our Premium Community. We’ll be covering everything going on in Washington and answer your questions live. Get in the mix by joining Punchbowl News Premium.
👀
Who we’re watching
→ | Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer: Schumer-Manchin Part Deux didn’t work out as the New York Democrat or the White House hoped. But Schumer can still deliver on a reconciliation package that includes Medicare prescription drug pricing controls and Obamacare premium support. And if Schumer can deliver on CHIPS too, that’s two wins before senators head home. |
→ | Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.): Since we have Schumer, we’ll also include Manchin. The West Virginia Democrat came under tremendous criticism from progressives – again – over his refusal to go along with a broad, $1 trillion reconciliation package. Manchin says he’s still willing to negotiate, but he won’t be forced into a deal by Schumer’s deadline. |
→ | Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.): We wouldn’t normally make it three Democrats only, but Nadler’s panel is going to mark up an assault weapons ban on Wednesday, which is a big deal.You should expect to hear a lot of talk about the government taking Americans’ guns away, slippery slopes, etc. None of that is true, of course, but it will be up to Nadler to deal with it. And did we mention that Nadler has an Aug. 23 primary against Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.)? |
– John Bresnahan
📅
What we’re watching
→ | Tuesday: The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will hold a business meeting that includes consideration of Sweden and Finland’s accession to NATO. Senate Armed Services will get a classified briefing on Ukraine. House Transportation and Infrastructure has a hearing on implementing the new infrastructure law. House Foreign Affairs has a hearing on the economic impact of the war in Ukraine. House Financial Services will have a hearing on how mass shootings impact economic growth. |
→ | Wednesday: House Homeland Security has a hearing on threats to election infrastructure and election officials. House Foreign Affairs has a hearing on possible Russian war crimes in Ukraine. House Foreign Affairs has a classified briefing by U.S. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns. Senate Judiciary has a hearing on mass shootings after Highland Park. |
→ | Thursday: The Jan. 6 committee has a primetime hearing at 8 p.m. |
– Jake Sherman
MOMENTS
9:30 a.m.: President Joe Biden will get his daily intelligence briefing
3 p.m.: Karine Jean-Pierre will brief.
6:30 p.m.: Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) will hold a news conference on climate change.
CLIP FILE
NYT
→ | “Justice Jackson, a Former Law Clerk, Returns to a Transformed Supreme Court,” by Adam Liptak |
WaPo
→ | “A new gold rush pits money and jobs against California’s environment,” by Scott Wilson in Grass Valley, Calif. |
→ | “Committee has ‘filled in the blanks’ on Trump’s Jan. 6 activities, Kinzinger says,” by Amy B Wang |
WSJ
→ | “Fed Officials Preparing to Lift Interest Rates by Another 0.75 Percentage Point,” by Nick Timiraos |
Bloomberg
→ | “China Is Pariah for Global Investors as Xi’s Policies Backfire,” by Sofia Horta e Costa |
AP
→ | “GOP establishment steps up push to block Trump ally in Ariz.,” by Jonathan J. Cooper in Tucson, Ariz. |
Politico
→ | “Democrats for Murkowski: Alaska Republican counts her fans across the aisle,” by Burgess Everett |
Chicago Tribune
→ | “Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s decision to tie property taxes to inflation may result in mammoth bills next year,” by John Byrne |
PRESENTED BY PHRMA
Today, there are 90 medicines in development for Alzheimer’s disease, 119 medicines for breast cancer, 26 medicines for childhood diabetes… But government price setting could mean fewer medicines in the coming years. Which diseases could go untreated if Congress passes government price setting? There is a better way to lower costs without risking new medicines.
Editorial photos provided by Getty Images
![](/wp-content/themes/punchbowl-news/assets/large-images/newsletter/premium_upsell.png?v=20220103232309)
Crucial Capitol Hill news AM, Midday, and PM—5 times a week
Join a community of some of the most powerful people in Washington and beyond. Exclusive newsmaker events, parties, in-person and virtual briefings and more.
Subscribe to Premium![](https://punchbowl.news/wp-content/uploads/archive_canvass_thumbnail.png)
The Canvass Year-End Report
And what senior aides and downtown figures believe will happen in 2023.
Check it outEvery single issue of Punchbowl News published, all in one place
Visit the archive
Presented by Apollo Global Management
Apollo is helping fuel the economy and promote resiliency in the financial system by originating investment-grade private credit. Learn how Apollo is helping the great American businesses of today become leaders of tomorrow.