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PRESENTED BYBY JOHN BRESNAHAN, ANNA PALMER AND JAKE SHERMAN THE TOPGetty Images A lot of attention will be paid this week to impeachment — and we’ll cover it (more on that in a moment). But this is an absolutely crucial week for President Joe Biden’s Covid relief package, the centerpiece of the new administration’s legislative and political agenda. And one could make the argument that if this turns into an ugly fight, it could make a mess of the beginning of Biden’s presidency. Biden has put a lot of stock into getting a package through by the March 14 unemployment deadline, and Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer are on the hook to deliver for him. Nine House committees will begin work this week on marking up the $1.9 trillion “American Rescue Plan” with a goal of having the full reconciliation package on the floor by the week of Feb. 22. The Education and Labor Committee, chaired by Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.), is set to go first on Tuesday, with another four panels on Wednesday, three more on Thursday, and the Committee on Oversight and Reform slated for Friday (see schedule.) Tuesday, Feb. 9: Education and Labor Wednesday, Feb 10: Transportation and Infrastructure Financial Services Agriculture Thursday, Feb. 11: Small Business Veterans Affairs Energy and Commerce Friday, Feb. 12: Oversight and Reform Wednesday, Feb. 10 through Friday, Feb. 12: Ways and Means This committee work is where the rubber meets the road on the Democrats’ Covid relief plan. With no floor votes scheduled, the House panels — especially Ways and Means, which has the biggest piece of the bill — will need to finish markups on their sections of the bill this week. All those separate pieces will then go to the Budget Committee, which will combine them into one package and hold its own markup next week. Then it’s on to the Rules Committee, which will prep the legislation for the House floor. Democrats need to stick to this timetable in order to finish House and Senate consideration of the reconciliation package — which only requires a majority vote to pass — by the mid-March deadline. Federal unemployment payments run out then, and Biden has said he wants the new legislation to be enacted before that deadline. Remember: Democrats are using reconciliation. That is a partisan process. Republicans are not expected to vote for this bill. One thing to watch: Ways and Means Chair Richard Neal (D-Mass.) is also unveiling a major new child tax credit program as part of his panel’s section of the overall Covid relief package. The Neal proposal would provide a child tax credit up to $3,000 for a child under 17, or $3,600 for a child under 6. The payments would phase out at $75,000 for one parent or $150,000 per couple. There was no cost estimate available for the new program at press time, but it’s pretty ambitious in scale. Neal’s full chairman’s mark will be released later on Monday. PRESENTED BY FACEBOOK It’s time to update internet regulations The internet has changed a lot in 25 years. But the last time comprehensive internet regulations were passed was in 1996. We support updated internet regulations to set clear guidelines for addressing today’s toughest challenges. IMPEACHMENT What to expect from this week’s trial Getty Images Donald Trump’s trial will begin Tuesday, and it’ll get wall-to-wall coverage on television, which it rightly deserves. But unless something unforeseen happens, the 45th president will be acquitted on a mostly party line vote. There is very little suspense here. We know the broad outlines of Trump’s argument: He did nothing wrong and did not incite the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. We know the House managers’ argument: The evidence is clear that Trump did incite violence. A lot of motion here, not a ton of movement. Here’s what we will be watching out for: 1) The managers’ moment: As we saw the last time this happened, the impeachment managers get a ton of air time. This is a moment to set yourself apart from the rest of the Democratic Caucus. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) is the lead manager, and many people are familiar with the constitutional expert because he’s been on television the last two years discussing Trump. Rep. Joe Neguse, a second-term Democratic lawmaker from Colorado, is a member of the House leadership and known internally as one of the best legal minds in the caucus. Reps. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) and Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) are also both in the leadership and close to Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) is a 24-year veteran of Congress who has been in and around leadership for much of that time. Stacey Plaskett, the Virgin Islands delegate to Congress, doesn’t have a vote, but has a voice in this trial. She was an assistant district attorney in the Bronx. 2) Persuadables: There are a few Senate Republicans who might vote to convict. There’s Susan Collins (Maine), Mitt Romney (Utah), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Ben Sasse (Neb.) and Pat Toomey (Pa.). We’ll be watching them. If every Democrat votes to convict, they’d put the total at 55-45. Are there more persuadables? Probably not. Every other Republican voted that this trial is unconstitutional. How do you vote to convict if the trial itself is unconstitutional? 3) Speed: Both sides have incentive to move quickly here. Republicans, by and large, aren’t very interested in spending a ton of time talking about Trump. Democrats have President Joe Biden’s Cabinet to finish confirming and an agenda to continue moving. What will the two sides do to make things go more quickly? Will witnesses be called and additional evidence introduced? Trump’s lawyer David Schoen told Senate leaders that as an observant Jew, he won’t take part in proceedings on the Sabbath, which is from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday night. There’s been some discussion that both sides could present their cases, and then, following some period of deliberation, the Senate would vote. But all these schedule questions are still up in the air. Remember: Both sides have to submit another brief by noon today. OP-ED Chuck Cooper breaks with the GOP Chuck Cooper, a veteran Washington conservative constitutional lawyer, wrote an op-ed in the WSJ that broke with the GOP’s main argument against impeachment: That it’s unconstitutional to try a former president.
THE WASHINGTON GAME Two downtown trends worth watching Lobbying firms are always trying to look around corners and find the next big growth area to help grow their book of business. On that note, Forbes Tate Partners is launching a new fintech practice with the addition of Stacey Rolland. Rolland is joining from Capital One where she focused on government, risk management and compliance. She will focus on advising companies on the intersection between financial services, data policy and emerging technologies. Rolland previously worked as chief of staff to the office of tax policy and senior adviser to the office of legislative affairs at the Treasury Department. She also was a senior policy advisor to Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Is appropriations lobbying making a comeback? Klein/Johnson is making a bet that the approps process could be more contentious in the post-Trump era, as Republicans are signaling a renewed commitment to bringing down the deficit, which could make for some thorny spending negotiations. The firm is bringing on Ian Rayder as a principal. Rayder is a former aide to Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Colorado deputy secretary of state. He will be based out of Denver and is expected to focus on tech and aerospace industries — both have seen a big uptick in business in the region. CLIP FILE NYT: “Impeachment Case Aims to Marshal Outrage of Capitol Attack Against Trump,” by Nick Fandos “Why Chuck Schumer Is Cozying Up to the A.O.C. Wing of His Party,” by Alex Burns “Biden Administration Moves to Rejoin U.N. Human Rights Council,” by Katie Rogers WaPo: “On cusp of impeachment trial, court documents point to how Trump’s rhetoric fueled rioters who attacked Capitol,” by Rosalind Helderman, Rachel Weiner and Spencer Hsu “Trump left behind a damaged government. Here’s what Biden faces as he rebuilds it,” by Dan Diamond, Lisa Rein and Juliet Eilperin: “A few weeks after taking office, Biden and his team are confronted with numerous challenges, including smoothing over chaotic operations, boosting flagging morale and staffing up agencies that dwindled. To achieve their policy goals, they must move quickly to communicate a sense of mission, build expertise, improve performance, assure stability and regain public confidence, analysts say.” WSJ: “Stock Futures Point to S&P 500 Extending Rally After Friday’s Record Close” AP: “Around the globe, virus cancels spring travel for millions,” by David McHugh, Casey Smith and Joe McDonald LAT: “L.A.’s first lady, Amy Wakeland, navigates shifting political fortunes in final Garcetti years,” by James Rainey and Dakota Smith MOMENTS 8:25 a.m.: President Joe Biden will leave Delaware for Andrews. He’ll arrive at Andrews at 9:20, and at the White House at 9:30. 10:15 a.m.: Biden and VP Kamala Harris will receive their intelligence briefing. 11 a.m.: The White House Covid-19 team will brief. Noon: Jen Psaki will brief. 2:30 p.m.: Biden and Harris will virtually tour the State Farm Stadium vaccination site in Glendale, Ariz. BECOME A PUNCHBOWL PREMIUM MEMBER You’ll be in good company when you become a Punchbowl Premium member. Become a member ![endif]>![if>
PRESENTED BY FACEBOOK Internet regulations need an update It’s been 25 years since comprehensive internet regulations were passed. But a lot has changed since 1996. We support updated regulations to set clear guidelines for protecting people’s privacy, enabling safe and easy data portability between platforms and more. Enjoying Punchbowl AM? Subscribe 10 friends with your unique link (below) and get a Punchbowl News hat! Your referral link is: Or share via You currently have: 0 referrals |
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