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PRESENTED BYBY JOHN BRESNAHAN, ANNA PALMER AND JAKE SHERMAN THE TOPNews: House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy is considering instituting new limits or an outright ban on lawmakers holding and trading stocks and equities if Republicans take the majority in November. McCarthy told us his planning on this front is in its early stages, and he hasn’t yet decided on what kind of limitations there may be on stock trades or holdings. One idea would be to force lawmakers to hold only professionally managed mutual funds. Another proposal the GOP leadership is considering would bar lawmakers from holding stocks in companies or industries their committees oversee. Other members have advocated for mandatory blind trusts for lawmakers’ holdings. There’s been renewed debate in recent months over putting curbs on lawmakers trading and holding individual stocks. The logic is simple – members and senators often get sensitive information about U.S. policy before it becomes public. Under the STOCK Act, lawmakers and aides are prohibited from trading on such information. Yet look at what happened after lawmakers received briefings in early 2020 on the threat of Covid-19. Multiple lawmakers came under scrutiny, including federal criminal investigation. No one was charged with wrongdoing. Big picture: There’s always a “Let’s clean up Congress” message when a party takes the majority. This would fall under that category. Biden’s big day in Atlanta We’ve made abundantly clear that, based on our reporting, we believe that the Democrats’ push on voting rights and the filibuster is in deep trouble. The reality is this: Republicans are uniformly opposed to this legislation. In the face of this GOP wall, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer wants to pivot toward changing the filibuster in order to free up the voting rights bill. But Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) is a supporter of the filibuster and seems only willing to change the Senate’s rules if Republicans agree. Republicans don’t, so this won’t happen. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) is also opposed to getting rid of the 60-vote threshold to cut off a filibuster. This dynamic has been static for months and we don’t expect a speech will change it. But we still believe President Joe Biden’s speech today in Atlanta will be interesting. This is a president taking a stand on an issue important to him and his base. He’s using the unparalleled bully pulpit of his office to try to build support for an effort that’s stuck in neutral. Is it a good strategy? We’ve heard it argued both ways. What we can say is it makes the base happy, although it will ultimately let them down because Biden is elevating an issue that’s bound to fail. But what’s his choice? If Biden sat on his hands, he’d get flack. He’s leaning into an issue that’s important to him and the party – even if it’s going nowhere. We wanted to point out a few dynamics worth considering: → Biden is bringing lots of supporters to Atlanta: Both Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are flying down to Atlanta accompanied by members and senators, many of whom are in the Congressional Black Caucus. Biden is taking the following lawmakers on Air Force One down to Georgia: Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Reps. Nikema Williams (D-Ga.), Sanford Bishop (D-Ga.), Lucy McBath (D-Ga.), Carolyn Bourdeaux (D-Ga.), Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) and Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.). Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms is also traveling with Biden. Harris is giving a ride on Air Force Two to Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), CBC Chair Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio) and Reps. Terri Sewell (D-Ala.) and John Sarbanes (D-Md.). Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens will meet Biden and Harris when they arrive at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Biden and Harris will meet with members of Martin Luther King Jr.’s family at the Center for Nonviolent Social Change. At Ebenezer Baptist Church, where Warnock is the senior pastor, Biden and Harris will meet with Democrats in the Georgia congressional delegation. Attending Biden and Harris’ speech: In addition to the members traveling with the president and VP, DeKalb County Commissioner Larry Johnson, former Alabama Sen. Doug Jones (D), Dickens and other local officials. Civil rights leaders heading to Atlanta include: Jesse Jackson Sr., Al Sharpton, Marc Morial, NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson, Ben Jealous, Lawyers Committee President Damon Hewitt, National Coalition on Black Civic Participation CEO Melanie Campbell, Latin American Association CEO Santiago Marquez, Hispanic Foundation CEO Frankie Miranda, Latino Community Fund Executive Director Gigi Pedraza, VOTO Latino CEO Maria Teresa Kumar, League of Women Voters CEO Virginia Kase Solomon, SPLC CEO Margaret Huang, ACLU of Georgia Executive Director Andrea Young and Fighting for Our Vote Campaign Manager Bishop Leah Daughtry. The presidents of Morehouse University, Clark Atlanta University and Morris Brown College will all attend, as well. Traveling back to DC with Biden on Air Force One: Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), Klobuchar, Merkley, Padilla, Beatty, Sewell, Sarbanes and Blunt Rochester. Traveling back with Harris on Air Force Two: Williams, Bishop, McBath, Bourdeaux and Johnson. → This is Rep. John Lewis’s former district: You’re going to hear this a lot today, we can almost guarantee it. The speech is at the Atlanta University Center Consortium, which is in the district of the late Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), an outspoken advocate for voting reform. → On the filibuster: Biden will position the use of the filibuster by Republicans as a historic anomaly, abandoning his longtime support for the legislative maneuver, as we reported last week. Biden will say he supports “changing the Senate rules to ensure it can work again and be restored and this basic right is defended,” a White House official said. Here’s one line that Biden plans to deliver:
Happening on the Senate floor today and tomorrow: Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) will lead more than 20 Republicans in speeches against the Democrats election efforts. This will begin this afternoon. Ernst will speak both days. Rep. Marianette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa), whose victory in 2020 was challenge by Democrats, will watch Ernst from the Senate floor. The real election overhaul effort OK, now let’s talk about an effort that may have a chance of becoming law at some point this year. The Democrats’ voting rights bill isn’t going anywhere, but there are talks underway on “election integrity” initiatives. And lawmakers are now eyeing a more expansive package than they were originally, we found out during our reporting Monday. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) has convened a bipartisan group of senators including Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Mitt Romney (R-Utah), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.). Several of these senators were key players in successfully putting together the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package. The group has discussed changes to the Electoral Count Act of 1887, which governs how Congress certifies presidential elections. The existence of these talks was reported last week. However, we have some new details. The group is now talking about more than just changing the ECA. In a brief interview Monday, Collins detailed other electoral reforms the group is considering:
This effort is far more modest than the Democrats’ Freedom to Vote Act, but that proposal isn’t going to pass in the face of overwhelming GOP opposition. Manchin also repeated once again to our pal Manu Raju of CNN Monday night that he’s not willing to change the Senate’s rules with just 50 Democratic votes – the so-called “nuclear option.” So the Democrats’ electoral reform effort has no chance of passing unless there’s some wildly unexpected shift. This bipartisan effort may gain some momentum after Democrats fail to pass their voting rights bill. Which means it could be a live option by the end of this week. This bipartisan group is trying to replicate the infrastructure effort from last year – but, of course, this is more complicated and far more politically charged than infrastructure. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said he’s in favor of examining the ECA and could be open to discussions beyond that narrow law, as long as it’s not seen as just “trading” the Democrats’ voting rights package for this initiative. “It’s worth discussing,” McConnell told us Monday. McConnell took pains to tell us that it is not related to the Democrats’ push this week. Don’t forget: Our first event of 2022 is just two weeks away. Anna will interview Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.) on global competitiveness and the role of U.S. businesses in the world economy on Tuesday, Jan. 25 at 9:15 a.m. ET. RSVP today! PRESENTED BY PHRMA Did you know that PBMs, hospitals, the government, insurers, and others received a larger share of total spending on medicines than biopharmaceutical companies? That’s right, more than half of spending on brand medicines goes to someone who doesn’t make them. Let’s fix the system the right way and ensure more of the savings go to patients, not middlemen. Read the new report. JAN. 6 Bennie Thompson still mulling McCarthy, Trump and Pence options Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), the chair of the Jan. 6 committee, said he’s still considering formally asking former President Donald Trump, former Vice President Mike Pence and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy to speak to the panel as part of its probe into the deadly attack on the Capitol. Asked about Trump and Pence, Thompson told us “We’re still looking at that.” And on McCarthy, Thompson said: “The possibility exists.” Of course, many Republicans have been reluctant to cooperate with Thompson’s panel. Reps. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Scott Perry (R-Pa.) have both refused to appear voluntarily before the panel. Thompson told us Monday that he’s still “reviewing” whether the select committee has the authority to subpoena the pair of Trump allies and other lawmakers. The NYT’s Mike Schmidt and Alan Feuer have new reporting this morning on the committee’s effort to convince Pence to undergo an interview. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), a constitutional law expert who serves on the Jan. 6 committee, says the panel clearly can issue subpoenas to members or anyone else. “Of course it’s allowed,” Raskin said. “Under Article 1 [of the Constitution], each house can set the rules of its own proceedings. We have disciplinary authority over every member all the way from admonishment to censure to expulsion.” More Raskin: “I think we can subpoena anyone. I think we can subpoena anyone in the country.” JOIN OUR TEAM Punchbowl News is growing — again In our first year, we doubled the size of our team. Now, we’re growing again! We’re hiring for three roles. Apply today or share with someone who may be interested. → Lead Engineer: Lead all technical efforts for Punchbowl News, including managing our new website. → Events Producer: Lead all efforts around event planning, strategy, and execution. → Managing Editor, Special Projects: Lead all efforts around existing and future special products, like The Canvass, The Bounceback, and The Workforce. PRESENTED BY PHRMA According to a new report, more than half of every dollar spent on brand medicines goes to someone who doesn’t make them. FRONTS MOMENTS 9 a.m.: House Democrats will meet. 9:30 a.m.: President Joe Biden will get his daily intelligence briefing. 10 a.m.: House Minority Whip Steve Scalise will speak after the closed House GOP meeting. … Fed Chairman Jerome Powell will testify at Senate Banking in his confirmation hearing for a second term atop the central bank. 10:30 a.m.: House Democratic Caucus Chair Hakeem Jeffries and Vice Chair Pete Aguilar will speak after the Democrats’ meeting. 10:40 a.m.: Biden will leave for Atlanta, where he will arrive at 12:45 p.m. Jen Psaki will gaggle aboard Air Force One. 11 a.m.: House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer will hold his weekly pen and pad briefing on Zoom. 2 p.m.: Senate lunches will break up and leadership will speak. 2:40 p.m.: Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will lay a wreath at Martin Luther King Jr.’s tomb. 3 p.m.: Biden and Harris will visit the Historic Ebenezer Baptist Church. 3:50 p.m.: Biden and Harris will speak about voting rights. 6:15 p.m.: Biden will leave Atlanta for D.C. He’ll arrive at the White House at 8:05 p.m. CLIP FILE NYT → “Civil Suits Against Trump Seek Damages for Jan. 6 Attack,” by Luke Broadwater and Alan Feuer → “In Talks on Ukraine, U.S. and Russia Deadlock Over NATO Expansion,” by Anton Troianovski and David Sanger → “Jerome Powell will tell senators that Fed policymakers see high inflation’s toll,” by Jeanna Smialek WaPo → “In pivot to voting rights, Biden risks falling short on a second big goal,” by Seung Min Kim → “U.S. poised to break record 142,000 covid-19 hospitalizations,” by Fenit Nirappil, Brittany Shammas, Dan Keating and Lenny Bernstein WSJ → “SEC Pushes for More Transparency From Private Companies,” by Paul Kiernan AP → “Voting rights groups worry Biden’s Ga. speech comes too late,” by Alexandra Jaffe, Colleen Long and Jeff Amy → “China locks down third city, raising affected to 20 million,” in Beijing NBC → “’We have gone backwards’: Covid confusion snarls Biden White House,” by Shannon Pettypiece and Natasha Korecki PRESENTED BY PHRMA Did you know more than half of every dollar spent on medicines goes to someone who doesn’t make them? There’s a long line of middlemen, like PBMs and insurers, collecting a significant portion of what you pay for medicine. The share of total spending for brand medicines received by the supply chain and other stakeholders increased from 33% in 2013 to 50.5% in 2020. Learn more. Enjoying Punchbowl News 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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