More Ukraine Leg., Senate Sees Daylight, Speech of the Week & Rant w/Poll

This Week In Congress (TWIC)

Your One Stop Shop For Learning What Our Congress Critters Are Up To!

Every week Congress is in session (usually on Sunday evening or Monday morning) I will recap the previous weeks 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.   In addition, this week a very special Speech of the Week (SOTW) Award and my SPECIAL RANT with a Poll.

If you only have time to read one thing, PLEASE READ MY RANT and then take the Poll.

Hope you find it both informative and worthy of discussion in the comments section.

Speech of the Week (SOTW) Award:

So this week’s SOTW Award does not go to a member of Congress, but to someone who addressed a Joint Session of Congress, who is of course Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.  While I’m sure most of you have already seen it, I’ve posted it here because this eloquent, moving speech and the video contained within it, is certainly worth a second look.  The actual speech begins at about 4 minutes into the clip.  Enjoy! 

Commentary — While the speech was great in both content and delivery, what impressed me most was the video within the speech.  Yes, it was emotional and moved many in Congress and watching at home to tears.  But the quality and presentation of this video was truly remarkable.  Sure they could have just shown bombed out buildings and civilians running for safety to make their point, which many of us have already seen in the news coverage. But showing us all the beauty of Ukraine and it’s people before the war and then quickly switching the destruction of property and people’s lives caused by Putin, with just the right background music made this video a truly amazing and awe inspiring presentation.   The Ukrainians who put this video together really knew what they were doing.  They were able to create a video presentation worthy of Hollywood film producers in the middle of a war zone.  A Big Thumbs Up to these Fine Ukrainian Videographers!    👍     

Last Week in Congress: Here is your C-Span Link where you can view some of last week’s events.

Here Are The Previous Week’s Headlines: 

House Passes Bill To Suspend Normal Trade Relations With Russia and Belarus

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Senate Passes Year Round Daylight Savings Time Because?

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Jan. 6 Committee — No Subpoenas of Congress Members & Committee Looking To Produce Findings Through Modern Media

Legislative Activity –

House:

1. 3/17/22 — House Resolution 7108 (H.R. 7108) – Vote on Passage of H.R.7108 – Suspending Normal Trade Relations with Russia and Belarus Act — This Act suspends normal trade relations treatment for the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus.  (You can read the Full Text of the Bill HERE).

Democrats-        222 Yes        0 No      0 Present     0 Not Voting

Republicans-      202 Yes       8 No      0 Present     1 Not Voting

Independents-       0 Yes       0 No      0 Present      0 Not Voting

Totals-                 424 Yes      8 No      0 Present      1 Not Voting

               PASSED

Voting Details HERE.

Details & Commentary — Not much to say about the substance of the Bill.  It is designed to again kick Russia where it hurts the most, in their economy.  Not much to say about the vote either, except it was one one the largest Bipartisan votes you will probably ever see come out of this Congress.  Apparently, when it comes to helping Ukrainian citizens there is wide agreement among Republicans and Democrats as to what needs to be done.  But when it comes to US citizens, not so much.  Lastly, if you’re wondering who the Eight (8) Putin Loving Republicans were who voted “no” to allow Russia to keep “Most Favored Nation Trade Status”, they are who you thought they were: Biggs, Bishop (NC), Boebert, Gaetz, Greene (GA), Grothman, Massie, & Roy.  Why am I not surprised!  

Now onto my Rant, which is sort of connected to the passage of the above Bill.

MY RANT — Political Hardball: 

In my TWIC Post last week, I applauded Congressional Democrats for taking the unusual step, unusual for them anyway, of playing Political HARDBALL.  That is putting something our side wants passed that the Republicans have or would filibuster to stop, and something that most or enough Republicans want passed or at least would find it politically hard or impossible to filibuster to stop, into a single Bill.  In this case it was putting $13.6 Billion in aid to Ukraine, something that most Senate Republicans would find it hard to impossible to vote against, into the Omnibus Spending Bill to increase government spending across the board (i.e., replacing the inadequate old Trump Budget spending levels with the increased Biden Budget spending levels), something the Republicans have been blocking for months.  While technically this was playing political hardball with vital Ukraine Aid, it really was more like just a notch up from the political softball Democrats usually play.  That’s because the Omnibus Bill included increases in military as well as domestic spending, the former being something most Republicans support.  Also, although some Republicans obviously weren’t happy about being put in this position by Democrats, none really came out to accuse Democrats of playing political games with aid to Ukraine.  They just begrudgingly went along and pretended they had reached a Bipartisan deal on the Bill.  Still, this was a Big Win for Democrats who took some political risk for once, and it paid off.

With this win under their belt and the above highly popular and Bipartisan Russia Trade Suspension Bill coming up for a vote in the House, I was hoping that Democrats would try their hand at political “Hardball” once again.  So I made the comment below in this Joan McCarter Post:

Thanks Joan! I would note that after several failed attempts, Dems. got the Omnibus Funding Bill through, in part, by attaching Ukraine Aid to it, making it difficult for several Republicans to vote “no”. Any chance Dems. might attach some parts of the BBB to the Russia anti- Trade Bill? Maybe some things like Medicare Drug Price Negotiation, $35 Insulin Cap, Electric Car Rebates, etc. Probably not. Dems. usually don’t have the political spine to play such hard ball politics. Always too concerned about appearing to play politics with popular bipartisan legislation. But I do hope that some Dems. are at least considering it in this case. Such opportunities don’t come up that often. 

I didn’t get an answer to my question, but in the end the Russia Trade Suspension Bill didn’t include anything from the BBB or any other highly popular Democratic policy.  Instead they put forth a stand alone Bill that almost all Republicans were eager to vote for, opting for huge Bipartisanship over political hardball.

Still, there is a good chance that such political opportunities will occur again before the November elections.  There will probably be more Bills put forth to aid Ukraine and/or punish Russia this year.  And even if the conflict is quickly resolved (hopefully), there will almost certainly be at least one aid Bill to rebuild Ukraine on a Marshall Plan type level.  So there will almost certainly be a few more opportunities to come.  Why not include some of the things from the BBB (e.g., Medicare Drug Price Negotiation, $35 Insulin Cap, Electric Car Rebates, etc.) in one of these vital Ukraine Bills?  Or maybe somethings from the stalled Voting Rights Bills (e.g., pre-Clearance provisions, vote by mail protections, Election Day Holiday, etc.)?  Personally, I favor putting in popular BBB items over voting rights, because these have wide public support and are less susceptible to accusations that we are playing politics with Ukrainian lives.

Yes, there is a risk that Democrats will be accused of playing (dirty) politics with vital Ukraine assistance.  But a lot of these domestic items are highly popular among voters.  Many also have the support of Manchin who would vote for them if 10 or more Senate Republicans would vote for them.  For instance, are Republicans really going to filibuster Ukraine assistance because it includes a domestic $35 Insulin Cap?  That’s politically untenable for them.  Anyway, Democrats can always counter any political attack from the GOP by saying while Republicans are eager to help the Ukrainian people, they balk at helping Americans.

Such political hardball has historically not been the Democrats way.  They prefer to fight fair, and I can understand and somewhat agree with that preference, being a fair minded person myself.  But don’t think for one moment if the shoe were on the other foot, that Republicans wouldn’t pack a Ukraine Aid Bill with all sorts of crap on their political wish list (e.g., more tax cuts for the wealthy / Big Corporations, more abortion restrictions, more gun rights, etc.). 

So I will leave you with this one question:

Do you favor having Democrats put Domestic Agenda items in Ukrainian assistance legislation?

If you do, please take some time and join me in writing, e-mailing or calling your Democratic Senator, Representative or Dem. Leadership and tell them they need to help Americans as well as Ukrainians.  Also, please take the poll below.  End of Rant!        

Senate:

1. 3/15/22 — Senate Joint Resolution 37 (S.J.Res. 37) – Vote on the Passage of S.J.Res.37 – A joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention relating to “Requirement for Persons To Wear Masks While on Conveyances and at Transportation Hubs”.  This joint resolution nullifies the rule issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on February 3, 2021, that requires the use of face masks on planes, trains, buses, and other public conveyances and at transportation hubs to prevent the transmission of COVID-19.   (You can read the Full Text of the Resolution HERE.)

Democrats-            8 Yes     37 No      0 Present     3 Not Voting

Republicans-        49 Yes       1 No      0 Present     0 Not Voting

Independents-       0 Yes       2 No      0 Present      0 Not Voting

Totals-                   57 Yes     40 No      0 Present      3 Not Voting

               PASSED

Voting Details HERE.

2. 3/15/22 — Senate Resolution 623 (S. 623) – Vote on Passage of S.623 – Sunshine Protection Act of 2021 — This bill makes daylight saving time the new, permanent standard time, effective November 5, 2023.  States with areas exempt from daylight saving time may choose the standard time for those areas. (You can read the Full Text of the Bill HERE).

This Bill passed Unanimously by Voice Vote, so there are no vote tallies.

Details & Commentary —

– Anti-Mask Mandate Resolution — If you read one of my previous TWIC Posts (like this one) you already know what’s going on here.  If not, you might be wondering why Schumer even let this mandate ending Resolution come to the floor, or why Democrats didn’t use the filibuster to block its passage?  It’s because Resolutions to block Executive Branch regulations are considered “privileged resolutions” which any Senator can bring to the floor and which cannot be filibustered.  The good news however, is that this is a “joint” resolution, meaning that it must also be passed by the House to be effective, and of course there is no way in hell that Pelosi will ever let this resolution on the House floor.  So this was all a Republican show and a waste of time.  But they did get 8 Democrats to vote for it.  I can understand someone like Manchin voting for it, because to vote to uphold a mask mandate could be politically bad for him in Conservative West Virginia.  But others like Bennet, Cortez-Mastro, Kelly and Rosen, who are usually loyal Biden Democrats voting for this mask mandate termination, baffles me.

– Sunshine Act —  First, with all that’s going on in the world and with all the vital legislation that remains stalled in the Senate, the Senate manages to pass THIS!  On the importance scale one would expect that making Daylight Savings Time permanent year round, would seem to rank with Post Office naming. 

Anyway, I really have not made up my mind about this.  On the surface, one might think this is a “no brainer”.  Who is not in favor of more sunshine each day, especially after normal work hours,  But let’s look closer at the Pros and Cons.

Pro — Per this Reuter’s Article:

The change would help enable children to play outdoors later and reduce seasonal depression, according to supporters.

Supporters say the change could prevent a slight uptick in car crashes that typically occurs around the time changes and point to studies showing a small increase in the rate of heart attacks and strokes soon after the time change. They argue the measure could help businesses such as golf courses that could draw more use with more evening daylight.

Of course the fact that this change could benefit Big Business, is why Republicans support it.

Con — Again from the Reuter’s Article:

The National Association of Convenience Stores opposes the change, telling Congress this month “we should not have kids going to school in the dark.”

Yes, for younger folks and older ones with bad memories, we tried this year round DST during the 1970s, when it was advocated as a way to save energy.  The kids going to school in the dark thing, which proved unsafe, was why we went back to switching back to “Standard” time each year.

You can make your own choice.  Right now the Biden administration has not weighed in on this relatively non-important piece of legislation, and its fate in the House is uncertain.  We will see!

Nominations — The Senate confirmed three (3) Biden appointees this week, including two (2) judgeships.

1. Confirmation: Shalanda D. Young, of Louisiana, to be Director of the Office of Management and Budget — Vote 61-36.

2. Confirmation: Jacqueline Scott Corley, of California, to be U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of California — Vote 63-36.

3. Confirmation: Fred. W. Slaughter, of California, to be U.S. District Judge for the Central District of California — Vote 57-41.

I would also note that there were quite a number of successful Cloture Votes on other Nominees last week, meaning there should be a bunch more confirmations next week.

 

    Committee Activity:

House Jan. 6 Select Committee: Let me apologize upfront in case I missed some important development last week with respect to the Select Committee’s work.  Frankly, there is so much happening so fast it’s hard to keep up.  But I’ll do my best.

– 3/15/22 — Subpoenaing Members of Congress — From ABC News:

The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol is not planning to issue subpoenas to members of Congress who are alleged to have information regarding the events leading up to and surrounding the attack, sources familiar with the matter tell ABC News.

While the panel had requested information from Republicans including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Reps. Scott Perry and Jim Jordan — all of whom swiftly rejected the requests — there have been no follow-up discussions with them about their cooperation, according to sources familiar with the panel’s work.

For a committee that’s been aggressive in its investigative efforts, moving ahead without compelling lawmakers to cooperate through a subpoena reflects a self-imposed limitation as committee members work to balance the legal, political and practical considerations.

In some cases, investigators don’t believe subpoenas are necessary, given information they have already obtained through other means, like witness testimony and evidence provided by other third parties, according to sources.

– 3/18/22 — Public Presentation — We have a little insight onto how the Committee plans to present its findings to the public.  From CNN:

The House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021, insurrection is planning to produce a multi-media presentation and hire a writer as part of its effort to turn its largely secretive work into a compelling narrative, multiple sources tell CNN.

The online multi-media presentation, which would include links to key video evidence, would be in addition to a traditional written report, according to a source familiar with the committee’s work.

Presenting its information in a comprehensive and engaging way will be crucial to creating a convincing argument for potential legislative changes as well as possible criminal referrals.

It’s also a recognition of how most people consume information in 2022 — and the massive amount of video evidence the committee has at its disposal.

“We don’t want it to read like a clunky committee effort,” Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin told CNN. “We want it to have an authorial voice that tells the story of what happened.”

– 3/20/22 — What Will We Learn? — Lastly, we have this Video Clip from today’s MTP on NBC, where Liz Cheney hints at what we will see in the coming months.  In a nutshell, she says we won’t learn anything that will make us believe what happened was not a serious threat to our democracy.

Details & Commentary — On NOT subpoenaing members of Congress, I wouldn’t get too worked up over this Committee decision.  It probably means that the Committee already has all the information it needs regarding the role members of Congress did or did not play in the plot, and dragging the GOP MAGA crazies through the subpoena legal adjudication process would just be an unnecessary waste of time.

With regard to the Committee’s eventual public presentation of its findings, all I can say is it sounds like they are on the right track.  It appears they learned from the Mueller Probe that just issuing a thick, multi-page paper report is not the way to capture the public’s attention and leaves one open to off-the-mark summaries by the Trump supporters and the Press.