Window on Washington – September 7, 2021, Vol. 5, Issue 36

Outlook for This Week in the Nation’s Capital

Congress. The House and Senate are both in recess this week. The Senate returns next week, and the House returns September 20 for what is set to be an incredibly busy legislative period for both chambers. Legislative priorities for the chambers include avoiding a government shutdown, moving forward with the reconciliation bill, the House passing the bipartisan infrastructure bill, dealing with the debt limit, and addressing the Afghanistan withdrawal.

Reconciliation Package. While the full House has no legislative business, key Committees will continue to hold markups on their portions of the reconciliation package.  Last week the House Oversight Committee completed action on its portion of the bill, and the Natural Resources Committee began action on its portion of the legislation.  This week, markups continue in Natural Resources and will commence in Education and Labor, Science, Space, and Technology, Small Business, Veterans Affairs, Ways and Means, Agriculture, and Homeland Security. Next week, Ways and Means is expected to finish its portion of the bill as will Energy and Commerce, Financial Services, Judiciary, and Transportation and Infrastructure. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) hopes to bring the package for a vote to the House floor by the end of September, but differences within the party regarding the size and scope of the bill may alter this timeline. Some moderate House Democrats reiterated that they expect the bill will be “pre-conferenced” with the Senate to avoid having to make any major changes in either chamber once it is brought to the floor, that the bill be fully paid for with the exception of its climate provisions, and for members to be given at least 72 hours to review the legislative text before it goes to the House floor. Meanwhile, Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) has asked Democrats to slow down their work on the reconciliation bill and to focus on a smaller package.

FY22 Appropriations. Since the House and Senate have not yet wrapped up work on their FY22 appropriations bills, there will likely be a continuing resolution (CR) to avoid a government shutdown. As of now, it remains unclear how long the CR would extend government funding for, and while this is a must-pass bill, there is added complexity as to how it will play out since Democrats plan to attach a debt ceiling increase to the bill (which Republicans oppose) as well as potentially attach emergency funding to address Hurricane Ida and the fire season on the West Coast (which would help Republican states/districts). The White House is also working to send the House and Senate Appropriations Committees its list of priorities in need of funding anomalies for attachment to the CR.

Biden Administration. President Joe Biden will visit New Jersey and New York today to survey the damage left behind by Ida. On Saturday, Biden and first lady Jill Biden will visit New York City, Shanksville, Pennsylvania, and the Pentagon to mark the 20^th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff will travel to Shanksville separately before joining the President and the first lady at the Pentagon. Former President George W. Bush is expected to speak in Shanksville.

Manchin Calls for ‘Pause’ on $3.5 Trillion Budget Bill: In remarks made last Wednesday at the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce’s 2021 business summit and in an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal last Thursday, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) said there are too many economic unknowns at present to warrant rushing ahead with such an expansive measure. Manchin’s call for a pause on the reconciliation bill could affect the timeline to wrap up working on the bill, as House moderates also got their leadership to agree to not asking them to pass a reconciliation package in their chamber unless all 50 Senate Democrats support it too. (Roll Call)

Congress Braces for Spending Fights Amid Threat of Government Shutdown: Lawmakers are bracing for budget battles later this month when they return to Washington, where they’ll be racing against the clock to pass trillions of dollars in spending while the threat of a government shutdown looms. (The Hill)

House to Vote on Bill Guaranteeing Abortion Access in Response to Texas Law: Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said Thursday that the House will vote on legislation to guarantee access to abortion upon its return to Washington later this month after the Supreme Court refused to block a restrictive Texas law that bans most abortions. Late last Wednesday night, the court issued a 5-4 ruling denying an emergency request from abortion providers to block the Texas law, with Chief Justice John Roberts joining the three liberal justices in dissent. (The Hill)

House Budget Chief Praises Powell as Biden Mulls Replacement: House Budget Committee Chairman John Yarmuth (D-KY) all but formally endorsed Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell for another term amid growing liberal pressure on President Biden to replace him. In a Thursday statement, Yarmuth praised Powell for pushing aggressively for a full recovery from the pandemic-driven recession and expressed concern about a sudden change atop the Fed. (The Hill)

Wyden Eyes Taxes on Billionaires, Executive Pay to Fund Spending Plans: The Senate’s top tax writer is proposing new taxes on executive compensation, stock buybacks and plastics to help pay for Democrats’ multitrillion-dollar social spending plan. Finance Chair Ron Wyden (D-OR) is also suggesting the creation of a new levy on billionaires, raising the estate tax and cracking down on tax breaks for so-called conservation easements. Altogether, his panel is considering more than a dozen-and-a-half possible tax increases. (Politico)

Washington Test-Drives a New Driving Fee: Charging Americans for road upkeep based on how many miles they’ve driven has long been relegated to the dustbin of policy — intriguing ideas that are too politically toxic. Like raising the gas tax, a per-mile fee for vehicles is sporadically floated and quickly quashed, as Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg discovered earlier this year when — just weeks into the job — he stepped on a political landmine for suggesting the idea shows promise. But the concept is poised to get a significant boost in the infrastructure plan moving through Washington. Tucked into the legislation is a provision that would create a national test of replacing the current gasoline tax with a per-mile fee, for the first time ever. (Politico)

House Approves Legislation to Electrify Vehicle Fleets, Tackling Climate Change: The Committee on Oversight and Reform on September 2 approved legislation S.Con.Res.14, the concurrent resolution for the congressional budget of the fiscal year 2022. If passed, it would provide critical funding to electrify government vehicle fleets tackling climate change. Specifically, the legislation would provide $12 billion in funding to position the Federal government as a leader in modernizing vehicles to reduce carbon output, build charging stations and support infrastructure across the country, and take a significant step towards a fully electric future for Federal vehicles. (MeriTalk)

Banking Committee Members Call for $30 Billion in Transit Funding in Reconciliation Bill: Last Thursday, Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee members called for an additional $30 billion to be dedicated to expanding transit and transportation in the upcoming budget reconciliation package, citing equity and racial and economic justice for their constituents. (Clark Hill Insight)

House Armed Services Committee Approves Space National Guard, Challenges DoD on Space Programs: The recently marked up bill includes legislation includes a number of space policy provisions including new rules on in-house procurement, the establishment of a Space National Guard, requires updated threat assessments and addresses the threat of space debris, among many other provisions. (Space News)

Durbin Announces Judiciary Hearing on Texas Abortion Law, Supreme Court ‘Shadow Docket’: “This anti-choice law is a devastating blow to Americans’ constitutional rights — and the Court allowed it to see the light of day without public deliberation or transparency,” Durbin said in a statement. (NBC News)

Industry Lobbies Congress to Extend Notification Timeline After Cybersecurity Incidents: Key industry groups were in Washington last week during a House Homeland Security cybersecurity subcommittee hearing pushing to give organizations at least three days to report cybersecurity incidents to the federal government, effectively opposing Senate legislation that would give them 24 hours to report breaches. (The Hill)

House Panel Backs $24B Pentagon Budget Boost, Defying Biden: The House Armed Services Committee, like the Senate before it, voted to boost the budget topline of the annual National Defense Authorization Act in a 42-17 vote during its marathon markup of the military policy legislation last week, building bipartisan momentum toward a big budget hike on both sides of the Capitol. The proposed major increases would boost procurement, shipbuilding and R&D accounts primarily. (Politico)

Lawmakers Load Defense Bill With Measures Demanding Answers for Afghanistan’s Fall—and Its Future: The House Armed Services Committee approved at least half a dozen bipartisan amendments to the fiscal 2022 National Defense Authorization Act that pointedly ask the administration for more details on both the withdrawal and the future security situation in Afghanistan, expressing their dissatisfaction with the botched withdrawal. (Defense One)

Chair Maloney, Chair Khanna, and Rep. Omar Lead 50+ Democrats Calling for End of Fossil Fuel Tax Giveaways: Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY), Chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), Chairman of the Subcommittee on the Environment, and Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) led more than 50 Democrats in sending a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer requesting that they include the repeal of fossil fuel subsidies in the Build Back Better Act. (Clark Hill Insight)

Democrats on Key Panel Offer Bill on Solar Tax Incentive: A group of Democrats on the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee introduced a bill Friday aimed at encouraging clean-energy production that they’re seeking to include in a forthcoming multitrillion-dollar spending package. The legislation would allow solar companies to be eligible for a full-value production tax credit. Currently, this incentive is available for wind and geothermal energy. (The Hill)