December 1

This week in MORE POWER:
Third Times a Charm: House Expels Santos
Pentagon Cries Poor
Aid Arrives in Gaza as Biden Funding Request Stalls
Tuberville Signals End To Military Promotion Blocks
Section 702 Stops Iranian Missile Development
House Passes Small Biz Bills

Third Times a Charm: House Expels Santos

Today, more than two thirds of the House of Representatives voted together to remove New York Republican Representative George Santos from office after two previous failed expulsion attempts earlier in the year. Santos currently faces more than twenty federal charges related to the misuse of campaign funds and unemployment fraud.

Other New York Republicans, and voters in his own district, have been calling for Santos' removal due to these criminal allegations. Then last month, the House Ethics Committee issued a report that said the evidence overwhelmingly supports that Santos violated federal law, giving the green light for the third vote.

Expulsion in the House is extremely rare. This is only the sixth time in history. House Republicans now have one less vote in their narrow majority, which can impact what bills pass in Congress, and voters in his district lack representation until the seat can be filled in a special election.

Pentagon Cries Poor

Because Congress has not yet passed the 2024 budget or the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the Pentagon said it's broke this week and called on Congress to pass all military-related funding bills, as well as Biden’s $106B security supplemental, to fund their scaling presence in the Middle East. While Congress is not expected to finish budget negotiations until next year, it did make progress on the NDAA when a conference committee with members of both chambers met this week to negotiate the final bill. Sources expect leadership to release it early next week.

In addition to funding military personnel, the bill is expected to target fentanyl production and restrict U.S. investments in foreign countries like China. House Republicans are unlikely to support a bill that does not include restrictions on abortion and trans healthcare measures, so members are watching to see how many far-right provisions make the final bill. The Senate is expected to vote on it first, with a tentative vote scheduled for next week. Have a view on this that you would like to share?

Sign In To Contact Your Reps Here

Aid Arrives in Gaza as Biden Funding Request Stalls

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) confirmed that it provided 500,000 pounds of food to civilians in Gaza in the last week alone due to the temporary truce between Israel and Hamas.

In Congress, the House passed bipartisan resolutions to reaffirm the state of Israel’s right to exist and call on Hamas to immediately release all hostages. Both resolutions passed nearly unanimously, with members voting 412-1 and 414-0 respectively. Senators met with the Israeli Defense Force to review their conduct of the war. Senators like Chris Van Hollen, (D-MD) and Brian Schatz, (D-HI) had questions about the number of Palestinian civilians killed as well as the lack of humanitarian aid reaching people in Gaza. This comes amidst Senate discussions of attaching conditions to any additional aid to Israel, like stopping indiscriminate bombing and settler expansion, and a commitment to peace talks.

Senators are still negotiating the final details of Biden’s $106B security funding request for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan and the U.S-Mexico border. The request also includes $10B in humanitarian aid, most of which would go to Israel, Ukraine, Gaza, and the West Bank. While Congress has a sense of urgency about the funding and senators expect a vote next week, a deal remains in limbo. Hard-right Republicans are pushing to include extreme border policies as part of the bill, something Democrats and immigrant rights activists are fighting. Have a view on this that you would like to share?

Sign In To Contact Your Reps Here

Tuberville Signals End to Military Promotion Blocks

Senate Republicans’ pressure on Sen. Tommy Tuberville, (R-AL) to stop blocking the confirmation of Biden’s military appointees appears somewhat successful. Though Tuberville is expected to continue to hold any promotions of four star generals, he told fellow Republican senators, “I got y’all into this mess. I’m gonna get you out.”

The Senator has been holding up hundreds of confirmations over the military’s policy of reimbursing service members who have to travel for abortion procedures. Amidst hot wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, the delay has not only harmed strategic decisions in the U.S. national security interest and readiness for conflict, but it is also hurting military families, as nominees are losing out on salary increases, benefits, and the relocation of their families to their assignments. Have a view on this that you would like to share?

Sign in to Contact Your Reps Here

Section 702 Stops Iranian Missile Development

This week, government sources said that intelligence gathered using the controversial part of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) - section 702 - had stopped advanced weapons parts from reaching Iran.

The Biden administration has recently ramped up efforts to stop Iran from advancing its ballistic missile program, which the government is concerned Iran is using to help Russia in their war against Ukraine. As the government tries to beef up its case for the program’s renewal before it expires at the end of the year, we expect further news on the importance of section 702 to break. Congress is discussing extending the deadline to February.

Civil liberties groups like the ACLU are fighting to end the program over concerns that the government is using it for warrantless data collection on Americans. And some in Congress want to see changes too, particularly after the FBI improperly used the program to run checks on protestors, political donors, and members of Congress. Have a view on this that you would like to share?

Sign in to Contact Your Reps Here