July 19
This week in MORE POWER:
A Visit from Netanyahu
National Defense Drama
Not Looking Good for the Farm Bill
Slashing Environment Funding
More Money for Weapons, Less for Water
The Senate and House were on recess this week while the Republicans held their convention. Here is a preview of what is to come in Congress next week.
A Visit from Netanyahu
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is coming to address Congress on July 24 and several members of Congress are refusing to attend. Israel is a U.S. ally. Usually, visits from allies are not controversial. However, after Hamas attacked Israel, killing about 1,200 people on October 7th, Israel began a military assault in Palestine that has killed over 35,000 people – most of whom were civilians – and driven nearly 2 million people from their homes. The New York Times reports that the U.S. has sent over $15 billion and thousands of weapons, such as bombs and artillery shells, to Israel.
On October 7th, many Americans condemned Hamas, and since Israel has killed tens of thousands of civilians in Gaza, cut off water and fuel, and obliterated infrastructure like schools and hospitals, many Americans have condemned the U.S.-Israel alliance, saying the U.S. is funding a genocide. Some members of Congress spoke out against the Israeli military offensive calling for investigations into Israeli war crimes. Have a message for your representatives ahead of the visit? You can use 1000 MORE to find and contact them.
National Defense Drama
The Senate has released its version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) after the House passed its version last month. Congress passes the NDAA annually to allocate funds to the Department of Defense and specify how the money should be spent.
The House version of the bill contained several contentious measures, such as reducing environmental protections and cutting diversity programs. The Senate’s version includes similar provisions, such as banning the U.S. military from providing gender-affirming surgeries for transgender servicemembers and automatically enrolling all Americans who are 18-26 for Selective Service – also known as the draft. As a result, the bill’s future is uncertain as it heads to a Senate vote.
Not Looking Good for the Farm Bill
Next week, the House will likely vote on the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, often referred to as “the farm bill.” Congress must pass this every year and often authorizes a small increase in funding annually due to rising costs and inflation. However, this year’s farm bill cuts funding by 1.35%, authorizing 9.4% less than what President Biden had requested. Many Republicans say that the budget cuts will help curb inflation due to the Biden Administration’s spending. Democrats, on the other hand, say the budget cuts are irresponsible considering the importance of food and medicine.
The current draft of the farm bill includes controversial measures, such as not distributing any funding for the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) diversity, equity and inclusion office and closing the “tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA) loophole,” which allowed the legal sale of intoxicating hemp products such as delta-8, delta-10 and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).
Slashing Environment Funding
The Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act is coming up for a vote in the House.This bill distributes annual funding to several agencies, including the Department of the Interior, which manages and protects America's natural resources and cultural heritage; Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); and Indian Health Service, which provides medical and public health services to Native Americans. The current bill doesn’t authorize an increase in spending and fell 10% short of the funding that the Biden Administration requested. If made law as is, the bill will reduce the EPA’s funding for 2025 by 20%. Additionally, the bill rejects eight of the president’s executive orders that seek to combat climate change, as well as prohibiting the president’s executive order that promoted diversity, equity and inclusion.
More Money for Weapons, Less for Water
The House will likely vote next week on the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2025. This bill allocates funding for the Department of Energy, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and more. The version the House will vote on allocates 1.4% more funding than last year’s bill did. The amount of money allocated is broken down into defense-related and non-defense-related categories. While the amount of defense-related appropriations – which prioritizes nuclear weapons – increased from last year to this year, the non-defense-related appropriations decreased.
What Congress Passed
Nothing; they were in recess.
Nothing; they were in recess.
