June 23rd
1000 MORE's weekly nonpartisan roundup of the most important happenings in federal government, written in a way that doesn't require a law degree to understand, with tools to take action
June 23, 2023
This week on the Hill:
House Censures Rep. Adam Schiff
Boebert Advances Biden Impeachment
Combating Maternal Mortality
Federal Abortion Rights
Fighting Over New Mortgage Fees
Bills for Veterans
Strengthening Ties to Taiwan
House Censures Rep. Adam Schiff
Last week, the House failed to censure Rep. Schiff because of a provision in the resolution to assess him a $16M fine that several Republican members deemed unconstitutional. Removing that provision, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, (R-FL) was successful in getting all Republican members present behind the revised resolution, and it passed along a party line vote of 213-209. Democrats closed the vote with cries of, “Shame! Shame! Shame!”, and Schiff has called it a “badge of honor.” Censure is essentially a slap on the wrist, unless it is tied to fines or a loss of committee appointments, which is not the case here.
Boebert Advances Biden Impeachment
In an even rarer move, Rep. Lauren Boebert, (R-CO) has been working all month to get Republican members to support her resolution to impeach President Biden. Boebert wants to use the newly negotiated rules that the House Freedom Caucus extracted from Speaker Kevin McCarthy, (R-CA) to force a floor vote on it. The rationale behind impeachment is that the president has abused the office due to his “open-border” policy. The Biden administration has made headlines on this front in the past few weeks: record drops in border crossings and approved asylum seekers allowed into the U.S. due to their new post-COVID policies. The House voted along party lines to move the resolution to committee.
Impeachment is the formal House process of charging a federal official who commits a crime or acts improperly. Passing a resolution to impeach is the first step in a three part process to remove the official from office. The next step is a Senate trial, which the Senate can decline to hold. The official would only be removed from office *if* the Senate holds a trial and convicts them. Only three presidents have been impeached: Johnson (1968), Clinton (1998), and Trump (2019 and 2021). No president has been convicted by the Senate and thrown out of office.
Combating Maternal Mortality
Black women are three times more likely to die in pregnancy or childbirth than white women. Just last month, 32 year old American Olympic gold medalist Tori Bowie was found dead in her Florida home. Bowie was eight months pregnant at the time. When the autopsy was released, signs pointed to the high-blood pressure disorder preeclampsia as the cause of death, a common and preventable condition. Bowie’s teammates have rallied around her. Sprinter Allyson Felix wrote an op-ed in Time to point out the outsized impact on Black moms.
Congress has been working to get public support for the issue and push bills to a vote. Sen. Cory Booker, (D-NJ) and Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-IL) have a bill that combines 13 different bills into one - the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Bill - to reduce the maternal mortality rate. Sen. Tina Smith, (D-MN) and Rep. Sharice Davids, (D-KS) have introduced the Data to Save Moms Act to study the issue and direct funding specifically to correct the racial disparities in maternal health outcomes and set up the first Tribal maternal mortality review committee.
Use the buttons below to read about the bills, and take action.
Federal Abortion Rights
This week marks the one year anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision. This ruling overturned the landmark 1972 Roe vs. Wade decision legalizing abortion. Pre-Roe state laws banning and restricting the procedure that were still on the books came back into effect, some from as far back as the 1800s, and many other state legislatures controlled by Republicans passed laws to further limit abortion access. An estimated one in three women lost access to abortion due to Dobbs.
Given the polling data that abortion is now more accepted than ever, and Republican's flat performance in the 2022 election versus the expectations of a big red wave, it’s no surprise that conservatives are reading the room and changing their approach. Realizing that the party’s abortion policy is having negative national political consequences, House Republicans have chosen not to pursue a national ban in legislation. Instead, they say that it is the states that should set policy on this issue, not the federal government.
Democratic women in Congress are still fighting for federal abortion rights, even when there is little chance of passing a bill in both chambers, using procedural tools like unanimous consent in the Senate. House Dems have filed a discharge petition to pass the Women’s Health Protection Act which would codify abortion rights and stop state restrictions on doctors seeking to provide abortion care. Half of U.S. counties had no OBGYN doctors before the Dobbs decision, and now states with abortion bans are losing a new generation of OBGYNs who can’t get training on life saving abortion procedures there. 40% of OBGYNs say abortion bans make it harder to treat miscarriages and a majority are concerned with repercussions to providing care.
Fighting Over New Mortgage Fees
On May 1, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) implemented a new fee structure for loans guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that is based on credit score and a loan to home value percentage. “Fannie and Freddie” keep liquidity in the mortgage business by buying loans from banks so that they can sell more loans. The FHFA said that the new rules are meant to help first time buyers, people with imperfect credit, on a low income, and those in underserved communities pay less closing costs and afford a home. That said, some people with decent credit are finding that their fee went from .5 up to 1%, effectively doubling. Fees can also be higher for people in other scenarios, like those making larger down payments or purchasing a second home.
House Republicans are working to pass the Middle Class Borrower Protection Act to get the fee structure back to what it was before May 1, saying that risk alone should dictate fees. The National Realtors Association agrees. Democrats argue that the new rules are about fairness and helping working families finally be able to afford a home. The House voted to pass the bill 230-189. It goes to the Senate next.
Bills for Veterans
Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle in both chambers have been working together to pass bills that will support opportunities and improve healthcare for service members, veterans, and their families.
Last month, the Senate passed the Veterans Affairs Major Medical Facility Authorization Act from Sen. Jon Tester, (D-MT) that will authorize big construction projects for VA healthcare facilities across the country. The bill passed the House this week. Now it goes to the President to be signed into law.
The House also passed the Veteran Entrepreneurship Training Act this week, which would codify a program that provides skills in starting a business to service members and veterans. It goes to the Senate next.
Strengthening Ties to Taiwan
Taiwan is also known as the Republic of China (ROC). The ROC was founded in 1947 on mainland China. Then, in 1949, communist revolutionary Mao Zedong took over mainland China and formed the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The democratic ROC government fled to the island territory where it resides today. China has never formally relinquished control of Taiwan’s territory, flatly refusing to have diplomatic relations with countries that have formal diplomatic ties to Taiwan.
China is the second biggest economy in the world. We all remember what happened to the supply chain in the pandemic when China had to stop exporting goods because workers had to stay home. That’s why the Biden administration has been working hard to normalize relations with China. This week Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Chinese Premier Xi leading up to what was expected to be a historic face to face meeting of Xi and Biden later in the year.
But then later in the week, President Biden called Xi a dictator at a fundraiser in San Francisco, and the relations have gone into a downward spiral. The Chinese response has been fast and furious, and the administration is not backing down.
Meanwhile in Congress, the House passed the United States-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade First Agreement Implementation Act providing approval on the recent trade deal between the two parties, which is expected to be the first in a series of agreements. It goes to the Senate next.
What Congress Passed This Week
Veterans Affairs Major Medical Facility Authorization Act
What POTUS Signed Into Law This Week
Nothing, again.
