May 19th
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
May 19, 2023
This week in MORE POWER:
Debt Limit Negotiation Update
Notification When The Feds Access Your Data
No Malarkey On Gun Reform
Kicking Out Migrants Who Break The Law, Again
Law Enforcement & Military Reforms
Debt Limit Negotiation Update
This week, negotiators on both sides of the aisle have been meeting to continue discussions on how to achieve a deal to raise the debt limit and, in the words of Sen. Tim Kaine, (D-VA) uphold "the full faith and credit of the U.S. ... what we take an oath to do." Likely items in the final bill will include:
permitting reform, which would likely make it easier for oil and gas companies to get drilling permits from the federal government
spending caps for social programs (i.e. Medicaid, SNAP, WIC) in future budgets, with increased work requirements to receive benefits
taking back the tens of billions of dollars in unspent COVID money from the states
Republicans say their demands are based on their desire to grow the economy, help people lift themselves out of poverty, and reduce wasteful government spending. Democrats claim Republicans are taking advantage of the situation to extract long-desired policy changes from them, such as work requirements for social programs. According to Democrats, the only task at hand is raising the debt limit, and negotiations on future spending should happen in the normal course of talks on budget bills, as has happened in the past. While President Biden has seemed open to negotiations on social programs, House Democrats, led by the Congressional Black Caucus, have come out against budget caps and changes to work requirements.
The other point of contention is how long the limit will be raised. House Republican's Limit, Save, Grow Act only raises the ceiling through next spring, but Biden wants the limit raised through 2025, after the next presidential election. The Limit Save Grow Act is still the only piece of legislation to pass any chamber of Congress that deals with raising the debt ceiling. Experts say that it will take at least a week to get a bill through Congress, and there are only four working days left in May to make a deal before the looming June 1 deadline. While Biden is at the G7 summit in Japan, the White House shortened the trip and rearranged his schedule to leave room for him to close a deal next week and avoid the disastrous default scenario.
In the Senate, left leaning Democrats including Sens. Tina Smith, (D-MN), Elizabeth Warren, (D-MA), Jeff Merkley, (D-OR), Ed Markey, (D-MA), and Bernie Sanders, (I-VT) have proposed that President Biden prepare to invoke the 14th Amendment, should a deal not be reached. Section four of the 14th Amendment, originally passed due to Civil War debt, states that: "the validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law ... shall not be questioned," meaning that Congress is constitutionally obligated to raise the debt limit. In the House, Abigail Spanberger, (D-VA) and Brian Fitzpatrick, (R-PA) are working on a bill to prevent Congress from getting paid if they don't pass legislation to raise the debt limit. Rep. Spanberger said, "Working Americans get it — if you don’t do your job, you don’t get paid."
Notification When The Feds Access Your Data
You may know that the government can collect data on Americans who are suspected of crimes. But did you know that they can also request or purchase your data from private companies even when you are not suspected of crimes, and that they don't have to tell you about it? Think email, phone records, healthcare app data, and more, from your phone and computer. That's because right now, when the government receives Americans' data from private companies, they use nondisclosure orders to prevent the companies from letting Americans know that the government has surveilled them.
A bipartisan group in Congress is working to change that. This week the House unanimously passed the NDO Fairness Act by a vote of 412-0. If Congress passes the bill and the president signs it, the NDO Fairness Act would allow companies to let their customers know when their data is has been surveilled by the government.
No Malarkey On Gun Reform
President Biden has had it. Like many Americans, he is sick and tired of Congress' inaction on ending gun violence. That's why he penned an op-ed in USA Today that ends with "for God’s sake, do something." The Biden Administration also announced 13 new actions to reduce gun violence this week, largely to address the coordination required for implementation of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act that passed last year, as well as over $2B of crisis intervention, school safety, mental health, and violence interruption program funding.
Members of Congress have introduced many bills on this issue this year. Bills can languish in committee depending on the views of the party in power. The only thing that changes that is relentless constituent action: calls, emails, social media posts, comments, and town hall meeting questions that direct the attention of legislators to what you want them to do on the issue.
There are many gun reform bills in Congress right now, like:
Assault Weapons Ban
Federal Firearm Licensee Act
Mental Health Access and Gun Violence Prevention Act
Office of Gun Violence Prevention Act
You can use the links above to read about the bills and take action.
Kicking Out Migrants Who Break The Law, Again
We live in a world of social media clout and viral video power. The media often rewards elected officials who have the most social media views on a particular day with prime time interviews. Pundits and legislators alike complain that this system encourages leaders to get the most eyeballs at any cost, which can promote bad behaviors and a downturn in civility. This ecosystem can also encourage Congress to introduce and champion bills simply to draw media attention, rather than solve Americans' problems. Critics argue that the POLICE Act is one of those bills.
"POLICE" stands for Protect Our Law enforcement with Immigration Control and Enforcement Act. It would make the assault of a law enforcement officer, firefighter, or first responder a deportable offense for non-citizens, but the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office pointed out that there is a law already on the books for this: assault is already a deportable offense for non-citizens. That's why critics question the motivation behind the bill.
The House passed the POLICE Act this week by a vote of 255-175, with 36 swing district Democrats joining 319 Republicans in voting "yes." The bill goes to the Senate next.
Law Enforcement & Military Reforms
There are three other bills before Congress this week, as it is National Police week:
Federal Law Enforcement Officer Service Weapon Purchase Act: right now, the law says that federal law enforcement agencies have to destroy the service weapons of law enforcement personnel upon their retirement. This bill would allow those weapons to be purchased by officers in good standing instead. It passed the House this week by a vote of 232-198, with 13 Democrats in purple districts voting "yes" alongside all 219 Republicans. It goes to the Senate next.
Fighting Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Act: this bipartisan Senate bill would require the Department of Justice to propose a program for making treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and acute stress disorder available to public safety officers. The Senate can vote on it at any time.
CADETS Act: this bipartisan bill would change the financial assistance age requirement for cadets attending one of the six State Maritime Academies in the U.S. to broaden eligibility to include non-traditional students and former service members. It passed the Senate this week. It goes to the House next.
You can use the links above to read about the bills, and take action.
