May 5th
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 5, 2023
This week in MORE POWER:
Debt Ceiling Drama
On The Border
Regulating Social Media For Kids
Chicken Gets Political
A Judicial Update
What's An Earmark?
Debt Ceiling Drama
This week, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the government could run out of money by June 1, two weeks earlier than she had said previously, adding pressure on Congress to pass a debt ceiling bill. Congress only has 12 working days left in the month of May. That’s an extremely tight window to craft a bill that will pass both chambers with a divided government.
After Yellen’s comments, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, (R-CA), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, (D-NY), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, (D-NY), and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, (R-KY) accepted President Joe Biden’s invitation to meet at the White House next week to discuss a deal. Though the House passed the Limit, Save, Grow Act last week, House Republicans passed the bill along a party-line vote. It will not pass in a Democrat-controlled Senate.
Leader Jeffries is also crafting a long shot solution: a “discharge petition” on a “clean” debt limit hike. That means that a simple majority (51%) of members could pass a standalone debt ceiling increase, Democrats would need a few Republican members to sign on to reach a majority. Other members have suggested a short-term debt ceiling solution to allow more time for parties to negotiate. Both of these are unlikely in the current political climate.
The stakes are high: the entire American economy is on the line here. If we default on our debt, the stock market (i.e. your 401K) is projected to tank and government social program payments (i.e. Medicare, SNAP, & WIC) are likely to be delayed or canceled. A sharp economic downturn could also cause widespread layoffs.
On The Border
House Republicans now have a bill to accomplish one of their key objectives for this term: the Border Reinforcement Act. If Congress passes it and the president signs it into law, this bill would restart the construction of a wall and strengthen other barriers along the southern border. The bill also includes a lot of provisions to increase and strengthen law enforcement activities along the border, from clearing plants along the Rio Grande River that could impede migrant arrests to designating Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations.
The bill's sponsor, Rep. Mark Green, (R-TN), is touting that the bill will “modernize & enhance tech at the border.” The nonprofit Center for Migration Studies points out that the bill contains provisions to curb any entities' support of migrants:
As House Republicans want to shift the national focus to “border security,” we expect the House to vote on the bill this month.
Regulating Social Media For Kids
A bipartisan group of Senators, all parents themselves, Sens. Brian Schatz, (D-HI), Tom Cotton, (R-AR), Chris Murphy, (D-CT), and Katie Britt, (R-AL have teamed up on a new bill: the Protecting Kids on Social Media Act. While most social media companies have protections in place to keep kids under 13 from having accounts, this bill would codify that practice into law by banning kids under 13 and require parental consent for those aged 13-17.
Senator Schatz said, “The growing evidence is clear: social media is making kids more depressed and wreaking havoc on their mental health. While kids are suffering, social media companies are profiting. This needs to stop.” Senator Britt added, “The only beneficiaries of the status quo are social media companies’ bottom lines and the foreign adversaries cheering them on. I look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to enact the commonsense, age-appropriate solutions needed to tackle this generational challenge.”
Also this week, Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) reintroduced the Kids Online Safety Act which would enact parental control of their child's data and supervisions of their child's accounts on social media. The bill would also keep kids from seeing ads for products or services that are illegal to sell to minors. With widespread appeal across party lines, we expect the Senate to vote on these bills soon.
You can use the links above to read about these bills and take action.
Chicken Gets Political
While the Senate was in session this week, they voted on a resolution, S.J.Res.9, to overturn another Biden administration rule. This one was about a chicken. Senators on both sides of the aisle made passionate arguments for and against the chicken's status as an endangered species. Those in favor of keeping the rule argued that it is necessary as the lesser prairie chicken is an indicator of overall prairie ecosystem health in Colorado, Kansas, and Oklahoma; if the chicken's prairie grass habitat isn't protected, other species are at risk of extinction as well.
Those in favor of overturning the rule won the vote 50-48, favoring the rights and needs of ranchers, farmers, and energy extractors over grassland protection. Sen. Jerry Moran, (R-KS) said, “I am confident there are ways to conserve the species without hindering economic opportunity in rural communities.” The resolution moves to the House next.
A Judicial Update
This week, the Senate confirmed six judges to the federal bench, including Orelia Eleta Merchant for the Eastern District of New York and Judge LaShonda A. Hunt for U.S. District Court of Illinois.
President Biden also named his 33rd round of nominees. May is AANHPI Heritage Month. If confirmed, these judges would include the first South Asian woman to serve on the U.S. District Court for D.C., Judge Loren L. AliKhan, and the only active AAPI woman judge on that court, and a woman who would be the first federal judge of East Asian descent in Michigan, Susan K. DeClercq.
The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) is pressuring Senate Democrats to end the practice known as “blue slipping,” where any nominee's home Senator can approve them by providing a blue slip, and conversely, can prevent a nominee from getting a confirmation vote by refusing to issue one. This practice has slowed and held back Biden appointees in Republican states and districts. The CBC is concerned Republicans will use the tactic more frequently in the future. CBC chair Rep. Steven Horsford, (D-NV) said, “I don’t know why anyone, let alone Senate Democrats, would hold up a Jim Crow practice.”
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What's An Earmark?
Earmarks are funding requests made by members of Congress for specific projects in their districts that are part of Congress' annual budget bill, rather than a standalone bills passed to fund specific projects. The term comes from the livestock industry, where the ears of animals (i.e. pigs) were cut in specific ways so that farmers could identify their animals when grazing on public lands.
The House Appropriations committee has released the earmark requests for the next budget - fiscal year 2024. While earmarks have been controversial in the past, requests are up 7% from last year, with members submitting more than 5,000 requests totaling to $19.4B. At this point, it is up to the Appropriations Committee to decide which earmarks end up in the final bill.
Committee members are selected based on who has power in a chamber. In the House, Republicans have power, and thus more members on committees. Members equate to votes, so right now Republicans have more votes on committees than Democrats. That could mean that their members' projects get approved, while Democrat members' don't. Use the button below to see what projects your rep requested funds for in your community.
What Congress Passed This Week
Nada
What POTUS Signed Into Law This Week
Still nothing.