September 8th

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

September 8, 2023

This week in MORE POWER:

Budget Update
Fighting Wildfires
Action on Iran
Biden Political Appointments
More Judicial Nominees
Tracking Budget Progress

Congress is back in session!

There are only 12 working days until the September 30th deadline to pass all 12 budget bills, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization Act, and the Farm Bill without extensions and stopgap funding. If Congress doesn’t pass the budget and it blocks stopgap funding bills, the federal government will shut down, putting all federal government programs and services in jeopardy.

Budget Update

The first Senate votes on budget bills are expected next week. The Senate is likely to take a minibus approach, meaning that they will roll several bills into one vote in order to pass the budget more quickly. The first minibus is anticipated to contain the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act and the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, which the House already passed.

When they get back to D.C. next week, the House will vote on the Department of Defense Appropriations Act and the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act first, and potentially the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act. Far-right members of the House like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, (R-GA) and Rep. Matt Gaetz, (R-FL) have said they will hold up all budget votes until the chamber cuts spending and holds a vote on President Joe Biden’s impeachment.

Knowing that fights are brewing, Congress is already discussing a continuing resolution to keep the government open past September 30th, with negotiations on the full budget expected to continue until at least November. The continuing resolution is expected to include more funding for Ukraine, border security, and disaster relief, in addition to funding to keep the federal programs and service running until the final 2024 budget deal gets done.

Fighting Wildfires

Climate disasters continue to make news. Most recently, the wildfires that swept through Lahaina in Maui, which were caused in part by the replacement of native, wildfire-preventative plants with golf courses, have made headlines. Congress continues to move bills to provide resources and technology to state and local governments to fight these fires.

Next week, the House is scheduled to vote on two wildfire related bills:

ACRES Act: this bill would require a report on how many acres of land the government used for vegetation planting to reduce wildfire risk.
Emergency Wildfire Fighting Technology Act: this bill would study whether new aerial technology could improve the results of firefighting wildfires.

You can use the links above to read about the bills, and take action.

Action on Iran

Last year, 22-year old Iranian Masha Amini was arrested by the Iranian morality police for not properly wearing a hijab. Amini died after being severely beaten while in custody. Iranians rose up in response, school-aged girls and women in particular, which prompted a government backlash: internet blackouts, social media outages, tear gas, and mass arrests to try to stop protests.

Next week, the House is scheduled to respond by voting on three bills:

MAHSA Act: this bill responds to the Iranian government’s backlash by imposing sanctions on people and entities related to Iran’s Supreme Leader or President, and their offices.
Fight CRIME Act: this bill would sanction people and entities involved in or related to the Iranian missile and drone development programs.
H. Res. 492 Condemning the Government of Iran: this resolution outlines and condemns every instance of the Iranian government’s human rights abuses against people of the Bahá'í Faith.

You can use the links above to read about the bills, and take action.

Biden Political Appointments

This week, the Senate voted on approving political appointments, including Lisa DeNell Cook and Adriana Debora Kugler to the Federal Reserve System board, Gwynne A. Wilcox to the National Labor Relations Board, Philip Nathan Jefferson to be Vice Chairman of the Federal Reserve System board, and Anna M. Gomez to be a Member of the Federal Communications Commission.

More Judicial Nominees

President Biden has announced two more rounds of judicial nominations, bringing his total number of judges nominated to the federal bench to 188. The nominees include:

Colleen Holland for the U.S. District Court for the Western New York
Judge John A. Kazen for the U.S. District Court for the Southern Texas
Micah W. J. Smith for the U.S. District Court for Hawaii
Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona for the U.S. District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands
Judge Mustafa T. Kasubhai for U.S. District Court for Oregon
Judge Shanlyn A. S. Park for U.S. District Court for Hawai’i
Jamel K. Semper for U.S. District Court for New Jersey
Kirk E. Sherriff for U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California