| | | | | |  | | By Katherine Tully-McManus | Presented by ProsperUS | With help from Andrew Desiderio. SCHEDULE MASTER SCHUMER — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is letting the calendar do its thing: crank up the pressure on the infrastructure debate by letting senators fret about recess slipping away. It gets the New York Democrat somewhat off the hook — the schedule is to blame for cutting their time away from Washington shorter and shorter, not him. By Schumer's calculation , it is a safe bet that it won't take too long for his colleagues to get tired and miss enough events back home before there's collective motivation to speed things along. They need to get through both the infrastructure bill that's currently being amended and the budget measure that will culminate in an all-night vote-a-rama. Read Burgess on how Schumer is using the schedule as a tool : https://politi.co/3CdUAIX "Getting home is always a good motivator," Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), told Burgess. "People are going to get irritated and sick of each other." In the meantime, some people are literally getting sick. Whatever schedule Schumer had in mind, it could be scrambled with the breakthrough case of Covid-19 within the Senate ranks: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who will quarantine for 10 days. With the Senate split 50-50, even just one absence has the potential to derail certain votes. A dozen senators attended a bipartisan boat bash over the weekend, hosted by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), including Graham. Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) were among the roughly dozen senators there. "There was no celebration. We're just trying to keep people together and do things in a bipartisan way. That's what we do," Manchin said about the houseboat party, which he emphasized took place outdoors. News of Graham's positive result only spurred a handful of Republican senators to don masks for the first time in months; most GOP senators were spotted without masks on the Senate floor during the first vote the chamber held Monday evening. | | | | SUBSCRIBE TO "THE RECAST" TODAY: Power is shifting in Washington and in communities across the country. More people are demanding a seat at the table, insisting that politics is personal and not all policy is equitable. The Recast is a twice-weekly newsletter that explores the changing power dynamics in Washington and breaks down how race and identity are recasting politics and policy in America. Get fresh insights, scoops and dispatches on this crucial intersection from across the country and hear critical new voices that challenge business as usual. Don't miss out, SUBSCRIBE . Thank you to our sponsor, Intel. | | | | | TIME TO GET TESTED — For any Senate staff, reporters or others who were feeling smug because there hadn't been reported breakthrough cases in the so-called upper chamber… It's time to get tested. Graham tested positive Monday, but was around Capitol Hill with a mask on before he announced his test result and retreated to quarantine, talking to reporters and engaging with colleagues. But as recently as Friday, he was here and voting, unmasked. The testing site in the Capitol is open 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., where they are administering Abbott tests with a pretty quick turnaround time. Related: Graham's COVID-19 'breakthrough' case jolts Senate, from Jordain Carney at The Hill WHAT'S ON THE PAY-FORS MENU — Democrats are searching the couch cushions for revenue and savings to pay for their multi-trillion plan of Democratic spending priorities. They've pledged that the yet-to-be-finalized bill will be "fully paid for," but that promise won't be easy. They need to raise cash or find savings to offset $3.5 trillion worth of spending. While lawmakers putting together the package say that the bill will eventually pay for itself, that "dynamic scoring" approach won't touch the total costs. So they're looking for other options. Democrats are rounding up funding possibilities that could make it in the bill, from punishing tax scammers to hiking capital gains taxes. Jennifer Scholtes, Brian Faler have a peek at the menu that Democrats will be ordering from when they try to offset their policy dreams: https://politi.co/3jm4DmV | | A message from ProsperUS: The economy is what we create, what we buy, what we need. The economy is powered by us – and it's time it worked for us. We need more bold public investment in jobs and families. We are ProsperUS. Learn more here. | | | GOOD MORNING! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Tuesday, August 3. MONDAY'S MOST CLICKED: You were intrigued by "Special election ignites battle over who is 'welcome' in Black caucus." EVICTION FRICTION — House Democrats' calls for the Biden Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to extend the nationwide eviction moratorium were shot down again Monday, when the White House said the CDC doesn't have the legal authority to unilaterally extend the eviction freeze. Less than 24 hours after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and other Democratic leaders pressed President Joe Biden to act, the White House said that while it could not extend the ban, it would look for "every potential legal authority" it has to prevent evictions. Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) has kept vigil on the House steps of the Capitol in protest of inaction on extending the moratorium since Friday night and scrambled Monday to get face time with the vice president to discuss the issue. "I needed her to look me in my eyes and I wanted to look in hers when I asked for help to prevent our people from being evicted," Bush tweeted. "Madam Vice President, let's work together to get this done. We need a federal eviction moratorium." The camp-out protest led by Bush has attracted activists and Democratic lawmakers from both chambers to stop by, address the crowd, pray or just give Bush a hug and support. Rev. Jesse Jackson bowed his head and prayed with Bush and Democratic Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Adam Schiff, Jimmy Gomez and Mark Takano on Monday evening. Separately, Sens. Schumer, Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.) stopped by the demonstration Monday. Bush finally got some sleep Monday night and Ocasio-Cortez and Gomez took up the task of leading the campout. "Cori held it down for three nights," Gomez said on Instagram with Ocasio-Cortez early Tuesday. "She couldn't sleep because they don't let you lay down on the steps. So we tagged in and held it down for Cori and continued her work." Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is scheduled to brief Democratic members of the House Tuesday on the emergency funds designed to assist tenants with rent payments. Yellen will give a presentation to House Democrats to explain how the Treasury has distributed the $46.5 billion in aid allocated by Congress, one of the key reasons for extending the moratorium, Pelosi said in a Monday letter to her caucus. Pelosi urged members to look into their states' and localities' distribution of the funds and "work in your district to help get the money to flow" because just a small fraction of the money has made it into the hands of renters and landlords. More on the eviction moratorium fight from Katy O'Donnell and Laura Barrón-López here: https://politi.co/3rOXz5X Related: Liberals erupt in fury at White House over end of eviction moratorium, from the Washington Post. | | | | Be a Policy Pro. POLITICO Pro has a free policy resource center filled with our best practices on building relationships with state and federal representatives, demonstrating ROI, and influencing policy through digital storytelling. Read our free guides today . | | | | | HAVANA SYNDROME UPDATE — We've seen a flurry of legislation this year to address the growing threat of so-called directed-energy attacks on U.S. personnel, or "Havana Syndrome," after POLITICO first reported that the Biden administration was warning lawmakers about the uptick. And this morning a bipartisan group is unveiling yet another bid to help U.S. officials get to the bottom of it. Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) came out with a bill this morning that would mandate the creation of a new position on the National Security Council specifically to oversee the federal government's response to what is officially referred to as "anomalous health incidents." It also requires all agencies involved in the sprawling probe to appoint a senior-level official to handle the matter, and to create "workplace guidance" for U.S. personnel to increase their awareness of potential attacks and how to guard against them. It's a reflection of the ongoing widespread angst on Capitol Hill about how the administrations past and present have handled the investigation into these mysterious brain injuries. Andrew has more on the effort: https://politi.co/3rSpuSl FROM RUSSIA WITH NO LOVE — Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) came out swinging on Monday against the Biden administration's agreement with the German government that effectively allowed the controversial Russia-to-Germany natural gas pipeline Nord Stream 2 to be completed. In a blistering statement co-signed with his European parliamentary counterparts, Menendez wrote the pipeline's completion, which was effectively green-lighted by the U.S.-Germany deal, "will give Russia yet another tool to pressure and blackmail Ukraine." He also said it weakens U.S. national security. Oof… The Biden team has said the pipeline was going to be completed regardless of U.S. enforcement of congressionally mandated sanctions, and that the president wants to repair trans-Atlantic alliances that frayed significantly under Donald Trump, most notably the U.S.-Germany relationship. Still, those arguments aren't sitting well with Menendez and several other Democrats we've spoken to in recent weeks. For more: https://politi.co/3igzdyN IOWA ACTION — Rep. Cindy Axne (D-Iowa) has endorsed her former House colleague Abby Finkenauer's bid for Senate, an acknowledgement that Axne won't seek the statewide seat. Finkenauer is running for the seat currently held by Republican Chuck Grassley, who at 87 is the Senate's most senior Republican. He hasn't announced if he'll seek an eighth term. Finkenauer was elected alongside Axne in 2018, but lost her reelection in 2020. Axne's endorsement, first reported by the Des Moines Register, is a clear signal that she's ruling out a run for Senate. Her choice did not come as a surprise but is good news nonetheless for House Democrats who want as many battled-tested incumbents to seek re-election. LEWIS LEFT US SOMETHING — In the final months of his life, and through the pandemic, the late Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) was working on a memoir in graphic novel form. The book publishes today and The Washington Post has a preview: https://wapo.st/3xkWSlW | | | |   | | | TRANSITIONS A couple moves in Rep. Eric Swalwell's (D-Calif.) office: Mariana Perera is moving from staff assistant to scheduler and Morgan Carter has been promoted to staff assistant from her internship. Haim Engelman is heading to Rep. Claudia Tenney's (R-N.Y.) office to be deputy chief of staff and legislative director. He previously worked for Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) Alex Schnelle is now deputy chief of staff in Rep. Steve Cohen's (D-Tenn.) office, promoted from her role as a senior legislative assistant. TODAY IN CONGRESS The House convenes at 10 a.m. for a pro forma session. The Senate convenes at 10:30 a.m., with a vote at 11:45 a.m. AROUND THE HILL 2 p.m. Senate Democrats and Senate Republicans hold their separate post-policy lunch press conferences. TRIVIA MONDAY'S WINNER: Some of you chose condescension on Monday morning, don't fill my inbox with that attitude again. But our winner Sara Bonjean kindly answered correctly that the U.S. boycotted the 1980 Moscow Olympics due to the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan. TODAY'S QUESTION from Sara: In 2012, this state had the highest number of Olympic athletes per capita. The only person to have won a gold medal in the history of the state attended the arch rival of the state's land-grant university. What is the state and who was the athlete? Bonus question: what school did he attend? The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Huddle. Send your answers to ktm@politico.com GET HUDDLE emailed to your phone each morning. Follow Katherine on Twitter @ktullymcmanus. | | A message from ProsperUS: We are ProsperUS, a coalition of movement, labor, small business, faith, and policy groups. And we demand a people-centered economy.
This is our chance, this is our moment – to finally unlock prosperity for all of us. We need housing, health care, caregiving, action on the climate crisis, and millions of good-paying jobs. We need bold public investment now. | | | | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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