| | | | |  | | By Katherine Tully-McManus | Presented by the National Association of Manufacturers | With help from Zach Montellaro | 
A storm rolled into Washington | Francis Chung/E&E News | NO PROMISES, PEOPLE — Consider yourself warned: The congressional schedule this week is already going off the rails. The Senate punted its first votes of the week due to a thunderstorm, multiple lawmakers are in Covid isolation and House members have already been warned that they might have to stay late on Friday due to an overstuffed to-do list. LET'S TRY THIS AGAIN — The Senate votes this morning on the bipartisan bill that would provide $52 billion in subsidies for the semiconductor industry and authorize tens of billions to boost regional technology hubs and science programs. The vote was scheduled for Monday evening, but thunderstorms along the East Coast stranded enough Senators that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) postponed. The bill needs 60 votes to advance today. Last week 64 senators (including 16 Republicans) voted to move forward on the package. The House is expected to pass the microchip legislation by Friday, once it passes the Senate. Burgess looks at what's on the Senate agenda in the next two weeks and the realities Dems face: Time is not on Democrats' side HOUSE PLOTS PRE-RECESS PELL-MELL — The House returns today with a to-do list a mile long and plans to hit the road Friday for the August recess. Democrats are still getting the votes together to move a ban on the sale or possession of high-capacity magazines and assault-style weapons, the first such legislation in decades. There are not the votes to move that through the Senate. Alongside the assault weapons ban they also hope to move a package of public safety measures. Also on the agenda is a pair of bills aimed at wildfires and drought, as this fire season delivers more devastating blazes. Somehow a bill limiting private ownership of big cats — think "Tiger King" — made it onto the packed pre-recess to-do list. Summer bummer: Even once the House hits the road after final votes on Friday, they are expected to get called back to Washington in August… if the Senate passes their party-line drug pricing bill. The House wants to act on that promptly to avert big price hikes on healthcare premiums expected this fall if Congress doesn't act. RELATED: This Republican embraced gun control. It ended his political career , from Joanna Slater in Buffalo for The Washington Post
| | | | STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president's ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today . | | | | | GOOD MORNING! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Tuesday, July 26, where we're staying flexible, nimble, ready for anything. TWO WAYS ON ECA — " The Senate's latest bipartisan project — reform of a 135-year-old election law Donald Trump tried to exploit on Jan. 6 — is landing with a thud in the House. Pivotal members of the Jan. 6 select committee are unimpressed by the proposal recently released by 16 senators in both parties to update the Electoral Count Act, the arcane statute Trump and his allies sought to manipulate to block certification of the 2020 election. And House members are signaling they want to go further" write Marianne and Nicholas . Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) on the Senate effort: "fine and necessary, but not remotely sufficient to meet the magnitude of the threat against democracy now." Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.): "I don't want to be overly critical, but I think there are some elements of what we've worked through that might be superior," she said. "So, hopefully, we'll come up with a melded version that serves the country."
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Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) departs a House vote at the U.S. Capitol June 14, 2022. | Francis Chung/E&E News/POLITICO | LEGBRANCH LEG UP? — Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) holds the gavel for the small and unglamorous spending subcommittee that pays the bills on Capitol Hill, but can his advocacy and investment in workers in Congress translate to his pro-worker campaign for Senate? Ryan doesn't see a disconnect between diving deep into the minutiae of Capitol Hill operations and relating to voters in Ohio on their everyday challenges. If he can help the former, he argues, that shows he can deliver on his promises to aid the latter. More from your Huddle host: Can Tim Ryan make Capitol workers matter to Ohio voters? HOME IS WHERE THE…NEW SECURITY $$ CAN BE USED — Members can now utilize a $10,000 fund for security system equipment and installation at their personal residence, with the costs paid for by the House Sergeant at Arms. Security officials on Capitol Hill have been grappling with increased threats and security concerns for members of Congress, especially when members are outside the heavily monitored Capitol campus. This is an institutional investment in member security off campus. Members will be able to "select a bona fide security company, subject to verification by the SAA" to have installation of a range of services, from CCTV or intrusion detection systems to duress buttons and break glass sensors. The funding cannot be used to make capital improvements that would increase the value of a home. Rewind: Following the 2017 gunman attack on the GOP Congressional baseball practice, the House expanded what security measures office funds could be spent on, including hiring security in-district for events and purchasing a ballistics vest. The Federal Election Commission in 2017, at the urging of then-House Sergeant at Arms Paul D. Irving, issued guidance allowing lawmakers to use campaign funds for "nonstructural" security systems at their homes, like cameras and sensors. Last year the FEC said that campaign funds could be spent on "bona fide" security guards.
| | | | A message from the National Association of Manufacturers: Manufacturers are driving our economy and helping to rebuild supply chains amid record cost increases and historic worker shortages. But tax increases on manufacturers pending before Congress do nothing to bring down costs, solve the workforce crisis or promote energy security. Learn why the National Association of Manufacturers is urging Congress to reject higher taxes at https://nam.org/taxaction. | | | BUYER'S REMORSE? HE SAYS HE'S INNOCENT Former Rep. Stephen Buyer (R-Ind.) left Congress and took up consulting. But now he's in hot water, facing both civil and criminal charges of insider trading related to his consulting work. The Securities and Exchange Commission said Monday that Buyer, 63, earned over $300,000 from illegal trading. The watchdog agency alleges that Buyer spread the trades over multiple accounts belonging to his son, cousin, wife and a woman he was romantically involved with. Buyer served in Congress from 1992 to 2010. His lawyer says he's innocent. More from POLITICO's Sam Sutton: U.S. authorities hit former GOP Rep. Stephen Buyer with insider trading charges FIRST IN HUDDLE: Republicans who voted to overturn the results of the 2020 election collected $819,000 in donations from corporate and trade association PACs in June, according to an analysis of recently released Federal Election Commission data by the liberal watchdog group Accountable.US. That brings the total to over $21.5 million since Jan. 2021. Accountable.US said that seven PACs affiliated with either a company or trade group made their first donation to an election objector this June.
| | | | INTRODUCING POWER SWITCH: The energy landscape is profoundly transforming. Power Switch is a daily newsletter that unlocks the most important stories driving the energy sector and the political forces shaping critical decisions about your energy future, from production to storage, distribution to consumption. Don't miss out on Power Switch, your guide to the politics of energy transformation in America and around the world. SUBSCRIBE TODAY . | | | | | CHEERS vs JEERS FOR PELOSI TRAVEL PLANS — Speaker Nancy Pelosi's (D-Calif.) reported plans to travel to Taiwan have made Republicans cheer on the Democratic leader they usually jeer. "Pelosi's supporters include a conservative Republican senator, at least two former Trump administration officials and the last speaker of the House to make the trip to Taiwan, also a Republican. They are urging Biden to back the trip even as China threatens a forceful response if she goes," write Seung Min Kim and Matthew Lee for The Associated Press .
| | | Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and Tom Carper (D-Del.) have all tested positive for Covid-19, throwing the Senate schedule into flux, once again. Smith and Carper could be out of isolation very soon. It's not just lawmakers, of course. Staff and the press corps have also been hit in recent days. Your Huddle host is heading to get tested today. See you there.
| | | Summer siren… Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) says he'll introduce legislation to "invoke the Defense Production Act to mandate the continued manufacture of Choco Tacos" after yesterday's announcement that the novelty ice cream will be discontinued after four decades. "Please call your Senator and demand they co-sponsor," he tweeted , in jest. Stand with Rand?... A voter asked Eric Greitens, a Republican candidate for Senate in Missouri, who he would back for GOP leader in the Senate instead of Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). The answer was "Rand Paul." QUICK LINKS GOP lawmaker attended gay son's wedding 3 days after voting against same-sex marriage , from Zachary Schermele at NBC News China Targeted Fed to Build Informant Network, Access Data, a Probe Says , from Kate O'Keeffe and Nick Timiraos at The Wall Street Journal Conservative downstate GOP lawmakers seek party censure of U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger for his role on Jan. 6 committee investigating Trump , from Rick Pearson at the Chicago Tribune
| | | | A message from the National Association of Manufacturers:   | | | TODAY IN CONGRESS The House convenes at noon for morning hour and 2 p.m. for legislative business. The Senate convenes at 10 a.m. with a vote expected at 11 a.m. and a recess for weekly caucus lunches between 12:30 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. Additional votes are possible. AROUND THE HILL 11:45 a.m. Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) holds a press conference on reproductive rights (Senate Swamp). 2 p.m. House Rules Committee business meeting to consider two bills, including one that would extend Medicare telehealth flexibilities (Capitol H-313). 2 p.m. Senate Democrats and Senate Republicans hold their separate post-policy lunch press conferences. 2:30 p.m. Senate Judiciary Criminal Justice and Counterterrorism Subcommittee hearing on decriminalizing cannabis at the federal level (Dirksen 226). 5 p.m. Rep. Jim Langevin (D-R.I.), founder and co-chair of the Bipartisan Disabilities Caucus, along with House leaders, Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.), former Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and others hold an event celebrating the 32nd anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (Rayburn 2167).
| | | MONDAY'S WINNER: Charles Horowitz correctly answered that during his presidency, Ulysses S. Grant was pulled over and cited for driving his horse-drawn coach dangerously fast. TODAY'S QUESTION from Charles: Which vice president was criticized in the press for playing the piano while a famous actress posed on top? And who was the actress? 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 the National Association of Manufacturers: The National Association of Manufacturers has led the charge against higher taxes on manufacturers. Undoing the progress achieved through tax reform—after which manufacturers kept their promises to raise wages and benefits, hire new workers and invest in their communities—would cost 1 million jobs in the first two years, according to NAM research. With Congress now considering proposals to raise taxes on manufacturers, the NAM is sending a clear message that higher taxes will do nothing to promote competitiveness or address rising costs and workforce shortages. Learn more at https://nam.org/taxaction. | | | | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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