WALKING ON SUNSHINE? — Most Senate-watchers — and many Senators themselves — were shocked last year when the chamber passed, by unanimous consent, a bill to make daylight saving time permanent. The bill is back. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) has introduced his same “Sunshine Protection Act” bill again this year, with a companion measure from Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.) in the House. It’s a bipartisan effort with backing from Sens. James Lankford (R-Okla.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss), Rick Scott (R-Fla), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala), Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and more. Remember when Markey danced last year following passage? But the surprise victory for daylight savings fans hit a brick wall in the House and it could this time around as well, even if it makes it through the Senate again. Then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said she was interested in the measure, but that it wasn’t a priority for her caucus and it never saw floor action. Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) hasn’t spoken on the proposal since he ascended to the top of the House, but he’s on the record last year saying: “I don’t think it’s a good bill.” One problem the House faced was not having a consensus on which time frame to write into law. The Senate opted for daylight saving all year round, but some in the House wanted to make standard time, well, standard. Staff and lawmakers have surmised that the Senate passage last year was a fluke. That a senator was intended to object to the unanimous consent request, but missed their chance. After all, the move has been tried before and failed. Congress tried a permanent daylight saving time in the 1970s but quickly reversed course on the move amid widespread public outcry over the switch. If we’re going to see another attempt at a change, keep an eye on the week of March 13th, when Americans are feeling the pain of springing forward. DEMOCRATS’ INVESTIGATIVE PREBUTTAL — Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y,), the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, and Del. Stacey Plaskett (D-U.S. Virgin Islands), the top Democrat on its “weaponization” subcommittee, released a 300-plus page report on Thursday night raising red flags over three of Republicans’ “whistleblowers” who have taken part in interviews with committee staff. The three witnesses offered little first-hand knowledge of wrongdoing or a violation of law and don’t meet the legal definition of a whistleblower, according to the Democratic staff report. “There is reason to doubt the credibility of these witnesses. Each endorses an alarming series of conspiracy theories related to the January 6 Capitol attack, the COVID vaccine, and the validity of the 2020 election. One has called repeatedly for the dismantling of the FBI. Another suggested that it would be better for Americans to die than to have any kind of domestic intelligence program,” the two Democrats added in their report about the three witnesses. The GOP witnesses also have connections to former Trump world officials, including Kash Patel and Russell Vought, including one who said that Patel had gifted him $5,000, according to an interview excerpt included in the Democratic staff report. Democrats’ report sparked pushback from Judiciary Republicans who accused them of using “cherry-picked leaks” and “partial transcripts… to disparage brave whistleblowers.” But Democrats said they asked their staff to compile the report after learning that Republicans had begun sharing the interviews with the press. Read the full Democratic report here.
| 
No comments:
Post a Comment