| | | | |  | | By Daniella Diaz | | | With an assist from Katherine Tully-McManus
|  Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has a long list of priorities for his chamber's three-week work period. But he'll need GOP help to move the legislation he hopes to handle before August recess. | AP | SCHUMER’S TO DO LIST — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has quite an agenda on his hands for the next three weeks – and he’ll need Republican help to get it all done. In a Dear Colleague letter made public Sunday morning, Schumer (D-N.Y.) outlined what he hopes to accomplish when senators return back later today from a two-week recess. It’s a long list – more than 11 policy items to get through before August – and he’ll need to win over at least nine Republicans to get any of the bills across the finish line. Here’s a sampling of what Schumer wants to handle before his chamber takes its late-summer recess — and who he might work with, or against, across the aisle to do it.
- Addressing rail safety: This one seems like a sure win for Schumer – in part because it’s led by an odd-couple pairing of Ohio senators. Sens. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) have partnered on a rail safety bill to remediate damage done by the February derailment and chemical spill in East Palestine, Ohio. But the legislation goes further, enhancing safety procedures for trains carrying hazardous materials, setting a two-person minimum for train crews and increasing fines for railroads found at fault.
- Defense: The $886 billion National Defense Authorization Act, which sets the policy for the Defense Department, has been marked up and now needs final passage – which shouldn’t be an issue in the Senate but could prove complicated for Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.). The Senate-side thorn for Schumer continues to be Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), who has holds on scores of key military confirmations over Pentagon abortion care policy. He’s thus far resisted GOP efforts, including from Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), to find a solution to the blockade. Tuberville remains insistent that only a separate vote on the policy – i.e. not tied to the NDAA – would be satisfactory for him to lift the holds, which could soon include nominations to the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
- Appropriations: Spending levels are a wedge on the other side of the Capitol, where House Republicans have fractured over conservative demands to write appropriations bills with funding below what Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) negotiated with the White House in debt ceiling talks earlier this month. There’s no such public beef on the Democrat-controlled Senate Appropriations Committee, which has already signaled plans to stick to the negotiated spending levels. There’s no major rabble rousers on the Senate Appropriations Committee — the drama is more likely to play out in the House, where conservatives will continue to push for lower spending levels than the ones agreed to in the debt limit deal.
- Permitting reform: The irony here is that permitting reform has been and continues to be a bipartisan issue, with both sides of the aisle working on their own efforts to get something passed. It’s of particular interest to the Senate’s squeakiest wheel, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), who got expedited federal approvals in the debt ceiling deal for a pet pipeline project. Still, there’s lots that Manchin and fellow permitting hounds like Sens. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) will look to get done before August recess.
- Safeguard cannabis banking: Schumer is trying again to get his cannabis bill, which would make it easier for marijuana businesses to access financial services, across the finish line in the Senate. Some Republicans have previously said they’re concerned about enforcement and money laundering, but the bill does have bipartisan support with Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) as one of the several Republican cosponsors. There’s light at the end of the tunnel here, but the bill has some powerful opponents too — Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has derided the bill on the Senate floor in the past and could oppose it again.
| | | | STEP INSIDE THE GOLDEN STATE POLITICAL ARENA: POLITICO’s California Playbook newsletter provides a front row seat to the Golden State’s political power centers, from inside the state Capitol and governor's mansion in Sacramento, to the mayor’s office and City Council and Los Angeles, to the influence of Silicon Valley. Authors Lara Korte and Dustin Gardiner bring you exclusive news, buzzy scoops and behind-the-scenes details that you simply will not get anywhere else. Subscribe today and stay ahead of the game! | | | | | The one thing Senate Democrats have been successful in achieving for the last few months is passing key judicial nominations – which Schumer said he hopes to continue doing before the August recess.
| | | | A message from Electronic Payments Coalition: STOP THE BIG-BOX BAIT AND SWITCH: Big-box retailers, led by Walmart and Target, are seeking a massive handout from Congress, paid for by consumers. Mega-retailers are trying to trick Congress into enacting harmful credit card routing legislation (S. 1838/H.R. 3881), falsely claiming that it will help small businesses. In reality, this bill transfers billions from consumers to big-box corporations while eliminating popular credit card rewards programs, weakening cybersecurity protections, and reducing access to credit. Congress: reject this Big-Box Bait and Switch. www.stopthebigboxbaitandswitch.com | | | GOOD MORNING! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Monday, July 10, where recess is officially over (at least for 12 legislative days – House returns tomorrow). NAPOLITANO SIGNS OFF — ICYMI: Longtime California Rep. Grace Napolitano (D) said Saturday that she will retire from Congress at the end of the term. “For 25 years in Congress, I have represented La Puente, the only city I have represented for all of those years. That’s why it’s fitting that I there today announced that at the end of this term in 2024, I will be retiring from the United States Congress,” she wrote in a tweet Saturday. Napolitano’s deep blue, Los Angeles-area seat is all but certain to remain in Democratic hands. SENATE AI BRIEFING TUESDAY — In his Dear Colleague letter, Schumer said senators will have a classified all-senators briefing with the Department of Defense and Intelligence Community on national security in AI. This will be the first-ever classified all-senators briefing on national security and AI, he noted in the letter. NDAA WATCH — The House is likely going to take up the NDAA this week, with a Rules committee hearing set for tomorrow, where there are amendments filed to the bill on hot button issues like abortion, transgender medical treatment and diversity programs. All eyes are on the new conservative bloc on the House Rules Committee, which determines which of the new amendments will receive floor votes. McCarthy gave spots on the influential panel to three conservatives — Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), Chip Roy (R-Texas) and Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) — as part of his deal to secure the speakership. All three have typically voted against the Pentagon’s annual authorization bill.
| | | | Timely tunes… Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) had some banjo time with Bob Weir ahead of a Dead & Company show last week. Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) also had music on the mind, referencing the re-release of Taylor Swift’s Speak Now album, including the track “Dear John.” He’d like swifties to get on board with Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.). Meanwhile the subject of “Dear John,” John Mayer, has been playing on the road with Dead & Company.
| | | | A message from Electronic Payments Coalition:   | | | QUICK LINKS A Journey to the Center of RFK Jr.’s Dark, Public Slack Channel, from Ursula Perano at The Daily Beast They opposed the infrastructure law. Now, some in the GOP court its cash, from Tony Romm at the Washington Post U.S. drone strike kills Islamic State leader in Syria, Defense Department says, from the Associated Press Dems’ mission to stop a third-party presidential bid hits the Hill, from Burgess
| | | | SUBSCRIBE TO 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. | | | | | TRANSITIONS Nick Runkel is now legislative director for Rep. Steve Womack (R-Ark.). He most recently was military legislative assistant for Womack. Connor Sloan is now in-district scheduler for Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.). He most recently was assistant director of scheduling for the Office of the Illinois State Treasurer. TODAY IN CONGRESS The House convenes at 2:30 p.m. in a pro forma session. The Senate convenes at 3 p.m., at which time it will resume consideration of Xochitl Torres Small’s nomination to be a deputy secretary of Agriculture. At 5:30 p.m., the Senate will vote on a motion to invoke cloture on Small’s nomination.
| | | | A message from Electronic Payments Coalition: CONGRESS: DON’T FALL FOR THE BIG-BOX BAIT-AND-SWITCH: Despite vigorous lobbying efforts from mega-retailers like Walmart and Target, proposed credit routing mandates (S. 1838/H.R. 3881) face steep bipartisan opposition. Consumers and small businesses don’t want to lose valuable credit card benefits or suffer from weakened cybersecurity protections– both consequences of proposed credit card routing mandates. Americans didn’t send their lawmakers to Washington to be fooled by the retail giants’ massive corporate welfare scheme--and they won’t forget those who sold out Main Street so that big-box retailers could line their pockets while consumers and small businesses suffer. Last year, Congress wisely rejected a similar Big-Box Bill, and they must do so again. Congress must protect consumers, preserve the integrity of the payment ecosystem, and reject this detrimental and unnecessary government intervention. www.stopthebigboxbaitandswitch.com | | | AROUND THE HILL Quiet Monday.
| | FRIDAY’S WINNER: Justin Carpenter correctly answered that the last presidential election where the two major-party nominees had the same first name was in 1908 – Republican William Howard Taft vs. Democrat William Jennings Bryan. Bryan also faced a "William" during both of his earlier runs – William McKinley in both 1896 and 1900. TODAY’S QUESTION: Who was the U.S.’s first Hispanic presidential candidate? The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Huddle. Send your answers to ddiaz@politico.com. GET HUDDLE emailed to your phone each morning. Follow Daniella on Twitter @DaniellaMicaela | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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