Can disaster funding change the September calculus?

A play-by-play preview of the day’s congressional news

Aug 11, 2023 View in browser   By Daniella Diaz and Anthony Adragna With an assist from POLITICO’s Hill team “I can assure you that we are going to fight like hell to make sure that resources are coming to Hawaii,” Rep. Jill Tokuda (D-Hawaii), whose district has been impacted by the widlfires, told Huddle in an interview. | AP ‘WE ARE GOING TO FIGHT LIKE HELL’ The contentious question of Ukraine aid might be dominating the conversation about President Joe Biden's new supplemental $40 billion funding request sent to Congress Thursday, but many lawmakers are intensely focused on a smaller line item: the $12 billion requested to replenish dwindling disaster relief funds. Biden’s appropriations request came on the same day he granted a federal disaster declaration for the horrific wildfires that have killed at least 53 people in Hawaii — the latest of 43 major disasters declared this year — and a day after the Federal Emergency Management Agency predicted a $4 billion-plus shortfall in its main relief fund for fiscal 2023. “I can assure you that we are going to fight like hell to make sure that resources are coming to Hawaii,” Rep. Jill Tokuda (D-Hawaii), whose district includes hard-hit Maui, told Huddle in an interview. “I've received a lot of support from my colleagues in Congress, just asking, ‘what can we do to help?’ … And it has been bipartisan as well.” Reality check: Pressing disaster needs have not always translated into immediate congressional help. Scores of Republicans opposed a relief package following the devastating Hurricane Sandy in the Northeast before finally coalescing around a measure that became law. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has been mum so far about whether he plans to rally support for the White House request, which also includes $24 billion in aid to Ukraine and $4 billion to address issues at the southern border, like shelter and services for migrants and counter-fentanyl efforts. Whipping in favor of the supplemental could be an uphill climb for McCarthy with his spending-skeptical conservatives, and the pressing need for additional disaster funding may not move the needle much. No Republicans represent Hawaii, and the same goes for Vermont, which was devastated by floods earlier this summer. But several smaller weather-related disasters have been declared in southern states with GOP-heavy delegations, and there is the looming threat of hurricanes to the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, which have historically driven large emergency spending packages. The calculus: Any legislation to keep the government open and fund Biden’s supplemental request will have to rely to some extent on Democratic votes. But rely on them too much and McCarthy could find himself back in hot water with his caucus’ right flank, which has spent much of the summer insisting on deep spending cuts and warning of a shutdown if they don’t get them. Meanwhile, in the Senate, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer argued Thursday there would be strong bipartisan support for the request in his chamber: “We hope to join with our Republican colleagues this fall to avert an unnecessary government shutdown and fund this critical emergency supplemental request,” he said in a statement. In a statement, Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) told Huddle she vowed to keep fighting for additional resources: “Disaster relief funding has always received strong bipartisan support. I expect that kind of support to continue to help our communities as we work to recover from this disaster.”   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!     GOOD MORNING! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Friday, Aug. 11, where your hosts are glad their weekend plans don’t include any butter cows. COMER HINTS AT BIDEN SUBPOENAS As Republicans dig deeper into their sweeping investigation of the president’s family, House Oversight Chair James Comer is increasingly hinting that his probe will escalate into a legal battle with the Bidens. The Kentucky Republican, in a series of TV appearances, is making it clear that he plans to subpoena members of the Biden family and their bank records. During one interview on Fox Business Thursday, Comer said that "this is always going to end with the Bidens coming in front of the committee," while acknowledging it would be "very difficult" to get a sitting president to talk to the panel. The committee’s investigation so far has been fueled by records obtained from business associates and entities who did business with Biden’s son Hunter Biden and other family members, not from the Bidens themselves. So far the panel has been unable to link any payment directly to the president, and Republicans, in a memo this week, tried to argue they don't have to meet that bar. Comer aides didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment about his subpoena plans, and he has been careful not to put a timeline on taking such a step. But it's a clear signal that his strategy of collecting and releasing financial records linking Biden family members to payments from foreign sources is also aimed at building a legal defense ahead of an all-but-guaranteed, politically fraught court battle over first-family subpoenas. From the White House: Spokesperson Ian Sams said that "House Republicans can't prove President Biden did anything wrong, but they are proving every day they have no vision and no agenda to actually help the American people." — Jordain Carney HOW EXTREME HEAT PLAYS ON THE POLITICAL GROUND When Biden landed in Arizona on Monday, Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) met him on the tarmac with a request: help for his home state as it deals with record-breaking heat that’s already left more than 100 people dead since the start of the year. Gallego is sponsoring a bill with Reps. Mark Amodei (R-Nev.), and Sylvia Garcia (D-Texas) that would add extreme heat to the list of disasters eligible for FEMA support. But Gallego said he believed something should happen now, which is why Gallego went straight to Biden to push for the measure. “We are at the tip of the spear when it comes to climate change,” he said in an interview with Huddle. “We're seeing it on a daily basis when it comes to extreme heat." How hot is it?: July in Phoenix was the hottest month ever recorded in any U.S. city, with an average daytime high of 114.7 degrees. The city set records last month with 31 consecutive days of temperatures hitting 110 degrees or hotter and an overall average temperature of 102.7 degrees, 3.6 degrees hotter than the previous record. It’s been so hot, Gallego said, that even desert-dwelling Arizonans aren’t prepared for it: “It's costing a lot of our municipalities and counties millions of dollars to deal with this just to keep people alive.” Colleague Greg Stanton (D-Ariz.) told Huddle Thursday that he also pushed Biden this week for federal help with the extreme heat as well as the southwest’s 22-year “megadrought” — both of which, he said, require “a true partnership between the federal government, state and local — that's how it's supposed to work.”   HITTING YOUR INBOX AUGUST 14—CALIFORNIA CLIMATE: Climate change isn’t just about the weather. It's also about how we do business and create new policies, especially in California. So we have something cool for you: A brand-new California Climate newsletter. It's not just climate or science chat, it's your daily cheat sheet to understanding how the legislative landscape around climate change is shaking up industries across the Golden State. Cut through the jargon and get the latest developments in California as lawmakers and industry leaders adapt to the changing climate. Subscribe now to California Climate to keep up with the changes.     SCHUMER SILENT ON THOMAS LATEST The latest revelations from ProPublica that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas received dozens of luxury vacations and other benefits has brought new relevance to Senate Democrats’ push to impose new ethics strictures on the high court. But they have not brought any more clarity on when the issue might hit the Senate floor. To recap: The Senate Judiciary Committee advanced Supreme Court transparency legislation on a party-line vote in late July, but Schumer at the time did not specify when — or if — the bill would get floor time. That hasn’t changed: A spokesperson for Schumer referred back to a prior statement, where he praised the bill’s patrons, Judiciary Chair Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and said, without specifics, that he would be “working with them to make progress on this legislation.” Progress will no doubt be difficult. The Senate calendar is packed for the near future with nominations and likely spending legislation, and the Supreme Court bill is almost certain to face a GOP filibuster. Still, Durbin and Whitehouse on Thursday reacted to the latest revelations with fresh calls for action. “If the Court will not act, then Congress must continue to,” Durbin said in a statement. Added Whitehouse in a statement to Huddle, “There may have been a time when the honor system worked well enough for the American people to trust in the ethics of the justices, but that trust has been squandered.” HUDDLE HOTDISH Schumer (decked out in his Buffalo Bills best) called for defibrillators to be present at all high schools in the aftermath of Damar Hamlin’s on-field medical emergency last January. “The Bills are staying in Buffalo for generations to come,” Schumer added. QUICK LINKS  Tommy Tuberville: Florida’s third senator? by The Washington Post's Glenn Kessler US Senator Joe Manchin says 'thinking seriously' about leaving Democratic Party, by Reuters's Moira Warburton Sen. Mitch McConnell speaks at Louisville luncheon in second appearance since freezing mid-sentence, by WHAS-TV TRANSITIONS  Got a new gig on the Hill? Leaving for something else? Let us know! TODAY IN CONGRESS The House convenes at 11 a.m. for a pro forma session. The Senate convenes at 9 a.m. for a pro forma session. AROUND THE HILL *crickets* TRIVIA THURSDAY’S ANSWER: Jon Deuser was first to correctly identify Reps. Linda and Loretta Sánchez, Democrats of California, as the first (and so far only) sisters to serve in Congress. TODAY’S QUESTION from Jon: Who is the only state governor to have been assassinated while in office? The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Huddle. Send your answers to huddletrivia@politico.com. GET HUDDLE emailed to your phone each morning. Follow Daniella and Anthony on X at @DaniellaMicaela and @AnthonyAdragna.   Follow us

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