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Category: 116th Congress

Congress Returns To Try To Address Unresolved Issues

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Both chambers of Congress return this week in an attempt to address several unresolved issues.

With respect to policy, the current continuing resolution (CR) that is funding programs and agencies supported by the seven unsigned appropriations bill runs out at midnight on December 8.  Congress and the White House must come to an agreement on how to address their differences in order to prevent a partial shutdown of the government.  The most high profile of these issues are the White House’s insistence on $5 billion for a border wall along the Southern border and the Congressional Democrats’ recent push on including provisions that would protect Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller in the final spending package.  A host of other disagreements on lower profile must also be ironed out.

While another CR is possible, the 116th Congress, one in which Democrats will control the House, convenes on January 3.  This fact may drive some of the negotiations during the lame duck session.

In preparation for the 116th Congress, the House Democrats are scheduled to elect their leadership team this Wednesday.  The only remaining question about the elections is whether Nancy Pelosi will have enough support from her colleagues to return to the Speaker position.  While there is no Member who has announced their candidacy in opposition to her, there seems to be some question as to how many Democrats will oppose her in the end.

 

Both Sides of Senate Keep Same Leadership Teams, House Republicans Elect New Leader

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Both parties in the Senate yesterday largely re-elected the same leadership teams that were in place before the elections last week.

As expected, the Senate Republicans re-elected Mitch McConnell of Kentucky as Majority Leader.  John Cornyn of Texas, who had to step aside as Majority Whip because of party-imposed term limits on leadership positions, was replaced by John Thune of South Dakota, who moved up from the position of Republican Conference Chair.

On the other side of the aisle, Charles Schumer of New York and Richard Durbin retained the top two Democratic positions.

In the House, although challenged by Jim Jordan of Ohio, one of the co-founders of the Freedom Caucus, Kevin McCarthy of California will serve as the Minority Leader when the 116th Congress convenes.  He currently serves as the Majority Leader and there had been speculation about whether he had enough votes to succeed retiring Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) as the leader of the House Republicans.  McCarthy won yesterday’s vote among the Republicans 159 to 43.

The biggest uncertainty regarding party leadership races remains with the House Democrats, who will assume the majority next Congress and will not vote on their leadership team  until after Thanksgiving.  With a number of Democrats stating publicly before the elections that they would not support Nancy Pelosi of California, it remains to be seen whether she has the votes to become the next Speaker.

Congress Reconvenes This Week

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With a number of races still yet to be called, Congress reconvenes this week to try to wrap up unfinished business as well as vote on a number of leadership positions for next Congress.  In addition, the newly elected members arrive in town this week to begin their official orientation program, which is expected to last until after Thanksgiving.

The most pressing of the unresolved issues to be addressed is the remaining FY2019 appropriations bills.  With the fiscal year having started October 1, seven of the 12 bills have yet to be signed into law.  Funding for a wall along the Southern border, which President Trump has repeatedly emphasized as a personal priority, is the biggest skirmish that will need to be settled during this lame duck period.  The current short-term government funding measure expires at midnight on December 8 and it remains to be seen whether the wall issue can be resolved by then.

In the meantime, with at least 92 new Members of the House and the Senate expected next year, the two parties in both chambers are expected to take up questions surrounding leadership positions for next Congress starting tomorrow.

House Republicans are expected to vote on their leaders tomorrow.  With Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) retiring at the end of this year and the Democrats taking control next year, current Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) is seeking to become the Minority Leader.  He is expected to be challenged by Jim Jordan (R-OH), a leader of the Tea Party wing of the House Republicans.  Steve Scalise of Louisiana is not expected to be challenged for the position of Minority Whip.  Recently re-elected Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington, who is currently the Republican Conference Chair, will not seek to keep that position in the new Congress and is expected to be replaced by Liz Cheney of Wyoming.

On the Democratic side of the aisle, the elections will wait until after Thanksgiving.  Although a number of Democratic House candidates pledged not to support her as the new Speaker if they were to win, it remains to be seen whether anyone will challenge Nancy Speaker of California for Speaker.  Steny Hoyer (D-MD) is expected to assume the position of Majority Leader in the new Congress.  The race for Majority Whip, at this point, has two candidates:  Jim Clyburn (D-SC), the current Assistant Democratic Leader, and Diana DeGette (D-CO), a long-time Member from Colorado.

In the Senate, with the Republicans retaining control, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky will remain as the Majority Leader.  In the position of Majority Whip, John Cornyn of Texas will likely be replaced by John Thune of South Dakota, due to term limits placed on leadership positions by the Senate Republicans.  John Barrasso of Wyoming is expected to become the new Republican Conference Chair.

Senate Democrats are expected to keep their leadership team in place, with Chuck Schumer of New York and Dick Durbin of Illinois remaining as Minority Leader and Minority Whip, respectively.

 

 

New Democratic Chairs to Helm House Committees

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As a result of the November elections, Democrats will assume the chairs of committees in the House when the new Congress convenes in 2019.

At the macro level, we can expect the Democrats to hold oversight hearings on myriad issues and activities related to the Trump Administration with respect to both policies and politics.  Individually, the soon-to-be chairs of the committees, all of whom are seasoned Members, will have different priorities that they plan to emphasize.  Earlier this year, Politico profiled a number of the Democrats likely to lead the panels after the switch in control.  A shorter synopsis of the new chairs’ backgrounds and their interests is provided below.

Appropriations

Nita Lowey, representing the suburbs of New York City, is expected to take over as the first woman to chair the Appropriations Committee.  First elected to Congress in 1988, she has been a tremendous champion of domestic programs.

She has served in the past as the lead Democrat on the Labor-HHS-Education Subcommittee, which is responsible for funding biomedical and student aid programs.  She has made funding NIH a priority in the past.

Armed Services

Adam Smith, representing the 9th Congress District of Washington and one of UW’s biggest backers, is slated to take over the chairmanship of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC).

A UW alum, he was first elected to Congress in 1996 and has served as Ranking Member on since 2011.

Education and the Workforce

Bobby Scott, who will be in his 14th term from the Newport News area of Virginia, will become the new chairman of the Education and the Workforce Committee.

As chair, he will drive much of the agenda related to higher education, including the possible reauthorization of the Higher Education Act.  He will look to push back against much of the Trump Administration’s attempts to roll back consumer protections with respect to the for-profit institutions and well the proposed changes to Title IX and other civil rights issues.  The House Democrats’ HEA bill introduced earlier this year, the Aim Higher Act,  will likely serve as the starting point for HEA reauthorization.

Energy and Commerce

The Energy and Commerce has a big portfolio in terms of legislative jurisdiction, including health care.  Frank Pallone of New Jersey is expected to assume the chairmanship of the committee.

Pallone helped draft the Affordable Care Act in 2009 and 2010.  Possible changes to the ACA and other health care policies will have to go through his committee.

Homeland Security

Bennie Thompson of Mississippi is slated to take over as the chair of the Homeland Security Committee.

As the name states, the committee has jurisdiction over, among other issues, the Department of Homeland Security and its various agencies, including those responsible for immigration matters.  We should expect to a flurry of activities around the Administration’s immigration policies and practices.

Judiciary

The Judiciary Committee is scheduled to be taken over by Lowey’s fellow New Yorker Jerrold Nadler.

First elected in 1992, we should expect to see the committee take on the Administration on host of high profile issues, including immigration, gay and LGBTQ rights, and voting rights, just to name a few.

Oversight and Government Reform

Elijah Cummings of Baltimore will helm the Oversight and Government Reform panel.

This committee’s jurisdiction is broad and we should expect myriad subpoenas from and hearings in front of it on a host of matters related to the operation of the government which Democrats believe have not been adequately addressed by the House Republicans.

Ways and Means

The Ways and Means Committee has jurisdiction over tax matters but other issues of interest to UW as well, such as healthcare.  Much of the debate during this current Congress (which wraps up at the end of the year) on the tax bill and the ACA repeal took place in this committee.

Its next chairman, Richard Neal of Massachusetts, has been a member of the panel for 25 year.  Changes to healthcare and possible changes to the tax code will have to go through Chairman Neal and his Democratic colleagues in the 116th Congress.

 

Washington State Results

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In Washington state, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rogers (R-WA-05) defeated challenger Lisa Brown in a hotly contested race. Technically, two races are still outstanding this morning, but Rep. Jaime Herrera Beulter (R-WA-03) is expected to be re-elected and Dr. Kim Schier (D) is expected to be declared the winner over Dino Rossi to represent WA-08, which was an open seat. Otherwise, the current Washington delegation was easily re-elected.

Who Won In Washington

  • U.S. Senate – Incumbent Maria Cantwell with about 58% of the vote
  • WA-01 – Incumbent Suzan DelBene with 58% of the vote
  • WA-02 – Incumbent Rick Larsen with 72% of the vote
  • WA-03 – Incumbent Jaime Herrera Beutler with 52% of the vote
  • WA-04– Incumbent Dan Newhouse with 65% of the vote
  • WA-05 – Incumbent Cathy McMorris Rodgers with 55% of the vote
  • WA-06 – Incumbent Derek Kilmer with 62% of the vote
  • WA-07 – Incumbent Pramila Jayapal with 83% of the vote
  • WA-08 – Dr. Kim Schrier with 53% of the vote
  • WA-09 – Incumbent Adam Smith with 70% of the vote
  • WA-10 – Incumbent Denny Heck with 60% of the vote

Dr. Kim Schrier (D) defeats Dino Rossi (R) in the 8th Congressional District

The Washington State Congressional Delegation just got a little bluer as Democratic candidate Dr. Kim Schrier beat Republican candidate Dino Rossi in the state’s only open-seat contest at the federal level. Currently held by Congressman Dave Reichert, a Republican who is retiring in December, the 8th Congressional District spans from Mount Rainier north to Issaquah, east to Ellensburg, and north to Lake Chelan. Historically, the district has elected Democratic presidents and Republican Members of Congress.

The open-seat race drew in millions of dollars on both sides of the aisle. It was the most expensive Congressional race in the country, with spending topping $28 million. Schrier won by about six percentage points.

Meet Washington’s newest Congresswoman, Dr. Kim Schrier

A first-time candidate, Congresswoman-elect Kim Schrier is a pediatrician from Issaquah, WA. As a health care provider and individual with a pre-existing condition (she is a type 1 diabetic), her policy platform is focused on protecting and improving health care for working families. She attributes recent efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act for prompting her to run for office. In addition to health care, Dr. Schrier is a proud product of public schools and universities and says she is committed to supporting and improving public education. A fluent Spanish speaker, she is passionate about helping Latinx communities.