🗓️ What’s Up Next
Congress
The House is in recess and the Senate is in this week.
The PA General Assembly
The House and Senate are out and will reconvene on September 9th and September 28th, respectively.
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Welcome to the final Compass installment of the session. We’ll be taking a brief break while both the Pennsylvania General Assembly and Congress are recessed. In the meantime, if there’s a topic you want us to discuss further, feel free to send it our way.
On Capitol Hill this week, legislators are trying to wrap up a hectic session that has seen the President’s priorities—namely the SAVE America Act—face opposition from both sides of the aisle.
The Congressional Breakdown
Senators prioritized a stopgap funding bill this week in an early attempt to avert an October 1 shutdown, after the House passed it before its own recess. Though it could be considered early, Congress is wary of a shutdown fight—and the subsequent headlines—ahead of the upcoming midterm elections and seems inclined to avoid any major drama before constituents head to the polls.
On Monday, Senators voted 89-4 to advance the measure, which funds several federal agencies through December 11th, with some exceptions. Next, Senate leaders will be looking to strike deals to get the legislation over the finish line, but there’s already uncertainty. While the measure is bipartisan, the only way to truly avoid the shutdown is for the House and Senate versions to match.
The Senate’s language includes provisions to bar the Trump administration from implementing a plan to place political appointees in charge of approving grants, a prohibition that would last for the duration of the stopgap. It also includes language sought by Democrats to ensure that Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement don’t receive any new funding under the patch, according to Politico.
In the midst of ironing out the wrinkly details of stopgap funding, some—but not all—GOP members are looking to get budget resolutions introduced and advanced before the five-week recess begins. President Trump has been adamant that the Senate push back its recess to pass the SAVE America Act and a budget reconciliation bill. Neither is likely.
The SAVE America Act has failed five times in the Senate, and Majority Leader Thune is getting blatantly frustrated with the repeated demands, as he continues to assert that the votes for the bill simply aren’t there. Budget reconciliation isn’t popular, either. Some Republicans may be willing to object to adjournment, but it’s unlikely that it will be enough to keep the Senate in session after their scheduled last day on Friday.
The Latest on Iran
The U.N rights chief has raised the alarm on a rising number of executions in Iran on “national security-related charges” since March, the number now reaching 56. Iranian authorities killed thousands of people during anti-government protests in January, Iran's worst domestic unrest in decades, reports Reuters, and the U.N. has warned Tehran to cease executions, which are increasing at an “alarming rate”.
Meanwhile, efforts to clinch a new deal with Iran are ongoing, according to most sources, but whether negotiations actually resumed Monday isn’t clear—Iran denies any resumption of talks, but is pursuing a bilateral deal with Oman over shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz.
A senior Gulf official has said that there’s a “50-50” chance that Iran reaches a deal on the Strait of Hormuz by Friday, while Trump has maintained in the press that the Strait will reopen “very soon”. In all, there are predictably mixed messages from both parties, making the actual status of any talks hazy.
The Sector Breakdown
Agriculture: The Senate released its updated farm bill plans last week, and the deadline to clinch a deal or extend the current version is fast approaching on September 30th. At issue, among other things, is the Republican-lead overhaul of the SNAP benefit program, which Democrats are seeking to delay.
Health: Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) plans to hold a committee vote Thursday morning on whether to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress, after he appeared last week for a hearing before the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, according to Politico.
Legal: Todd Blanche may be confirmed as attorney general this week after the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 12-10 on party lines to advance him. Two Republican senators who held back their support over the infamous “Weaponization Fund” prevailed and joined their Republican colleagues in supporting Blanche’s nomination. There may still be holdouts for the next part of the nomination, however.
Daylight Saving Time: Progress on the daylight saving bill has stalled since it passed the House in July.
The Pennsylvania Impact
Since Congress is in its last few days and very little is moving, the update for what’s affecting Pennsylvania this week is light. With our Bellevue Bulletin on pause for the summer recess, we’ll give a few light statewide updates here—and one that’s nearby. In neighboring New Jersey, two municipal water systems were the target of cyberattacks in the last week, and the state believes Iran to be responsible. Systems were down temporarily, and both unnamed utility companies shifted to manual operations as they were secured. At least a dozen other states have experienced recent hacks affecting water and wastewater utilities in the last few months.
Also this week, Pennsylvania joined 23 other states and the District of Columbia to sue the Trump administration over demands that states provide Social Security numbers, immigration status, and other private information from residents who receive cash benefits through TANF, or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, calling the demands improper and unconstitutional. Plus, Governor Shapiro appeared in Meek Mill’s new music video, a clip of the two recorded on July 4 before Mill performed at the One Philly: Unity Concert for America on the Ben Franklin Parkway.
When we return in the fall, we’ll be jumping right into a lively election season and a busy legislative time. Drop us a line if you have questions or suggestions for content you want to see in The Bellevue Compass.
What We’re Watching
Did you know? The Academy of Natural Sciences at Drexel University briefly displayed a book of hair, featuring locks from George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, James Buchanan, and Andrew Jackson.
Till next time,