| | | | |  | | By Anthony Adragna and Daniella Diaz | |  Bernie Sanders, chair of the powerful Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, said he’s focused on how to achieve smaller wins via bipartisanship. | Bill Pugliano/Getty Images | BERNIE TACKLES BIPARTISANSHIP — WITH MIXED RESULTS Former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is, at first glance, vastly different from the current chair of the powerful Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. The independent Vermont senator knows the progressive ideas he campaigned on have no shot at becoming law right now. Rather than try to bulldoze the Republicans who stand in his way — as critics across the aisle openly worried before Sanders assumed the chairmanship — he’s more focused on how to achieve smaller wins via bipartisanship. “Are we going to accomplish everything I want to accomplish? Absolutely not. If I had my druthers, we would pass Medicare for All tomorrow,” Sanders told Huddle in an interview. “I don’t look at [the chair] as a resume builder. I’m a little too old to be worrying about building my resume.” In fact, Sanders has been at times more of a pain to the Biden administration than he has to his GOP colleagues, announcing earlier this summer that he would put a hold on certain nominees until the White House announced a plan to make prescription drugs less expensive. That dissatisfaction hasn’t ebbed with time — his hold is still in place. “I’m disappointed at this point,” he said bluntly of the White House’s approach to prescription drug pricing. “We’re talking to the administration often. But we need some real concrete ideas about how we’re going to lower the cost of prescription drugs.” So where does that leave the committee? Sanders says he wants to use whatever time he has to achieve tangible movement on “major health care, major educational reform, major labor reform, and we're gonna get to pensions as well.” Sanders gave us his candid read on where his priorities stand.
Unsurprisingly, his biggest hope for a breakthrough is on health care costs. Eight months in, he’s bullish on bipartisan action to revamp the primary health care system, expand community health centers and take new steps to lower the cost of prescription drugs. “We don't have enough doctors, nurses, mental health providers, pharmacists, dentists. We certainly have millions of people who will wait long periods of time before they get into a doctor's office,” he said of the need for action on primary health care. “I don't think you can find any Republican, who's gonna tell you ‘yeah, Bernie is wrong.’”
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He doesn’t have a whole lot of hope for raising the minimum wage. Sanders introduced his legislation to lift the minimum wage to $17 an hour in 2018, but the panel has yet to move this year. “If your question is: Do I think we're gonna be able to raise the minimum wage nationally to $17 an hour in this session of Congress? I don’t. But I felt that we have to start someplace,” Sanders said, acknowledging clear Democratic divisions on the issue. Eight members who caucus with Senate Democrats opposed a hike to $15 per hour as part of a Covid relief funding package in 2021.
- Labor issues have limited areas of agreement. There’s bipartisan interest in expanding opportunities for job apprenticeship programs, according to Sanders. However, so far the committee advanced versions of major labor bills, including the pro-labor Protecting the Right to Organize Act, on party-line votes.
Sanders admitted he has had some setbacks, however. He had to shelve a pair of markups on drug pricing and primary care legislation as negotiations hit obstacles. But the progressive chair was quick to pivot to what he sees as early successes — including high-profile hearings with Starbucks’ Howard Schultz and major insulin manufacturers. He also noted that the HELP Committee has approved 14 pieces of legislation through the first eight months of the year, more than any previous iteration of the panel has passed in a decade. How does running a committee compare to running for president? Sanders called the two positions “apples and oranges” but sounded content with his current gig. Holding the gavel means “being in the position on a daily basis to really impact and change and bring about concrete improvements in the lives of the American people,” he said. “You run for president, you're trying to get elected.” — Anthony Adragna
| | | | GROWING IN THE GOLDEN STATE: POLITICO California is growing, reinforcing our role as the indispensable insider source for reporting on politics, policy and power. From the corridors of power in Sacramento and Los Angeles to the players and innovation hubs in Silicon Valley, we're your go-to for navigating the political landscape across the state. Exclusive scoops, essential daily newsletters, unmatched policy reporting and insights — POLITICO California is your key to unlocking Golden State politics. LEARN MORE. | | | | | GOOD MORNING! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Monday, Aug. 21, where we hope you had a wonderful weekend. HAWAII FIRE PROMPTS BIPARTISAN CALLS FOR INVESTIGATION Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) said there is a sense of urgency building in Congress over investigating Hawaii’s deadly fires. He didn’t know the Senate had ignored legislation last year that would’ve set up exactly such an investigatory board. “I think having more information can help us craft solutions,” Kaine told reporters. “While I haven't looked at that particular legislation, that doesn't trouble me at all.” What happened last term: The House passed a bipartisan bill that would’ve set up a federal body to investigate the causes and handling of natural disasters. It’s unclear why Majority Leader Chuck Schumer didn’t bring it up in the Senate, and his office didn’t respond to a request for comment. But Kaine joined other lawmakers in saying investigations are needed, and that the deadly Hawaii fire could drive the needed support in both chambers as Congress reviews Biden’s request for $12 billion in extra cash for disaster funding. “These natural emergencies are going to get more and more frequent because of climate change,” Kaine told reporters Friday. “And I think assessing causes but also [investigating] well, what should we do? Should we just be coming in after the fact and providing disaster relief or should we be doing more investments up front?” Questions about Hawaii: Officials have questioned why the island’s siren system wasn’t used to cue evacuations, how water lines ran dry in fighting the fire and whether the White House was quick enough in deploying federal help. The head of Maui’s emergency management agency resigned last week. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), who has been leading the effort to create the natural disasters investigation board, told our Jennifer Scholtes and Alex Daughtery that the Hawaii disaster might be what gets the ball rolling on her effort. “Maybe this is the impetus to get it moving through this Congress. We don’t want things to happen in vain,” Mace told them, noting the death toll of more than 100 people and that more than 1,000 people are still considered missing on Maui. “It’s such a huge tragedy.” — Daniella Diaz
| | | | DOWNLOAD THE POLITICO APP: Stay in the know with the POLITICO mobile app, featuring timely political news, insights and analysis from the best journalists in the business. The sleek and navigable design offers a convenient way to access POLITICO's scoops and groundbreaking reporting. Don’t miss out on the app you can rely on for the news you need. DOWNLOAD FOR iOS – DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID. | | | | | | | | | Kaine hasn’t listened to “Rich Men North of Richmond” but said he likes some of the lyrics … The song by previously unknown singer Oliver Anthony has enjoyed wildfire popularity in conservative circles and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) has called it the “anthem of the forgotten Americans.” Democrats aren’t as enthused, citing parts that deride overweight people on welfare. Kaine, who hasn’t heard the song but has read the lyrics, agreed with that criticism Friday, saying: “I don't like the lyrics that make fun of people's weight. Why kick people around?” But he did say he liked a part of the song that focused on politicians not doing enough for miners: “In the last couple of years, the Democrats have saved the coal miners pension program and the coal miners health care benefit.” QUICK LINKS Stephen Lynch got $3M in earmarks for wife’s employer, affiliated organization, from Tal Kopan at The Boston Globe New York is a battleground for House control. Just don’t ask which districts yet, from Bill Mahoney Trouble looms for Senate GOP despite recruiting wins, from Al Weaver at The Hill Texas Democrats Like The ‘Anti-Beto’ Campaign Colin Allred is Running Against Ted Cruz, from Adrian Carrasquillo at The Messenger TRANSITIONS Ricardo A. Sánchez is now senior advisor for Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.). He continues as comms director for Pressley. Alison Council is now policy director for the Senate Special Committee on Aging. She most recently was policy adviser at the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Nick Adams has been promoted to be legislative director for Rep. Laurel Lee (R-Fla.). He most recently was senior legislative assistant for Lee. TODAY IN CONGRESS The House is out. The Senate is out. AROUND THE HILL *crickets*
| | FRIDAY’S ANSWER: Albert Wolf correctly answered that Franklin Pierce, elected in 1852, was the only elected president who was denied his party's nomination. President James Buchanan defeated Pierce for the Democratic Party’s nomination at its 1856 national convention. TODAY’S QUESTION: What song(s) did Johnny Cash sing when he met Richard Nixon? 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 Anthony and Daniella on X at @AnthonyAdragna and @DaniellaMicaela. | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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