| | | | |  | | By Caitlin Emma and Daniella Diaz | Presented by American Chemistry Council | With assists from POLITICO’s Congress team
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The half-dozen unresolved bills that are still left to negotiate represent the majority of yearly discretionary spending — about 70 percent — and contain much larger policy headaches. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | THE DIRTY HALF-DOZEN Just a few hours ago, President Joe Biden signed yet another continuing resolution — averting a shutdown and paving the way for the passage of the first six fiscal 2024 appropriations bills sometime next week. Negotiations have been closed out on that first tranche of spending bills, which means attention now turns to the other six — State-Foreign Operations, Legislative Branch, Labor-HHS-Education, Homeland Security, Financial Services and Defense — which is where the real political landmines lay. For one thing, those half-dozen unresolved bills represent the majority of yearly discretionary spending — about 70 percent — and contain much larger policy headaches. They’re now set to lapse on March 22, just before lawmakers are trying to leave for a two-week Easter recess. “Those are the more problematic ones,” said Rep. Steve Womack (R-Ark.), an Appropriations subcommittee chair who oversees the Financial Services bill. To give a taste of some of the issues that will have to be settled over the next three weeks, House Republicans had to pull their own version of Womack's bill from the floor last year amid internal disputes over abortion-related provisions and the Biden administration’s plans to build a new FBI headquarters in Maryland. Asked for an update, Womack said, “We’re not there yet.” Here are some of the other potential trouble spots … Labor-HHS-Education and State-Foreign Operations: Both of these bills could get bogged down in abortion-related disputes that could be difficult for Democrats and Republicans to square during endgame negotiations. Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-Ala.), who oversees the massive “Labor-H” package, said appropriators still haven’t reached agreement on agency funding levels, let alone the policy riders that will get pushed off to congressional leaders for a resolution. “I understand that we’re not going to get all the riders, but there are a couple I’m hoping we can get done,” he said. “I understand that ... we can’t expect to get everything, but I’m hopeful that we can get some wins.” Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), chair of the corresponding Senate subcommittee, said unequivocally that “there won’t be any poison pill riders” in her bill when talks conclude. “We’ve been firm,” she said Thursday night as the Senate cleared the new short-term funding patch. “This isn’t a negotiation of, let’s keep this and get rid of the other.” Homeland Security: The same border politics that sank a meticulously negotiated Senate compromise bill last month could also make passage of this spending bill difficult. Among the contentious issues are funding for DHS salaries, authorized levels of detention beds, processing and asylum policies, technology provisions and more. Reps. Dave Joyce (R-Ohio) and Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), the respective chair and ranking member overseeing the Homeland Security bill, also said they’re still working on closing out the funding levels and have yet to tackle the policy riders that have tended to trip up one of the most notoriously difficult spending bills. “As far as dollars and cents, I think we can get to where we need to be in a short time,” Joyce said. As for the rest? Stay tuned. — Caitlin Emma and Daniella Diaz, with assist from Jennifer Scholtes
| | | | A message from American Chemistry Council: America is under assault and Congress has left the door open to our adversaries. The constant threat to national security is real and shows no signs of diminishing. The country lost a critical tool in the fight against terrorism when Congress allowed the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) program to expire. Communities and companies should not be forced to go it alone. Congress must join the fight and act before terrorists do. Restore CFATS now! | | | GOOD EVENING! Welcome to Inside Congress, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Friday, March 1, where we are very excited for a shutdown-free weekend. BERN NOTICE We spent the week trying to track down various rumors about Bernie Sanders — namely, will he or won’t he run for a fourth term? And two things are true about his closely held decision: Nothing is official, and it would be a major shock to Democrats if he did not run. Democrats told us they just can’t see the 82-year-old passing on another run due to his breakneck travel pace, a new book he’s busy promoting and his unique place in the liberal universe. He also chairs the HELP Committee, a massive platform for his health care and economic agenda. Sanders is not touching the subject. The independent Vermonter would only say this when told that many Democrats expect him to run again: “I will be talking to the people in the state of Vermont at the appropriate time.” And you know what? He’s got plenty of it. Major party candidates have until May 30 and independent candidates have until Aug. 8 to file for this year’s election, according to the Vermont Secretary of State’s office. (Sanders is technically an independent who caucuses with Democrats.) Remember: Former Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) initially planned to run again two years ago but eventually decided to hang it up after a legendary run. — Burgess Everett
| | | | 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. | | | | | NRCC KEEPS FAKE ELECTOR’S CASH The National Republican Congressional Committee is keeping $1,600 they received late last year from a fake elector who tried to replace legitimate Biden electors in Georgia, according to FEC records. Mark Hennessy, who owns several car dealerships in the Atlanta area, was on the list of bogus alternate electors in 2020 who were ready to elect Donald Trump even though Biden won the state’s popular vote. Hennessy made the donation to the NRCC on Dec. 8, around the same time he also gave $6,600 to Speaker Mike Johnson — a donation that prompted the Democratic-allied House Majority PAC to call on Johnson to give the money back. Jack Pandol, a spokesperson for the NRCC, said the organization will keep the donation, saying in a text: “You should tell the dem oppo researchers who fed that to you to try to find better uses of their time.” A lawyer for Hennessy declined to comment on the donation. Hennessy, and the other fake electors, received “target” letters from local Georgia prosecutors in the summer of 2022 saying they may get charged with crimes, but Hennessy has not been charged. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp appointed him last year to the state’s Board of Natural Resources after he, his family and companies reportedly made almost $250,000 in contributions to Kemp’s 2022 reelection effort. — Daniel Lippman
| | | | A message from American Chemistry Council:   | | | THE OTHER JOHNS SPEAK Capitol Hill is now obsessed with the “three Johns” — Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas), John Thune (R-S.D.) and John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) — who are the leading contenders to succeed Mitch McConnell as Senate Republican leader. But they’re not the only Johns out there: A full tenth of the Senate membership has some variation of the name, and we at Inside Congress set out to survey those other Jo(h)ns about this particularly Johncentric moment. The mild-manned Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.) said it hasn’t been easy being a Senate John — “When somebody says John, about half of us turn around and look,” he quipped — but demurred, like many others, on whether he had a favorite John in the race to succeed McConnell. The Democratic members of the Jo(h)n caucus said they’re feeling a bit left out. “You never know what [Chuck] Schumer’s going to do,” said Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), musing jokingly about how the departure of the majority leader could prompt a Democratic tri-Jo(h)n-virate to step up: “We could get me, [Sen. John] Hickenlooper and — who else is there? [Sen. Jon] Ossoff. And Ossoff actually spells his name right.” Said Ossoff (D-Ga.), “There’s no one I’d rather share my name with than Jon Tester.” Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) told Inside Congress that he was not surprised that the three GOP Johns had risen to the top of the conversation about McConnell’s successor. “A name like John,” he said, “comes with an air of judgment and capability.” A non-John, meanwhile, made this observation: “3 Johns running for Senate Minority Leader. 10 Johns (or Jons) in the Senate. 10 more in the House…I think it's time to elect some more women. Sincerely, the first and only Sara (or Sarah) in Congress,” Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.) posted on X. — Anthony Adragna and Daniella Diaz
| | | | A message from American Chemistry Council: Chemicals are critical to every U.S. industry and to a strong supply chain. From farms to factories – chemicals are essential for growing food, protecting the safety of our water supply, making life-saving medicines and equipment, and producing energy. The Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) program was created specifically to address cyber and physical threats to the chemical sector. It is the only program that allows companies to vet personnel against the FBI terrorist screening database.
Congress allowed CFATS to expire, and for the first time in nearly two decades America is without a national chemical security program. According to DHS approximately 9,000 individuals were typically screened each month, which means more than 40,000 people have not been vetted for terrorist ties since CFATS expired. We can’t afford to go another day with our guard down. Congress must do its job and pass legislation to restore CFATS now! | | | | | Someone is selling free Congressional Research Service reports for $20 on Amazon. The House now has a Service Members and Veterans Staff Association — a long time coming! Andy Kim is no fan of early morning “Hot Cross Buns.” Imagine being the Howell Heflin staffer who had to deliver this to the press corps back in 1994. Hunter Biden (very briefly) contemplated an unlikely friendship with Matt Gaetz.
| | | | YOUR GUIDE TO EMPIRE STATE POLITICS: From the newsroom that doesn’t sleep, POLITICO's New York Playbook is the ultimate guide for power players navigating the intricate landscape of Empire State politics. Stay ahead of the curve with the latest and most important stories from Albany, New York City and around the state, with in-depth, original reporting to stay ahead of policy trends and political developments. Subscribe now to keep up with the daily hustle and bustle of NY politics. | | | | | QUICK LINKS Is Andy Kim Too Nice for New Jersey?, from Dan Merica at NOTUS Death of shipping CEO Angela Chao under ‘criminal investigation,’ Texas sheriff says, from Dan Mangan at CNBC Barbara Lee takes another stand, from Amanda Becker at The 19th An attack on the Capitol 70 years ago set the stage for Jan. 6 cases, from Anthony J. Rivera at The Washington Post McHenry’s ‘extreme candor’ on Johnson splits GOP, from Eleanor Mueller, Jasper Goodman and Zachary Warmbrodt Barrasso deciding between GOP leader, whip runs as senators jockey for future posts, from Burgess Everett TRANSITIONS Maya Valentine is joining Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester’s (D-Del.) office as comms director. She previously has been comms director for Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Calif.) and is a Steny Hoyer alum. Chris Senn, counsel for House Aviation Subcommittee Republicans, is leaving the Hill and joining the transportation team of the lobbying firm Holland & Knight’s public policy and regulation group. Today is his last day with T&I. Some moves in Sen. Jeff Merkley’s office (D-Ore.): Maggie Sunstrum is now communications director, Molly Prescott is now Oregon press secretary and Justin Krakoff is now deputy communications director. TOMORROW IN CONGRESS The House and Senate are out. MONDAY AROUND THE HILL Crickets.
| | THURSDAY’S ANSWER: Brad Fitch correctly answered that Abraham Lincoln is the only U.S. president to hold a patent. TODAY’S QUESTION, from Brad: We’re about to start March Madness, so today’s question is on basketball: Who was the first professional basketball player to serve in Congress? The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Inside Congress. Send your answers to insidecongress@politico.com. GET INSIDE CONGRESS emailed to your phone each evening. Follow Daniella on X at @DaniellaMicaela. | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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