Congress faces a $6B disaster hole

An evening recap of the action on Capitol Hill and preview of the day ahead

Jul 16, 2024 View in browser   By Jennifer Scholtes and Caitlin Emma With assists from POLITICO’s Congress team WHAT RECESS? Congress may not be in town, but a blisteringly fast news cycle is. POLITICO's teams across Washington and the country have you covered with the latest on: Joe Biden's electability problems The Hill investigations into the Trump assassination attempt Sen. Bob Menendez’s conviction (more on that below) But, of course, there is still plenty of congressional news even beyond the headlines. And if you're looking for a summer disaster blockbuster ... The Department of Transportation also tells us there’s about $900 million left in the emergency highway fund that’s been covering costs from the March collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore. | Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images DISASTER SUPP ODDS The need for a disaster aid package is a lone source of bipartisan, bicameral agreement on government funding right now. But don’t expect action until after August recess — and that could be a problem. FEMA just detailed its latest accounting of the disaster aid piggy bank, predicting that the Biden administration will burn through almost all of the cash in the coming weeks. The balance in the Disaster Relief Fund: about $9 billion. The expected shortfall: $6 billion before the new fiscal year starts in October. The Department of Transportation also tells us there’s about $900 million left in the emergency highway fund that’s been covering costs from the March collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore. On both sides of the Capitol, the support for an emergency aid package is there, following President Joe Biden’s request late last month for $4 billion in emergency cash. So far, the urgency — and bandwidth — is not. Blame the regular funding bills and a torrent of political surprises this summer. “We have a few pending issues out there, not the least of which is the Key Bridge, that we will eventually have to deal with,” said Arkansas Rep. Steve Womack, the Republican appropriator in charge of transportation funding in the House. “It will be a full-throated discussion across the breadth and width of Congress,” Womack said, noting the debate over how much the federal government should cover in rebuilding the Baltimore bridge. “I'm also of the belief that the time to deal with it will be sooner than later, because it's not going to become less expensive if we stretch this thing out over time.” It’s been two and a half weeks since Biden sent his emergency request to fill the disaster fund, emergency highway account and the HUD program that helps communities rebuild after disasters. Top lawmakers are now considering how to turn that request into a supplemental spending package. A final product is not expected to move until September at earliest, either solo ahead of the Sept. 30 shutdown deadline, or attached to the stopgap funding patch everyone in Congress has accepted as an election-year necessity. During the Senate’s first fiscal 2025 markup last week, Senate Appropriations Chair Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said appropriators are “committed” to getting a supplemental done. Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), who oversees the transportation funding measure, stressed the urgent and growing need across the country, which will only worsen with the progression of the “above normal” hurricane season federal weather forecasters have predicted. “Maui, Maryland, Florida, Texas, New Mexico — many other states are still awaiting disaster aid,” he said during the markup. “This is something we’ve always done on a bipartisan basis both as a committee, and as a Congress and as a country. And we’ve got to get this done.” In a subsequent interview, Schatz told us that a supplemental “cannot wait.” “I think, unfortunately, because of the way severe weather proceeds through any calendar year, the coalition for a disaster supplemental will continue to grow,” he said. “We will enact it. When? I don’t know.” — Jennifer Scholtes and Caitlin Emma, with an assist from Chris Marquette  GOOD EVENING! Welcome to Inside Congress, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Tuesday, July 16, where we’re desperate for the return of 80-degree temperatures later this week. One way to stay cool? Drinking from the firehose that has become this political news cycle.   Understand 2024’s big impacts with Pro’s extensive Campaign Races Dashboard, exclusive insights, and key coverage of federal- and state-level debates. Focus on policy. Learn more.     SUCCESSION: NEW JERSEY EDITION Bob Menendez’s (D-N.J.) guilty verdict on Tuesday all but dashed the incumbent senator’s reelection prospects. If Menendez steps down on his own, as many of his colleagues have called for, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) would be tasked with picking a successor. And Rep. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) says he’s ready. “I would step up,” Kim said on a Zoom call with reporters Tuesday afternoon, cautioning that it’s the governor’s decision to make. “I could come in and try to be able to hit the ground running with so much at stake right now.” But the cards may not be in Kim’s favor: Murphy said he would appoint a “temporary” replacement in the case of a Menendez’ resignation. Kim also holds a competitive House seat that would become an instant election hot spot if he left his post early. Kim largely held back on outright calling for Menendez to be expelled, deferring to senators to chart out their own path forward. Menendez has been remarkably defiant about his charges and has already said he intends to appeal the verdict — giving little indication that he’ll step down on his own. “There's calls across the board for the senator to step down. And I think that that is the best way for the senator to own up and take accountability and ownership here,” Kim said. Still, Kim added he has “no doubt” that “senators will think through moving forward on expulsion” should Menendez stick around. “I don't think there are any other tools or avenues beyond that to try to compel him,” Kim said. “But this is something where I'm hopeful that we can try to address this as soon as possible.” — Ursula Perano   SUBSCRIBE TO GLOBAL PLAYBOOK: Don’t miss out on POLITICO’s Global Playbook, our newsletter taking you inside pivotal discussions at the most influential gatherings in the world. Suzanne Lynch delivers the world's elite and influential moments directly to you. Stay in the global loop. SUBSCRIBE NOW.     AMTRAK UNEASE House Republicans are about to embark on a tough push to pass seven fiscal 2025 spending bills before the August break. They’ve saved three of the toughest for last: Commerce-Justice-Science, Labor-HHS-Education and Transportation-HUD. And Arkansas’ Steve Womack, a senior Republican appropriator who oversees the transportation funding measure, knows he has his work cut out for him. Republicans’ transportation funding bill is facing internal party pushback thanks to unpopular proposed cuts, particularly to Amtrak. The measure aims to cut the rail company’s operations by more than 12 percent below current levels, providing $2.1 billion, including $1 billion for Northeast Corridor Grants and $1.1 billion for National Network Grants. As Democrats note, “this level of funding is $578 million below Amtrak’s request of $1.6 billion for the Northeast Corridor and a staggering $1.3 billion below Amtrak’s $2.4 billion request for the National Network.” The proposed cuts aren’t sitting well with Republicans representing districts around the Northeast Corridor. Womack said he plans to meet with members of the New York delegation to address concerns. “I’ve tried to find the sweet spot,” he said. “We have a part of our conference that doesn’t like Amtrak, and we have part of our conference that relies on Amtrak. And being able to thread that needle is very, very difficult.” Womack said he’s trying to stress that GOP opposition to the party’s own annual spending bills will ultimately backfire, leaving House Republicans with less leverage once government funding negotiations get serious after the November elections. “If you can’t support the bills … your vote is simply a vote for a larger package that we all rail against,” Womack said, cautioning that Republicans could end up with a massive so-called omnibus spending package over which they had little influence. “You are accepting, in my opinion, an outcome that is going to be less than desirable for the conference writ large.” — Caitlin Emma and Jordain Carney HUDDLE HOTDISH Hot pavement’s not a problem for Joni Ernst. J.D. Vance in dad mode during an RNC break. Gold bars we can get behind. Literal hotdish (help). QUICK LINKS  Trump shooting investigation gives FBI chance to dig itself out of deep hole with Republicans, from Josh Gerstein. House GOP ramps up investigations into Trump assassination attempt from Jordain Schiff warned of wipeout for Democrats if Biden remains in race from Michael Schmidt and Mark Mazzetti at The New York Times. House Dems plot last-ditch effort to delay Biden nomination, by Sarah Ferris, Elena Schneider and Jennifer Haberkorn. Jan. 6 marchers at Republican convention complicate efforts to avoid subject, by The Washington Post’s Isaac Arnsdorf, Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Josh Dawsey. Major Hudson Democrats will back Gottheimer for governor, from David Wildstein at the New Jersey Globe. TRANSITIONS  Corey Williams is joining the U.S. Office of Special Counsel to assist with congressional inquiries and legislative affairs. She was most recently director of government relations at IAC. TOMORROW IN CONGRESS The House and Senate are out. WEDNESDAY AROUND THE HILL Tumbleweeds. TRIVIA MONDAY’S ANSWER: Albert Wolf was first to correctly identify the 1880 Democratic convention in Cincinnati and the 2016 GOP convention in Cleveland as the last presidential party conventions in Ohio. TODAY’S QUESTION: Who is the only member of Congress in history to score a No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100? (Hint: The song topped the Billboard charts before the member got to Capitol Hill.) 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 us

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