Category: US House

House GOP leader McCarthy backs Liz Cheney and Marjorie Taylor Greene

Axios logo

House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy declared on Wednesday that he supports keeping Rep. Liz Cheney in her leadership role and opposes stripping Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of her committee seats at this time, sources familiar with his closed-door remarks told Axios.

Why it matters: In keeping Greene, McCarthy risks public condemnation and fuels a Democratic effort to remove her through a House vote. In standing with Cheney, he also risks alienating himself from pro-Trump Republicans who remain a potent part of the Republicans’ base.

  • McCarthy (R-Calif.) made his declarations at the outset of a much-anticipated meeting of House Republicans.
  • He then outlined his positions in a statement issued to the media. Continue reading.

Phillips, Problem Solvers Caucus Endorse Immediate Vote on BipartisanI $160 Billion Vaccine Distribution Package

On separating vaccine distribution from broader relief package, Phillips says: “The COVID-19 virus won’t wait for us to compromise”

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Vice Chair Dean Phillips (MN-03) helped lead 58 bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus members in calling for an immediate vote on the $160 billion “Defeating COVID-19” vaccine distribution package, as broader bipartisan relief talks and reconciliation process continue.

As emerging, more contagious variants are found in Minnesota and across the nation, the “Defeating COVID-19” vaccine distribution package would allocate new federal investment funds for the national distribution and administration of the COVID-19 vaccine and support expanded testing programs, PPE purchases, and other urgently needed initiatives to beat this deadly virus. With more than 75% of members voting in favor, the Problem Solvers Caucus officially endorsed the “Defeating COVID-19” vaccine distribution package today. Phillips supported the move after hearing from Minnesotans, health care providers and county and state officials about the urgent need.

“We are living through one of the worst public health emergencies and economic downturns in American history,” said Problem Solvers Caucus Co-Vice Chair Dean Phillips. “Last year, the Problem Solvers Caucus proved to the nation that thoughtful Democrats and Republicans can come together to deliver bipartisan solutions. We can and will continue that work, but the COVID-19 virus won’t wait for us to compromise. A well-funded, better coordinated federal vaccine distribution program will save lives and livelihoods if we act now. This is a crisis, and we must urgently meet the moment as the more complete package moves through Congress and to the President’s desk.”

Continue reading “Phillips, Problem Solvers Caucus Endorse Immediate Vote on BipartisanI $160 Billion Vaccine Distribution Package”

Phillips Announces Leadership Role on Small Business Committee

After Authoring Critical PPP Legislation in 2020, Phillips to Join House Small Business Committee as Subcommittee Chair in 2021 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN) announced he will lead the House Small Business Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations and Regulations as Chair for the 117th Congress. As an entrepreneur and small business owner himself, Phillips will bring valuable experience and a proven bipartisan record of results to the committee, and he will remain focused on supporting those small businesses most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.  

As Chair of the Subcommittee on Investigations, Oversight, and Regulations, equitable access to relief and responsible fiscal stewardship will be priorities for Rep. Phillips in the coming year. In the 116th Congress, Phillips authored the TRUTH Act, a bill to demand transparency from SBA and ensure that relief dollars go to Main Street, not Wall Street. Rep. Phillips will continue that mission from his position on Committee leadership.    

“Small businesses – from local burger joints to barbershops – are the glue that hold our communities together and the engines of our economy, and they’re in crisis. We must do everything in our power to help them weather the storm so that they can lead the economic recovery once we are through this pandemic. I’ll have the voices of Minnesota’s small business owners and entrepreneurs in mind as we ensure federal funds are accessible and equitably distributed and as we lay the groundwork for a prosperous future for our main street businesses,” said Phillips. 

Continue reading “Phillips Announces Leadership Role on Small Business Committee”

Senate GOP laying amendment traps for budget debate

‘Vote-a-rama’ mostly for messaging purposes, but could drag out into the wee hours of Friday morning

Senate Republicans began arming themselves with a slew of amendments Wednesday to slow down work on a budget resolution that Democrats need to produce a filibuster-free pandemic relief package.

Laying the groundwork for a prolonged “vote-a-rama” on the Senate floor this week, Republicans filed over 400 amendments by Wednesday evening as they protested a Democratic decision to use the budget reconciliation process to skirt GOP opposition.

“Senate Republicans will be ready and waiting with a host of amendments to improve the rushed procedural step that’s being jammed through,” Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said in floor remarks earlier in the day. Continue reading.

GOP relief plan would not return economy to pre-pandemic levels: study

The Hill logo

The COVID-19 relief proposal put forth by a group of 10 Senate Republicans would not return the U.S. economy to pre-pandemic levels, according to a study released Wednesday by the Brookings Institution.

The same study found that President Biden’s relief plan would boost growth to rates seen before the pandemic took hold.

Researchers at Brookings analyzed both the $618 billion GOP proposal and Biden’s $1.9 trillion pitch and found that the Republican plan would boost gross domestic product (GDP) by 1.6 percent in the last quarter of this year and 0.8 percent in the same three-month period of 2022, a significant boost over current estimates. Continue reading.

Here’s The Definitive Guide To Rep. Greene’s Crackpot Conspiracies And Toxic Blab

Marjorie Taylor Greene is a Republican member of Congress from Georgia who has recently been appointed by her GOP colleagues to serve on the House Budget Committee and the House Committee on Education and Labor.

Greene is a conspiracy theorist who has also promoted racist, anti-Muslim, and anti-Semitic rhetoric. She made many of those remarks as a right-wing commentator before she ran for Congress. 

The following is a guide to Greene’s conspiracy theories and toxic rhetoric: Continue reading.

House Democrats clear path for Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill

Washington Post logo

NOTE: This article is provided free for all to read by The Washington Post.

Democratic legislators paved the way Wednesday evening for a party-line approval of President Biden’s anticipated $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill.

The House vote cleared the path for the Senate to pass the relief package with a simple majority, which is likely to take place later in the week and would allow Democrats to write the bill into law and ultimately pass it without the need for Republican votes.

The plan includes a wide range of actions, including $1,400 checks, extended unemployment benefits and an increase in the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour, as well as funneling $160 billion for vaccines and testing. Continue reading.

Biden’s Pandemic Relief Package Is Popular — But GOP Obstruction Isn’t

Senate Republicans, who have promised to block a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package proposed by President Joe Biden, say that Democrats’ use of budget reconciliation to pass Biden’s plan would be a betrayal of Biden’s Inauguration Day promise to unify the country.

But a spate of polls released in recent days shows that Biden’s coronavirus relief package, as well as the executive orders he signed in his first days in office, have broad support from Americans all along the political spectrum.

A Yahoo News/YouGov poll released Monday afternoon found that 74 percent of American adults support Biden’s proposal to provide $2,000 relief checks to Americans. Continue reading.

House votes to impose fines of up to $10,000 on lawmakers who flout security screening

Washington Post logo

The House voted Tuesday night to penalize lawmakers who seek to bypass the security screening measures that have been enacted in the wake of the Jan. 6 storming of the Capitol by a pro-Trump mob, with members facing a $5,000 fine for the first offense and $10,000 each time thereafter.

The measure passed on a 216-to-210 vote, with all but three Democrats present voting in favor and all Republicans present voting “no.”

Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), chairman of the House Rules Committee, defended the move in an impassioned floor speech in which he blasted the “elitist mentality” of those who have ignored the screening procedures, imploring his fellow lawmakers to recognize that “the rules apply to us, too — and it’s time all of us acted like it.” Continue reading.

Senate Republicans move against ‘nutty’ House member in widening GOP rift

Washington Post logo

A growing number of Republicans took sides Tuesday in a brewing House battle over the shape of the GOP after the Donald Trump presidency, amplifying pressure on Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy as he decides this week whether to sideline conspiracy theorists and secure a place for anti-Trump voices in party leadership.

Leading the charge was Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who made an unusual detour into the other chamber’s affairs by denouncing the extremist rhetoric of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene while offering a gesture of support for Rep. Liz Cheney, the No. 3 House GOP leader, who voted last month to impeach Trump.

He was joined Tuesday by several other Republican lawmakers, as well as pillars of the conservative establishment, who together warned that sidelining Trump critics from the party while tolerating purveyors of social-media-driven paranoia would spell long-term disaster — a “cancer for the Republican Party and our country,” as McConnell put it. Continue reading.