March 15th
This week in MORE POWER:
TikTok on the Clock
The Never-Ending Budget Story
Ukraine Hanging in the Balance
The Changing Tide on Israel
Equal Pay Day
TikTok on the Clock
On Wednesday, the House passed a bill that would require TikTok’s owner ByteDance to divest from the company in six months or face a ban in the U.S. Representatives, citing national security concerns over ByteDance’s data collection and public influence practices, passed the bill 352-65. It’s in the Senate’s hands now where its future is uncertain. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) hasn’t offered a timeline for review. Bipartisan calls for Senate action echoed in the House, urging a quick passage, yet critics, including civil rights groups, argue the bill infringes on free speech rights and could empower authoritarian regimes. While some senators are unwilling to take the risk on a controversial bill, others, like Commerce Chair Maria Cantwell (D-WA), seek a constitutional path forward. Meanwhile, even among bill supporters, reservations persist, with calls for broader data privacy protections and skepticism about the bill's ability to address the data security concerns.
The Never-Ending Budget Story
Last week, Congress narrowly avoided a partial government shutdown by passing six spending bills packaged into a “minibus.” Congress needs to pass six more bills before March 22 to fully fund the government through the fiscal year and avoid an interruption in funding to federal agencies. We are more than five months into the current fiscal year and the time it has taken to complete this fundamental task points to how dysfunctional our current congress is. If it seems like we cover the budget every week, it’s because we have. Legislators keep passing short term spending bills and setting new deadlines, kicking the can down the road while playing politics with the funding that keeps our government operating, including social security services, food stamps, and government worker salaries.
In the bill that passed, Republicans were able to include policies that prevent the sale of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to China and strengthen gun rights for certain veterans, though critics worry that it could increase access for individuals with severe mental health conditions. Democrats successfully blocked many of the additional policies that Republicans sought to include. They managed to prevent changes that would restrict access to the abortion pill and ensured full funding for a nutrition program assisting low-income women, infants, and children, increasing its budget by $1 billion compared to the previous year.
Ukraine Hanging in the Balance
Biden led the State of the Union with Ukraine, which was a rare prioritization of foreign affairs over domestic policy. Even still, Congress has not approved additional aid, but that didn’t stop the Biden administration from finding $300 million to send in a weapons package this week. The Department of Defense said the latest funding came from cost savings in other areas of their budget. Biden is still urging Congress to pass additional funding. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are saying that it is dangerous to continue to delay increased aid as Ukraine is running out of resources to fight Russia. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) is urging House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) to bring a foreign aid bill to a vote next week.
The House could vote on the $95 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan that the Senate passed last month, but Johnson says he won’t bring it to a vote until all of the federal budget bills are passed. The bill includes approximately $60 billion for Ukraine, $14.1 billion for Israel, and $9.2 billion for humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza, the West Bank, Ukraine, and other war zones.
The Changing Tide on Israel
In a significant turn of events, the highest ranking Jewish elected official in Congress, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), called for Israel to hold elections to replace Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and indicated that the U.S. might need to restrict aid to the country to pressure its leadership to change course. He immediately faced condemnation from his colleagues in Congress and Israeli officials. Over 40 percent of Americans believe Israel has gone too far, according to a poll by the Wall Street Journal. On October 7th, Israel suffered an attack in which Hamas killed about 1,200 people and took about 240 hostage. Israel has killed more than 30,000 Palestinians since then, 70% of whom were women and children.
In the $95 billion aid package that Congress could vote on, there is $14.1 billion for Israel, and $9.2 billion for humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza, the West Bank, Ukraine, and other war zones.
Equal Pay Day
March is Women’s History Month and Equal Pay Day was last week. Despite progress, a wage gap persists, with women earning, on average, 82 cents for every dollar earned by men. That gap widens when you factor in race. Black women make about 67 cents for every dollar a white, non-Hispanic man makes. To remedy this issue, Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) introduced H.R.17, the Paycheck Fairness Act. This bill addresses wage discrimination on the basis of sex, which includes pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics.
What Congress Passed This Week
Expanding Access to Capital Act of 2023
Save Our Seas 2.0 Amendments Act
E-BRIDGE Act
Tennessee Valley Authority Salary Transparency Act
Think Differently About Emergencies Act
Public Buildings Accountability Act of 2023
FASTA Reform Act of 2023
USE IT Act of 2023
Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act
