CONGRESS FACING CRISES
By Lisa Desjardins, @LisaDNews
Correspondent

For Congress, the next six weeks are a narrow window to try to diffuse two historic and overlapping crises: the still spreading coronavirus and the national outrage over police treatment of black people. Both are tests of long-running political animus and whether leaders can rise above decades of mistrust to help heal a country in pain. 

Here’s a look at where these issues stand in Congress now, and the possible paths ahead.
 

Police reform

While there is fast-growing agreement that American law enforcement has a racial bias problem that is harming and killing black Americans in particular, there is also a quickly emerging divide over how far Congress should go in addressing it.

• House Democrats are huddling behind the Justice in Policing Act, led by Rep. Karen Bass of California, along with some prominent Democratic senators.  The Democrats’ bill would lay down new requirements and standards, including  on many fronts. It would ban the use of chokeholds and introduce policies aimed at eliminating racial profiling by police.  Also blocked in the proposal: the use of so-called no-knock warrants in drug cases (the type of warrant that was used in the police raid in which officers shot and killed unarmed emergency worker Breonna Taylor in her home). The legislation would also change the requirements for convicting police officers, loosening the standard for intent from “willful” to “reckless.”  And it would make it easier for anyone to pursue a civil lawsuit against a member of law enforcement. Finally, the bill mandates more sweeping data collection about police abuse as well as how and when police use force. 

• Senate Republicans are drafting their own proposal and hope to present it Wednesday. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina is leading the effort, along with a half-dozen other Republican senators. He and others have confirmed that they plan to limit chokeholds and step up requirements for the use of body cameras.

• Where is the divide? The issue of “qualified immunity” — which protects many officers from lawsuits over their actions on the job — is poised to become one of the most difficult to resolve. For many Democrats, it is something that must be addressed in whatever legislation comes out of Congress. But for many Republicans, it is a bridge too far and something Congress should not be legislating. Other areas of conflict include how to define “lynching,” following concern by Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky that Democrats’ version is too vague and would include some minor assaults.

• When will we see action? Democrats are moving relatively quickly in the House. Their bill should pass out of committee on Wednesday and head to a House floor vote next week. The Senate is less clear. Republicans are debating internally whether they can or should pass their bill before the July 4 recess. Scott and others, including President Donald Trump, are pushing for that timeline. But some warn that if lawmakers cannot come up with a bill that addresses concerns on all sides, it may not be helpful to push it through quickly. 
• Even if the Senate does pass a bill in the next two weeks, it would then need to work out differences with the House version. Barring an unexpected and sudden compromise, that won’t likely  happen until July, which raises another issue, as it could collide with negotiations and needed floor time for the next coronavirus bill. What a great time to segue.

Coronavirus relief

• What the House and Democrats are proposing. Speaker Nancy Pelosi has a clear strategy in tackling these large pieces of legislation: strike first.  A full month ago, the House passed the Democratic-led Heroes Act, which would spend another $3 trillion on Coronavirus relief and economic stimulus. The sweeping bill would extend increased unemployment benefits, provide another $1,200 payment to most Americans, fund state and local governments with $500 billion and also add significant funding for food aid and health resources across the U.S. medical system, including in Medicare and Medicaid.

• What the Senate and Republicans are proposing. The Republicans leading the Senate have not yet taken a firm stance on what should be in the next relief package, but have indicated that they are planning to work on one in July. Republicans are divided over whether state and local governments should receive more federal funding, as well as whether Americans need another stimulus check. At the same time, there are dozens of swirling requests from groups of Republicans for particular items that affect their states or regions, like cattle farming or the energy industry.  

• When will we see action? The Senate has scheduled time to start addressing legislation in July, but that would only be the first step. If the Senate is able to pass another coronavirus bill next month, it would still have to negotiate with the House and White House over a final deal. That could take days or weeks, potentially moving into August and within reach of the party conventions. That’s another great segue!

What is the big picture?

While the deep-seated political and philosophical divides in Congress are as intense as ever, there is a rare sense from lawmakers that these two crises — policing and the pandemic — rise above politics and demand leadership and action from both sides. The will is there. The problem is, the way is not yet clear. And even in the most earnest times, disagreements over details are where any piece of legislation can lose its way. And there are a great number of weighty details involved in these two issues.

Among the best motivating factors for compromise is timing. The presidential conventions, back-to-back from mid-to-late August, give lawmakers the one piece of fuel that seems to consistently get them across a finish line: a deadline, with national headline implications if they miss it. 

FIVE OVERLOOKED POLITICAL STORIES FROM THE PAST WEEK
By Ian Couzens, @IanCouzenz
Politics production assistant

Perils of police at high speeds spur calls for more reform -- June 14. Much of the police reform conversation right now is focusing on the use of excessive force but doesn’t address high-speed pursuits, which often result in destruction of property, injury or death. Why it matters: Police pursuits that resulted in an accident killed an average of 355 people annually between 1996 and 2015, of whom 34 percent were in vehicles not involved in the pursuit or were bystanders. -- San Francisco Chronicle

Insurgent threatens to derail McGrath-McConnell showdown in Kentucky -- June 13. State Rep. Charles Booker, a candidate whose campaign was ignored throughout most of the Kentucky primary, has built enough momentum, fueled by the country's civil unrest, to possibly seize the Democratic Senate nomination from longtime favorite Amy McGrath. Why it matters: McGrath is Senate Democrats’ favorite candidate to take on Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, but Booker’s rise could ding her or even knock her out of the race, in which case McConnell might have an easier path to victory against the more liberal candidate in deep red Kentucky. -- Politico

U.S. senators draft plan to reform new plane design approvals after 737 MAX crashes -- June 12. The bill seeks to take the power of certain certification tasks away from private airline companies and give it back to the FAA. Why it matters: An oversight panel found that a flight control software issue that was faulted in two fatal 737 MAX crashes that killed 346 people might have been caught and fixed had so much of the certification process not been delegated to Boeing. -- Reuters 

G.O.P. Congressman Is Ousted From Right After Officiating at Same-Sex Wedding -- June 14. Despite President Donal Trump's endorsement, Rep. Denver Riggleman was defeated in Virginia’s Republican primary. Why it matters: The nomination of self-described “biblical conservative” Bob Good over the incumbent is welcome news for Democrats, who may now have a better shot at flipping the seat in November -- The New York Times

Political Groups Track Protesters’ Cellphone Data -- June 14. Advocacy and voter registration groups are using geofencing, which allows them to gather data from cellphones in a specific location, to send targeted messages encouraging certain actions. Why it matters: Geofencing can be a valuable tool for campaigns, but it raises privacy concerns and some argue it amounts to surveillance. -- Wall Street Journal 

#POLITICSTRIVIA
By Kate Grumke, @KGrumke
Politics producer
 

On this day in 1858, President Abraham Lincoln gave his famous “House Divided” speech. The speech — written for the Illinois Republican State Convention, which had just nominated Lincoln as its Senate candidate — was aimed directly at his Democratic opponent, incumbent Sen. Stephen A. Douglas. Four years earlier, Douglas had introduced legislation that was one of the main drivers for the formation of the Republican Party. The act repealed the Missouri Compromise of 1820 and allowed new states to decide for themselves whether they would allow slavery.

Our question: What 1854 act did Douglas introduce that led to the formation of the Republican party?

Send your answers to [email protected] or tweet using #PoliticsTrivia. The first correct answers will earn a shout-out next week.

Last week, we asked: On this day in 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson declared a national day of mourning after the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy. At the time of Kennedy’s assassination, he was running for president, but he was also a sitting U.S. senator. What state was RFK representing in the Senate?

The answer: New York 

Although the Kennedy family is largely associated with Massachusetts, RFK also had a home in New York. During his campaign, he was accused of being a “carpetbagger,” and demonstrators even protested with signs saying “Go Home Bobby.” Kennedy’s son, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., said: “I remember, for my father's birthday, people giving him carpetbags as presents. It was a constantly resounding theme during that campaign.'' 

Congratulations to our winners: Tim Smith and Dorothy Fleishman!!

Thank you all for reading and watching. We’ll drop into your Inbox next week.