THE FIVE MOST IMPORTANT MONTHS FOR CONGRESS
By Lisa Desjardins, @LisaDNews
Correspondent

The 117th Congress has been meeting for nearly five intense months, a period during which it passed one of the largest economic relief bills in history, approved a new hate-crimes law, survived an insurrection and established a new national holiday.

But the next five months will likely be more intense and more critical, full of high-stakes debates which likely will determine the success or failure of the Biden administration for the next four years. (For decades, the first year in office has been the most pivotal for presidents. This is when they have momentum from their own election and do not face headwinds from the next elections immediately on the horizon.)  

Here’s a look at the when and why of the very big weeks directly ahead.

The issues

Congress has an overflowing plate of major issues to address. A relatively short list includes:

• A traditional infrastructure bill, potentially the largest in U.S. history

• A roughly $3.5 trillion policy bill tackling climate change, child care, health care and education. This will likely be passed through the Senate process known as budget reconciliation and include items President Joe Biden put in both his “American Jobs Plan” and “American Families Plan”. If passed in its current form, this bill would be the largest single spending bill in American history.  

• Police reform

• Security spending for the U.S. Capitol, including money to keep the U.S. Capitol police funded

• Extending the U.S. debt limit, which the country could hit in coming weeks

• Keeping government funded after the current spending plan runs out on Sept. 30

• Processing of scores of Biden administration nominees

The calendar

“But there are five months left!” some might burst in and say at this point.  

Yes, there are five months left until the calendar year 2022 begins (and with it, the next Congressional election year). But time and space do not work the same in the U.S. Capitol. 

The chambers usually meet three full days a week, flying in or out on a fourth day.  

Five months on the calendar actually means about two-and-a-half months of days in session.  

How the calendar and the issues work together

The greatest issue here by far is the Senate schedule. 

To get through the Senate currently, most bills face not just one but a series of procedural obstacles that each come with days of debate -- usually three to five days of debate and test votes before final passage. This is due to the modern filibuster, in which 60 votes are required to end debate and move toward a vote on any issue.

Most bills need a full week on the Senate floor, and some require two or more weeks. 

The upshot is that the Senate needs to start moving through legislation now in order to have a chance at getting through its long stack of action items before the year ends. (And for spending bills, the fiscal year ends Sept. 30).

Can they do it? It is going to be tight. But leaders recognize that. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is already threatening that the Senate may need to work weekends, and that parts of its August recess.

Which, as Schumer knows well, often works better as a threat than a reality.


FIVE OVERLOOKED POLITICAL STORIES FROM THE PAST WEEK
By Saher Khan, @sahermkhan
Politics Producer

Minneapolis residents will vote on replacing the MPD -  July 24. Minneapolis residents will vote on a ballot measure this November that would replace the city’s police department with a public safety department that takes a public health approach. Why it matters: The measure, if passed, would be a win for police reform activists, and could also offer an important test of how people like licensed “peace officers” focused on overall health could change the way public safety manages emergency situations that don’t involve immediate physical threats.  - Minnesota Public Radio 

How Unemployment Insurance Fraud Exploded During the Pandemic  July 26. ProPublica takes a deep dive looking at how fraudsters took advantage of the pandemic’s unemployment insurance benefits. Why it matters: The massive increase in fraudulent unemployment claims illustrates the growing challenges facing states’ aging unemployment systems and how vulnerable they are to exploitation. - ProPublica 

The pandemic drove women out of the workforce. Will they come back? - July 22. Nearly 2 million women have left the labor force since the onset of the pandemic and struggle to re-enter as they face issues of disappearing jobs, lack of child care and health risks. Why it matters: Women, particularly women of color, left the labor force at higher rates than men, and economists worry that a failure to bring women back would have a detrimental impact on the U.S. economy.  - Politico 

After lengthy battle, fight over Medicaid expansion in Missouri nears end - July 26. After Missouri’s state legislature refused to implement a successful voter-led effort to expand Medicaid, the state’s Supreme Court ruled last week that Medicaid expansion was constitutional and must stand. Why it matters: This opens the door for some 275,000 low-income Missourians to begin receiving publicly funded health care and makes Missouri the 39th state to expand Medicaid. - St. Louis Dispatch 

The Threat of an Unvaccinated South - July 22. A coronavirus resurgence in some communities throughout the South has local leaders struggling to convince people to overcome their skepticism about getting vaccinated. Why it matters: As public health officials have flagged, high rates of unvaccinated people significantly increase the health risk for any community and the resurgence in the South could jeopardize the country’s efforts to reign in the virus. - The Atlantic

#POLITICSTRIVIA
By Tess Conciatori, @tkconch 
Politics associate producer

The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol held its first hearing this morning. The committee, which was approved by the House last month, was established with similar rules and structure to the select committee investigating the September 2012 attack at the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya. The Benghazi committee was established in May 2014.

Our question: How many days did the Benghazi committee exist before its final report was entered into the Congressional record?

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: What was the name of President Warren G. Harding’s dog? 

The correct answer: Harding’s airedale terrier was named Laddie Boy.

Congratulations to our winners: Bob Schmid and Carol Rutz.

Laddie Boy was the first presidential dog to receive regular newspaper coverage, setting off decades of headlines about White House pets. In the best kind of trivia tale, we learned something from this piece of history, too. One of our sharp readers. Jim Brydon,  pointed out that Harding actually had two presidential pups  -- the other was a bulldog named "Old Boy.”

Not the type to stop at the surface, we dug deeper and learned that Harding also had a pet squirrel named Pete, and first lady Florence Harding also kept several canaries.

Tuck this away for the next time you encounter presidential pet trivia in the wild.

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