Welcome to Tuesday, July 23rd, solids and liquids...

President Donald Trump took to Twitter on Monday to announce that his administration reached an agreement with Democratic and Republican leadership in Congress to lift the debt limit and raise budget caps for two years.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) released a joint statement praising the deal as it "permanently ends the threat of the sequester" and "our increase in non-defense budget authority exceeds the defense number by $10 billion over the next two years."

The debt limit will be lifted through July 31, 2021 ― avoiding a potential default in late August or early September before Congress returns from its recess.

Overall discretionary spending caps will rise from their current level of $1.321 trillion to $1.371 trillion in FY2020 and $1.376 trillion in FY2021― avoiding potential cuts of $125 billion at the end of September if sequestration were allowed. Domestic, non-defense discretionary spending will rise from its current level of $605 billion to $632 billion in FY2020 and $635 billion in FY2021.

Read the full details here, then tell your reps if they should support the deal:

On the Radar

Mexican Paying for the Border Wall?

Last week, a federal judge sentenced Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman - the 62- year-old head of the Sinaloa drug cartel - to a prison term of life plus 30 years. El Chapo was convicted on a number of federal charges, including drug trafficking and conspiracy to commit murder. He was sent to the “Supermax” federal prison in Colorado over the weekend.

The federal government is seeking the recovery of $14 billion in assets that El Chapo and his organization have accumulated over the past 30 years—assets that a group of senators want to use to secure the southern border.

Earlier this year, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) introduced the Ensuring Law Collection of Hidden Assets to Provide Order (EL CHAPO) Act to reserve any illegally-obtained drug profits forfeited to the U.S. government by El Chapo for the construction of a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border and counter-narcotics efforts. It would also reserve other assets forfeited by convicted members of drug cartels for border construction and other security measures.

Should Congress pass the El Chapo Act to use seized drug cartel assets for border security?

Under the Radar

Abortion "Gag Rule" Postponed

The Trump administration has postponed its plan to ban taxpayer-funded family planning clinics from referring women for abortions, giving the clinics more time to comply with the new rule.

The Department of Health and Human Services sent the clinics a memo over the weekend saying the government “does not intend to bring enforcement actions” against clinics that are making “good-faith efforts to comply.”

The National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association called DHS' action “wholly insufficient.”

“Failure [by DHS] to provide detailed implementation guidance may be the start of a game of ‘gotcha’ as it assesses compliance with the rule,” the statement added.

Should taxpayer-funded clinics be allowed to refer women for abortions?

What You're Saying

Here's how you're answering Should the House Condemn the BDS Movement Targeting Israel as Counterproductive to the Peace Process?