The Hill’s 12:30 Report — Presented by McDonald’s — How the Manchin-Schumer deal came about
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–> A midday take on what’s happening in politics and how to have a sense of humor about it.* *Ha. Haha. Hahah. Sniff. Haha. Sniff. Ha–breaks down crying hysterically.
TALK OF THE MORNING
Curious what happened behind-the-scenes between Schumer and Manchin?:
Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) reached a surprise deal on a reconciliation bill earlier this week, shocking Democrats and leaving Republicans feeling betrayed.
Why this was such a surprise: “[L]ess than two weeks earlier, the talks between Schumer and Manchin fell apart in dramatic fashion, when Schumer signaled he would proceed with a scaled-down budget reconciliation bill that included only prescription drug reform and a two-year extension of expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies.”
What happened — things got a bit heated: “Manchin admitted Thursday morning that he and Schumer lost their tempers in a heated discussion on July 14 when the Democratic leader accused him of ‘walking away’ from a deal after months of negotiations.”
Then what happened?: “Manchin said he bumped into Schumer again the following Monday and their tempers had cooled at that point.”
The full story of what happened behind-the-scenes, via The Hill’s Alexander Bolton
TIDBIT FROM THE TALKS:
The Associated Press’s Seung Min Kim tweeted about her colleague Lisa Mascaro’s story: “One bit of color from the Biden-Manchin phone call Wednesday when they discussed the reconciliation deal: The two men, both isolating with COVID, compared their symptoms.” The full AP story
WHY *EVERY DEMOCRAT* IS ON EDGE:
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) still won’t say whether or not she will support the negotiated reconciliation bill.
One of the dynamics at play: “Sinema has already expressed her support for setting a 15 percent corporate minimum tax for companies that earn more than $1 billion in profits … But the bigger question is whether she’ll agree to close the carried interest tax loophole that allows asset managers to pay only a 20 percent capital gains tax rate on income earned from managing profitable investments.”
The plot thickened yesterday: Sinema did not attend a special Senate Democratic Caucus meeting yesterday where Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) explained the deal. What we know about Sinema’s position, via The Hill’s Alexander Bolton
HOUSE DEMOCRATS ARE PRO:
“Across the broad spectrum of the diverse caucus, Democratic lawmakers are praising the surprise arrival of Manchin’s proposal, saying it takes great strides to help ensure health care access, fight climate change and bring fairness to the tax code.” Why House Dems are supportive, via The Hill’s Mike Lillis
HOW THE CLIMATE PROVISIONS WILL IMPACT AMERICANS:
‘RENEWABLES WELCOME “11TH HOUR REPRIEVE” FROM MANCHIN’:
HAPPY FRIDAY! I’m Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what’s coming up. Did someone forward this newsletter to you? Sign up here.
📈 News this morning
We’re surging away:
“A June surge in gasoline prices fueled much higher inflation and a dip in household spending power, according to data released Friday by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA).”
The numbers: “The personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, a key gauge of inflation, rose 1 percent in June and 6.8 percent annually last month, according to the BEA. The monthly inflation rate rose from 0.6 percent in May and the annual inflation rate rose from 6.3 percent that month.”
What this means for the economy, via The Hill’s Sylvan Lane
In Congress
Veterans’ groups are ANGRY:
Via NBC News’ Melissa Chan, Phil McCausland and Daniel Arkin, “Blindsided veterans erupted in anger and indignation Thursday after Senate Republicans suddenly tanked a widely supported bipartisan measure that would have expanded medical coverage for millions of combatants exposed to toxic burn pits during their service.”
Why many were caught off guard: “41 Senate Republicans blocked the bill’s passage, including 25 who had supported it a month ago.”
Had the bill changed a lot? Not really: “The Senate passed the original legislation 84-14 in June. It underwent minor changes when it moved to the House, where it passed 342-88. When the bill returned to the Senate, the bill had not changed much but the view — and vote — of 25 senators did.”
Soo, what happened?: “While it’s unclear what prompted the flip, veterans believe the move was political.” The full story
REACTION FROM THE BILL’S SUPPORTERS:
From Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.): “This is total bulls— … We had strong bipartisan support for this bill. And at the eleventh hour, Sen. Toomey decides that he wants to rewrite the bill, change the rules, and tank it.”
From Tom Porter, executive vice president of governmental affairs for the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America: “How can fellow veterans turn their backs, and stab us in the back like that?” More reactions
COMEDIAN JON STEWART WENT OFF ON REPUBLICAN SENATORS AFTER THE VOTE:
“I’m used to the hypocrisy…I’m used to the lies…I’m used to the cowardice…I’m used to all of it, but I am not used to the cruelty,” Stewart told a gaggle of reporters after the vote. Watch Jon Stewart’s remarks outside the U.S. Capitol — warning, he uses some choice language
HAPPENING ON CAPITOL HILL — A SIT-IN:
“A group of veterans is staging a sit-in at the Capitol in response to Senate Republicans blocking a bill that would extend health care benefits to millions of veterans who were exposed to toxins during their service.” What we know
🗳 On the campaign trail
LET’S ENTERTAIN THIS THOUGHT FOR A MINUTE:
The Hill’s Niall Stanage writes, “No, really — What if Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez runs for president?”
‘BIDEN TURNS UP THE INSULTS ON DONALD TRUMP’:
🦠 Latest with COVID
The U.S. just bought 66 million more doses of Moderna:
The Department of Health and Human Services just purchased 66 million doses of the updated Moderna vaccine for a planned booster campaign in the fall.
What do you mean ‘updated?’: The updated vaccine is designed to target the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants of omicron. What we know
➤ THE COVID-19 NUMBERS
Cases to date: 90.7 million
Death toll: 1,023,991
Current hospitalizations: 37,695
Shots administered: 603 million
Fully vaccinated: 67.2 percent of Americans
🐥Notable tweets
Who doesn’t love a baby photo?:
Dark Palder, communications assistant for the second gentleman, tweeted a photo of Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) showing second gentleman Doug Emhoff a photo of his baby during the Congressional Baseball Game yesterday. Photo
If you didn’t watch the Congressional Baseball Game, here are a few of the highlights: And the post-game handshakes. Video from C-SPAN’s Howard Mortman
⏱On tap
The House is in. The Senate is out. President Biden and Vice President Harris are both in Washington, D.C. Harris has no events scheduled.
- 9:45 a.m.: First House votes of the day. Today’s House agenda
- 10:15 a.m.: Biden received his daily briefing.
- 3 p.m. Monday: The Senate meets next. Monday’s Senate agenda
All times Eastern.
📺What to watch
- 1:30 p.m.: White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre gives a press briefing. Livestream
- Sunday morning: Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) will appear on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
🍗 In lighter news
Today is National Chicken Wing Day and National Lasagna Day! Tomorrow is National Cheesecake Day and Sunday is National Avocado Day!
*Hits the panic button*:
Hershey is warning that it will not be able to meet the demand for Halloween candy this year.
Why: Demand has been high during the pandemic — and ongoing supply chain issues.
The full story from CNN Business’s Danielle Wiener-Bronner
Interesting read:
From The Washington Post’s Jason Wilson, “From Dry January to Fake Cocktails, Inside the New Temperance Movement: Many Americans are reconsidering their relationship to alcohol. But if we drink less, is that automatically a good thing?” The Washington Post magazine read
And to get your weekend off to a fun start, here’s a dog with a little side hustle.
^ Make sure your sound is on. 😉
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