You can make a difference:
| Control of the Senate will depend upon the results of two run-off elections in Georgia on January 5. Here’s how you can help flip the Senate: Send postcards with Flip the West: https://www.mobilize.us/flipthewest/event/362341/?fbclid=IwAR3beXw-Wlt__TDzaogNbSh1iQrPUtadlqF3egHhYJRJh_vBXdKWE80IvsM Sign up and you will be furnished with names and addresses as well as a script to use. You will need your own postcards. Postcards can be purchased anywhere. Through Amazon at: https://www.amazon.com/Postcards/b?ie=UTF8&node=1069672 If you are able, one of the best ways to help is to donate: New Georgia Project Black Voters Matter Indivisibles in GA and/or to the candidates’ campaigns: Raphael Warnock Jon Osoff Let’s do our part to help alleviate food insecurity, which is especially dire during these times and without any additional help from Congress. Donate to or volunteer at Food Bank of NWI Food Bank of NWI received a $100,000 donation to match money contributed so that each contribution will be doubled, now through Dec. 31. More about efforts of Food Bank of NWI to alleviate hunger this holiday season: https://foodbanknwi.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2020/11/Hope-For-The-Holidays-Flyer.pdf For a list of local food pantries: https://www.foodpantries.org/st/indiana Meals on Wheels, NWI: https://mownwi.org/ |
NATIONAL
The week ahead in Congress:
During the week ahead Congress will consider a bill to finance the government, possibly a short stop-gap bill to fund it temporarily. They will also consider COVID relief legislation. Both the Senate and the House may consider other legislation and appointments. The House is scheduled to recess on Thursday unless funding bills and relief legislation requires their presence. The deadline for funding the government is Friday. (Revell, Eric. “Congress Looks to Avoid a Partial Government Shutdown & Approve Coronavirus Relief.” Causes. 06 December 2020: https://www.causes.com/articles/46612-congress-looks-avoid-partial-government-shutdown-approve-coronavirus-relief.)
In Congress this past week:
S.Res. 753: A resolution supporting the goals and ideals of National Domestic Violence Awareness Month.Last Action: Resolution agreed to in Senate without amendment and with a preamble by Unanimous Consent.
Explanation: This simple resolution was agreed to on November 30, 2020. That is the end of the legislative process for a simple resolution.
| S.Res. 780: A resolution designating November 2020 as “National Lung Cancer Awareness Month” and expressing support for the early detection of lung cancer Last Action: Submitted in the Senate, considered, and agreed to on Dec. 1 without amendment and with a preamble by Unanimous Consent. S. 1153: Stop Student Debt Relief Scams Act of 2019 Govtrack.us: “This bill establishes criminal penalties for unauthorized access of certain student loan information and expands the requirements for student loan exit counseling.” The bill was passed Dec. 1 in a vote in the Senate. It goes to the House next. The vote was by Unanimous Consent so no record of individual votes was made. H.R. 1044: Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2019 Govtrack.us: “This bill increases the per-country cap on family-based immigrant visas from 7% of the total number of such visas available that year to 15%, and eliminates the 7% cap for employment-based immigrant visas. It also removes an offset that reduced the number of visas for individuals from China.” This bill has been passed in the House and the Senate, but the Senate made changes and sent it back to the House on December 2, 2020. The vote was by Voice Vote so no record of individual votes was made. S. 434: A bill to require the collection of certain data relating to Bureau of Land Management land acquisitions, and for other purposes. GovTrack.us: “This bill requires the Department of the Interior, after the submission of the President’s budget for FY2020, to report to Congress on all federal land holdings under Interior’s jurisdiction; and the total costs of maintaining such holdings for FY2017-FY2019, including an accounting of the holdings of, and expenditures made by, each federal agency.” The bill was passed on Dec. 2 in a vote in the Senate. It goes to the House next. The vote was by Unanimous Consent so no record of individual votes was made. S. 578: ALS Disability Insurance Access Act of 2019 GovTrack.us: “This bill eliminates the five-month waiting period for Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance benefits for individuals with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (a progressive neurodegenerative disease, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord). Under current law, individuals must wait five months after becoming disabled before their disability insurance benefit payments may begin.” Passed the Senate on Dec. 2 and goes to the House next. Senator Braun: Yea Senator Young: Yea S. 496: Young Fishermen’s Development Act GovTrack.us: “This bill directs the National Sea Grant Office in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to establish a Young Fishermen’s Development Grant Program to provide training, education, outreach, and technical assistance initiatives for young fishermen.he bill was passed in a vote in the Senate. It goes to the House next. The vote was by Voice Vote so no record of individual votes was made. S.Res. 783: A resolution designating November 2020 as “National Hospice and Palliative Care Month”. Last Action: Submitted in the Senate, considered, and agreed to without amendment and with a preamble by Unanimous Consent. Explanation: This simple resolution was agreed to on December 2, 2020. That is the end of the legislative process for a simple resolution. H.R. 7995: Coin Metal Modification Authorization and Cost Savings Act of 2020 GovTrack.us: “This bill authorizes the United States Mint to modify the metallic composition of circulating coins (including by prescribing reasonable manufacturing tolerances with respect to those coins) if a study and analysis conducted by the Mint indicates that the modification will reduce costs incurred by the taxpayers; be seamless, which shall be determined by verifying that the coins will work interchangeably in most coin acceptors using electromagnetic signature technology; and have as minimal an adverse impact as possible on the public and stakeholders. The Mint must notify Congress before making the modification and provide a justification for the modification.” The bill was passed in a vote in the House on Dec, 2. It goes to the Senate next. See the vote. S.Res. 783: A resolution designating November 2020 as “National Hospice and Palliative Care Month”. Last Action: Submitted in the Senate, considered, and agreed to without amendment and with a preamble by Unanimous Consent. Explanation: This simple resolution was agreed to on December 2, 2020. That is the end of the legislative process for a simple resolution. H.R. 7995: Coin Metal Modification Authorization and Cost Savings Act of 2020 GovTrack.us: “This bill authorizes the United States Mint to modify the metallic composition of circulating coins (including by prescribing reasonable manufacturing tolerances with respect to those coins) if a study and analysis conducted by the Mint indicates that the modification will reduce costs incurred by the taxpayers; be seamless, which shall be determined by verifying that the coins will work interchangeably in most coin acceptors using electromagnetic signature technology; and have as minimal an adverse impact as possible on the public and stakeholders. The Mint must notify Congress before making the modification and provide a justification for the modification.” The bill was passed in a vote in the House on Dec, 2. It goes to the Senate next. See the vote. H.R. 3884: The Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act of 2019 GovTrack.us: “This bill decriminalizes marijuana. Specifically, it removes marijuana from the list of scheduled substances under the Controlled Substances Act and eliminates criminal penalties for an individual who manufactures, distributes, or possesses marijuana. The bill also makes other changes, including the following: replaces statutory references to marijuana and marihuana with cannabis, requires the Bureau of Labor Statistics to regularly publish demographic data on cannabis business owners and employees, establishes a trust fund to support various programs and services for individuals and businesses in communities impacted by the war on drugs, imposes a 5% tax on cannabis products and requires revenues to be deposited into the trust fund, makes Small Business Administration loans and services available to entities that are cannabis-related legitimate businesses or service providers, prohibits the denial of federal public benefits to a person on the basis of certain cannabis-related conduct or convictions, prohibits the denial of benefits and protections under immigration laws on the basis of a cannabis-related event (e.g., conduct or a conviction), establishes a process to expunge convictions and conduct sentencing review hearings related to federal cannabis offenses, and directs the Government Accountability Office to study the societal impact of cannabis legalization.” Passed the House on Dec. 4 and goes to the Senate next. See also a more detailed summary and background at Causes. Passed House & Senate (President next) H.R. 473: To authorize the Every Word We Utter Monument to establish a commemorative work in the District of Columbia and its environs, and for other purposes. Passed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent. GovTrack.us: “This bill authorizes the establishment on federal land in the District of Columbia of the Every Word We Utter Monument in commemoration of the women’s suffrage movement and the passage of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, which gave women the right to vote.” S. 1982: Save Our Seas 2.0 Act Govtrack.us: “A bill to improve efforts to combat marine debris, and for other purposes.” The bill was passed by both chambers in identical form. It goes to the President next who may sign or veto the bill. The vote was by Unanimous Consent so no record of individual votes was made. S. 910: National Sea Grant College Program Amendments Act of 2020 GovTrack.us: “This bill reauthorizes through FY2024 and revises the National Sea Grant College Program, through which the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)supports university-based programs that focus on studying, conserving, and effectively using U.S. coastal resources.” The bill was passed by both chambers in identical form; it passed the Senate on Dec. 2. H.R. 1830: National Purple Heart Hall of Honor Commemorative Coin Act On motion that the House suspend the rules and agree to the Senate amendment Agreed to by voice vote. This bill was passed by Congress on December 2, 2020 .H.R. 3465: Fallen Journalists Memorial Act GovTrack.us: “This bill authorizes the Fallen Journalists Memorial Foundation to establish a commemorative work on federal land in commemoration of America’s commitment to a free press as represented by journalists who sacrificed their lives in their line of work.” The bill was passed by both chambers in identical form. The vote was by Unanimous Consent so no record of individual votes was made. S. 945: Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act GovTrack.us: “This bill requires certain issuers of securities to establish that they are not owned or controlled by a foreign government. Specifically, an issuer must make this certification if the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board is unable to audit specified reports because the issuer has retained a foreign public accounting firm not subject to inspection by the board. Furthermore, if the board is unable to inspect the issuer’s public accounting firm for three consecutive years, the issuer’s securities are banned from trade on a national exchange or through other methods.” This bill was passed by the Senate in May and by the House Dec. 2. The vote was by voice vote so no record of individual votes was made. H.R. 3349: Republic of Texas Legation Memorial Act GovTrack.us: “This bill authorizes the Daughters of the Republic of Texas to establish the Republic of Texas Legation Memorial on federal land in the District of Columbia and its environs to commemorate and honor those individuals who, as representatives of the Republic of Texas, served in the District of Columbia as diplomats to the United States and made possible the annexation of Texas as the 28th state of the United States.” Passed Senate Dec. 2 without amendment by Unanimous Consent. S. 1069: Digital Coast Act GovTrack.us: “A bill to require the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to establish a constituent-driven program to provide a digital information platform capable of efficiently integrating coastal data with decision-support tools, training, and best practices and to support collection of priority coastal geospatial data to inform and improve local, State, regional, and Federal capacities to manage the coastal region, and for other purposes.” Senate agreed to the House amendment to the Senate bill by Unanimous Consent S. 4054: United States Grain Standards Reauthorization Act of 2020 On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by voice vote. Enacted — Signed by the President S. 327: Wounded Veterans Recreation Act This bill was enacted after being signed by the President on December 3, 2020. GovTrack.us: “A bill to amend the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act to provide for a lifetime National Recreational Pass for any veteran with a service-connected disability.” H.R. 1773: Rosie the Riveter Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2019 GovTrack.us: “To award a Congressional Gold Medal, collectively, to the women in the United States who joined the workforce during World War II, providing the aircraft, vehicles, weaponry, ammunition and other material to win the war, that were referred to as “Rosie the Riveter”, in recognition of their contributions to the United States and the inspiration they have provided to ensuing generations.”. |
To find and contact your Members of Congress: https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials
In Other News
Trump has threatened to veto the Defense Appropriations Bill unless Congress removes protections for social media platforms by including a revamping of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. Congress is unlikely to do so and will likely pass the bill in veto-proof numbers, Previously Trump threatened to veto the the National Defense Appropriations Act (S. 4049) unless language is removed that will change the name of military bases named for confederate officers. (Revell, Eric. “Trump Threatens to Veto Defense Bill Unless Congress Reforms Immunities for Social Media Platforms.” Causes. 05 December 2020: https://www.causes.com/articles/46607-trump-threatens-veto-defense-bill-unless-reforms-immunities-social-media-platforms.)
The DOJ is issuing changes to executions to include other methods of death, including electrocution and firing squads. (“Firing squads, poison gas could be allowed for US executions under Justice Department’s new rule.” ABC Eyewitness News. 30 November 2020: https://abc7chicago.com/firing-squad-gas-chamber-trump-death-sentence/8310908/.)
Jobs growth slowed. (Lane, Sylvan. “Economy adds 245K jobs, lower than expected as COVID-19 spikes.” The Hill. 04 December 2020: https://thehill.com/policy/finance/528728-november-jobs-report-labor-unemployment-economy-coronavirus?userid=295338.)
Trump has ordered 700 troops stationed in Somalia to withdraw. They have been there for over a decade to help fight local terrorist groups, including al Quada and ISIS. (Mitchell, Ellen. “Trump orders Pentagon to pull nearly all troops from Somalia.” The Hill. 04 December 2020: https://thehill.com/policy/defense/528842-trump-orders-pentagon-to-pull-nearly-all-troops-from-somalia.)
In swing states especially, blue counties got bluer and red counties got redder in the November elections, widening ideological divides as Democrats and Republicans dug in and became less likely to compromise on pressing issues in the 2021 legislative sessions, including dealing with COVID-19 and budget deficits. (Stateline.Org)
State lawmakers are increasingly unhappy about being sidelined, while complaining that governors have trampled civil liberties or harmed the economy. But they haven’t presented a workable alternative to executive action. (GOVERNING)
Trump latest lawsuit calls for Georgia to hold another election. All but one of his lawsuits have failed except for one minor win which involved an insignificant number of ballots. (Aleem, Zaashan. “Trump’s legal team advances yet another far-fetched lawsuit in Georgia.” Vox. 05 December 2020: https://www.vox.com/2020/12/5/22155858/georgia-election-lawsuit-trump-recount.)
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensburger has said that Georgia’s Presidential election was fair and without fraud. He is now, however, investigating four groups who are actively registering new voters: Vote Forward, the New Georgia Project, America Votes, and Operation New voter Registration Georgia. (Brumback, Kate. “Georgia official announces investigations, defends election.” AP News. 30 November 2020: https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-georgia-state-elections-elections-voter-registration-0dda2f95b4cea6506be9fb6555195a1c.)
A large majority of Republicans refuse to even consider what is true about election results, eagerly spreading the falsehoods. Repetition is key and is working to sway these voters that Biden won through fraud. (Seitz, Amanda and David Klepper. “Dangerously viral: How Trump, supporters spread false claims.” AP News: https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-joe-biden-donald-trump-media-social-media-8cf62c15893c4e8878a471e99ee81459.)
Senator Young continues to express no interest in debunking Trump’s fraud claims or in acknowledging Biden’s victory. “People aren’t talking about that,” he said. (“GOP senators’ strategy on Trump’s election fraud claims: Keep quiet and carry on.” Fox 40. 01 December 2020: https://www.wicz.com/story/42985140/gop-senators-strategy-on-trumps-election-fraud-claims-keep-quiet-and-carry-on)
Senator Braun also continues to assert that Trump has not lost. He states that in order for democracy to prevail, all allegations must be thoroughly investigated. As late as Sunday he refused to acknowledge that Biden is the President-Elect. (Cunningham, Meg. “Despite mounting legal losses, Braun refuses to acknowledge Biden’s election win.” ABC News. 06 December 2020: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/braun-legal-process-play-doubts-election-linger/story?id=74558937.)
The Courts:
The Supreme Court reversed a lower court decision that had ruled in favor of California. At issue are restrictions imposed by the State of California on religious services; the case has been sent back to the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California to be reconsidered in light of the high court’s decision in a similar case a week ago, in which it found that restrictions on religious services imposed by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) were unconstitutional. (“Revell, Eric. Supreme Court Approves Challenge to California’s COVID Restrictions on Religious Services.” Causes. 03 December 2020: https://www.causes.com/articles/46604-supreme-court-approves-challenge-california-s-covid-restrictions-religious-services.)
A Federal judge has order the Dept. of Homeland Security to restore DACA and post a public notice by Monday saying it is accepting new applicants. New applicants will be accepted for the first time since 2017. In addition, work permits will be issued for two years instead of the current one. (Axelrod, Tal. “Judge orders Trump administration to restore DACA, accept new applicants.” The Hill. 05 December 2020: https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/528856-federal-judge-order-trump-administration-to-restore-daca-accept-new.)
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case requiring Medicaid work requirements. (Williams, Jordan. “Supreme Court to hear case on Trump’s push for Medicaid work requirements.” The Hill. 05 December 2020: https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/medicaid/528879-supreme-court-to-hear-case-on-trumps-push-to-impose-medicaid,)
Indiana
A coalition of activist groups announced a new push Monday against what it called partisan gerrymandering by Indiana’s Republican-dominated Legislature. (AP Indiana)
Indiana voter advocacy groups are creating what they’re calling a “shadow” redistricting commission to give Hoosiers an independent contrast when lawmakers redraw legislative district lines next year. (WFYI)
Governor Eric Holcomb Tuesday announced several appointments to various state boards and commissions. (Indy Politics)
The number of Hoosiers applying for unemployment for the first time continues to rise amid a surge of coronavirus cases and the looming expiration of federal pandemic unemployment programs. (Indy Star)
Two large coal companies have started a new lobbying push as Indiana legislators are poised to again consider steps that could bolster the industry facing a shift toward renewable energy sources. (AP Indiana)
Indiana invests $6.7M in statewide pilot of educational datacasts
The Indiana Department of Education has awarded $6.7 million in grants to Indiana Public Broadcasting Stations to expand educational datacasting …
The number of COVID-19 deaths in Indiana has nearly doubled for November from a month earlier as health officials continue adding to those reports and the state’s coronavirus-related hospitalizations remain at their highest point during the pandemic. (AP Indiana)
More people died from the coronavirus in Indiana during November than any other month since the start of the pandemic, an IndyStar analysis has found. (Indy Star)
Without additional emergency pandemic funding, the upcoming legislative session in Indiana will be critical, especially for schools. (Indiana Public Media)
