Action Alerts

The field of 2020 Democrats vying for their party’s nomination hasn’t dwindled at all, but polling appears to indicate there are four viable candidates. Of course, polls aren’t everything. Mayor Pete Buttigieg raised more money than any Democrat in the race last cycle, but he’s stuck in the single digits in nearly every poll.

As we enter the last week of session before the House breaks for August recess, they will consider the Rehabilitation for Multiemployer Pensions Act. The Senate will vote on Tuesday to permanently extend the 9/11 victims fund. President Trump on Monday will meet with the Pakistani prime minister. On Tuesday, he will speak at Turning Point USA’s “Teen Student Action Summit.”

It was a chaotic week in Washington as President Trump’s tweets about the so-called “squad” of freshman Democratic congresswomen set off a firestorm. Meanwhile, polls are showing that Joe Biden might be losing his firm grip on frontrunner status in the Democratic presidential primary, and Nancy Pelosi continues dealing with insurgent House Democrats.

The Democrats vying for the White House continue to find new ways to go after one another. This week, Biden introduced his own proposal for how to deal with the challenges posed by our health care system. Quick to point out Biden is not backing Medicare for All, Bernie Sanders criticized Biden for siding with the insurance and pharmaceutical industries. Meanwhile, Elizabeth Warren found herself on defense as she’s forced to explain her work defending major corporations caught in bankruptcy cases.

This week, the House will consider H.R. 3494 — The Intelligence Authorization Act. They’ll consider a resolution to hold Attorney General Bill Barr and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in contempt, and finally they will review H.R. 582 — the Raise the Wage Act. This legislation would gradually increase the minimum wage to $15 by 2024. The Senate will process 4 tax treaties that were advanced out of the Foreign Relations committee in late June, as well as confirm a series of nominees.

After a quieter July 4th week, things kicked into high gear this week as environmentalist billionaire Tom Steyer jumped in the presidential race, failed congressional candidate Amy McGrath announced she plans to challenge Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, and Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are fighting in the press.

With the Independence Day holiday behind us, all eyes are focused on two major events in the Democratic primary calendar: FEC reports, detailing how much candidates raised and spent in the second quarter of the year, are due by the July 15, and the second presidential debate is scheduled for the end of the month in Detroit, Michigan.

The House will spend the week taking up the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act with nearly 300 amendments to the bill. The Senate plans to consider four tax treaties and continue to confirm Trump nominees. President Trump on Monday will give a speech about “America’s Environmental Leadership,” and on Thursday he will speak at the Presidential Social Media Summit.

The Democratic presidential candidates are still reeling from the first set of debates held in Miami last week. While the clash between Biden and Harris was likely the most discussed moment from either night, Warren’s declaration that she would eliminate private health insurance made news. And Buttigieg became the first candidate to announce his second quarter fundraising number, and it’s a whopper.

The House and Senate are in recess this week in observance of the Independence Day holiday. President Trump on Thursday will deliver Fourth of July remarks at a Salute to America celebration at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.