Happy (almost) Fall!! Congress is back in session and here are a selection of articles the Federal Relations team is enjoying this week.
Exit Stage Right? – House Speaker John Boehner has not had an easy tenure as leader of the House Republican Caucus. During histime, he’s seen the rise of the Tea Party and Libertarians as well as more and more members of his caucus willing to openly challenging him on votes and for his Speaker position. As he looks towards what will be a hellish fall (a fight to defund Planned Parenthood, a potential government shutdown, the deadline to raise the federal debt ceiling or risk default, a highly contentious fight over highway spending to extend the highway trust fund, and a vote to oust him as Speaker is also expected), his closest allies are wondering if Boehner will run for Speaker or Congress again. Read more at Politico.
60% Chance – Congress has routinely fought about raising the debt ceiling in recent years. These fights have had significant political consequences for the Republican party because of shutdowns. As Congress, again, has to raise the debt ceiling, political forecasters are giving odds of 60 percent that the federal government shuts down over the debt ceiling…again. Read more at Forbes. Meanwhile, those 60 percent odds might be a little low. Read more from The Washington Post.
Planned Parenthood v. Debt Ceiling – Congressional leadership and the American people don’t want a government shutdown but the other looming political issue is the Republican outcry to defund Planned Parenthood, an effort currently being lead by Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX). While Planned Parenthood is not expected to lose all of its federal funding, how the House and Senate proceed on the issue, and a vote on de-funding the organization, is unclear. Further, it sets up a show down between defunding Planned Parenthood and raising the debt ceiling. Read more at Politico.
The POPE Is Coming – Pope Francis is scheduled to stop in DC at the end of the month to meet with Obama, hold a massive public mass where he will canonize a new saint, tour Catholic Charities, and address Congress. In a town that’s used to famous people living here and dropping by, preparations for the Pope have everyone atwitter. DC knows motorcades, but we’re not quite adept at Pope-mobiles…yet. It’s been treated as an inauguration and snow day all rolled in one. Read more at Roll Call. Or read more at the Washington Post. While the Pope is here, he will canonize 18th-century Spanish missionary, Junipero Serra, who worked in colonial California around modern day Monterey. Serra is not without his critics. Read more at the Washington Post.
Remembering September 11th on the 14th anniversary. Yesterday, a rainbow was seen over Manhattan, which looked like it originated from the World Trade Center. See the pictures at Buzzed.