20 July 2021
Members of the House are forming alliances and gearing for battle while waiting for the Senate to work out final details of an infrastructure deal.
Why it matters: The lower chamber has been on the sidelines during its two-week recess, yet representatives have been watching senators carefully in anticipation of their own debate on the measures that will be shipped their way.
Between the lines: Potential coalitions and red lines are being formed around several issue items:
- Immigration: As more calls come in to include immigration reform in one part of the infrastructure package, moderate Democrats are wary of anything going beyond the most basic reform — like providing security for so-called Dreamers.
- Climate change: Some progressives are eager to see a number of climate reform measures, including the repeal of fossil fuel subsidies or investments in electric vehicle infrastructure.
- These red lines or lobbying coalitions are especially important to members who fear progressive goals will die or be left out of the debate in the Senate.
What to watch: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) could alleviate the concerns by guaranteeing she will put some hot-ticket items up for a vote if they aren’t included in a budget reconciliation bill passed by the Senate.
- That would be a step toward ensuring some cohesion within her caucus.
What we're watching: Money is no longer the issue.
Aside from something like a $6 trillion price tag on a reconciliation — as suggested by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) — moderates don't seem as concerned about the total cost of any infrastructure spending as much as they care about deliverables within the final package.
- Deliverables — roads, bridges, local pork — win elections.
- Democrats, particularly those preparing for tight midterm races, want infrastructure spending approved with plenty of time for money to be sent to their districts, so shovels can get into the ground as quickly as possible.
- And with such a tight margin in the majority, those moderates in swing districts see a danger in being the member who killed the bill by voting against such deliverables over a principled argument about their cost.
What they're watching: Aides and members alike are focused on the process.
- “It’s a weird feeling,” one House aide told Axios. “There’s this big, big thing coming down the highway and we’re just waiting for it to hit us.”
- If both the bipartisan and reconciliation bills come to the House, progressives are hoping for speedy back-to-back votes on both bills.
- Members talk on the floor, and progressives want to minimize any potential discussion among moderates that could tank the reconciliation bill — likely the second of the two votes.
Be smart: The Problem Solvers Caucus will hold a news conference Wednesday to renew its call for an "expeditious" stand-alone vote on the bipartisan bill.
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.