This Week on the Hill: House Republicans Attack Afghanistan Withdrawal, Bail Reform, and Enviro Regs

Attacking the Biden Administration’s Foreign Policy (But Not Where They Should Be…)

Earlier this week, we learned that Secretary of State Antony Blinken lied to Congress to cover up the Israeli government’s restriction of US aid to Gaza in direct violation of US law.

A functional Congress would want to hold Blinken and the administration accountable for this, but a majority of Congress would agree with this cover-up. And rather than focusing on this clear violation of the law, the US House wasted time condemning President Biden and Vice President Harris for the handling of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan.

This withdrawal, of course, occurred three years ago, and the framework for it was created by Trump. However, Republicans view moves like this as election year messaging.

Shamefully, 10 Democrats joined the GOP in voting for this: Yadira Caraveo (CO-08), Henry Cuellar (TX-28), Don Davis (NC-01), Jared Golden (ME-02), Vicente Gonzalez (TX-34), Jeff Jackson (NC-14), Greg Landsman (OH-01), Susie Lee (NV-03), Mary Peltola (AK-AL), and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (WA-03).

The House also voted 243 174 to pass the STOP CCP Act, which would impose mandatory sanctions and visa restrictions on members of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party determined to have played a significant role in certain People’s Republic of China (PRC) policies regarding Hong Kong, Taiwan, and minority groups in China, among others. The sanctions would be so broad that they would undermine diplomatic efforts. The bill is ultimately a way for hawks to force greater direct conflict between the US and China.

33 Democrats joined Republicans in voting yes, and 2 Republicans — Tom Massie (KY-04) and Tom McClintock (CA-05) — joined Democrats in voting no.

Here are the 33 Democrats who voted yes:

Fear-Mongering about Bail Reform

Crime statistics have fallen under President Biden. But no amount of data will convince Trump and Republicans in Congress, who are convinced that we live in a crime-ridden hellscape, all of Biden and Harris’s making. It’s a perennial strategy for Republicans, one steeped in racism.

The “Keeping Violent Offenders Off Our Streets Act,” which the House passed on Wednesday, was but the latest example. As Ranking Member of the Judiciary Committee Jerry Nadler explained in a dissent in the committee report,

“Instead of addressing the real needs of the American
people, and leaving state law issues to the states, Republicans are poised to advance another bill that is designed only to advance false campaign rhetoric. H.R. 8205 is another baseless attempt by the Majority to engage in fearmongering and to label Democrats as ``soft on crime,’’ while ignoring their own documented red state murder problem, the mountain of data showing that crime has been steadily declining throughout the U.S. under the Biden-Harris Administration, and the data showing that bail reform policies have not contributed to increases in crime that occurred during the pandemic.”

The bill would designate the posting of money bail as the “business of insurance” and thereby impose excessive, undue burdens on these funds, with a goal of putting more money in the pockets of insurers and the corporate for-profit bail industry and forcing nonprofit bail funds to close.

Despite the strong opposition from organizations like the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the House passed the bill 255 to 161, and 44 Democrats joined the GOP to vote for it.

What’s a Next Generation Pipeline?

The House also voted 373 to 41 in support of the Next Generation Pipelines Research and Development Act, which would create a National Pipeline Modernization Center at the DOE to foster collaboration with industry on pipeline efficiency and to create a demonstration initiative and joint R&D program for such work.

The problem with the concept of a “next generation pipeline” is that there shouldn’t be a next generation of pipelines for fossil fuels. The science has long been clear that we need to leave fossil fuels in the ground and not lock in unsustainable infrastructure.

The 41 NO votes were split between 20 Republicans and 21 Democrats. Here were the 21 Democrats, for whom the NO vote would be driven by climate concerns:

Undermining Environmental Regulations

The House voted 257 to 125 for the Building Chips in America Act, which would exempt semiconductor manufacturing facilities that receive federal funding from National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) reviews.

As the Sierra Club’s deputy legislative director for industrial policy explained, “It’s going to be completely secret going forward whether facilities are using PFAS and other harmful chemicals,” if Biden signs the bill.

Nonetheless, 178 Republicans and 79 Democrats voted yes, and only 112 Democrats and 13 Republicans voted no.

Here are the 79 Democrats:

On Wednesday, the House also voted for the so-called “Fix Our Forests Act.”

The Fix Our Forests Act would, of course, not fix our forests. Instead, under the guise of wildfire prevention, it would exempt logging and a range of other “vegetation management activities” from the the National Environmental Policy Act and the Endangered Species Act. It would also prevent citizens from holding federal agencies accountable by limiting their ability to file lawsuits that would undergo review by a judge.

Environmental groups came out strongly against the bill.

Nonetheless, it passed 268 to 151, with 55 Democrats voting in favor.