The Tap: Wednesday, September 28, 2016

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The Tap covered election news, public policy, and other noteworthy events from February 2016 to February 2022.

Review of the day

The excerpts below were compiled from issue #36 of The Tap, which was published on October 1, 2016. READ THE FULL VERSION HERE.

Federal

• Former U.S. Sen. John Warner (R-Va.) endorsed Hillary Clinton, joining Clinton and Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine onstage at a campaign event in Alexandria, Virginia. "There comes a time when I have to stand up and assert my own views,” he said. “If there’s one thing about candidate Clinton that you’ve got to understand, she throughout her whole life has been prepared, done her homework and studied.” Warner added that the first presidential debate “reinforced” his decision.
  • See also: Republicans and their declared positions on Donald Trump

• At a congressional oversight hearing, FBI Director James Comey said that the agency did not plan to reopen an investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server while secretary of state. He also said that there were no political motivations behind the decision. "You can call us wrong, but don't call us weasels. We are not weasels," he said.

• “I guess I’m having an Aleppo moment in the former president of Mexico,” said Gary Johnson when asked by MSNBC’s Chris Matthews to “name one foreign leader that you respect and look up to.” Matthews followed up by asking “Well, which one?” Johnson then said, “I’m having a brain freeze.” Johnson’s campaign manager, Ron Nielson, defended the candidate in a Facebook post, saying, “The Clinton and Trump supporters are at it again. This is gotcha-ism at its finest. … Yes, asked to name a favorite foreign leader, Gov. Johnson didn’t quickly name a specific favorite. That really doesn’t mean much. Most Americans and certainly most political candidates would have to stop and think before responding, with the possible exception of a Donald Trump who is enthralled by Putin.” The “Aleppo moment” that Johnson mentioned comes from another interview with MSNBC earlier in September. Asked how he would deal with the refugee crisis in the Syrian city of Aleppo, Johnson responded, “What is Aleppo?”
  • See also: Gary Johnson on foreign affairs

• Secretary of Defense Ash Carter announced that more than 600 American troops will be deployed in preparation for the effort to retake the city of Mosul from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, also known as ISIL/ISIS. Americans will serve in an advisory role assisting the Iraqis with logistics, maintenance, and training. Carter said, “The coalition to defeat ISIL continues to achieve results on the battlefield, and I congratulate Iraqi security forces on their recent progress, including the operation to free Sharqat. The coalition will continue to increase the pressure on ISIL in Mosul and wherever it seeks refuge in Iraq.” According to the Department of Defense, “The addition of more than 600 additional troops in the coming weeks will bring the force management level to 5,262 U.S. troops as of today.”

• In response to a lawsuit brought by VICE News, the State Department announced that it would release 1,850 pages of emails recovered by the FBI during its investigation into Hillary Clinton’s private email server before the general election. Some of the emails, which must be published by November 3, are expected to either be duplicative of previously released emails or heavily redacted.

• Politico reported that the Clinton campaign is worried there is an enthusiasm gap among black voters in Florida. “Obama enjoyed support from 95 percent of Florida’s black voters in both 2012 and 2008, according to exit polls. Clinton isn’t polling quite that well in a state that has nearly 1.7 million black voters. An average of the last three Florida polls that provided racial breakdowns shows she’s polling less than 85 percent among African-American voters in Florida, while Trump polls around 5 percent. It’s not just Clinton’s margins with black voters that concerns Democrats. It’s whether African-American voters turn out in force for her in a pivotal state whose 29 electoral votes” could determine the election, Politico noted.

• Politico announced potential candidates that Donald Trump may pick to lead the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The most famous of these candidates is Harold Hamm, an energy tycoon who has been advising the Trump campaign on energy issues for several months. Hamm is a potential pick to lead the Department of Energy. Stephen Moore from the Heritage Foundation also has been discussed as a potential secretary of the Department of Energy. Kathleen Hartnett White from the Texas Public Policy Foundation is a potential nominee to lead the EPA. White led the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality for six years.

Congressional legislation

• Veto override: The Senate voted 97-1 to override President Barack Obama's veto of S 2040—the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA). Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) cast the only vote against overriding the veto. The House voted 348-77 to override the veto, effectively making JASTA law. It was the first veto override of Obama's presidency. JASTA allows victims of terror attacks to sue countries that support terrorism, even if the country is not on a designated list of state sponsors of terrorism. The legislation specifically allows the victims of the 9/11 terror attacks to sue Saudi Arabia.
  • See also: Barack Obama: Vetoed legislation

• Continuing resolution to fund the government: The Senate passed a continuing resolution (CR) to fund the government until December 9, 2016, by a vote of 72-26. The House then passed the CR by a vote of 342-85. The CR funds federal agencies until December 9. It also includes funding to fight the Zika virus; to help residents in Louisiana, West Virginia, and Maryland recover from recent floods; and to address opioid addiction.

• Key vote: The House passed HR 5303—the Water Resources Development Act of 2016 (WRDA)—by a vote of 399-25, voting to allocate approximately $5 billion to water infrastructure programs and water conservation programs. The House bill contains fewer funds for water projects than the U.S. Senate bill, which was passed earlier in September and would provide $10.6 billion for water infrastructure projects.

• • Key vote: The House approved an amendment to the WRDA that allocates $170 million in funding to Flint, Michigan, and other cities with contaminated drinking water by a vote of 284-141. Although the Senate version of the WRDA included funding for Flint, the original House version did not.

• Key vote: The House passed HR 6094—the Regulatory Relief for Small Businesses, Schools, and Nonprofits Act—by a vote of 246-177. The bill proposes delaying for six months the Obama administration’s overtime rule from taking effect. The rule would make anyone earning up to $47,476 a year, eligible for overtime pay.
  • Veto threat: President Barack Obama has threatened to veto the bill, saying in a statement that while the legislation “seeks to delay implementation, the real goal is clear — delay and then deny overtime pay to workers.”

State

• Vermont received preliminary approval from the federal government on its waiver request to implement an all-payer rate-setting program for healthcare providers in the state. All-payer rate programs require all third-party payers, such as private insurers, Medicaid, and Medicare, to reimburse providers at similar rates determined by the state. If finalized, Vermont’s program would begin on January 1, 2017, and would scrap fee-for-service reimbursement, replacing it with global payments, which are lump sums intended to cover all of the services provided to patients. Vermont says this system would reduce healthcare costs while improving the quality of care. Only one other state, Maryland, has an all-payer reimbursement system, but the program only applies to hospitals.

Local

• Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette (R) issued an opinion that Detroit schools with poor academic performance can be shut down by the state as early as this school year. This ruling contrasted with an earlier opinion supported by Gov. Rick Snyder (R) that state law requires a notice of three years to close schools. Schuette concluded that the creation of the new Detroit Public Schools Community District does not protect low-performing schools. The new district was created in July 2016 to oversee schools while the old district, Detroit Public Schools, became a revenue-collection entity to pay down the system's debt.
  • The Detroit Public Schools Community District will hold elections this year to trim the old board from 11 to seven members. A total of 63 candidates filed to run for those seats on November 8, 2016. Detroit Public Schools was the largest school district in the state in the 2013–2014 school year and served 49,043 students.
• In North Carolina, Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts (D) requested that state lawmakers hold a special session to repeal House Bill 972. The bill, signed in July 2016, made police cam footage off limits to the public by removing it from the public record. The mayor’s request comes after days of protest following the shooting of Keith Lamont Scott by police. Senate Republican Leader Phil Berger has called on the mayor to release the videos of the shooting while the ACLU has requested both the release of the videos and the repeal of HB 972. Charlotte is the 16th-largest city in the country by population, and the largest in North Carolina.
• In Oregon, Portland Mayor Charlie Hales (D) announced that he would delay a city council vote to ratify a new four-year contract with the Portland Police Association for at least one week. Many protestors and those speaking at a meeting at city hall asked the mayor to move more slowly with the process to make sure the city got the best deal possible. The current proposal would give officers a 3 percent raise annually for the next three years. As part of the deal, the association would give up a 48-hour waiting period before officers could be questioned by internal affairs over police-involved shootings and drop 11 grievances against the city while settling one.
  • Portland will hold a general election for one position on the city commission on November 8, 2016. The mayoral election and another city commission race were decided in the May primary election. Portland is the 29th-largest city in the country by population and the largest in Oregon.

Preview of the day

The excerpts below were compiled from issue #35 of The Tap, which was published on September 24, 2016. READ THE FULL VERSION HERE.

State

• Texas state Rep. Laura Thompson (I-120) is expected in district court over a ballot dispute. Currently, the District 120 race in the November general election will be between Thompson and Democrat Barbara Gervin-Hawkins. Bexar County Democrats are suing to remove Thompson from the ballot for failing to collect enough valid signatures. Party Chairman Manuel Medina said that Thompson only had 482 valid signatures, which is short of the 500 required by state law. State officials declared in July 2016 that Thompson did not have enough valid signatures, but that was reversed on September 8 after Thompson appealed the ruling. Thompson was first elected to District 120 in a special election on August 2.