INTERVIEW — SUSAN FERRECHIO – chief congressional correspondent for the Washington Examiner
TOPIC: CONGRESS IS BACK: Congressional To-Do List: FEMA Funding, Debt Ceiling and Tax Reform
>> Freedom Caucus Chair Rep. Mark Meadows: Don’t Tie Harvey Aid to Debt Ceiling. Freedom Caucus chairman Mark Meadows is a fiscal conservative, and even he doesn’t want Republicans attempting to attach Harvey aid for Texas to the debt ceiling, the North Carolina representative told The Washington Post. “The Harvey relief would pass on its own, and to use that as a vehicle to get people to vote for a debt ceiling is not appropriate,” Meadows told the Post. “We’re going to fund Harvey relief without a doubt, but I think it just sends the wrong message when you start attaching it to the debt ceiling.” Lawmakers return from summer recess next week and have until Sept. 29 to raise the debt ceiling to avoid a federal default.
>> Mnuchin: Congress must tie Harvey aid to raising debt limit. WASHINGTON (AP) — Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Sunday called on Congress to combine a $7.9 billion disaster relief package for Harvey with an increase in the nation’s borrowing limit, saying it was time to “put politics aside” so storm victims in Texas can get the help they need. “The president and I believe that it should be tied to the Harvey funding. Our first priority is to make sure that the state gets money,” he said. “It is critical, and to do that, we need to make sure we raise the debt limit.”
>> House Sets Date For Vote On Harvey Relief. (Daily Caller) — House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy announced Monday that the House will vote on an emergency funding package for Hurricane Harvey relief Wednesday morning. The short-term funding bill, which appropriates funds for disaster response, has proven politically contentious in the days following the Category 4 Hurricane. The White House requested that Congress appropriate $7.85 billion Friday to help the 436,000 people that have been forced to rely on the Federal Emergency Management Agency for aid in the days following the record flooding.
>> New Jersey Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez Trial: New Jersey Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez will be sidelined next month in facing what could be career-ending criminal trial. The third-term New Jersey senator, who recently served as the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, goes on trial in Newark on Wednesday on charges of 18 counts of fraud and bribery. Menendez is accused of taking gifts, including luxurious vacations and large campaign contributions, from a Florida ophthalmologist — a co-defendant in the case — who the senator is accused of helping with matters before the government, including disputes over Medicare reimbursements. Menendez has said he did nothing wrong, maintaining that he and the doctor are old friends and therefore the gifts are legal. He is first sitting senator to be indicted in nine years. The last was Alaska’s Republican Ted Stevens, whose conviction was eventually dropped because of prosecutorial misconduct. Menendez is not required to be in court, but if he were to skip parts of the trial, it could send a negative signal to the jury. If found guilty, Menendez’s situation presents Senate Democrats with the awkward question of whether he should be forced to resign, a situation that poses a political problem for their caucus. Any vacancy would be filled by the Republican Gov. Chris Christie and give Senate Republicans another vote in already bitterly divided chamber.
