The Senate convened at 10:00 A.M. and just passed H.R.3967, Honoring our PACT Act, as amended. The legislation would help millions of veterans who were exposed to toxic burn pits during their military service. A wide bipartisan majority approved the long-awaited bill by a vote of 84-14 and it will now go to the House of Representatives, where House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) has pledged to move quickly and send it to President Joe Biden’s desk for his signature. The bill is an amended version of the Honoring Our PACT Act that passed the House earlier this year. In addition to expanding VA care eligibility to post-9/11 veterans, the bill creates a framework for the VA to establish presumptive service connections related to toxic exposures. It also adds 23 burn pit and toxic exposure-related conditions to the agency’s list of service presumptive service connections. The legislation also expands presumptions related to Agent Orange — used largely during the Vietnam War — to veterans who served in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Guam, among other places.
The Senate is also expected to consider Ana Isabel de Alba to be United States District Judge for the Eastern District of California and Mary T. Boyle to be a Commissioner of the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
The House convened at 9:00 A.M. and just passed H.R. 7606 – Lower Food and Fuel Costs Act. The omnibus appropriations bill is aimed at addressing spiraling fuel costs by further expanding the availability of higher-ethanol fuel blends and contains a number of separate agriculture provisions aimed at addressing food costs and supply chain issues. On the energy side, it would remove summertime restrictions on the sale of a 15 percent ethanol blend, a policy similar to provisions included in an executive order signed by President Joe Biden earlier this spring. It would also appropriate $200 million to expand biofuel infrastructure and equipment. The measure passed the chamber 221-204 in a largely party-line vote, with five Democrats voting against it and seven Republicans in favor.
This afternoon, the House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the Capitol will hold its next hearing at 1 p.m. focusing on how former President Donald John Trump pressured then-Vice President Mike Pence not to count lawful electoral votes. In a video previewing the hearing, Vice Chairman Liz Cheney, (R-Wyoming) said Thursday’s hearing would present Trump’s “relentless effort” to stop the votes from getting counted. Thursday’s hearing comes after the panel postponed Wednesday’s scheduled hearing due to “technical issues,” according to committee member Representative Zoe Lofgren (D-California). That session would have focused on Trump’s plan to fire former Attorney General Bill Barr. Barr resigned effective December 23, 2020 after disagreeing with the former president’s false claims of voter fraud.
Adam S. Olsen, Washington, D.C.
