Last Call For The Good Package, Con't

Both Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema are "advising" House moderates to do the dirty work of stabbing Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer in the back on the infrastructure bill, so that the two senators don't have to take the fall for killing The Good Package™.

Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) are privately advising the nine House centrist lawmakers trying to force Speaker Nancy Pelosi to hold a quick vote on the Senate-passed bipartisan infrastructure deal, lawmakers and aides tell Axios.

Why it matters: The two moderates who've stirred the biggest frustrations and held the most sway in their party over the infrastructure negotiations are helping allies in the House to stake out — and defend — their centrist position. They're offering encouragement and advice on how to negotiate with the White House and congressional leadership. 

Their behind-the-scenes support also indicates the degree to which Manchin and Sinema have prioritized getting the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure deal to final passage and in front of Biden for his signature.

The big picture: The conversations are bolstering House centrists' resolve. Since publicly demanding last Friday that Pelosi first bring the infrastructure bill to the floor before considering a larger package through a $3.5 trillion budget plan, the nine lawmakers have been subject to a combination of private scorn and public pressure. Pelosi referred to their tactics as “amateur hour” in a leadership call earlier this week, Politico reports. 

On Tuesday, the White House released a statement endorsing Pelosi’s approach, expressing “hope that every Democratic member supports this effort to advance these important legislative actions.” Pelosi quoted from that statement in a “Dear Colleague” letter she sent to reiterate her position. 

Brian Deese, director of the National Economic Council, and Louisa Terrell, the head of legislative affairs, Shuwanza Goff, the House liaison, as well as Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, have been contacting lawmakers, urging them to vote for the rule.
So far, the nine lawmakers are withstanding pressure and remain committed to their strategy.

Between the lines: Both Manchin and Sinema have longstanding relationships with some of the centrist lawmakers including members of the "Problem Solvers" who worked together on COVID-19 relief bills in 2020.

Go deeper: The nonpartisan group "No Labels" is launching a six-figure ad by on national cable to give some air cover to the nine lawmakers."This unbreakable nine is showing America that we can still do amazing things," says the ad's narrator.

 

The poor bastards don't even hear the train coming. 

 

Killing The Good Package™ is the entire point, so that furious House progressives then turn around and murder the bipartisan bill, Democrats take 100% of the blame for turning a deal in hand into a flaming dumpster fire, and Democrats lose 60+ seats in the House next year and Pelosi retires.  There are plenty of forces in Washington that want to make this happen, and not all of them are Republicans.

Nothing good is going to come from this.

Don't Make Me Turn This Airplane Around, Kids

The FAA is getting extremely serious about levying civil fines against nasty, violent airline passengers in 2021, to the tune of a cool million dollars total, more than $10,000 per incident, and Democrats in Congress and airline unions want even harsher penalties.

The Federal Aviation Administration's announcement Thursday of $531,545 in fines against 34 passengers accused of being unruly on board is the single largest announcement of federal fines since the start of a nationwide crackdown earlier this year, bringing this year's total to more than $1 million. 

Of the incidents detailed by federal investigators for the first time, nearly two-thirds involve passengers accused of violating the federal transportation-wide mask mandate, which was just extended by the Transportation Security Administration to remain in place through January 18. 

Federal documents show that nine of the 34 incidents involve a passenger accused of touching or hitting another person on the plane, including crew members. Eight passengers are accused of illegally drinking alcohol they brought on board the plane. Half of the incidents involve flights to or from vacation destinations in Florida. 

With this announcement, the FAA has now proposed fines against nearly 80 passengers after receiving nearly 3,900 reports of incidents. The FAA said on Tuesday that based on the reports, it has opened 682 investigations into possible violations of federal laws. 

House Transportation Chairman Peter DeFazio told CNN this week that he would like to see punishment that's even harsher than fines, with those accused of in-flight violence facing prison time. 

"The first time we take one of these jerks who is assaulting flight attendants or attempting to take an aircraft down -- and they go away for a few years and they get a massive fine-- I think that will send a message," the Oregon Democrat said. 

But the FAA points out it does not have the authority to file criminal charges. Instead, it proposes civil fines that the accused violators may pay or dispute. 

The largest flight attendant union, the Association of Flight Attendants, has also called for more prosecutions. 

"If you interfere with a crew member's duties and put the rest of the plane in jeopardy, or assault the crew member, you're facing $35,000 in fines for each incident and up to 20 years in prison," association President Sara Nelson told CNN. "People need to understand there are severe consequences here."

 

The biggest fine so far has been $45,000, but these incidents happen weekly. I have to agree with Rep. DeFazio and the union: the first time one of these assholes ends up facing a decade in federal prison or so, the number of incidents will drop like a rock.

Make it happen, guys.

The Vax Of Life, Con't

Two for one in today's edition of recent COVID-19 news, first, President Biden announced on Wednesday that nursing homes and other elder care facilities that cannot prove employees are vaccinated will lose Medicare/Medicaid eligibility, along with other policies that will be taking effect at the federal level.

Biden said he is directing the Department of Health and Human Services to draw up new regulations making employee vaccination a condition for nursing homes to participate in Medicare and Medicaid. The decision on nursing home staff represents a significant escalation in Biden's campaign to get Americans vaccinated and the tools he is willing to use, marking the first time he has threatened to withhold federal funds in order to get people vaccinated. 

"Now, if you visit, live or work at a nursing home, you should not be at a high risk of contracting Covid from unvaccinated employees. While I'm mindful that my authority at the federal government is limited, I'm going to continue to look for ways to keep people safe and increase vaccination rates," the President said during a speech at the White House. 

Additionally, the President announced that he is directing Education Secretary Miguel Cardona to use "all of his oversight authorities and legal action, if appropriate, against governors who are trying to block and intimidate local school officials and educators" who want children to wear masks in the classroom. 

The President indicated that American Rescue Plan funds can be used to pay educators who have their paycheck cut by local and state governments if their schools implement mask mandates. 

The new actions announced by the President Wednesday afternoon come the same day the Biden administration said it would roll out a plan to provide booster shots to American adults beginning this fall.

 

Meanwhile in Florida, the state's largest school district, Miami-Dade County, is defying GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis's order against mask mandates and will order schools to enforce them for all students and staff.

The school board in Miami-Dade County voted to approve a face mask mandate that will be in place when the new school year begins next week.

The board voted 7-1 in a meeting Wednesday, creating a similar policy to the one in Broward County designed to protect students and faculty against COVID-19.

The policy allows for a medical exemption but defies Gov. Ron DeSantis’ order against mask mandates. It is DeSantis’ position, and that of the state board of education, that parents should have the choice whether their children wear masks at school.

Lubby Navarro was the only Miami-Dade school board member to vote against the mandate. Board member Christi Fraga was not present.

Public school starts Monday in the largest school district in Florida.

 

This effectively means all of Florida's largest school systems have now called DeSantis's bluff on cutting education funding. We'll see if he follows through.