Washington Weekly - August 17, 2022

Upcoming Washington Event:

ASA Government Affairs is excited to announce that we are in the planning stages for an upcoming Legislative Fly-In to take place in March 2023. More details to come!

This Week:

• The House and Senate are in recess. 

Congress:

IRA 2022: On Wednesday, President Biden signed the $737 billion Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. The legislation will invest $437 billion in green energy initiatives, provide a three year extension of Obamacare premiums, allow Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices, and allocate $300 billion for deficit reduction.

Budget: As the current FY2022 budget expires on September 30th, it has been widely expected that there will be a Continuing Resolution (CR) that will hold spending at current levels until after the election (or even into early next year) after a new Congress is sworn in.

• • This week, the conservative House Freedom Caucus encouraged Senate Minority Leader Mitch Mc Connell (R-KY) and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy to “reject a lame duck omnibus” and hold out on passing any 2023 spending plan until the 118th Congress.
  • Congressional Republicans anticipate that their party will capture one or both houses of Congress and will be better positioned to change funding strategy. Will this be enough to derail the expected plan in an election year? Stay tuned.

Politics:

On Tuesday, two of the least populated states in the country held some of the most closely watched primary contests this cycle:

Alaska: The Last Frontier saw two federal races that received immense national attention, under a new ranked choice voting system, within a new all-party primary structure.

• • First, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (as of this writing) is leading her Trump-endorsed opponent, Kelly Tshibaka 44%-40% with 68% counted. Sen. Murkowski was one of the few Senators to vote for former President Trump’s impeachment. Tshibaka, along with the Trump endorsement, has highlighted that a Murkowski has held the seat since 1981 (Sen. Murkowski’s father, Frank, held the seat until he was elected Governor in 2002 and appointed his daughter to the vacancy).
  • Next, Alaska’s At-Large congressional district is holding both a special general election and a district primary to fill the vacant seat of the late Rep. Don Young (R). In the special general, Democrat Mary Peltola is leading with 38%, former Gov. Sarah Palin is following with 32% and Republican Nick Begich (who’s namesake grandfather held the seat as a Democrat, prior to his defeat by Don Young) is in third with 29%. In the district primary, Pelota leads with 35%, Palin with 31%, and Begich with 27%.
  • Keep in mind that the final vote tally may not be ready until August 31st, when final ballots are in and the ranked choice voting system calculations are processed. While it appears that the Democrat is in the lead, Republicans outnumbered Democrats almost 2-to-1 in these races and are expected to emerge victorious.

Wyoming: In a race that garnered international attention, Rep. Liz Cheney (R), the former #3 in House Republican leadership, January 6th Committee member and daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney was soundly defeated by her Trump-backed challenger, Harriet Hageman 66%-29% in the GOP Primary in the At-Large district.

• • Rep. Cheney was one of ten Republicans in the House to vote for former President Trump’s impeachment after January 6th. Of those, eight have lost their primaries or chose retirement.

Generic Congressional Ballot (RCP Average): Republicans +0.1

President Biden Job Approval (RCP Average): 40% Approve – 56% Disapprove

Retirement Tracker:  Senate: (1 D, 5 R); House: (33 D, 22 R). 

Special Elections: Republican-held: New York’s 23^rd (08/23/2022), Indiana’s 2^nd (11/08/2022).  Democratic-held: New York’s 19^th (08/23/2022).

• The House now has a composition of 220 Democrats to 211 Republicans (with 4 vacancies).  The Senate is comprised of 50 Democrats and 50 Republicans – with Democrats controlling the chamber as the Vice President also serves as the President of the Senate. 

State Legislation Tracking

• Please visit our web-based state legislative tracker here.