Washington Weekly - February 1

2023 ASA Washington Legislative Fly-In:

REGISTER NOW: Don’t miss out and register here for the ASA Legislative Fly-In to take place March 28-29, 2023, in Washington, DC.

This Week:

The House and Senate are in session.  

Congress:

Debt Summit:  As President Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy are expected to meet Wednesday afternoon at the White House to discuss the budget and the debt ceiling, ahead of the President’s State of the Union address next week.  While there have some public, political exchanges ahead of the meeting (including a snarky memo from Biden Administration staff regarding House GOP budget priorities and the Speaker’s subsequent response), the House and Senate have gone to work on fiscal policy, as well as holding some of the first committee meetings of the new Congress.

The Budget: The Biden Administration is expected to submit its budget to Congress in early March.  However, as history has shown, it will not resonate with the new, Republican-majority House and Democratic-controlled Senate.  House Republicans are currently working on their own budget which will adopt many of the cuts they are seeking in return for raising the debt ceiling.  There are few details at this time as to what and how deep those budget cuts may be. 

ASA Federal Action:

DOE Letter: ASA signed comment letter with its coalition partners regarding the Department of Energy’s State-based Home Energy Efficiency Training Program.  This collaboration has resulted in a joint statement on the importance of DOE providing guidance to states, through which the program will have funds disbursed.  While the total amount of funding is $200 million nationally, states will have discretion in providing funds.  Our coalition remains steadfast in urging that the funds go to workforce training programs that will increase the number of skilled workers in the HVACR industry. 

Politics:

2024 Election Updates: California:  Even though Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D) has yet to announce her intentions for 2024, she has already drawn a substantial amount of competition in the Democratic primary. After the announcement of Rep. Katie Porter (D) that she will be a candidate for the seat, Rep. Adam Schiff (D) announced that he will be running for the seat as well.  Reps. Barbara Lee, Ro Khanna, and Eric Swalwell are also deciding about jumping into the race.  This is a unique opportunity to run for the seat that Sen. Feinstein has held since being elected in 1992.  New York: After agreeing this week to step down from his committee assignments until the investigations into his claims have concluded, it appears that Rep. George Santos (R) will not be resigning from his Long Island-area seat.  Both parties have been actively recruiting candidates to run in a special election, or later in 2024. 

President Biden Job Approval (RCP Average): 43% Approve – 53% Disapprove

Special Elections:  Democratic-held: Virginia’s 4^th District (02/21/2023).

The House currently has a composition of 222 Republicans to 212 Democrats (with 1 vacancy).  The Senate is comprised of 51 Democrats and 49 Republicans.