Inviting Finland and Sweden to join NATO: The Senate reconvened today at 12:00 pm to consider the Protocols to the North Atlantic Treaty of 1949 on the Accession of the Republic of Finland and the Kingdom of Sweden, Treaty Document 117-3. This is part of the formal process of inviting Finland and Sweden to join NATO in accordance with Article 10 of the treaty. You can read the background here. The Senate is expected to hold up to three votes beginning around 4:30 pm. The first vote will be on an amendment offered by Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK). The amendment states that all NATO members should spend 2 percent of GDP on defense. The second vote will be on an amendment offered by Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY). The amendment states that Article 5 of the treaty, which stipulates that an attack on one NATO member is an attack on all members, doesn’t supersede the power of Congress to declare war in Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution. The final vote in the series will be on the passage of Treaty Document 117-3. Although this is expected to pass overwhelmingly, a handful of senators may vote against it, most notably Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), who has already declared his opposition.
Senate passes the Honoring Our Pact Act: Days after the Senate rejected the cloture motion on the Honoring Our Pact Act, S. 3373, over transitioning spending from mandatory to discretionary, an agreement was reached on an amendment process. The Senate considered amendments offered by Sens. Paul, Pat Toomey (R-PA), and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN). Each of these amendments was rejected by the Senate. You can see the votes here (Paul), here (Toomey), and here (Blackburn). Following the votes on amendments, the Senate passed the Honoring Our Pact Act passed by a vote of 86 to 11. The bill now heads to President Biden.
Everybody’s working through the weekend…probably: The Senate took the first step toward considering the agreement reached between Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Joe Manchin (D-WV) yesterday when the Senate formally received the vehicle, H.R. 5376, for the Inflation Reduction Act. The bill was immediately placed on the legislative calendar under Rule XIV. Schumer wants the begin consideration tomorrow, but the parliamentarian hasn’t finished the Byrd bath. It’s possible, if not likely, that the Senate will finish this process on the floor through points of order that may be raised. The parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough, would determine whether the provision in question violates the Byrd rule, which is found in 2 U.S.C. §644(b)(1)(A). The norm is the presiding officer adheres to the parliamentarian’s ruling. It takes 60 votes to override the ruling. Democrats don’t have the votes needed to do that. Now, the parliamentarian has no real power. Ultimately, the presiding officer can disagree with the parliamentarian, but this would be a serious departure from the norm. Republicans wouldn’t have the votes to stop it.
Sinema is staying quiet: Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) has said that the wants the parliamentarian to finish the Byrd bath before indicating where she is on the Inflation Reduction Act. She has privately discussed tax provisions that have been an issue for her in the past. Schumer may be flying blind if he moves forward without knowing where Sinema is. Keep in mind that it’s not only Sinema’s vote on final passage that matters. Her vote on amendments will also matter, and Republicans are preparing for vote-a-rama. The next few days are going to be really interesting.
Keeping an eye on the House schedule: The rumor is that the House will come back next week if the Senate finishes the Inflation Reduction Act. Members will have 24 hours’ notice of a scheduled vote.
Due Process Institute is a bipartisan nonprofit that works to honor, preserve, and restore principles of fairness in the criminal legal system. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.