Debt Ceiling

On Tuesday, October 12, 2021, by a vote of 219-206, the House approved a $480 billion debt ceiling increase to avoid a breach of the nation’s borrowing limit until at least Dec. 3. On October 14, the President signed the legislation into law avoiding the economic crisis that would have stemmed from the Treasury Department failing to meet its financial obligations.

Reconciliation

This week, Speaker Pelosi said that Democrats need to decide how to cut costs in their $3.5 trillion reconciliation package “in the next few days” in order to pass the bill by the end of this month. Centrist Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) are pushing for the package to cost no more than $1.5 trillion. President Biden is encouraging both sides to compromise somewhere $1.9 trillion and $2.2 trillion. Progressives and moderates remain divided over which pieces of the President’s agenda to include. Speaker Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Schumer must decide what programs to keep and what can be discarded from the original package — free community college, subsidized childcare, expanded Medicare benefits and investments in climate programs. Central to those choices in the coming weeks will be debates about whether to eliminate programs entirely or include them for a shorter period of time. Progressives say they want to include the full menu, while moderates say that carries the risk of programs eventually being cut by Republicans. “I’m very disappointed that we’re not going with the original $3.5 trillion which was very transformative. The fact is that if there are fewer dollars to spend, there are choices to be made,“ Pelosi stated.

Other Legislation Happenings Around the Nation

Food and Drug Administration Commissioner

President Biden is likely to nominate former FDA Commissioner Robert Califf to return as the head of the agency. Califf previously served as commissioner for nearly a year in Obama’s second administration after an overwhelming vote in his favor. The White House has not finalized its decision, and officials cautioned the situation could still change. But nine months into its search for a permanent FDA chief, Califf is now viewed as the leading candidate for the job. Dr. Califf currently serves as a cardiologist at Duke Clinical Research Institute.

Abortion

Supreme Court
On October 12, 2021, the Supreme Court weighed which state officials can defend abortion bans in court — a procedural question with implications that extend beyond reproductive health in states where the governor and attorney general are from different political parties. The arguments marked the first abortion case before the court’s 6-3 conservative majority and centered on whether Republican Kentucky Attorney General Cameron could defend his state’s ban on some forms of abortion after two courts found it unconstitutional and Democratic Governor Beshear refused to defend it further.

Texas Abortion Law
A Texas law banning most abortions is still in effect, after a federal appeals court sided with Texas officials for the second time and suspended a lower court ruling that had blocked the law. A three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 on October 14, 2021, refusing a request from the U.S. Department of Justice to allow a lower court ruling blocking enforcement of the Texas “heartbeat” law to stand. The federal government is expected to appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court, which previously allowed the law to go into effect by declining to intervene at the request of Texas abortion providers.

Pills
So many states have restricted access to abortion so severely that people in the country feel they have no options if they want to terminate a pregnancy. But technically, those who want an abortion still have options. It’s just that few are aware of a pill alternative. Pregnant people in Texas, or in any other U.S. state, can visit a number of websites that will mail them two pills—mifepristone and misoprostol—that will induce a miscarriage when used in the first trimester of pregnancy and possibly even later. The so-called self-managed abortion is therefore an option at least six weeks further into a pregnancy than the controversial new Texas law’s six-week “heartbeat” cutoff for an abortion at a clinic.

Vaccine Booster Shots

On October 14, 2021, an FDA advisory panel voted 19-0 in favor of authorizing booster shots of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine to people 65 and older, those 18 to 64 with risk factors for severe Covid-19, and those whose jobs put them at high risk for serious complications of Covid-19, such as health care workers. The boosters should be given at least six months after receiving their second dose. The panel also discussed at what point boosters should be recommended to all adults over 18, saying that at this point it is far too soon to consider the matter.