Senate Democrats passed a $740 billion reconciliation package on Sunday that includes provisions that increase taxes on large corporations, address climate change and lower prescription drug costs.
Why it matters: The bill, though much smaller and less ambitious than what many Democrats wanted, has cleared its tallest hurdle and is expected to pass the House before heading to President Biden’s desk for his signature.
Taxes:
The bill puts a 15% minimum tax on corporations that earn more than $1 billion in annual profits, which is projected to raise at least $258 billion over the next 10 years.
It allocates $80 billion of additional funding over ten years for the IRS to in part hire additional staff members and strengthen tax collection and enforcement on corporations and high-income earners.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the new IRS investment could raise $203 billion in new revenue over the next decade, resulting in a net gain of $124 billion.
It does not include new taxes on families making $400,000 or less and no new taxes on small businesses.
Health care:
The bill increases health care spending by $98 billion, primarily by extending enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies create through the American Rescue Plan for an additional three years.
It allows Medicare to negotiate the prices of certain drugs and puts a $2,000 cap on out-of-pocket prescription drug costs for people.
It originally contained a provision that would have capped out-of-pocket spending on insulin for patients enrolled in private insurance to $35, though it was blocked by Senate Republicans who argued that it violated the rules of reconciliation.
Climate:
The bill invests roughly $370 billion into initiatives to promote clean energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, likely becoming the most important climate bill in US history.
It gives tax credits to clean energy technologies, like existing nuclear power plants and advanced nuclear technologies, clean hydrogen, carbon capture and storage as well as wind and solar power.
It gives buyers who purchase North American-built electric vehicles up to $7,500 in federal tax credits to encourage the adoption of electric vehicles while jump-starting America’s electric vehicle industry.
It creates a methane fee program to fine corporations that emit the powerful greenhouse gas above federal limits.
Democrats have said the bill’s climate provisions put the US on a path to reduce its carbon emissions by up to 40% based on 2005 levels by 2030.
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) was caught on a hot mic snapping “Come on, Bernie” early Sunday as tensions flared on the Senate floor over Vermont Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders’ bid to replenish the child tax credit.
Sanders offered the amendment, which would have raised the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%, during the “vote-a-rama” session where Democrats pushed to pass their massive tax, health care and climate bill, dubbed the “Inflation Reduction Act.”
“This is the wealthiest nation on Earth, we should not have the highest rate of childhood poverty of almost any country,” Sanders said in remarks from the floor.
Sanders’ move to push for the tax credit of $300 per month for the next five years after it lapsed near the end of 2021, drew pushback from Democrats he caucuses with, who noted they couldn’t support it as they focused on pushing through the full bill, which later passed 51-50, with Vice President Kamala Harris casting the tie-breaking vote.
“We know that this is a fragile arrangement, and we’ve got to pass it — as much as I’d like to do [a corporate tax increase],” Brown said.
His time elapsed but he was caught saying “Come on, Bernie!” on his mic from him, according to Mediaite.
Sen. Sherrod Brown was caught on a hot mic mocking Sen. Bernie Sanders’ bid to replenish the child tax credit.Tom Williams/Pool via AP
Sen. Michael Bennet, of Colorado, also said voting with Sanders “could lose the underlying bill.”
The amendment failed 1-97, with only Sanders backing it.
Brown and Bennet both have long advocated putting the tax credit back in place, but rebuffed Sanders’ appeal because they said it threatened the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, according to The Hill.
Sanders was pushing his colleagues to raise the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%.AP/Manuel Balce Ceneta
The child tax credit was included in the American Rescue Plan passed last year.
Other amendments proposed by Sanders were also overwhelmingly rejected, including greatly expanding the bill’s number of prescription drugs eligible for price negotiation under Medicare for the elderly and widening Medicare coverage for eyeglasses, hearing aids and dental care.
Sanders was less than thrilled with the overall substance of the bill.
BERNIE SANDERS on the “so-called Inflation Reduction Act”:
“According to the CBO and other economic organizations that have studied this bill, it will, in fact, have a minimal impact on inflation.” pic.twitter.com/gE9H2cJIgg
“I want to take a moment to say a few words about the so-called ‘Inflation Reduction Act’ that we are debating this evening,” Sanders said Saturday night. “And I say ‘so-called’ by the way because according to the (Congressional Budget Office) and other economic organizations that have studied the bill it will have a minimal impact on inflation.”
Debate on the $433 billion legislation opened Saturday when Harris broke a tiebreaker in the Senate chambers, clearing a hurdle for the Senate to pass the bill and send it to the House for a vote.
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) was caught on a hot mic snapping “Come on, Bernie” early Sunday as tensions flared on the Senate floor over Vermont Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders’ bid to replenish the child tax credit.
Sanders offered the amendment, which would have raised the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%, during the “vote-a-rama” session where Democrats pushed to pass their massive tax, health care and climate bill, dubbed the “Inflation Reduction Act.”
“This is the wealthiest nation on Earth, we should not have the highest rate of childhood poverty of almost any country,” Sanders said in remarks from the floor.
Sanders’ move to push for the tax credit of $300 per month for the next five years after it lapsed near the end of 2021, drew pushback from Democrats he caucuses with, who noted they couldn’t support it as they focused on pushing through the full bill, which later passed 51-50, with Vice President Kamala Harris casting the tie-breaking vote.
“We know that this is a fragile arrangement, and we’ve got to pass it — as much as I’d like to do [a corporate tax increase],” Brown said.
His time elapsed but he was caught saying “Come on, Bernie!” on his mic from him, according to Mediaite.
Sen. Sherrod Brown was caught on a hot mic mocking Sen. Bernie Sanders’ bid to replenish the child tax credit.Tom Williams/Pool via AP
Sen. Michael Bennet, of Colorado, also said voting with Sanders “could lose the underlying bill.”
The amendment failed 1-97, with only Sanders backing it.
Brown and Bennet both have long advocated putting the tax credit back in place, but rebuffed Sanders’ appeal because they said it threatened the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, according to The Hill.
Sanders was pushing his colleagues to raise the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%.AP/Manuel Balce Ceneta
The child tax credit was included in the American Rescue Plan passed last year.
Other amendments proposed by Sanders were also overwhelmingly rejected, including greatly expanding the bill’s number of prescription drugs eligible for price negotiation under Medicare for the elderly and widening Medicare coverage for eyeglasses, hearing aids and dental care.
Sanders was less than thrilled with the overall substance of the bill.
BERNIE SANDERS on the “so-called Inflation Reduction Act”:
“According to the CBO and other economic organizations that have studied this bill, it will, in fact, have a minimal impact on inflation.” pic.twitter.com/gE9H2cJIgg
“I want to take a moment to say a few words about the so-called ‘Inflation Reduction Act’ that we are debating this evening,” Sanders said Saturday night. “And I say ‘so-called’ by the way because according to the (Congressional Budget Office) and other economic organizations that have studied the bill it will have a minimal impact on inflation.”
Debate on the $433 billion legislation opened Saturday when Harris broke a tiebreaker in the Senate chambers, clearing a hurdle for the Senate to pass the bill and send it to the House for a vote.
Senate Democrats are embracing a “Don’t Test, Don’t Tell” policy this weekend as they try to ram a $764 billion spending bill through the 50-50 chamber — knowing that even one COVID-19 positive could blow up their plans.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has set a Saturday test vote for the so-called Inflation Reduction Act, which needs all 50 Democrats on board so Vice President Kamala Harris can cast a tiebreaking vote in its favor.
“They’re not going to delay it if a member has gotten COVID,” a senior Senate aide told Puck News. “Counterparts are saying they’re not going to test anymore. It’s not an official mandate but we all know we’re not letting COVID get in the way. The deal is happening. Less testing, just wear masks and get it done.”
Another source told the outlet that even if a senator did catch the virus, “you can bring your ventilator and still vote.”
Unlike the House, the Senate does not allow proxy voting, meaning members who cannot make it to the floor due to illness are out of luck.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer set a test vote on Saturday for the Inflation Reduction Act.AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib
Earlier in the week – before moderate Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) got on board with Schumer and Sen. Joe Manchin’s (D-WV) climate and energy plan – the Democratic leader insisted his party was “going to stay healthy” ahead of a potential vote.
“We’re not talking about a plan B,” Schumer said at the time.
Concerns about having all 50 Democrats and Democrat-voting Independents present on the Senate floor have grown in recent weeks, as several senators have tested positive for COVID or been absent for other health reasons.
In late June, Senate President Pro Tempore Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) fell in his Virginia home and broke his hip – keeping him out of Washington until this week. He ultimately underwent two surgeries.
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema agreed to a compromise for the spending plan — likely giving Democrats 50 votes for the bill in the Senate.AP Photo/J. Scott ApplewhiteFile
Just a week before, Republican Sen. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota seriously injured his hand during a yard work incident.
In early July, Schumer and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) tested positive for COVID-19, both reporting mild symptoms. Days later, Manchin and Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska also reported positive tests.
Ironically, Schumer accused Senate Republicans of not taking COVID-19 seriously in the fall of 2020, when a spate of positive tests threatened to derail the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett.
“Every Senator and relevant staff must have negative tests on two consecutive days and have completed the appropriate quarantining period, and there should be mandatory testing every day of the [confirmation] hearing,” Schumer said in a statement on Oct. 5 of that year. “Testing must be administered by an independent entity, such as the Attending Physician of the United States Congress. Failure to implement a thorough testing approach would be intentionally reckless, and could reasonably lead some wonder if Chairman [Lindsey] Graham and Leader [Mitch] McConnell may not want to know the results.”
If the bill clears the planned Saturday test vote, a series of debates and votes on Republican amendments is expected to follow before a potential vote on final passage sometime Sunday. The legislation would then go to the House.
Sinema agreed to support the measure on Thursday after a provision taxing profits earned by hedge fund, venture capital and private equity executives known as carried interest was removed. In exchange, a 1% tax on corporate stock buybacks was added.
Despite its name, several economic experts — and even the White House — have suggested the Inflation Reduction Act would have little impact on the historic price spikes being felt across the country.
Allegations that biased FBI agents shielded first are Hunter Biden from criminal investigations are “deeply troubling,” FBI Director Christopher Wray was forced to admit Thursday under grilling from Republican senators — before cutting the Q&A short by claiming he needed to catch a flight.
The top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) noted that Wray wasn’t flying commercial and pleaded in vain for the FBI chief to reschedule the departure of his government jet.
But before leaving, Wray was pressed by Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) about whistleblower claims against Tim Thibault, assistant special agent in charge of the FBI’s DC field office, and FBI supervisory intelligence analyst Brian Auten.
Kennedy confronted Wray with allegations against the two FBI workers that Grassley revealed last month.
FBI Director Christopher Wray testifies during a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee at the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill Aug. 4, 2022.Getty Images
“Isn’t it true that Mr. Thibault — Agent Thibault, excuse me — and [Auten] covered up derogatory information about Mr. Hunter Biden while working for the FBI?” Kennedy asked Wray point-blank Thursday.
“I want to be very careful not to interfere with ongoing personnel matters,” Wray replied. “I should say that when I read the letter that describes the kinds of things that you’re talking about, I found it deeply troubling.”
Wray was questioned about alleged bias in agents’ probing of Hunter Biden.
Kennedy also cited to Wray a variety of Thibault’s social media barbs against Republicans, which resembled the anti-GOP attacks by FBI employees Peter Strzok and Lisa Page during the bureau’s investigation of possible Russian collusion with Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.
Grassley’s July letter to Wray said Auten and Thibault allegedly were involved in “a scheme” to “undermine derogatory information connected to Hunter Biden by falsely suggesting it was disinformation.”
Auten “opened an assessment which was used by an FBI Headquarters (‘FBI HQ’) team to improperly discredit negative Hunter Biden information as disinformation and caused investigative activity to cease,” Grassley wrote.
“[V]erified and verifiable derogatory information on Hunter Biden was falsely labeled as disinformation,” Grassley wrote, citing unnamed whistleblowers.
Thibault, meanwhile, allegedly tried to kill off a valid avenue of investigation of possible Hunter Biden criminality.
GOP Sen. John Kennedy questioned Wray during the hearing at the Capitol Thursday.AP
“In October 2020, an avenue of additional derogatory Hunter Biden reporting was ordered closed at the direction of ASAC Thibault… [when] all of the reporting was either verified or verifiable via criminal search warrants,” Grassley wrote.
“Thibault allegedly ordered the matter closed without providing a valid reason as required by FBI guidelines…. [and] subsequently attempted to improperly mark the matter in FBI systems so that it could not be opened in the future.”
Kennedy on Thursday cited some of Thibault’s social media messages and asked the FBI director, “Do you know how this looks to the American people?”
“I will tell you that what you’re describing is not representative of the FBI … where I see patriots working their tails off with tremendous integrity and objectivity,” Wray said.
Kennedy asked Wray to confirm whether or not Thibault was involved in the ongoing investigation of Hunter Biden for possible tax fraud, unregistered foreign lobbying and money laundering — but Wray wouldn’t directly answer.
“Did he or does he work on the FBI investigation of Mr. Hunter Biden?” Kennedy asked.
“The investigation that you’re referring to is going to — and I need to be a little bit careful because we’re talking about an ongoing investigation — is being run out of our Baltimore field office, working with the Delaware US attorney who’s a holdover from the prior administration,” Wray tried to deflect.
Sen. Chuck Grassley’s letter to Wray last month concerning conduct by FBI agents was discussed during the Thursday hearing. AP
Kennedy followed up, “So I’m confused, Chris, with your answer. Did he work, or does he work on the Hunter Biden investigation?”
Wray again avoided a direct answer, saying, “As I said, that the Hunter Biden investigation is being run out of the Baltimore field office.”
Thibault’s alleged social media activity included a retweet of a Lincoln Project message that called Donald Trump a “psychologically broken, embittered and deeply unhappy man” and tweet saying that he wanted to “give Kentucky to the Russian Federation.”
Hunter Biden recently cut the IRS to check for about $2 million in an acknowledgment that he failed to pay taxes on a windfall of foreign income. The funds reportedly were provided by Hollywood lawyer Kevin Morris, but it’s unclear what strings are attached and the repayment doesn’t prevent prosecution.
The first son’s overseas dealings gained significant attention this year when the Washington Post and New York Times in March belatedly verified documents from a former Hunter Biden laptop that were first reported by The Post in October 2020.
Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, was discussed during the Senate Judiciary hearing Thursday. AP
Joe Biden’s involvement in his son’s business deals generally is murky and they continue to present conflicts of interest for the president.
Emails from Hunter Biden’s laptop indicate that his father, then vice president, attended a 2015 DC dinner with a group of his son’s associates from Ukraine, Russia and Kazakhstan. A photo depicts Joe Biden posing with the Kazakhstani group and one day after dinner, Vadym Pozharskyi, an executive at Ukrainian gas company Burisma, emailed the then-second son to thank him for the opportunity to meet his father. Hunter Biden earned a reported $1 million per year to serve on Burisma’s board while his father led the Obama administration’s Ukraine policy.
Russian billionaire Yelena Baturina, an alleged attendee of the 2015 dinner and the widow of a former mayor of Moscow, has not faced US sanctions this year in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, despite Biden sanctioning many other members of Russia’s elite.
In China, Joe Biden allegedly was involved with his son’s dealings with CEFC China Energy, which the Washington Post reported paid Hunter Biden and his uncle Jim Biden $4.8 million in 2017 and 2018. Former Hunter Biden business partner Tony Bobulinski says that he spoke with Joe Biden in May 2017 about the deal and a May 13, 2017, email says that the “big guy” would get a 10 percent equity stake in a corporate entity established with CEFC. Bobulinski alleges that the president was the “big guy.”
Also in China, Hunter Biden cofounded an investment firm called BHR Partners in 2013 less than two weeks after flying with his father to Beijing aboard Air Force Two. Hunter introduced Joe Biden to BHR CEO Jonathan Li in the lobby of a hotel in China’s capital. The fund is controlled in part by state-owned entities. Hunter Biden’s attorney Chris Clark said less than a week after President Biden’s November summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping that the first son divested his 10% stake in BHR Partners, but Hunter Biden and the White House provided no further details and online business records indicate that Hunter Biden still owns the 10% stake.
Five former Treasury secretaries — including Hank Paulson, who served under President George W. Bush — signed a statement strongly backing the “Inflation Reduction Act” brokered by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Joe Manchin (DW.Va.).
Why it matters: The bipartisan support will help the White House and Democrats push back against the Republican contention that millions of Americans who make under $400,000 a year would see their taxes rise.
The others who signed on are Robert Rubin and Larry Summers (President Clinton), Tim Geithner and Jacob Lew (President Obama).
Senate votes are expected to begin later this week on the health, climate and tax plan.
“As former Treasury Secretaries of both Democratic and Republican Administrations,” the statement says, “we support the Inflation Reduction Act which is financed by prudent tax policy that will collect more from top-earners and large corporations.
“Taxes due or paid will not increase for any family making less than $400,000/year. And the extra taxes levied on corporations do not reflect increases in the corporate tax rate, but rather the reclaiming of revenue lost to tax avoidance and provisions benefitting the most tributary.
The selective presentation by some of the distributional effects of this bill neglects benefits to middle-class families from reducing deficits, from bringing down prescription drug prices, and from more affordable energy. This legislation will help increase American competitiveness, address our climate crisis, lower costs for families, and fight inflation — and should be passed immediately by Congress.”
A bill to restore territory rights has passed in the House of Representatives this morning, edging the ACT and Northern Territory closer to being able to set their own laws on voluntary assisted dying.
Key points:
The House of Representatives has passed legislation repealing a ban on the territories introducing euthanasia laws
If passed in the Senate, the bill will give the territories the right to vote on the issue themselves
The ban has been in place for 25 years and makes the ACT and NT the only Australian jurisdictions to not allow voluntary assisted dying
The private member’s bill was introduced by Labor MPs Alicia Payne and Luke Gosling on Monday and aims to overturn a 25-year-old ban on territories legislating on euthanasia.
This bill does not legalize voluntary assisted dying, but rather gives the territories the right to vote on it.
It will still have to undergo a vote in the Senate, where leading opponents of assisted dying blocked previous attempts to repeal the ban. Two of those opponents – former Liberal senators Eric Abetz and Zed Seselja – no longer hold Senate seats.
If passed, the bill would give the opportunity for the territories to follow every state in Australia and allow voluntary assisted dying, after NSW became the last of the states to pass its legislation on the issue in May.
The bill was passed 99 to 37 in the House of Representatives.(ABC News: Nick Haggarty)
Advocates have been campaigning for change for decades
Advocates for voluntary assisted dying laws have been campaigning for the territories to be able to set their own laws on the issue for decades.
Between 2006 and 2016, multiple bills were introduced to federal parliament seeking to restore territory rights, but each failed.
Among those in support of the legislation is Darwin resident Judy Dent, whose husband Bob was the first to make use of the NT’s voluntary euthanasia law before it was repealed when the ban on territories legalizing assisted dying was introduced.
Bob Dent was the first of four people to use the NT’s short-lived assisted suicide laws.(Supplied)
Mr Dent died on September 22, 1996, but the law’s reversal has been a source of pain for his widow ever since.
“Surely it is unconstitutional to treat people differently because of where they choose to live,” Ms Dent said last year.
“That’s what they’re doing — they’re making the people of the territories second-class citizens.”
In March last year, both the ACT and NT wrote to senior Commonwealth ministers asking for the ban to be appealed, but in October, the request was denied by then attorney-general Michaelia Cash.
But the issue was revived ahead of the federal election, when now Independent Senator David Pocock made it one of the major issues of his campaign.
“Tragically, for some in our community, this is not a debate that can wait,” Senator Pocock said at the time.
Yesterday, in his maiden speech to the Senate, he said whether the ACT allowed for voluntary assisted dying should be a decision by the Legislative Assembly.
“It is time for us to restore the right of the territories to make decisions for themselves. To ensure that our Legislative Assembly here in the ACT gets to make decisions about the future of Canberrans, not MPs from around the country whose own constituents already enjoy these same rights,” Senator Pocock said.
‘Incredibly special moment’
Ms Payne said it was an “incredibly special moment” when the bill passed in the lower house.
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“I’m very, very grateful to each of our parliamentary colleagues across political lines who support the rights of the territories to have the same democratic rights as other Australians,” she said.
“We’re only halfway there, the conversation needs to continue now in the Senate and those discussions with our colleagues are continuing.
“I put that plea now to our Senate colleagues to please do this for our constituents, to have their say.
“I am grateful to those colleagues who don’t personally support voluntary assisted dying but do support our equal democratic rights.”
Mr Gosling said he and Ms Payne were “very proud” to see the bill go through, with an overwhelming majority of 99 MPs voting in the affirmative.
“We’re grateful for that support,” he said.
“The bill will now go to the Senate and we’re hoping that it receives support there as well, and that’ll mean, for Territorians, that we will regain the ability to make laws on issues that affect us.”
ACT Independent senator David Pocock has delivered his maiden speech to federal parliament, during which he welcomed the deaf community using Auslan.
Key points:
David Pocock had asked if he could have an Auslan interpreter alongside him on the floor of the Senate but said both major parties denied his request
Senator Pocock says he will work to continue to make the Senate more accessible for all Australians in the future
He again made clear that action on climate change and restoring territory rights were among his key focuses
In preparing to make his first speech, Senator Pocock asked last week if he could have an Auslan interpreter alongside him on the floor of the Senate.
But Senator Pocock said both major parties denied his request – a decision he labeled “disappointing.”
Instead, as Senator Pocock delivered his first speech to the chamber, Auslan interpreter Mandy Dolejsi appeared on a large TV behind him and was also broadcast translating his words for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.
“When I was asked by people in our community to have this first speech live-translated into Auslan I didn’t hesitate to say yes,” Senator Pocock said.
“So, thank you, Mandy, for being here today and translating my words.”
But Senator Pocock said the compromise that had been struck to have Ms Dolejsi in a studio and not on the chamber floor was “the difference between accessibility and inclusion”.
“Today we have achieved the former but not the latter. In future, I hope we can achieve both,” he said.
In a message to further demonstrate what he said was his intention to make Australia’s parliament more inclusive, Senator Pocock himself signed a short welcome to the deaf community, though the Senate cameras were too far away to effectively capture it.
New senator doubles down on action on climate change, restoring territory rights
Senator Pocock says he hopes the latest attempt to restore territory rights will be successful.(ABC News: Ian Cutmore)
Senator Pocock made history on the night of the federal election when he became the first territory senator who was not from a major party.
One of the so-called “teal independents”, he had campaigned on a range of issues, including action on climate change and territory rights.
In addressing the chamber, Senator Pocock solidified his support for the issues, saying he wanted “to be a peace broker in the 47th parliament.”
“There is no challenge greater than facing up to the climate and biodiversity crises we face,” he said.
“Today, the systems that sustain life on earth are at the brink of collapse. The climate as we know it is breaking down and the impacts are now being felt with distressing regularity.
“The challenges facing us are so important. I want to be part of making sure we don’t just end the climate wars, we win them.”
Senator Pocock on Monday threw his support behind a bill introduced to parliament by Canberra MP Alicia Payne and her Northern Territory colleague Luke Gosling.
If successful, the bill would repeat the 1996 ban on the territories debating voluntary assisted dying laws.
“It is time for us to restore the right of the territories to make decisions for themselves. To ensure that our Legislative Assembly here in the ACT gets to make decisions about the future of Canberrans, not MPs from around the country whose own constituents already enjoy these same rights,” Senator Pocock said.
“This is not the first time the parliament has tried to repeal the Andrews Bill. But I hope it will be the last.”
ACT ‘no longer a safe seat’, senator says
Senator Pocock says “for too long we have been neglected, ridiculed, looked down on or flat out ignored.”(ABC My Photo: @outdooraus)
In concluding his speech, Senator Pocock vowed to use his power as an independent senator and crossbencher “in the best interests of the people of the ACT.”
“For too long we have been neglected, ridiculed, looked down on or flat out ignored,” he said.
“We’re the nation’s capital. I want this to once again be a source of great pride.
“No longer are we a safe seat … The days of the ACT getting less than a quarter of our share of infrastructure funding by head of population are over.
“And so finally, I would like to say thank you to the people of the ACT. Whether you voted for me or not, I will work on your behalf for the next three years.
“I’m committed to being accessible and transparent and I certainly know that you will hold me to account.”
Two Erics are top contenders in Tuesday’s GOP primary for an open US Senate seat in Missouri.
But it wasn’t clear who former President Donald Trump backed even after he issued an endorsement in the race where Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt and former Governor Eric Greitens are both running.
On the eve of the election, Trump said in a statement he was “proud to announce that ERIC has my Complete and Total Endorsement!”
“There is a BIG Election in the Great State of Missouri, and we must send a MAGA Champion and True Warrior to the US Senate, someone who will fight for Border Security, Election Integrity, our Military and Great Veterans, together with having powerful toughness on Crime and the Border,” Trump stated.
“We need a person who will not go back down to the Radical Left Lunatics who are destroying our Country.
“I trust the Great People of Missouri, on this one, to make up their own minds, much as they did when gave me landside victories in the 2016 and 2020 Elections, and I am therefore proud to announce that ERIC has my Complete and Total Endorsement!”
Both candidates were quick to claim and tout Trump’s support.
Schmitt, in a tweet, wrote, “I’m grateful for President Trump’s endorsement. As the only America First candidate who has actually fought for election integrity, border security & against the Left’s indoctrination of our kids – I’ll take that fight to the Senate to SAVE AMERICA!”
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt was quick to claim Trump’s support after the former president’s confusing statement was released. AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File
Greitens also wrote he was “honored to receive President Trump’s endorsement.”
“From the beginning, I’ve been the true MAGA Champion fighting against the RINO establishment backing Schmitt,” I have tweeted.
He also bragged about being backed by Donald Trump Jr. and his girlfriend, media personality Kimberly Guilfoyle, in a separate tweet.
Greitens also claimed he “just had a GREAT phone call with President Trump” and thanked him for the support.
Former Governor Eric Greitens also interpreted Trump’s statement as a sure endorsement of him. AP Photo/Jeff Robersob
Schmitt hit back by reposting a tweet from conservative media personality Dan Bongino commenting on Greitens’ claim.
“Bulls—t. Read the endorsement. This dude is a FRAUD,” Bongino said in reference to Greitens.
Schmitt and Greitens are both vying to replace outgoing Sen. Roy Blunt. Schmitt is the favorite with an Emerson College poll last week showing him with about 33% of the predicted vote. After that, Rep. Vicky Hartzler had 21% and Greitens was in third with 16%.
Many national Republicans want Greitens to lose because of past scandals he was involved in, including charges of domestic abuse by his ex-wife.
While there’s a third candidate named Eric — Eric McElroy — also running, he is a long shot contender.
Still, Hartzler threw congratulations his way Monday.
“Congratulations to Eric McElroy. He’s having a big night,” she said in statement, according to CBS News.
Aboriginal Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has taken a swipe at Lidia Thorpe after she made a Black Power salute and labeled the Queen a “coloniser” in the Senate.
The Greens Senator was preparing to take the parliamentary oath on Monday when she walked to the central table of the chamber with her right fist raised in the air.
She then proceeded to reluctantly recite and tweak the oath of allegiance, which sitting members must take prior to serving the Queen.
“I sovereign, Lidia Thorpe, do solemnly and sincerely affirm and declare that I will be faithful, and I bear true allegiance to the colonizing Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II,” she said, drawing uproar from the Senate.
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Senator Price suggested ministers who do not take the oath “then simply don’t take the job” before criticizing the “immaturity” of Senator Thorpe.
“There is definitely a level of immaturity about that kind of behaviour,” she said, according to The Australian.
“If you want to be a protester, then this isn’t the place for it. Go ahead and join the resistance, but we are there to be legislators for the benefit of our nation.
“I think it is just disruptive behaviour. The majority of us in the Senate today…just saw it as contemporary behaviour.”
During the series of events on Monday, one person could be heard telling the outspoken politician she was “not a Senator if you don’t do it properly.”
Senator Thorpe responded by saying “none of us like it.”
Senate President Sue Lines then interjected and urged Senator Thorpe to “recite the oath as printed on the card.”
She begrudgingly corrected herself the second time and was sworn into parliament.
“Sovereignty never ceded,” Senator Thorpe wrote to Twitter moments later, sharing a photo of herself performing the Black Salute.
Greens leader Adam Bandt showed support for his party member and retweeted the same image with the caption, “Always was. Always will be.”
Senator Pauline Hanson – who walked out of parliament during the Acknowledgment to Country last week – said Senator Thorpe did not take her position “seriously”.
“She’s filling a position she does not respect, to represent people she obviously despises, in an institution she does not recognize as being legitimate,” she told news.com.au.
“What we saw this morning was a stunning exercise in hypocrisy, made worse by her happily taking $211,000 a year from taxpayers for work she clearly does not intend to do.”
Senator Thorpe has previously stated her role as an Indigenous woman was to “infiltrate” the Senate.
