(Aug. 13) Even if the political branches of the federal government are dysfunctional or counterproductive on most big, public issues, Congress actually is making bipartisan progress on a surprising array of less-prominent subjects.
Where the media spotlight is low enough, the incentives for partisan grandstanding are lessened. With less partisan grandstanding, members of Congress show that the system actually can work. That’s an important lesson.
The S.T.A.N.D. with Taiwan Act of 2024. Granted, this was just introduced on July 26, so it hasn’t gone anywhere yet. But word is that its prospects are bright. Sponsored by Sens. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) and Tammy Duckworth (D-WI), it is designed to “impose devastating, comprehensive economic, energy, financial, and other sanctions on China in the event that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) initiates military aggression against Taiwan.”…
The Americas Act. Also early in the legislative process but enjoying bipartisan support in both chambers and the backing of the Biden administration, this bill would vastly expand free-trade agreements throughout Latin America, specifically with the purpose of displacing China’s growing influence and boosting production in the Western Hemisphere rather than China. Spearheaded by Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), its main co-sponsors are Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO), Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY), and Rep. María Elvira Salazar (R-FL).
Meanwhile, Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL) has made quite a habit of bipartisan initiatives. She successfully secured more funding in the Appropriations Committee for the NIH IMPROVE Initiative, which works to lessen mortality related to pregnancy and childbirth, and has introduced the NIH IMPROVE Act with Sen. Laphonza Butler (D-CA) to provide a more permanent funding stream. With Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA), she introduced the tax credit-heavy Child Care Availability and Affordability Act.
And with Cassidy and Sens. Gary Peters (D-MI) and Raphael Warnock (D-GA), she aims to solve a little-known problem that nonetheless is quite important to a small but productive class of employees…. [The full column is at this link.]
