*By J.D. Durkin*
On the day of the overwhelming 402-11 House vote in favor of permanently extending the September 11th Victim's Compensation Fund, New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez told Cheddar she feels good about the bill — H.R. 1327 — and its chances to pass the Senate.
More or less.
The House is one thing. But as John Feal, one of the 9/11 first responders synonymous with the reauthorization effort recently told Cheddar, "The Senate is where bills go to die." Working with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is still the last hurdle to make permanent protections a reality. But Rep. Ocasio-Cortez says there's reason to adopt a trust-but-verify approach.
"I'm actually cautiously optimistic," AOC told Cheddar. "I spoke with some of our survivors, our first responders. And they said they've been actively whipping \[McConnell\]'s support." Several first responders, including Feal, recently sat down with McConnell in his Capitol Hill office to present the Kentucky Republican with Detective Luis Alvarez's NYPD badge.
Rep. Ocasio-Cortez, who met with 9/11 responders and advocates following the House vote Friday, did note the hazards of the bill's next step. "I would hope that \[McConnell\] doesn't use it as a bargaining chip for anything else," she said.
Friday featured a press conference helmed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the main supporters of the bill: Rep.'s Jerry Nadler (D), Carolyn Maloney (D), and Peter King (R), all of New York.
Former "Daily Show" host Jon Stewart set an ambitious goal at Friday's press conference: a desired signing ceremony for the bill's passage on Friday, August 2nd. "As far as I'm concerned, that's our deadline," he told Cheddar.
For the fourth time in a matter of weeks, a bus carrying migrants from Texas arrived in Los Angeles late Tuesday night.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s second-in-command has quietly stepped down amid reporting by The Associated Press that he once consulted for a pharmaceutical distributor sanctioned for a deluge of suspicious painkiller shipments and did similar work for the drugmaker that became the face of the opioid epidemic: Purdue Pharma.
The Biden administration on Wednesday proposed new guidelines for corporate mergers, took steps to disclose the junk fees charged by landlords and launched a crackdown on price-gouging in the food industry.
Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger made a secret trip to China to meet with leaders.
Travis King, a private 2nd Class U.S. soldier, was identified as the individual that crossed the North and South Korean border earlier this week.
Several civil rights groups are suing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis over his new immigration laws.
A judge in Iowa temporarily blocked the state's six-week abortion ban.
A U.S. national is being held in North Korea after crossing its closely-guarded border with South Korea.
The Biden administration and major consumer technology players on Tuesday launched an effort to put a nationwide cybersecurity certification and labeling program in place to help consumers choose smart devices that are less vulnerable to hacking.
Former President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he has received a letter informing him that he is a target of the Justice Department's investigation into efforts to undo the results of the 2020 presidential election, an indication that he could soon be indicted by federal prosecutors.
