Capitol Hill was a swirl of news-making this past week, topped by the historic address by Pope Francis to Congress on Wednesday, and John Boehner's Friday announcement that he will retire at the end of October.
It was so hectic, it was almost possible to forget that the government might shut down if Congress can't pass a funding bill by Wednesday, September 30.
But, for those paying attention to that saga, the week brought evidence that New England's few Republicans in Congress don't want any part of a shutdown – or blame for one if it happens.
As reported here last week, New Hampshire Senator Kelly Ayotte sent a letter to Ted Cruz urging him to abandon his insistence on defunding Planned Parenthood as a condition for passing a funding bill. Ayotte later spoke out forcefully on the Senate floor with the same message.
Ayotte was one of eight Republicans who on Thursday voted against an appropriations bill that included the de-funding of Planned Parenthood. She was joined by Susan Collins of Maine – New England's only other Republican Senator.
Collins went one step further: earlier in the week, she was the only Republican to join Democrats to block a bill to make all abortions after the 20th week illegal.
But the biggest surprise came from the House, where Maine Republican Bruce Poliquin came out in favor of a so-called “clean” funding bill, without the controversial Planned Parenthood defunding.
Poliquin was one of 11 first-term Republicans in the House who sent a letter to their colleagues, urging them to extend government funding, and avoid “another unnecessary and harmful government shutdown” like the one in 2013.
In the letter, Poliquin and the others write that “we were elected by our constituents to be principled, pragmatic leaders.”
Unsurprisingly, one of Poliquin's potential 2016 opponents suggests the stance is more about politics than principle.
“This is not a profile in courage,” says Emily Cain, who is running for the seat again after losing as the Democratic nominee for the seat in 2014. “All Bruce Poliquin did this week was join other vulnerable Republicans to sign a letter.”
Poliquin, who was not available to be interviewed, is widely considered to be among the Republicans most in danger of losing re-election next year. Cain and Joe Balducci of Bangor are both running for the Democratic nomination.
The only other Republican member of Congress from the area, Frank Guinta of New Hampshire, has not taken any public stand on the shutdown. His re-election, already troubled by a campaign-finance scandal, got tougher last week when former congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter announced that she will run against him in 2016.
Ayotte files women's pay bill
Opposing a government shutdown was not the only centrist move made by Ayotte last week. The other got little attention, but might get more play later in the two-year Senate session.
Ayotte filed a bill, the Gender Advancement in Pay (GAP) Act, intended to help ensure that women receive equal pay.
That would appear to represent a reversal for Ayotte, who has in the past argued that existing laws, if properly enforced, are sufficient to close the gender wage gap. http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/05/02/1954381/gop-senator-i-voted-against-equal-pay-for-women-because-we-have-enough-laws/ Ayotte has cast votes joining her Republican colleagues in blocking the Paycheck Fairness Act.
Yet her new bill is similar enough to that Democratic legislation for the liberal Think Progress web site to declare that “the bill's elements look nearly identical to those in the Paycheck Fairness Act.”
Ayotte, however, describes her bill in a press release as similar to how she attempted to amend the Paycheck Fairness Act, when it was last debated in the Senate last year.
As she did then, Ayotte says she wants to protect women who seek to discover and redress unfair wage differences, while protecting employers' ability to reward merit and offer flexible schedules.
Ayotte did not secure any co-sponsors before filing the new bill, which has been assigned to a committee. It will be worth keeping an eye on its progress, however, as Ayotte fights for crucial women's votes in her 2016 re-election campaign, possibly against current New Hampshire Governor Maggie Hassan.
Markey revels in Francis's message
Senator Ed Markey got a double-dose of Pope Francis last week. After the speech to Congress – to which Markey gave his guest ticket to his wife – the junior Senator went to New York, where on Friday he watched Francis's United Nations address seated next to US Ambassador to the UN, Samantha Power.
Quite a thrill, Markey told me by phone Friday afternoon, for someone who went to Immaculate Conception School, Malden Catholic High, and Boston College.
“He embodies the message of Jesus, that when you serve the least among us you do so in His name,” Markey says.
Power invited Markey because of his longstanding efforts to combat climate change – a major subject of Pope Francis's speech to both the UN and Congress.
Markey was invited to the Vatican last year, to discuss the efforts that resulted in the encyclical on climate change, issued by Francis this June.
“Even when he's talking about climate change, he puts it in the context of how it affects the poorest on the planet, who will suffer because of the actions of the wealthiest,” Markey says. “So there is a moral responsibility.”
Markey says he is optimistic that the moral argument coming from Francis will help push the United States to action – with help from the political pressure stemming from China's announcement on Friday that it will adopt a cap-and-trade plan to reduce greenhouse gases.
“China essentially announced that they're going to implement a Waxman-Markey system,” he says, referring to the bill that passed the House in 2009 (when Markey was a representative), but died in the Senate.
Although that comprehensive bill didn't succeed, Markey argues that other strides made during the Obama Presidency “put pressure on China and India to put their proposals on the table.” That led to last week's breakthrough from China. And Markey says that India's Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, is likely to make a similar announcement in the next month to six weeks.
That in turn puts further pressure on the U.S. to step up, Markey says – while Francis gives them a more spiritual reason at the same time.
Social media photo of the week
Senator Elizabeth Warren posted this shot of herself with Stephen Colbert, before filming her appearance on Late Night.
Don't forget! Tonight I'll be talking with @colbertlateshow about how we rebuild America's middle class. #LSSC pic.twitter.com/3pvsTR9b6K
