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Energy & Environment — Biden administration announces new oceans moves

The Biden administration outlines new steps on ocean conservation, a new report from House Democrats faults the fossil fuel industry’s handling of methane leaks, and Democrats must strike a balance on promoting electric vehicles. 

This is Overnight Energy & Environment, your source for the latest news focused on energy, the environment and beyond. For The Hill, we’re Rachel Frazin and Zack Budryk. Subscribe here. 

Biden announces new marine sanctuary

The Biden administration announced a raft of ocean-related conservation efforts on Wednesday, World Oceans Day, including ending the use of single-use plastics on federal lands and a proposed marine sanctuary off the coast of New York.  

In its announcement, the administration proposed a new sanctuary in the Hudson Canyon, a 7.5-mile-wide underwater canyon off the mouth of the Hudson River. 

The announcement is part of a broader plan by the administration to preserve 30 percent of U.S. lands and waters. However, it was first nominated for sanctuary protections in 2016. The proposal does not unilaterally establish protections for the area and details of the protections will be determined during a public comment period, during which the local fishing and offshore energy industries will be allowed to comment. 

The administration also announced a plan to phase out single-use plastics in national parks and on public lands by 2032. In a secretarial order Wednesday, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland also directed department staff to find biodegradable or compostable alternatives for such products.  

“The Interior Department has an obligation to play a leading role in reducing the impact of plastic waste on our ecosystems and our climate,” Haaland said in a statement. 

“As the steward of the nation’s public lands, including national parks and national wildlife refuges, and as the agency responsible for the conservation and management of fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats, we are uniquely positioned to do better for our Earth.”  

Conservationist groups praised Haaland’s order, with marine preservation group Oceana calling it “meaningful action to keep this persistent pollutant out of our oceans and communities.” 

Read more about the initiatives here. 

Democrats walk tightrope in push for electric vehicles

High gasoline prices are bolstering Democrats’ calls for increased electric vehicle adoption — but the party will have to contend with accusations of elitism as they make their case. 

Electric vehicles can both cut the country’s dependence on foreign oil and help combat climate change. 

But they often come with a hefty starting price tag — and Republicans have sought to frame their opponents’ support for clean cars as a boon for the rich.  

What’s the problem? “This sort of elitism problem is real because these things are very high priced right now, so Democrats should also be creating some sort of an environment through many different channels to make these much more accessible,” said Democratic strategist Jon Reinish. 

Announcing in March that he would invoke the Defense Production Act to bolster the country’s mineral supply chain as part of a plan for reducing gasoline prices, President Biden has touted the consumer benefits of electric vehicles.’ 

“A typical driver will save about $80 a month from not having to pay [for] gas at the pump,” he said at the time.  

Republicans take aim: But, as Democrats have tried to promote electric vehicle adoption, Republicans have tried to paint them as out of touch.  

After Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in March touted savings on gasoline that can come from driving an electric vehicle, his remarks were seized on by Republicans like Sens. Ted Cruz (Texas) and Shelley Moore Capito (W.Va.).  

“Tell me you’re a liberal elite without telling me you’re a liberal elite,” Cruz tweeted. 

“ ‘Just buy an electric car’ is not a solution to Biden’s energy crisis for many Americans,” added Capito. “Comments like this show the stark disparity between the Biden administration and the American people.” 

And the criticism has been ongoing. Republicans made similar comments as Democrats tried to push for electric vehicle tax credits in their ill-fated Build Back Better agenda. 

“I just don’t understand why in the world we are subsidizing the wealthiest people in America to buy something they consider a trinket,” said Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.) during a hearing last year, according to The Detroit News. 

Among the general population, policies that promote electric vehicles are popular, but they’re less popular than certain policies in support of other clean energy technologies. 

Read more about the tightrope here.

TOO CLOSE TO CALL

At press time, the results of a primary race between Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and others remained too close to call.  

On Tuesday, Republicans in Montana’s first congressional district went to the polls to decide whether they’d like Zinke or a different Republican to be the party’s candidate in November. 

As of late Wednesday afternoon, Zinke held a slight lead of about 41 percent to 40 percent over former state Sen. Al “Doc” Olszewski with 92 percent of precincts reporting.  

Dems say oil, gas industry ‘failing’ to address leaks

The oil and gas industry is “failing” to address leaks of a planet-warming gas called methane, House Democrats said in a new report on Wednesday.  

A report from Democrats on the House Science, Space and Technology Committee found that the industry is not using the latest science to inform its approaches to tackle leaks of the greenhouse gas. 

“Existing oil and gas sector [leak detection and repair] programs are failing to mitigate methane emissions from super-emitting leaks. The principal cause of this failure is the unwillingness of oil and gas companies to prioritize super-emitting leaks,” the Democrats wrote. 

What are they saying? In particular, the committee found that all of the 10 companies it surveyed do not track, identify or maintain records on super-emitting leaks “in any organized manner.” 

The committee also found that innovative leak detection and repair technologies were being used in pilot programs but were not yet being used at a wider-scale, limiting how effective it would be.  

In particular, it cited one case where company researchers supported permanently deploying the technology, but it was rejected by management.  

It notes that in this case, company researchers described greater awareness of emissions and leaks as one of the “risks” of deployment. 

The report also suggested that Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) measurements undercount methane emissions from oil and gas.  

It cited a leak from one company in 2020 that it said could be equivalent to more than 80 percent of the total methane emissions the company reported to the EPA from all of its Permian Basin oil and gas activities for that year.  

Read more about the report here.

MAJOR LOAN ALERT

The Energy Department announced on Wednesday that it will make a major loan to a facility that would create and store clean hydrogen energy.  

It will loan $504.4 million dollars to the Advanced Clean Energy Storage Project, which would be located in Delta, Utah.  

What is hydrogen energy…? Hydrogen energy involves causing chemical reactions between hydrogen and oxygen in a battery-like cell to produce electricity and water. This process requires energy to complete, and different types of energy including renewables and fossil fuels can be used to make it happen.  

It is considered clean when sources like solar and wind that don’t emit planet-warming gases are used.  

…and why does it matter? Since hydrogen energy can be stored, it is considered a method of advancing the deployment of renewable energies that can only be produced during certain times of the day, like when the wind blows.  

The newly announced loan is the first loan guarantee for a new clean energy project that the Energy Department’s Loan Programs Office has issued since 2014.   

Other DOE loan recipients: Probably the most high-profile successful recipient of an Energy Department loan is electric-car maker Tesla.However, the department also loaned money to Solyndra, a solar energy start-up that eventually went bankrupt.  

The latest news comes as part of a push from the Biden administration to expand renewable energy and fight climate change.  

“Accelerating the commercial deployment of clean hydrogen as a zero-emission, long-term energy storage solution is the first step in harnessing its potential to decarbonize our economy, create good paying clean energy jobs and enable more renewables to be added to the grid,” Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said in a statement. 

Read more here.

GETTING PUMPED 

The national average price for a gallon of gas neared $5 on Wednesday, according to AAA.  

After weeks of soaring gas prices, Wednesday’s numbers showed the national average at $4.955. 

Several states, including Nevada, Arizona and Illinois, saw average prices significantly higher than $5 per gallon. In California, which had the highest price among all 50 states, the average price per gallon of gas climbed to $6.39 on Wednesday. 

Even in Southern states, where gas is typically cheaper, prices were up to an average of $4.485 per gallon in Mississippi and $4.598 per gallon in Alabama. 

Some states in the Midwest saw similar prices, with Kansas having an average price per gallon of $4.563 and Oklahoma $4.54 per gallon. 

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has had a significant impact on oil markets and gas prices worldwide.  

“Given the global nature of these markets, it’s virtually impossible for us to insulate ourselves from shocks like the ones that are occurring in Russia that move global oil prices,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday. 

Read more from The Hill’s Monique Beals.

WHAT WE’RE READING

• Aerosols from burning fossil fuels are masking global warming, UW researchers find (The Seattle Times) 
• EU lawmakers back ban on new fossil-fuel cars from 2035 (Reuters) 
• Cruise liners try to rewrite climate rules despite vows (The Associated Press) 
• Warned of ‘massive’ climate-led extinction, a US energy firm funded crisis denial ads (The Guardian) 

ON TAP TOMORROW

• State Department energy security adviser Amos Hochstein will testify before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in a hearing on European energy security  
• Forest Service Chief Randy Moore will testify before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on his agency’s budget 
• NOAA Administrator Richard Spinrad and State Department official Monica Medina will appear before the House Climate Crisis committee to discuss oceans 
• The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will hold a hearing on bill to prohibit asbestos manufacturing processing and distribution 

ICYMI

• Biden increasingly relies on DPA, drawing GOP scorn 
• Increasingly autonomous cars raise cybersecurity fears

And finally, something offbeat and off-beat: Million-dollar puppy. 

That’s it for today, thanks for reading. Check out The Hill’s Energy & Environment page for the latest news and coverage. We’ll see you tomorrow. 

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Abbott, FDA warned of problems at plant months earlier than previously known: report

Abbott Laboratories and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) were notified about possible problems at an Abbott plant in Sturgis, Mich. that makes baby formula in February 2021, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

The Journal’s reporting cites documents that the newspaper viewed, a person familiar with the matter and a government official. 

The revelation is potentially damaging in that it suggests officials knew about possible problems at the plan much earlier than previously known.

The Biden administration has come under criticism over the baby formula shortage, which has panicked parents across the country struggling to find formula for their young children.

President Biden has authorized the use of the Defense Production Act to help deal with the shortage, which has been blamed on supply-chain issues and the Abbott shutdown.

According to the Journal’s report, a discrimination complaint was made to Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration by a former employee at Abbott after the worker was fired in August 2020.

A separate complaint was made in February 2021 to federal OSHA followed by a third complaint sent to the FDA in October 2021, with a person familiar with the matter telling the newspaper that all three complaints were made by the same individual.

The Journal noted that Abbott and the FDA had received the February 2021 complaint, which was made through the whistleblower-protection program at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the same month it was filed.

The February 2021 complaint raised product-safety concerns, alleging that formula was being distributed without proof that it could be consumed safely and that some equipment needed to be repaired, a person familiar with the matter told the Journal.

That person and documents viewed by the Journal indicate that two months after Abbott was made aware of the February 2021 complaint, they had issued a formal response on the matter.

A person close to the matter confirmed to The Hill that OSHA received a whistleblower complaint on Feb. 16, 2021 and then delivered it to FDA and Abbott on Feb. 19, 2021.

The FDA offered congressional testimony last month indicating it had received its first consumer complaint of Cronobacter from an infant in September 2021, and that it had notified Abbott a day later. The FDA has also acknowledging receiving a confidential complaint on the matter in October 2021, but its timeline does not disclose any complaints received in February of that year.

Previous testimony from Abbott does not include details on the February 2021 complaint.

“We know there have been various questions about the timeline of events leading up to the FDA’s warning and Abbott’s recall of products manufactured at their Sturgis facility,” the FDA said in a statement. “Our top priority right now is addressing the dire need for infant formula in the U.S. market, and our teams are working night and day to help make that happen – including ensuring Abbott takes the appropriate corrective action to address insanitary conditions observed by the FDA.”

Abbott said in a statement that the February 2021 complaint “raised new and different topics” than the one filed in 2020, which the company said had been dismissed.

“…it continued a pattern of ever-evolving, ever-escalating allegations. We investigated the federal OSHA complaint and have not been able to confirm the allegations,” Abbott said of the February 2021 complaint.

Abbott’s Sturgis plant closed earlier this year after four babies that had formula from the plant contracted the rare Cronobacter bacterial illness.

Abbott has claimed that the genetic sequencing of samples of several infants who became sick do not match samples of Cronobacter found in the facility. 

Abbott announced last week that he plant was resuming production of baby formula, saying certain formula would be back on shelves later this month. 

Nathaniel Weixel contributed to this report

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House passes sweeping gun package in largely party-line vote

The House passed a sweeping gun package on Wednesday in response to last month’s mass shootings in Buffalo, N.Y. and Uvalde, Texas, which killed more than 30 people and reignited the push for firearm legislation on Capitol Hill.

The package, dubbed the Protecting Our Kids Act, passed in a 223-204 vote. One Republican did not vote.

Two Democrats, Reps. Jared Golden (Maine) and Kurt Schrader (Ore.), bucked the party in opposing the measure. Five Republicans — Reps. Adam Kinzinger (Ill.), Anthony Gonzalez (Ohio), Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.), Chris Jacobs (N.Y.) and Fred Upton (Mich.) — supported it.

The legislation consists of seven separate provisions aimed at addressing gun violence in America. The House voted on the individual provisions separately, all of which cleared the chamber in mainly party-line votes. The overall package, however, is the only legislation that will be sent to the Senate for consideration, where it faces GOP opposition.

A bipartisan group of senators have been engaged in their own negotiations to come to a consensus on narrower gun legislation.

The House package would raise the minimum age for buying a semi-automatic weapon from 18 to 21, prohibit civilian use of ammunition magazines with more than 15 rounds, and enact new federal criminal offenses for gun trafficking and straw purchases of firearms — when an individual who is unable to pass a background check buys a gun through a proxy.

It also seeks to require that ghost guns — firearms that are untraceable and do not have serial number — undergo background checks and receive serial numbers, impose a ban on bump stocks for civilians, and bolster storage of guns in homes where minors may have access to the firearm.

Additionally, the package compels the attorney general to submit a report to congressional committees on the individuals who were deemed ineligible to purchase a firearm by a background check.

Passage of the legislation comes just over two weeks after a shooter opened fire at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, killing 19 students and two adults. Ten days before that, a gunman fatally shot 10 Black individuals at a grocery store in Buffalo.

“America is in the midst of a shocking gun violence epidemic that should shock the conscience of everyone and has devastated children, families and communities. We must address it with the fierce urgency of now,” Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said on the House floor during debate of the package on Wednesday.

“It is not okay that mass murder has become a way of life in the United States of America. That is why we must pass comprehensive gun violence prevention legislation, address this epidemic decisively and allow America to be the best version of itself,” he added.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) called on her colleagues to support the measure — making a particular plea to Republicans, without addressing them by name.

“To those who a moment of silence is good enough because you don’t have the courage to take a vote to protect the children, I would say your political survival is totally insignificant to the survival of, or compared to the survival of our children,” she said.

Most Republicans, however, were not on board with the overall package. In a memo to House GOP lawmakers on Tuesday, Minority Whip Steve Scalise’s (R-La.) office recommended that members of the conference vote against the legislation, arguing that the measure “egregiously violates law-abiding citizens’ 2nd Amendment rights and hinders Americans’ ability to defend and protect themselves and their families.”

On the House floor Wednesday, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, reiterated that stance.

“What happened in Uvalde, Buffalo, Tulsa is as wrong as wrong could be and our hearts go out to those communities and those families who have been impacted in such a terrible way. But the answer is not to destroy the Second Amendment. But that is exactly where the Democrats want to go,” Jordan said.

“What this bill does is take away Second Amendment rights, God-given rights, protected by our constitution, from law-abiding American citizens. That’s what this legislation does, and that’s why we should oppose it,” he later added.

Some Republicans have called for measures to increase school security in the aftermath of the Uvalde shooting. Others have encouraged measures addressing mental health.

Rep. Richard Hudson (R-N.C.) turned to those arguments during debate on Wednesday.

“I ask my colleagues across the aisle to set aside this partisan agenda. Instead, help me to harden schools. Help me to intervene with students in mental health crises before they reach a breaking point,” he said.

The package faces certain resistance in the Senate, where at least 10 Republicans are needed to overcome a legislative filibuster.

However, there has been bipartisan openness in the upper chamber to states enacting red flag laws, bolstering a national criminal background check system and supplying funding for mental health treatment.

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Schiff says Jan. 6 hearing will show 'multipronged effort to overturn a presidential election'

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), a member of the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 attack at the Capitol, said Wednesday that the panel’s upcoming hearing will show a “multipronged effort to overturn a presidential election.”

Schiff said in a Twitter thread that the panel’s first hearing, held in prime time on Thursday, will present new information on the riot, adding the committee hopes to demonstrate how a group of individuals tried to overturn an election.

“We’ll demonstrate the multipronged effort to overturn a presidential election, how one strategy to subvert the election led to another, culminating in a violent attack on our democracy,” Schiff said in his tweet. 

“It’s an important story, and one that must be told to ensure it never happens again,” he added. 

Schiff also said that he hopes the panel’s findings and the series of hearings on the attack will show the public “how close we came to losing our democracy” and “why it’s still deeply at risk.”

“We’ll provide details of the effort to interfere with the peaceful transfer of power,” he added. “And what we must do to protect our democracy now.”

The Jan. 6 panel has said it will present previously unreleased material during its hearing on Thursday, scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. ET.

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Watch live: Harris delivers brief remarks at the Summit of the Americas

Vice President Harris will deliver remarks at the inaugural ceremony of the ninth Summit of the Americas on Wednesday evening.

The event is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. ET.

Watch the video above.

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Health Care – White House shifts COVID funds

Are you having or did you recently have a COVID baby? Are you having trouble coming up with a name? Worry not, because IKEA has you covered. 

With legislation for new coronavirus funds stalled in Congress, the Biden administration is cutting funds from other areas to buy more antiviral treatments and updated COVID-19 vaccines. 

Welcome to Overnight Health Care, where we’re following the latest moves on policy and news affecting your health. For The Hill, we’re Peter Sullivan, Nathaniel Weixel and Joseph Choi. Someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here.

COVID funds shifted due to stalemate

The consequences of a lack of COVID-19 funding are starting to be felt.  

The White House said Wednesday it is cutting funds from some areas of its COVID-19 response to shift money to vaccines and treatments, given that new funding remains stalled in Congress.   

The administration is cutting money from areas like testing and research on next-generation vaccines to move that into buying more vaccines and treatments.   

In the shift, $5 billion will go toward buying updated vaccines for the fall, $4.9 billion will go toward buying an additional 10 million courses of the Pfizer treatment Paxlovid and $300 million will go to buying more monoclonal antibody treatments.   

Still a vaccine shortage: Even with the shift in funds, there will still not be enough money to buy updated vaccines for all Americans for the fall, unless Congress provides more funding, the White House said.   

Prospects on the Hill not looking great… Asked last month if he would allow a vote on reinstating Trump-era rules at the southern border in order to get COVID-19 funding moving, Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) deflected by telling reporters, “We’ll see what the House sends over.”  

But House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said Wednesday the problem is getting 60 votes in the Senate, and that the House passing the funding first would not “magically” solve the Senate’s problem.   

Read more here.  

Moderna: Updated vax better against omicron variant

Moderna on Wednesday said that a new version of its vaccine provided a superior immune response against the COVID-19 omicron variant, making it the lead candidate for a booster shot this fall. 

The company released results on an updated, “bivalent” vaccine that includes both the original vaccine and an updated version specifically designed to target the omicron variant, the company said.   

Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel said the updated vaccine is “our lead candidate for a Fall 2022 booster.” 

“We are submitting our preliminary data and analysis to regulators with the hope that the Omicron-containing bivalent booster will be available in the late summer,” he said.   

The potential problem: The virus is evolving quickly, and the original omicron strain is no longer what is circulating most widely in the United States. Two new subvariants of omicron, known as BA.4 and BA.5, are on the rise, and it is unclear how well the updated vaccine performs against them. 

Read more here.  

MORE THAN 1,000 MONKEYPOX CASES GLOBALLY: WHO 

More than 1,000 monkeypox cases have been identified in dozens of countries where the disease is not endemic, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), with some indications that cases are springing from community transmissions. 

“More than one thousand confirmed cases of monkeypox have now been reported to WHO from 29 countries that are not endemic for the disease. So far, no deaths have been reported in these countries,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a briefing on Wednesday. 

Most of these cases have been found in men who have sex with men, though Tedros stressed that the disease was not exclusively found in this demographic, with some cases now reported among women. 

A precarious predicament: “The sudden and unexpected appearance of monkeypox in several nonendemic countries suggests that there might have been undetected transmission for some time. How long, we don’t know,” Tedros said on Wednesday, adding that there was a “real” risk that monkeypox could become established in nonendemic countries. 

The WHO chief stressed that this outcome was avoidable if countries worked to control the outward spread of monkeypox through the identification of cases and possible contacts. 

Read more here. 

SENATE DEMOCRATS PRESS BIDEN ON PLAN TO DEFEND ABORTION 

More than two dozen Senate Democrats are pressing President Biden for a national plan to defend a person’s right to an abortion.  

“Abortion access is under attack in the United States and already completely eliminated in swaths of the country,” they wrote in a letter to the president dated Tuesday.  

The Democratic lawmakers, led by Sens. Patty Murray (Wash.) and Elizabeth
Warren (Mass.), warned that “if Roe v. Wade is gutted by this right-wing Supreme Court, Republican leaders have already signaled their next move: a nationwide ban on abortion in all 50 states.” 

“Americans across the nation and at every level of government must stand up against this unprecedented assault on women and their right to make decisions about their own bodies and lives. But as President of the United States, you have the unique power to marshal the resources of the entire federal government to respond,” they said. 

The lawmakers listed six demands centered around expanding and ensuring access to abortions through federal pathways. 

Read more here.

New versions of omicron variant gaining ground in US

Omicron COVID-19 subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 represent an increasing number of new infections in the country, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), though it’s unclear what the impact will be. 

New estimates from the CDC show that for the week ending June 4, the two subvariants combined accounted for 13 percent of all new U.S. cases. That’s an increase from the combined 7.5 percent estimated for the week ending May 28. 

During the week ending June 4, BA.5 accounted for an estimated 7.6 percent of cases and BA.4 accounted for 5.4 percent of cases, up from 4.2 percent and 3.3 percent, respectively, the previous week. 

There are also regional differences in the rise of the new subvariants. In the southern region comprising Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma and New Mexico, BA.4 and BA. 5 account for about 22 percent of all infections. 

What’s different: The BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants are more infectious than the current dominant strain and may be able to evade some of the immunity people have acquired from being infected with other variants. 

What does it mean? Some public health experts think BA.4 and BA.5 will soon become the dominant subvariants and prolong the current wave of infections. But there isn’t evidence to show they cause more severe disease. 

Read more here.

WHAT WE’RE READING

• How the hard lessons of the AIDS crisis are shaping the response to the monkeypox outbreak (Stat) 
• WHO: COVID cases and deaths falling nearly everywhere (Associated Press) 
• Congress calls for more DEA scrutiny of online drug prescribers (Bloomberg) 
• Americans keep getting reinfected with COVID-19 as new variants emerge, data shows (ABC News) 

STATE BY STATE

• Homeless and incarcerated people in Minnesota struggled to access Covid vaccines (Stat)  
• Some people in this Montana mining town worry about the dust next door (Kaiser Health News) 
• Report: Oklahoma is the worst state in the nation for wasted COVID vaccine doses (Public Radio Tulsa) 
• Gov. Tony Evers calls special session to overturn 1849 Wisconsin law that would ban abortions in most cases (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) 

That’s it for today, thanks for reading. Check out The Hill’s Health Care page for the latest news and coverage. See you tomorrow.

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NotedDC — Jan. 6 panel promises new evidence

“Previously unseen material.” That’s the promise from the House select committee as it prepares to unveil its findings from its probe into the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol attack.

The committee will hear from Caroline Edwards and Nick Quested, two of the first witnesses, when they appear before the panel for its prime-time hearing on Thursday.

Edwards, one of the first Capitol Police officers injured as the mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol grounds, suffered a concussion during the riot.

Quested, a British filmmaker, followed the far-right Proud Boys on the eve of the riot and reportedly showed House members footage his crew shot. Members of the far-right group have been charged with seditious conspiracy in connection to the riot.

New findings: The committee says Thursday’s hearing will provide the public “an initial summary of its findings about the coordinated, multi-step effort to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and prevent the transfer of power.”

One big question: How many will watch? Fox News has said it won’t air the hearing live, but most other major broadcast and cable networks are expected to carry it in real time. It also will be streamed on YouTube.

Supporters of the panel’s efforts have organized watch parties across the country, including an event at the Taft Memorial Carillon near the Capitol that will feature several special guests, including a recorded address from filmmaker Rob Reiner.

“[W]e have real people lined up across the country to watch the hearings and spread the word that this assault on our democracy won’t stand,” Lisa Gilbert, executive vice president of the left-leaning nonprofit Public Citizen, said in a statement.

Meanwhile: House Republicans already are messaging against the hearing. Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.), who House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) refused to seat on the committee, attacked the hearing Wednesday, calling it Democratic “theatrics,” a “sham investigation” and a “partisan witch hunt.” At a House GOP caucus lunch, members were told to shift the focus to issues like gas prices and inflation. 

Welcome to NotedDC: Your guide to politics, policy and people of consequence in D.C. Have some news, juicy gossip, insight or other insider info? Send us tips: Elizabeth Crisp and Kelsey Carolan. 

📨 Encourage your friends to sign up here: thehill.com/noted.

Justice security back in focus

The overnight arrest of an armed man accused of plotting to kill Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh has put renewed focus on Congress’ ongoing dispute over how to best boost security for members of the court.

Flashback: The Senate unanimously passed legislation last month that would extend security to the immediate families of justices, but the House has stalled the effort as it pushes for protections for families of clerks and other court employees.

What’s next: Leaders in both parties agree on the need for expanded security as the Supreme Court takes up increasingly polarizing issues and prepares any day to release the biggest opinion of its term that could overturn Roe v. Wade.

However: It’s unclear when the two chambers might bust through the stalemate.

“I hope we’re close,” House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) told reporters Wednesday, without outlining a specific timeline.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), for his part, admonished House leaders from the Senate floor following the arrest near Kavanaugh’s Maryland home. 

“House Democrats have spent weeks blocking—blocking—the measure that passed here unanimously related to security for Supreme Court justices,” McConnell said.

Rep. Greg Stanton (D-Ariz.) — who authored a successful bipartisan effort that expanded protections for Supreme Court justices three years ago, granting permanent police protection at justices’ homes — says security should be furthered.

Stanton argued in a statement Wednesday that reports that multiple court staff members and their families’ private information had been published online justifies security for those who work for the court, as well. 

“The safety of all public servants and their families should be a bipartisan issue,” he said.

Worth noting: According to authorities, the man who allegedly targeted Kavanaugh said he was motivated by the recent release of the draft opinion that would overturn Roe, the landmark 1973 decision legalizing abortion.

Clyburn: ‘A will must be developed’ in Congress 

As Senate Democrats face mounting legislative disappointments, House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) said he isn’t sure what it’s going to take for lawmakers to act on top issues. 

“Someone called yesterday and said maybe it’s time for us to have an Emmett Till moment,” Clyburn said during The Hill’s Closing The Gaps in Health Insurance event Wednesday. “I know what that meant because I know what Emmett Till’s open coffin did even to my own youngest daughter.” 

Clyburn’s call for a moment similar to the open casket for Till — whose murder was a catalyst of the civil rights movement — came the same day as survivors and parents of children killed in the Uvalde, Texas school shooting testified before the House Oversight and Reform Committee.

“I don’t know what it’s going to take,” Clyburn said. “There is a will that must be developed if we’re going to do anything about these things.” 

“The people of good will have to make a much better use of their time to say what can we do to prevent these occurrences, stop the violence, stop the absence of healthcare, do the things that are necessary to improve the quality of life for everybody,” Clyburn continued. 

Watch the rest of The Hill’s event here

FATHER APPLAUDS HOUSE, EYES SENATE OVER GUN BILL

House Democrats are poised to keep their promise to quickly pass a sweeping package of gun bills Wednesday despite almost no chance of it being brought to the Senate floor.

The expected passage of a bill promoting the safe storage of firearms would culminate three years of activism on the part of Michael Song, a Connecticut father whose 15-year-old son accidentally shot and killed himself with an unsecured gun at his friend’s house.

“I think that the No. 1 way to move hearts, minds and eventually votes, is through a survivor telling the story of how they lost their child,” Song told NotedDC, admitting he knows his work is far from over despite the expected legislative victory in the House.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) signaled Tuesday that senators will not include measures to expand background checks or raise the purchase age to 21 in a potential bill. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) even admitted that modest reforms will be difficult to achieve, The Hill’s Alex Bolton reported.

“We are good at math,” Song quipped about the difficult path to 60 votes. “This is the right thing to do. This is the safe thing to do.” 

GOP targets vulnerable Democrats with ads 

The House GOP campaign arm announced its initial round of fall television ads Wednesday as it aims to take control of the chamber this November. 

Here are the markets its pouring the most money into:  

• Detroit, Lansing: Republicans are targeting incumbent Democrat Rep. Elissa Slotkin (Mich.), allocating more than $6 million to the Detroit and Lansing markets, both encompassing the 7th Congressional District. Slotkin faces a competitive reelection race against Republican state Sen. Tom Barrett, who recently received support from former Vice President Mike Pence.  
• Boston: Putting pressure on New Hampshire Democratic Reps. Chris Pappas and Ann Kuster, the GOP is flooding the Boston market with $3.5 million. Pappas is considered a vulnerable Democrat, as The Hill’s Julia Manchester previously reported. The GOP primaries will be held in September, with Matt Mowers earning an endorsement from House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) in a potential face-off against Pappas.
• Philadelphia: A good chunk of the $3.3 million will likely be used to target Democrat Rep. Susan Wild’s (Pa.) seat, more vulnerable now after redistricting, according to FiveThirtyEight. She held her seat by less than 4 points in 2020 to Republican Lisa Scheller, who she is likely to battle again. 

Read more on where the $52 million will be spent

🚙 DRIVING INTO THE FUTURE

This week The Hill is exploring what’s next for electric and autonomous vehicles in the series “Driving Into the Future.” Articles will be posted throughout the week here.  

Here’s a snapshot:

• Democrats are walking a tightrope in their push for electric vehicles, writes The Hill’s Rachel Frazin. Read here.
• Increasingly, autonomous cars are raising cybersecurity fears, writes The Hill’s Ines Kagubare. Read here. 

NUMBER TO KNOW

58 percent 

The percentage of Americans that disapprove of President Biden, according to a Morning Consult poll published Wednesday. It’s down from 42 percent in May.

Stay with TheHill.com for the latest and recommend NotedDC to others: thehill.com/noted. See you tomorrow.

VIEW THE FULL EDITION HERE

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Twitter will give Musk user data amid takeover impasse: report

Twitter’s board will yield to Elon Musk’s demands that the company provide information on the number of fake accounts on the website as his purchase of Twitter remains pending, The Washington Post reported Wednesday. 

The agreement could help put Musk’s deal to acquire Twitter for $44 million back on track after the billionaire threatened to put the process “on hold” unless the company could prove that bot accounts make up less than 5 percent of all users.

The board will provide Musk its full data “firehose” of more than 500 million tweets posted daily, The Post reported, citing a person “familiar with the company’s thinking.” Axios also confirmed the data agreement.

The Hill has reached out to Twitter on the reports. Musk did not immediately return a request for comment. 

The Post reported that the data includes a real-time record of tweets posted, the devices they come from and information about the accounts that post them, and could be provided to Musk as early as this week.

Musk made a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday, claiming Twitter was “actively resisting and thwarting his information rights” under the acquisition agreement. A spokesperson for Twitter said the company has been continuing to “cooperatively” share information with Musk, per the terms of the purchase agreement. 

Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal published a Twitter thread last month sharing how the company works to eliminate spam accounts, but Musk questioned Twitter’s estimate that 5 percent of its users were fake accounts in the Monday filing. 

Musk’s deal to buy Twitter has cleared a Federal Trade Commission review but still needs approval from Twitter stockholders and other regulatory approvals before being finalized.

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At least 4 dead after Marine Corps aircraft crashes in California

At least four people onboard a Marine Corps aircraft are dead after the helicopter crashed in southeast California Wednesday, according to local reports. 

An aircraft belonging to 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, based out of San Diego, Calif., crashed about 30 miles north of the Mexican border, near Highway 78 and the town of Glamis, Naval Air Facility El Centro confirmed on its Facebook page.  

Local firefighters, sheriff deputies and military personnel responded to the scene, in a remote area near the border with Arizona. 

The Los Angeles Times reported that emergency responder radio calls from the scene indicated there may have been nuclear materials onboard the helicopter.

The Marine Corps later debunked those speculations, saying in a statement that “contrary to initial reports, there was no nuclear material on board the aircraft.” 

The Times had also been told by a federal source that there were five people aboard the helicopter, with four confirmed dead. 

Source: TEST FEED1