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“More Deceit”: Gaetz Rages Over McCarthy-Ukraine Side Deal To Pass Stopgap

"More Deceit": Gaetz Rages Over McCarthy-Ukraine Side Deal To Pass Stopgap

Update (2155ET): Following the Senate’s passage of the Continuing…

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"More Deceit": Gaetz Rages Over McCarthy-Ukraine Side Deal To Pass Stopgap

Update (2155ET): Following the Senate's passage of the Continuing Resolution, Rep. Matt Gaetz took to Twitter, where he was enraged over a side deal made between Speaker Kevin McCarthy and the Democrats for Ukraine funding, which Gaetz says he "didn't tell House Republicans" about until after the vote. 

Gaetz was responding to Punchbowl News' Jake Sherman, who related a message from House Democratic leadership.

"When the House returns, we expect Speaker McCarthy to advance a bill to the House Floor for an up-or-down vote that supports Ukraine, consistent with his commitment to making sure that Vladimir Putin, Russia and authoritarianism are defeated. We must stand with the Ukrainian people until victory is won."

Nine Senate Republicans voted against the bill; Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) and J.D Vance (R-Ohio).

*  *  *

Update (2109ET):  The Senate has voted 88-9 to pass the House's Continuing Resolution stopgap funding bill, which stripped out funds for Ukraine, includes $16 billion for disaster relief, and will keep the US government running for another 45 days.

Among the Senate "Yea" votes was Michael Bennet (D-CO), who was absolutely flipping his lid over the lack of Ukraine funding earlier in the day.

The bill, which passed the House earlier in the day by a bipartisan vote of 335-91, was passed with just three hours to go before a shutdown.

Just before the vote, Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) vowed to keep fighting for more US taxpayer dollars for Ukraine, saying that he and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) have "agreed to continue fighting for more economic and security aid for Ukraine."

"We support Ukraine’s efforts to defend its sovereignty against Putin’s aggression," said Schumer - to which McConnell said he's "confident" that the Senate can pass more "urgent assistance to Ukraine later this year. But let's be clear," that the "alternative," a shutdown, "would not just pause our progress on these important priorities, it would actually set them back."

*  *  *

Update (1755ET): After an afternoon of theatrics from Rep. Jamal Bowman (D-NY), it appears that the stopgap legislation to keep the government running through November 17 will now pass at the 11th hour.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the bill to keep the government funded past 12:01 Sunday includes $16 billion in disaster relief, but does not include Ukraine funds.

The House voted 335-91 for the funding measure, which includes $16 billion in disaster relief but omits aid for Ukraine. It also excludes border-security measures sought by Republicans. The margin exceeded the two-thirds majority needed to clear the bill through the House, which considered the legislation under special procedures requiring a supermajority of votes. All but one Democrat voted in favor of the measure, while nearly half of Republicans voted against it. -WSJ

While White House officials say President Biden supports the measure, the Senate has reportedly been lax in quickly taking up the measure late Saturday, raising the possibility of further malarkey.

Developing...

*  *  *

(Update 1655ET): So let's get this straight. In the home stretch of negotiations over the House's GOP stopgap bill - while Democrats were actively trying to stall the vote so they could actually read it - a widely reported phenomenon, Rep. Jamal Bowman (D-NY) pulls the fire extinguisher.

His excuse is that he wasn't actually trying to stall the the vote, and that he's essentially an idiot...

"Congressman Bowman did not realize he would trigger a building alarm as he was rushing to make an urgent vote. The Congressman regrets any confusion," said a spokesperson.

Yes. Because this happens all the time.

MSNBC breathlessly repeats the Simple Jack defense.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy capitalized on the incident, comparing Bowman to a January 6th insurrectionist.

As we noted below... Bowman used to be a public school principal before he was elected to Congress, who rallied against standardized testing, at a private school he founded that has a 27% literacy rate, so... maybe?

Then again, he would be no stranger to fire drills, no?

*  *  *

House before the House finally approved a 'clean' stopgap funding bill to avert a government shutdown (which has since been sent to the Senate for consideration before the midnight funding deadline), Socialist Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) was caught pulling the fire alarm in a House office building Saturday in order to try and delay a vote on ta House GOP stopgap spending bill.

The incident in the Cannon Building was caught on camera and confirmed by several witnesses, Politico reports.

"This is the United States Congress, not a New York City high school. To pull the fire alarm to disrupt proceedings when we are trying to draft legislation to AVERT A SHUTDOWN is pathetic…even for members of the socialist squad," Staten Island GOP Rep. Nicole Malliotakis wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

"Rep Jamaal Bowman pulled a fire alarm in Cannon this morning," House Administration Committee Chairman Bryan Steil wrote on X. "An investigation into why it was pulled is underway."

According to Bowman spox Emma Simon, "Congressman Bowman did not realize he would trigger a building alarm as he was rushing to make an urgent vote. The Congressman regrets any confusion."

In other words, he's claiming to be too stupid to have known what he did - and don't believe your lying eyes!

Granted, Bowman used to be a public school principal before he was elected to Congress, who rallied against standardized testing, at a private school he founded that has a 27% literacy rate, so...

Needless to say, the memes are already flying.

.

Meanwhile, the House cleared the 'clean' stopgap bill without funding for Ukraine or the border, by a vote of 335-91. One Democrat and 90 Republicans voted against the measure.

*  *  *

Update: (1335ET): With a government shutdown just hours away, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has turned to Democrats for help passing a temporary bill, after House Freedom Caucus members dug their heels in over no funds for Ukraine.

"What I am asking, Republicans and Democrats alike, put your partisanship away," said McCarthy. "Focus on the American public."

McCarthy needs a two-thirds majority to pass their Continuing Resolution (CR), which would require a significant number of Democrats - who have strongly supported more Ukraine aid - to cross the aisle.

The House GOP bill would be a 'clean' Continuing Resolution, which won't include Ukraine funding or border assistance.

"We will put a clean funding stopgap on the floor to keep government open for 45 days for the House and Senate to get their work done," said McCarthy following a meeting. "We will also, knowing what had transpired through the summer, the disasters in Florida, the horrendous fire in Hawaii, and also the disasters in California and Vermont. We will put the supplemental portion that the president asked for in disaster there too."

"Keeping the government open while we continue to do our work to end the wasteful spending and the wokeism and most important, secure our border," McCarthy said.

If the bill does not pass, Republicans plan to bring up several measures to mitigate the effects of a government shutdown, multiple members said. 

Those include bills to continue paying service members and extending authorization of the Federal Aviation Administration and National Flood Insurance Program, both of which are also set to expire at midnight unless Congress takes action. Republicans are also examining measures to continue pay for border patrol agents. -The Hill

The Democrats, meanwhile, have been using parliamentary tactics to slow down the vote so they can more carefully read the GOP proposal.

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), one of the key holdouts in the House, called McCarthy's bipartisan appeal "disappointing," and said that McCarthy's speakership is "on tenuous ground."

When asked what his next move will be, Gaetz said "I guess we'll have to see how the vote goes."

What's next?

According to Goldman, there's a 90% probability of a shutdown before the Oct. 1 deadline.

That said, there will be three upcoming catalysts in the next few weeks that may result in passage.

1) All members of the US military are due to be paid on Oct. 13, and a missed pay date would have serious political ramifications; there is a good chance the House will vote to reopen before or shortly after that date; 

2) A few House Republicans have said they might bring a “motion to vacate” that would remove McCarthy as Speaker unless a majority of the House supports him. Whatever the outcome of such a vote, getting past it could set the stage for a reopening; 

3) There are procedural moves (a “discharge petition” is the most frequently discussed) that Democrats can make to pass an extension of spending authority in the House over Speaker McCarthy’s objections. However, this would require support from at least 5 House Republicans (assuming that all Democrats sign on). This will not help avoid a shutdown, but could come into play over the next two weeks, as political pressure to reopen grows (particularly when combined with the first point on military pay). 

In light of the above, Goldman doesn't expect this to last more than 2-3 weeks, and that the Oct. 13 military pay date will become a focal point in the timeline.

*  *  *

Update (2157ET): It looks like the Senate isn't willing to strip Ukraine funds from the continuing resolution. In a Friday night tweet, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) said that the "misguided Senate bill has no path forward and is dead on arrival."

Meanwhile, according to Punchbowl News' Jake Sherman and Josh Bresnahan, McCarthy is floating a CR that would last until Nov. 17 at FY2023 funding levels, which would not include border funds or Ukraine funding.

*  *  *

In an 11th hour Hail Mary in the hopes of averting a government shutdown, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) announced that the only way the House will pass a Continuing Resolution (CR) to fund the government through October is to drop Ukraine funding.

"I think if we had a clean one without Ukraine on it, we could probably be able to move that through," McCarthy told CNN's Manu Raju.

The comment comes hours after McCarthy lost a game of chicken with the House Freedom Caucus, failing to pass a CR which left McCarthy will few options to try and avert a shutdown in less than 36 hours. McCarthy was hoping that the House bill's border security provisions would win over enough holdouts to pass.

Meanwhile, the White House slammed the failed bill over the 'elimination of 12,000 FBI agents,' and 'almost 1,000 ATF agents.'

Of note, House Republicans on Thursday narrowly passed the annual defense spending bill, but only after they removed $300 million in Ukraine aid from the legislation (which then cleared in a separate vote because a bunch of Democrats then voted).

Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who failed twice last week to advance the bill to the floor, finally locked down enough Republican votes to pass the bill after the House stripped $300 million to arm Ukraine from the text.

The separate bill carved out to allocate those funds for Kyiv passed Thursday in a 311-117 blowout bipartisan vote. Republicans had won a close procedural vote earlier in the day to separate the Ukraine money from the Pentagon bill, a move meant to flip a handful of GOP holdouts. -Politico

Democrats framed the optics as Kremlin-friendly, with House Armed Services ranking Democrat Adam Smith saying "The Russians are good at propaganda... It will be played as America backing off of its commitment for Ukraine."

Republicans responded that by carving Ukraine out of the defense bill, it allows opponents of either measure (Ukraine aid or the defense bill) to voice their opinions on each independently.

"Why don’t we make sure this gets through? I mean, I’m just mystified that this is somehow a problem," said House Rules Chair Tom Cole (R-OK), according to Politico. "We guarantee you something you want is going to pass the House and you’re upset about it."

And now, McCarthy says there's no way to avert a government shutdown unless the House, and the Senate, agree to nix Ukraine aid from the 30-day stopgap.

Fire and Brimstone...

On Friday, White House top economic adviser Lael Brainard said that a shutdown would pose an "unnecessary risk" to what he described as a resilient economy with moderating inflation.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen then chimed in, warning that all of Bidenomics could be negatively impacted.

"The failure of House Republicans to act responsibly would hurt American families and cause economic headwinds that could undermine the progress we’re making," Yellen said from Port of Savannah, Georgia, adding "A shutdown would impact many key government functions from loans to farmers and small businesses, to food and workplace safety inspections, to Head Start programs for children.

"And it could delay major infrastructure improvements."

Goldman has predicted that a shutdown will last 2-3 weeks, and that a 'quick reopening looks unlikely as political positions become more deeply entrenched.' Instead, as political pressure to reopen the government builds, pay dates for active-duty military (Oct. 13 and Nov. 1) will become key dates to pay attention to.

In addition, they think a shutdown could subtract 0.2pp from Q4 GDP growth for each week it lasts (adding the same to 1Q2024, assuming it's over by then).

What's more, all data releases from federal agencies would be postponed until after the government reopens.

More via Goldman:

What are the odds the government shuts down?

A shutdown this year has looked likely for several months, and we now think the odds have risen to 90%. The most likely scenario in our view is that funding will lapse after Sep. 30, leading to a shutdown starting Oct. 1. That said, a short-term extension cannot be entirely ruled out. In the event that Congress avoids a shutdown starting Oct. 1, we would still expect a shutdown at some point later in Q4.

While there is likely sufficient support in both chambers of Congress to pass a short-term extension of funding—this is known as a “continuing resolution” (CR)—that is “clean” with no other provisions attached, the majority of that support would come from Democrats. The Senate is considering a CR that includes aid for disaster relief and Ukraine. House Republican leaders are under political pressure to pass a CR that includes Republican policy priorities that can pass with mainly or exclusively Republican support. At the moment, neither chamber looks likely to pass the other chamber's CR.

The outlook seemed bleak ahead of the debt limit deadline earlier this year, but Congress resolved it in time; why shouldn’t we expect a last-minute deal once again?

The smaller economic hit from a shutdown puts less pressure on Republican leaders to override the objections of some in their party to reach a deal. Ahead of the debt limit deadline earlier this year, Republican leaders reached a deal over the objections of some in their party because the potential hit to the economy from an impasse would have been unpredictable and severe, and even lawmakers most strongly opposed to a compromise agreed that the debt limit must be raised. By contrast, the economic hit from a shutdown would be smaller and more predictable, as there have already been two protracted shutdowns over the last decade. While most lawmakers on both sides of the aisle would prefer to avoid a shutdown, both sides appear more willing to take the chance it occurs.

*  *  *

Stay tuned...

Tyler Durden Sat, 09/30/2023 - 17:57

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How we’re using evidence to tackle net zero, slow economy and new hybrid working – sign up for Conversation partnership events and reports

With its IPPO partners, The Conversation is addressing some of the biggest policy challenges.

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Civil servants around the world are wrestling with a vast web of incredibly complex social problems.

From meeting net zero targets in cash-strapped economies, with often low levels of political support, to managing ageing populations, sluggish productivity levels and handling the repercussions of soaring inequality, there are no easy answers.

But a growing body of detailed academic research can help. The biggest challenge is assessing and then effectively communicating this research to governments so they can use it to inform and shape policy.

In December 2020, as the UK was about to enter its third pandemic lockdown, The Conversation partnered on the £2 million, ESRC-funded International Public Policy Observatory (IPPO), a collaboration of UK academic institutions – including UCL, the Welsh Centre for Public Policy (WCPP), Queen’s University Belfast, and the University of Glasgow – and the International Network for Government Science Advice (INGSA) to help make sense of the flood of COVID-related evidence and then report it usefully to policymakers across the UK.

Three years later, IPPO is now a third of the way through its second two-year phase, and has extended its focus to include the challenges of net zero, socio-economic inequalities, place and spatial inequality and COVID-19 recovery.

It has also been engaging with national and local policymakers to find out what kinds of evidence would be of most use to them. After all, to provide impactful answers, researchers need to know what questions people are asking.

What’s coming up?

Since June 2023, our team has been reviewing the new normal of hybrid and remote work, and how these changes are affecting workers with disabilities and long-term health conditions. In our next report, we’ll look at what policymakers can do to ensure that potential gains from more flexible working conditions are embedded into work spaces.

Read more: Sunak should be wary of backtracking on net zero – what history tells us about flip-flopping on the environment

IPPO has also focused its attention on the challenges posed by net zero goals, and highlighted the pathways and barriers to change when it comes to people making their homes more energy efficient. It has also suggested the novel idea of home upgrade agencies to offer bespoke, data-driven advice to households and help everyone make a positive difference.

This month, the team is holding a public event on the best ways to engage society in how we meet net zero goals, as countries across the world face increased opposition to green policies.

In Northern Ireland and Scotland, the team has also been exploring policy interventions to reduce high levels of economic inactivity. It now intends to expand this research to look at what different geographic areas around the UK can learn from one another.

Innovations in evidence

As part of its remit to challenge and improve how evidence is gathered and used, IPPO recently launched a new series of public, online events on new methods for mobilising evidence for greatest impact, to guide researchers, policymakers and intermediaries.

Our next events on “How to Commission Rapid Evidence Assessments for Policy” and “Systems Mapping: Best Approaches and What Works for Policy Design” will bring together experts in evidence and policy to discuss best practice for evidence-informed decision making.

Read more: The UK's four-day working week pilot was a success – here's what should happen next

We’ll also be welcoming David Halpern, chief executive of the behavioural insights team at Nesta, to discuss how to gauge whether an approach that works in one place and time, will work in others, during a public, online event.

Unlocking potential in a crisis

On November 21, IPPO will launch its first evidence review of 2023 looking at how local authorities can accelerate policy change under pressure.

Over the last four months, IPPO and its partner RREAL have looked at the COVID-19 recovery plans developed by local authorities across the country.

During our launch event, the report’s authors will discuss key takeaways from their research, reveal what mechanisms help unlock and deliver progressive policies, and share in-depth case studies of the experiences of those involved in the design and implementation of recovery plans at the local authority level. You can sign up here.

For more information about IPPO, its events and upcoming work, please click here.

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Synaffix joins forces with Sotio on $740M ADC licensing deal, plans expansion after Lonza acquisition

Lonza’s Synaffix is adding another manufacturing licensing partnership by securing a $740 million deal with Sotio Biotech, which would allow Sotio to…

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Lonza’s Synaffix is adding another manufacturing licensing partnership by securing a $740 million deal with Sotio Biotech, which would allow Sotio to use the Dutch company’s three-pronged ADC tech.

It’s been a busy year for Synaffix: It was acquired by Lonza in June and the Sotio deal is its fifth new licensing deal of the year. Synaffix CEO Peter van de Sande told Endpoints News the Lonza acquisition will allow the company to bolster its ADC services. This includes plans to increase its personnel count from 35 to 50 in the next year, as well as expand its facilities and increase its manufacturing R&D capacity.

Since its inception in 2014, Synaffix has had at least 15 licensing deals in total and, according to its website, has its hands on three Phase I assets and nine preclinical programs.

In the Sotio deal, the biotech will lead the R&D for one unnamed bioconjugate program, with Synaffix manufacturing relevant assets. The $740 million deal includes signature, target nomination and milestone payments, as well as the potential for royalties once the asset hits the market. The deal has the potential to expand to two more programs.

Jens Hennecke

Sotio chief business officer Jens Hennecke told Endpoints it chose Synaffix as it is “a recognized player” in the ADC field. “We see them as a perfect fit to what we try to achieve to really lead the forefront of the ADC field,” he added in an interview.

On Friday, Sotio signaled it is increasing its focus on ADC products — what Hennecke described as the company’s “internal darling” — and dumped three clinical trials that studied its interleukin-15 superagonist called nanrilkefusp alfa.

Aside from Sotio, Synaffix also licensed its tech to ABL Bio on Sept. 13 for an undisclosed amount. Earlier, On Feb. 6, Synaffix also licensed its tech to South Korea-based Chong Kun Dang Pharm and, on Jan. 5, partnered with Amgen through a $2 billion licensing deal. This year started with a $150 million partnership with Hummingbird Bioscience, which was announced on Jan. 4.

Last week, Lonza revealed it is boosting its in-house ADC manufacturing by extending its partnership with an unnamed “major biopharmaceutical partner.”

Despite Lonza’s reduced CDMO sales outlook for 2023, van de Sande said Synaffix remains largely unaffected, as highlighted by its licensing deals. “We have more deals up our sleeve as well. You see, the funding landscape for ADCs is still good,” he added.

Synaffix’s ADC platform houses three technology products: GlycoConnect converts monoclonal antibodies into ADCs, HydraSpace stabilizes the linker, which attaches the antibody to the drug of choice or payload, and toxSYN provides six linkers with different payloads that have alternative mechanisms of action.

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BioNTech expects up to $950M in Covid vaccine write-offs after Pfizer lowers expectations

Pfizer’s write-offs for its Covid-19 vaccine are having a ripple effect on partner BioNTech, which is expecting to write off up to €900 million ($950…

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Pfizer’s write-offs for its Covid-19 vaccine are having a ripple effect on partner BioNTech, which is expecting to write off up to €900 million ($950 million) related to the shot, Comirnaty.

BioNTech’s Monday update follows Pfizer’s late Friday announcement that it is launching a $3.5 billion company-wide cost-cutting program and writing off some of its inventory because of “lower-than-expected utilization” of its Covid products, including both Comirnaty and the antiviral Paxlovid.

In response to an Endpoints News inquiry about any cost cuts, a BioNTech spokesperson noted the company has been “actively managing our costs,” and pointed to statements from its second-quarter report in August. Notably, Pfizer also made write-offs in Q2, which “significantly reduced” BioNTech’s gross profit share.

Jens Holstein

“With some uncertainty on the revenue line, we are also carefully watching our spending by revisiting our cost base while remaining focused on executing against our strategic goals and providing value to the public and our shareholders,” CFO Jens Holstein said at the time.

Three years into the availability of Covid vaccines and drugs, companies — particularly those who earned the most at the height of the pandemic — have been scrambling to assess the extent of their revenue drop and recalibrate expectations. In the US, September marked the first vaccine season in which private payers, rather than the government, are footing the bill for Comirnaty. Earlier in the year, Pfizer and BioNTech also revised a contract with the European Union, leading to a smaller commitment to purchase doses.

The majority of Pfizer’s $900 million write-offs on Comirnaty has to do with raw materials, according to BioNTech, “mainly formulation-related lipids, purchased during the pandemic, as well as Covid-19 vaccine doses adapted to other, non-XBB.1.5 variants produced at risk.”

The biotech added that the updated Covid vaccine designed to address the XBB.1.5 variant, which has been approved and distributed on major markets, isn’t part of Pfizer’s write-offs.

It’s still evaluating the exact impact of Pfizer’s new calculations on its own financial results, BioNTech said, noting the €900 million figure is its “current expectation” and represents its half under a gross profit-sharing agreement with Pfizer. The write-offs will reduce the revenues to be reported in its third quarter, although it didn’t specify by how much.

The company previously forecast vaccine revenue of €5 billion for the full year of 2023, after reporting around €1.4 billion for the first half. It is expected to provide an updated estimate in November.

BioNTech shares on the Nasdaq $BNTX are down 5.8% to $97.6 in premarket trading.

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