Good evening. We’re just hours away from a likely strike by some 45,000 dockworkers that is expected to shut down activity at dozens of ports along the East Coast and the Gulf of Mexico. The International Longshoremen's Association, the union representing dockworkers, and the United States Maritime Alliance, which represents the ports, are at impasse over wages and benefits as the current six-year contract expires at midnight. A work stoppage threatens to disrupt the flow of a range of goods into the U.S. economy, potentially leading to supply shortages and price increases. The cost to the economy could total $5 billion a day.
Here's what else is happening.
Biden May Call Congress Back to Pass Hurricane Relief
With the Southeastern United States dealing with the widespread devastation wrought by Hurricane Helene, President Joe Biden said on Monday that he expects to ask Congress for emergency relief funding and may request that lawmakers return to Washington, D.C. before the November elections to take up that legislation. Lawmakers left town last week to hit the campaign trail after passing a stopgap spending bill running through December 20, but that bill did not include additional disaster funding.
The hurricane, which made landfall Thursday night as a Category 4 storm before cutting across hundreds of miles from Florida to Tennessee, has left communities across the Southeast struggling to recover from massive flooding and damage as well as power and cellular service outages. It reportedly has led to at least 128 deaths, with hundreds more still missing.
“It’s not just a catastrophic storm. It’s a historic, history-making storm,” Biden said in remarks from the White House Monday morning.
The president said he plans to travel to North Carolina this week but is waiting to ensure that his visit won’t be disruptive to the crisis response efforts. “I’ve directed my team to provide every available resource as fast as possible to your communities to rescue, recover and to begin rebuilding,” Biden said. “I’m here to tell every single survivor in these impacted areas that we will be there with you as long as it takes.”
The hurricane response has quickly become a presidential campaign issue.
Vice President Kamala Harris canceled planned campaign stops Monday to return from Las Vegas to Washington, D.C., where she was scheduled to receive a briefing at the Federal Emergency Management Agency on the hurricane and response efforts. And former President Donald Trump visited Valdosta, Georgia, where he was briefed on the storm and helped deliver relief supplies, according to his campaign.
“As you know, our country is in the final weeks of a hard-fought national election,” Trump said. “But in a time like this when a crisis hits, when our fellow citizens cry out in need, none of that matters. We're not talking about politics now. We have to all get together and get this solved.”
Contrary to those remarks, though, Trump wasn’t setting aside the politics. On Sunday, he criticized the hurricane response from both Biden and Harris, claiming that the president was asleep in Delaware and that the vice president was too busy fund-raising. He kept up the attacks on Monday.
Biden pushed back on the criticism, telling reporters that he had led the response effort from his Delaware home. “I was commanding,” he said. “I was on the phone for at least two hours yesterday and the day before as well. I command. It’s called a telephone.”
Biden has approved major disaster declarations for Florida and North Carolina and emergency declarations for seven states: Florida and North Carolina as well as Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.
Poll of the Day: Hoping to Hear More on Healthcare
Two-thirds of American adults say that healthcare issues are getting short shrift in the presidential campaign, according to a new poll from Gallup and West Health. Majorities across the political spectrum share that view, with 78% of Democrats, 53% of Republicans and 67% of independents telling pollsters that healthcare isn’t getting enough attention from the candidates.
The poll also found that independents trust Vice President Kamala Harris more than former President Donald Trump on some key healthcare questions, including which candidate would improve access to care and insurance coverage, lower the cost of prescription drugs and protect or strengthen Medicare. Yet sizable shares of independents don’t trust the candidates on some healthcare issues, with a plurality (37%) skeptical that either Harris or Trump can improve the quality of healthcare and a similar percentage (35%) expressing doubts that either can lower the overall cost of healthcare. See the chart below for more details.
Poll respondents made protecting Medicare and Social Security their top healthcare-related issue, with 63% saying it was among the most important factors in determining their vote. Lowering healthcare costs was next highest, at 57%.
“Although other political issues may be overshadowing healthcare in the current election, Americans continue to have serious concerns about their ability to afford the healthcare they need,” Gallup’s Sarah Fioroni writes.
The poll surveyed a total of 3,660 adults from September 9 to 16.
Fiscal News Roundup
- Biden Says He Could Ask Congress to Pass Aid for ‘Catastrophic’ Helene Damage – New York Times
- Biden: Congress ‘May Have to’ Come Back to Approve Disaster Funding – Politico
- Harris, Trump Focus on Fallout From Hurricane Helene – Washington Post
- Kemp Praises Biden’s Hurricane Helene Response Amid Trump Criticism – The Hill
- DeSantis on Helene Recovery: 'We Have What We Need Right Now' – Politico
- US Port Strike by 45,000 Dockworkers Is All but Certain to Begin at Midnight – Associated Press
- East Coast Port Strike: Truckers, Rails Scramble to Move Billions in Cargo Before ILA Union Midnight Shutdown – CNBC
- Federal Government ‘Surging All Resources’ After Helene, Homeland Security Chief Vows – NBC News
- Trump Floats ‘One Really Violent Day’ for Police to Combat Retail Crime – Washington Post
- Johnson’s December Jam – Politico
- Fed Chair Powell Says the US Economy Is in ‘Solid Shape’ With Gradual Rate Cuts Coming – Associated Press
- Powell Points to Two More Normal-Size Rate Cuts This Year – New York Times
- Treasuries Pare Historic Gain After Powell Comments on Economy – Bloomberg
- Respected CBO Staffer Retires After Nearly a Half-Century – Roll Call
Views and Analysis
- The Only Patriotic Choice for President – New York Times Editorial Board
- Millions Could Lose Insurance Subsidies, Depending on the Election – Margot Sanger-Katz, New York Times
- What to Expect if Port Workers Strike, and How It May Affect the Economy – Ian Duncan, Washington Post
- A Potential Dockworkers Strike Could Mean Product Shortages and High Prices Ahead of the Holidays – Mae Anderson and Anne D’Innocenzio, Associated Press
- Tester’s Senate Fate Could Make or Break a Harris Presidency – Carl Hulse, New York Times
- British Labour Has an Economics Lesson for Democrats – Greg Ip, Wall Street Journal
- Washington Isn’t Hogging Wealth Like London or Paris – Justin Fox, Bloomberg