The 117th Congress, which was sworn in last month, is a historic Congress for many reasons. One of the most consequential is that both the House of Representatives and the Senate have the narrowest majorities in history. Republican gains in the House have left Democrats with their slimmest majority since World War II, and that is with two races, one in New York and one in Iowa, still not resolved.
President Biden’s appointments of former Reps. Cedric Richmond (D-LA), Karen Bass (D-OH) and Deb Halaand (D-NM) to his administration have further narrowed Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s margin for error, at least until the special elections for those seats, which Democrats are favored to win, are held. In the Senate, Democrats gained four seats after winning the two runoff elections in Georgia, creating the second 50-50 Senate in the past 20 years. They now hold a tenuous majority due to Vice President Kamala Harris’ role as president of the Senate and her ability to cast a tie-breaking vote.
Another historic milestone for the 117th Congress is that it has the most female representatives in history. The 2018 elections set the previous record when 35 women, mostly Democrats, were elected for the first time. The new Congress has a net addition of 14 women, this time mostly Republicans, growing the female representation to above a quarter of all congressional seats for the first time.
There are many aspects of note about the 117th Congress, ranging from historic milestones to quirky facts:
- Rep. Marilyn Strickland (D-WA-10) is the first Korean-American woman elected to Congress, and by joining Rep. Andy Kim (D-NJ-03), it marks the first time two Korean Americans have served in the same Congress.
- Rep. Kai Kahele (D-HI-2) is the second native-born Hawaiian elected to serve in Congress since statehood and is the only member of the delegation not from Oahu.
- Rep. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) is the fourth astronaut elected to Congress and the first since 1982.
- Rep. Carlos Giminez (R-FL-26) is the second Cuban-born member of Congress, joining Rep. Albio Sires (D-NJ-8).
- The addition of Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA-9) makes three members of Congress born in Canada, joining Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY-18) and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX).
- No Republican incumbents in the House were defeated in November’s general election. This marks the second consecutive election where one party accomplished such a feat. No House Democrats were defeated in the general election in 2018.
- Four former members of Congress returned. Three House members, who had either retired or were defeated in 2018, returned to the House, and one former House member, Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), won a Senate seat.
- Two House members moved to the Senate: Sens. Rogers Marshall (R-KS) and Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM).
- Two first-time candidates won seats in the Senate: Sens. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) and Bill Hagerty (R-TN).
Among the freshman class are a number of members who have connections with or are champions of our industry. The first is Rep. Peter Meijer (R-MI-3). Meijer is a business analyst and U.S. Army veteran who hails from the family who owns NACS member company Meijer Inc. Prior to his election to Congress, Meijer served as an intelligence adviser in Iraq, a conflict analyst for a humanitarian organization and a business analyst back home in Michigan. He also served as a board member of an organization which seeks to encourage more military veterans to run for elected offices. He joined Rep. Greg Pence (R-IN-6) as members with recent, direct ties to our industry and joined scores of others who worked in the convenience industry at some point in their younger years.
NACS works to build relationships with each new congressional member during their freshman terms.
Another freshman familiar with the c-store industry is Rep. Stephanie Bice (R-OK). In the Oklahoma State Senate, she served as chair of the Senate Finance Committee and assistant majority leader for two years. Bice worked to modernize Oklahoma’s alcohol laws, which had not been updated since prohibition was repealed there in 1959. She championed legislation that allowed convenience and grocery stores to sell wine and high-point beer in Oklahoma. Bice won election after challenging first-term incumbent Rep. Kendra Horn (D-OK) by a vote of 52.1% to 47.9%. Bice is the first Iranian American to serve in Congress.
As noted, there were four incoming members of Congress who returned to the House and Senate and were not members of the 116th Congress but served in previous Congresses. NACS worked closely with them on a number of issues important to the convenience industry.
Before he announced he would not seek re-election in 2018, Rep. Darrell Issa represented California’s 49th congressional district from 2013 to 2019. During his previous service, he chaired the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and served on six different House committees, including the House Judiciary Committee, House Energy and Commerce Committee and the House Select Committee on Intelligence. In addition to participating in a NACS In Store event in his district, Issa worked closely with NACS on swipe fees and fuels issues. He returned to Congress in the neighboring 50th district, a seat vacated with the resignation of former Congressman Duncan Hunter.
Before his defeat in 2018 to Democrat Rep. Collin Allred in Texas’ 32nd district, Rep. Pete Sessions served in Congress from 1997 to 2019. During that time, he chaired the National Republican Congressional Committee and was chairman of the House Rules Committee (2013-19). From swipe fees to menu labeling to fuels issues, Sessions worked closely with NACS and convenience retailers in his district. Like Issa, Sessions returned to Congress to represent a different district from when he last served. He now represents Texas’ 17th district, which was vacated by the retirement of former Congressman Bill Flores.
Rep. David Valadao represented California’s 21st congressional district from 2013 to 2019 before being defeated by Democrat Rep. TJ Cox. He served on the House Appropriations Committee, where NACS worked with Valadao on a variety of issues relating to fuels and underground storage tanks. By winning his rematch with former Rep. Cox, Valadao has the unique distinction of being one of three Republican candidates in California to unseat an incumbent Democrat—the first time since 1994.
Getting to know members early in their terms is one of the best things you can do for your business.
Sen. Cynthia Lummis will succeed Sen. Mike Enzi, who was a longtime friend of the convenience industry. Lummis will be the first woman to represent Wyoming in the Senate. She represented Wyoming’s at-large congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2009 until her retirement in 2017. She was known as a fiscal conservative, using her position on the House Appropriations Committee to cut federal spending and eliminate government waste. NACS worked with Lummis on swipe fees, fuels and environment issues.
NACS works to build relationships with each new congressional member during their freshman terms, and we urge you to do the same if your stores operate in any of these districts. Getting to know members early in their terms is one of the best things you can do for your business—before you need to ask them for a vote. Reach out to their new district offices and set up introductory meetings. Offer yourself as a resource for issues, and work to keep those relationships going. Today’s freshman class members may very well take on leadership roles in short order. If you have questions about building such relationships, feel free to contact me, Jon Taets, at [email protected].