text: CONGRESS: The House remains out of session, and NSTR for the Senate. The House is set to vote on 16 bills this week, including one on “Census Interference Prevention” (HR 8326, Ensuring a Fair and Accurate Census Act), which will establish a review process before any additional questions are added to the Census. This bill is in response to Trump administration attempts to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census. Critics say the bill takes oversight away from the Commerce Department. ROBERTS WARNS DECISION CRITICISM UNDERMINES SCOTUS LEGITIMACY: Chief Justice of the Supreme Court John Roberts said that while criticism is appropriate, disagreement with rulings alone “is not a basis for questioning the legitimacy of the court.” The Supreme Court is scheduled to begin hearing cases again next month. (Analyst Comment: SCOTUS is scheduled to hear two dozen cases this year, most of which will likely be announced by mid-June. One of those cases, Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina, will challenge the university’s race-based admissions standards. Another case, Merrill v. Milligan, charges that Alabama’s black population, roughly 27% of the state’s population, should get a second majority-black voting district. – M.S.)DEMS COULD CHANGE ELECTION RESULTS THROUGH 14TH AMENDMENT: A recent Congressional Research Service report on the Insurrection Clause of the 14th Amendment outlines a path to deny public office to anyone who gave “words of encouragement” or “expressed an opinion from an influential position” in support of the January 6 Capitol riot. If the rule is invoked, Congress could choose to exclude incoming members by a simple majority vote which can only be overturned with a two-thirds majority or a SCOTUS case. The report says Congress could have several ways to invoke the clause. (AC: There is precedent for removing elected officials under the Insurrection Clause, but none are strong. A federal judge ordered the removal of a county official in New Mexico over his involvement with J6, although the public official has not been charged with insurrection. Another attempt has been made against an Indiana official over his affiliation with Oathkeepers. Republicans are warning that Democrats could vote not to seat incoming Republicans who expressed support for the protest, however, that move appears to be legally tenuous. The CRS report is available in the Forward Observer Library here: https://forwardobserver.com/library – M.S. )DOMESTIC INTSUMFOOD & AG: Open long positions on corn are at their highest levels since at least 2017, potentially indicating that the corn crop is worse than USDA expectations. It’s another sign that food prices will remain high. – T.WENERGY: Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned that EU purchasing cuts of Russian oil and gas and a ban on Russian oil tankers could push gas prices substantially higher. Higher energy prices will also contribute to stronger inflation. – T.W.ECONOMY: U.S. household wealth fell to $143 trillion in Q2, leading to falling consumer sentiment. The annual adjusted rate of -20.9% included in the Fed’s report did not adjust for inflation, which increases the drop by $2.6 trillion to a record $8.7 trillion. – T.W.HURRICANE SEASON: NSTR