Skip to content
News and updates

Category: Pure Politics

Senate Clears Reconciliation Package; House to Take It Up Friday

Posted on

After a marathon series of votes on amendments over the weekend, the Senate cleared by a vote of 51-50 a version of the reconciliation budget package.  With all 50 Democrats supporting the measure and all 50 Republicans voting against it, Vice President Harris cast the tie-breaking vote.  Because the measure isa reconciliation bill, which provided it procedural protections, it could move forward in the Senate with a simple majority vote.

The House is currently scheduled to take it up on Friday.

We will provide further details about the bill  in the near future.

Biden Announces SCOTUS Pick

Posted on

President Biden confirmed his intention to nominate Ketanji Brown Jackson, of DC, to be an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States. She will replace retiring Justice Breyer.

The Senate is expected to move quickly on her confirmation process once the nomination is received, adding to an already busy 2022 agenda.

Another CR Pushed Through To Buy More Time

Posted on

The House passed on a bipartisan basis yesterday another short-term continuing resolution (CR) to keep the federal government open past the current deadline of midnight, February 19. The Senate is expected to follow suit.

While a number of issues have created problems with respect to the completion of funding bills for FY2022 — which started October 1– one of the biggest hurdles has been the inability of the two parties to come to an agreement on “top line” numbers, the overall funding levels for both defense and non-defense programs.  The passage of another short-term CR allows the various negotiators to continue conversations without risking a government shutdown in less than two weeks.  The CR that was agreed to by the House last evening would keep the government funded through March 11.

Read more about the situation here. 

Eric Lander Resigns as OSTP Director

Posted on

Dr. Eric Lander, the President’s Chief Science Advisor and Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, has reportedly submitted his resignation effective February 18th. The resignation comes amidst several reports that he bullied subordinates. Read more here.

Register Now: Federal Relations Spring Town Hall

Posted on

The Office of Federal Relations will host a virtual town hall for the campus community on Thursday, March 24th from 12pm-1pm PT. Our staff will provide an update on the federal budget, infrastructure and competitiveness bills, and preview the UW’s 2022 federal agenda. This will be followed by an opportunity for Q&A. Register here (NetID restricted).