Skip to content
News and updates

News and updates

Senate Passes COVID Relief Bill, Sends It Back to House for Final Clearance

Posted on

After a marathon session during which scores of amendments were considered and voted on, the Senate finally cleared its COVID relief bill on Saturday by a vote of 50 to 49.  The Senate made a number of modifications to the House-passed measure, meaning that this version must now be sent back to the House for its approval before it can become law.  With the current set of enhanced federal unemployment benefits running out next Monday, the goal of the Congressional Democrats and the Biden Administration is to have President Biden sign the final bill into law by Sunday.

Read more about the Senate changes and next steps in the process here, here, here, and here.

Raimondo Confirmed as Commerce Secretary

Posted on

Gina Raimondo, Governor of Rhode Island, was confirmed yesterday as the Secretary of Commerce.  She is scheduled to be sworn in this evening.  The Commerce Department is the home agency to both NOAA and NIST.

You can read more about Raimondo here, here, and here.

House Passes Biden Relief Bill

Posted on

After a floor debate that lasted into early Saturday morning Eastern Time, the House passed H.R. 1319, the Biden Administration’s initial COVID relief bill.  In the end, the vote was 219 – 212, with two Democrats joining all Republicans in opposing the package.

The legislation now heads to the Senate, where the minimum wage provisions will need to be stricken due to a ruling from the Senate Parliamentarian.  Other provisions may change along the way as well.

The goal of the Biden Administration and Congressional Democrats is to get a bill signed into law by by March 14, when the enhanced unemployment insurance payments are scheduled to end.

Read more about the vote and the bill here, here, and here.