Skip to content
News and updates

News and updates

Split Screen: COVID Package in House, Trump Trial in Senate

Posted on

As noted yesterday, House committees that received instructions to craft specific parts of the larger COVID relief package will begin to act today, with the Education and Labor Committee marking up its bill at 3 PM today (the session will be webcast here).  The Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I), Financial Services, and Agriculture Committees are scheduled to follow suit by marking up their bills on Wednesday.  Copies of the T & I and Financial Services bills were released late yesterday.

The House Ways and Means Committee is expected to take up its piece of the COVID package next week during a markup that is expected to take multiple days.  The entirety of the Ways and Means package and summaries of each section are available here.  Provisions of interest in the bill include, for example:

  • $1,400 credit for both children and non-child dependents;
  • Tax credits for state and local governments to provide paid family and medical leave created by Families First Corona Response Act, which would become effective March 31, 2021; and,
  • Extension of the employee retention tax credit.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Capitol complex, the full Senate today is scheduled to start the trial to convict former president Donald Trump.  Once the trial officially starts, both sides can use up to 16 hours to make their case.

After Approval of Process, COVID Package Getting Put Together

Posted on

With both chambers of Congress having approved last week the processes by which the Biden Administration COVID relief package will move, House committees with jurisdiction over different pieces of the legislation will begin to craft their portions starting Tuesday.

The House Education and Labor Committee is scheduled to move first tomorrow with its bill.  The committee staff has produced a summary of the legislation.

The Democrats’ proposal would provide $39.6 billion for higher education; 91 percent of the funds would be allocated to institutions based on the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund formula.  Institutions would have to spend at least 50 percent of the funds it receives on student grants but they would have the flexibility on determining which students receive aid.

In addition, the legislation would provide $100 million for Institute for Education Science to conduct research on learning loss as well as $135 million each to the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Following the Education and Labor Committee’s markup tomorrow, a slew of other House committees are scheduled to follow suit throughout the rest of this week and next week.

Please continue to check back for additional updates on the relief package.

What We’re Reading this Week (February 1st-5th, 2021)

Posted on

Below is a selection of articles the Federal Relations team read this week.

Senate Under New Leadership: On Wednesday the Senate formally adopted the power-sharing resolution allowing Democrats to take control of Committees. More.

1st Tie Breaking Vote: Vice President Kamala Harris cast her first tie-breaking vote early Friday morning in the divided Senate, allowing a budget resolution with a $1.9 trillion COVID stimulus to proceed. More.

Removed from Committees: Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) was removed from her assignments to the House Education and Labor, and Budget Committees, in a full House vote, as punishment for her use of violent rhetoric and promotion of conspiracy theories. The highly-partisan resolution passed 230-199. Read more.

Liz Cheney: House Republicans voted Wednesday night to keep Congresswoman Liz Cheney (R-WY) in her role as the #3 GOP leader, after she faced criticism from within her caucus for voting to impeach former President Trump following the insurrection at the Capitol. Full story.

More Nominations: The Senate Banking Committee voted to approve Congresswoman Marcia Fudge’s (D-OH) nomination to be Secretary of Housing and Urban Development in the new Administration. Her nomination will now go to the full Senate for confirmation. The committee also voted to approve Cecilia Rouse to be Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers. Read more.

Defense Production Act: The Biden Administration reported that its using the Defense Production Act to produce Pfizer vaccine supplies, at-home testing kits, and PPE for frontline workers. More.

Budget Resolution Under Consideration

Posted on

The FY21 joint budget resolution under consideration by the House and Senate will give “reconciliation” instructions to 11 authorizing committees, directing them to report legislation related to spending, revenue, or debt. The Democrats’ joint resolution carves out an addition $1.9 trillion in deficit spending by changing the top level discretionary spending amount for FY21.

The 3 committees with the largest instructions are:

  • Finance ($1.296 trillion)
  • Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions ($305 billion)
  • Baking, Housing, and Urban Affairs ($89 billion)

The deadline to report legislation is February 16th.

The reconciliation process can be used as a vehicle to pass large agenda items such as a minimum wage increase, COVID relief, and additional stimulus checks, as long as it is related to the budget. Congress is limited to one reconciliation measure each year from each of the categories of direct spending, revenue and the debt limit.

There are various restrictions as to how this process can be used. In the Senate, reconciliation bills are not subject to the filibuster (can pass by simple majority) and amendments must be germane to the bill, however the Byrd Rule applies which limits the provisions included. For a more detailed overview, you can read here.

Mayorkas, Buttigieg Confirmed

Posted on

As expected, Alejandro Mayorkas and Pete Buttigieg were confirmed earlier this afternoon as Secretary of Homeland Security and Transportation, respectively. Mayorkas was approved 56-43 and the vote on Buttigieg’s nomination was 86-13.