Outlook for This Week within the Nation’s Capital
Congress. The Senate is in session this week, and the Home has a committee work interval. The Senate plans to vote on nominee confirmations, on U.S. Postal Service reform laws, and on the Home-passed persevering with decision (CR) to be able to keep away from a authorities shutdown. Hearings for the week embrace inspecting nominations, workforce growth alternatives, youth psychological well being, the nation’s psychological well being disaster, the financial advantages of federal infrastructure investments, the bipartisan infrastructure invoice’s advantages for small companies, methods for grid resilience and reliability, the rise in violence in opposition to minority establishments, oversight of the NTIA, and biosecurity preparedness. Whereas the Home has but to formally ship its model of USICA, also called the America Competes Act of 2022, to the Senate, Punchbowl Information reports this morning that Home and Senate Committees could begin to pre-conference the invoice as early as this week.
Price range and Appropriations. The Home final week handed a CR in a bipartisan 272-162 vote to fund the federal government via March 11. Senate Majority Chief Chuck Schumer (D-NY) mentioned the Senate will take up the stopgap measure quickly, which suggests someday this week provided that the present CR expires on Friday. Importantly, Home and Senate Appropriations leaders final week agreed to a spending framework for FY22 appropriations, although the main points of the framework weren’t made accessible. The appropriations leaders indicated they’re now heading into convention negotiations for the omnibus package deal, which they plan to ship to President Joe Biden’s desk by March 11.
Supreme Court docket. President Biden plans to this week start interviewing potential nominees to switch retiring Supreme Court docket Justice Stephen Breyer. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has reportedly begun the background verify course of for U.S. Circuit Court docket Choose Ketanji Brown Jackson, California Supreme Court docket Justice Leondra Kruger, and South Carolina federal decide J. Michelle Childs. New Mexico Senator Ben Ray Lujan, who just lately suffered a stroke that has saved him in New Mexico, signaled final week that he’ll return to Washington in just a few weeks, probably affecting the schedule for full Senate consideration of the President’s nominee.
Biden Administration. President Biden will go to Cleveland and Lorain, OH on Thursday to debate the influence of the bipartisan infrastructure regulation on Northeast Ohio and the state general. In the meantime, Vice President Kamala Harris will attend the Munich Safety Convention later this week and maintain a sequence of in-person conferences with U.S. allies and companions searching for to discourage Russian aggression in Ukraine.
Final Week within the Nation’s Capital
CONGRESS
Price range & Appropriations
Home Passes Stopgap Invoice to Keep away from Authorities Shutdown, Sends to Senate: The Home final Tuesday handed a short lived authorities funding invoice that may forestall a shutdown later this month. The Senate plans to approve the plan by a Feb. 18 deadline to keep away from a lapse in federal funding. The invoice would prolong funding via March 11 and may give lawmakers sufficient time to craft the omnibus package deal. (CNBC)
Shalanda Younger Receives Committee Assist: Two U.S. Senate Committees voted final Wednesday to ship the nomination of Shalanda Younger for Workplace of Administration and Price range director to the ground, establishing a last affirmation vote for the Cupboard-level place. The Senate Price range Committee voted 15-6 and the Senate Homeland Safety and Governmental Affairs Committee voted 8-6 to advance her nomination to the ground. The Committees additionally superior Nani Coloretti’s nomination to function deputy director. (Clark Hill Perception)
Well being
Psychological Well being Push in Congress Sparks Lobbying Frenzy: Democrats, fearing their well being care agenda is trapped in limbo, are pivoting to a problem they suppose will resonate with tens of millions of People: cracking down on insurers who routinely deny psychological well being and dependancy claims. Congress has tried to resolve the issue not less than 3 times, with legal guidelines relationship to the mid-90s, however a brand new federal report exhibits well being insurers recurrently violate legal guidelines, refusing to pay for psychological well being and substance abuse companies or making sufferers leap via hoops to get care. (Politico)
Banking & Housing
Tester says He’s Reviewing Fed Nominee Raskin as Senate Banking Approaches Vote: Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT), a key Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, mentioned he’s taking a more in-depth have a look at Sarah Bloom Raskin’s involvement in a monetary know-how firm that gained direct entry to the Federal Reserve’s cost system as he weighs whether or not to help her nomination for the Fed board. (Roll Call)
U.S. Senator Warren ‘Urges’ SEC Chief to Concern New Local weather Rule after Delays: Democratic U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren criticized the usSecurities and Alternate Fee (SEC) on Thursday for delays to its landmark local weather change danger disclosure guidelines and referred to as for “fast motion” on the difficulty. (Reuters)
Pelosi Open to Banning Congressional Inventory Buying and selling after Months of Resistance: Democrats making an attempt to ban members of Congress from proudly owning or buying and selling particular person shares say they now have a path ahead after Home Speaker Nancy Pelosi this week mentioned she can be open to the thought after months of resistance. (ABC News)
Crypto/Blockchain
Lawmakers Conflict Over The best way to Regulate Stablecoins: Home Monetary Companies Committee members debated final week whether or not the federal authorities ought to power stablecoin issuers to stick to strict federal financial institution laws and insurance coverage to restrict the dangers of a rapidly rising phase of the cryptocurrency market. Each Democrats and Republicans expressed issues a few stablecoin issuer going bankrupt in instances of disaster in the event that they lacked sufficient money or different simply sellable belongings to cowl redemptions en masse. Policymakers additionally concern a run on a stablecoin may set off broader chaos in monetary markets if the issuer struggles to cowl their losses. (The Hill)
Tax Reform/IRS
Spouses, Taxes and Crypto: The Unanswered Questions for Congress’ Inventory Buying and selling Ban: A push to ban lawmakers from buying and selling shares is operating right into a thicket of technical questions that threaten to derail the hassle, compounding the looming political pitfalls. Bipartisan proposals that may require lawmakers to place belongings into blind trusts are going through resistance from watchdogs who say they wouldn’t go far sufficient and that members ought to be pressured into broad-based mutual funds. Key taxation questions are unresolved. And the scope of a ban — together with whether or not it will apply to spouses and aides — is up within the air. (Politico)
Transportation
Democratic Lawmakers Criticize USPS Plan to Buy Fuel-Powered Vans: Democratic leaders within the Home Sustainable Power and Setting Coalition (SEEC) criticized the US Postal Service for its plans to buy a predominantly fossil fuel-powered fleet slightly than investing in electrical autos. In a letter to the Postal Service despatched Wednesday, Reps. Gerald Connolly (D-VA), Doris Matsui (D-CA), Paul Tonko (D-NY), Matt Cartwright (D-PA), Alan Lowenthal (D-CA), Donald McEachin (D-VA), Chellie Pingree (D-ME), and Mike Quigley (D-IL) expressed “sturdy opposition” to the plan, saying that it “did not abide correctly by Nationwide Environmental Coverage Act (NEPA) necessities.” (The Hill)
Republicans say Biden Forcing ‘Woke’ Agenda in Infrastructure Legislation: Republicans are ramping up complaints that the Biden administration is injecting its agenda into its implementation of the bipartisan infrastructure regulation regardless of agreements reached by Republicans and Democrats to cross it final 12 months. (Roll Call)
Area/NASA & NOAA
Senators Cantwell and Wicker Press Want for NASA Authorization Invoice This Yr: The primary focus of a Senate listening to final week on NASA was the insistence by the committee’s bipartisan management for Congress to cross a brand new NASA authorization act to allow efficient congressional oversight of the company’s actions. The Senate handed a brand new invoice final summer time, however there was no motion within the Home so the rhetoric appeared geared toward Home and Senate management slightly than the professional witnesses on the desk. Whereas a NASA authorization proposal was hooked up to the Senate’s USICA invoice, the Home companion didn’t and is sort of silent on house points. (Space Policy Online)
Homeland Safety & Immigration
Cardin, Warren Lead Name for COVID-19 Booster Photographs for People in DHS/ICE Custody: A dozen U.S. Senators, led by Ben Cardin (D-Md.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) are urging the U.S. Division of Homeland Safety (DHS) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to take quick actions to guard people in ICE custody from COVID-19. Particularly, the senators are calling out DHS and ICE for failing “to offer COVID-19 booster photographs for folks in ICE detention.” (Clark Hill Insight)
A Freshman Republican is Rolling out a Center-of-the-Highway Proposal She Claims Would Assist Repair the Immigration System: Freshman Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL), who describes herself as a “brown lady from the hood,” is rolling out an immigration plan that she claims will repair the immigration system as soon as and for all. (Politico)
Judiciary/Justice
Senators Strike Bipartisan Deal on Home Violence Invoice: A bipartisan group of U.S. senators launched a proposal Wednesday to reauthorize the Nineteen Nineties-era regulation that extends protections for victims of home and sexual violence after it lapsed in 2019 due to Republican opposition. (NBC News)
Senate Clears #MeToo Invoice Banning Obligatory Arbitration: The Senate cleared a invoice Thursday that may forbid clauses in employment contracts requiring staff to litigate sexual harassment and abuse circumstances in personal, slightly than a court docket, a number of years after the #MeToo motion drew consideration to the difficulty. (Politico)
EARN IT Act Will get No Adjustments to Encryption Language in Senate Committee: The Senate Judiciary Committee accepted laws Thursday that’s designed to crack down on youngster sexual abuse supplies on-line, regardless of warnings from privateness advocates that the invoice may pose a serious menace to encrypted applied sciences. (CyberScoop)
Sens. Ossoff & Cassidy Introduce Bipartisan Laws to Give People Management of Their On-line Information: Sen. Ossoff and Sen. Invoice Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) launched the bipartisan Information Elimination and Limiting In depth Monitoring and Alternate (DELETE) Act, laws that may allow and empower People to request that knowledge brokers delete their private knowledge. (Clark Hill Insight)
Cyber
Senators Relaunch Cybersecurity Payments Following Considerations: Leaders of the Homeland Safety and Governmental Affairs Committee launched the Strengthening American Cybersecurity Act final Wednesday, which bundles provisions from three payments that couldn’t recover from the end line in earlier makes an attempt. Collectively it will require private-sector essential infrastructure homeowners to report cybersecurity incidents to CISA, make the primary modifications to the Federal Data Safety Modernization Act in seven years, and codify the Basic Companies Administration’s Federal Threat and Authorization Administration Program–FEdRAMP—which goals to certify the safety of federal cloud distributors. (NextGov)
Agriculture
Schumer Strikes to Restrict Debate on Califf Nomination: Senate Majority Chief Chuck Schumer (D-NY) filed cloture final Thursday on Robert Califf’s nomination to guide the Meals and Drug Administration, signaling Democrats anticipate to have the votes to verify him. The Senate is predicted to formally vote on his affirmation as early as Tuesday. (Politico)
Setting & Inside
Congresswoman Bush and Senator Markey Urge Biden to Launch Draft Environmental Justice Mapping Instrument: Congresswoman Cori Bush (D-MO) and Senator Edward J. Markey (D-MA) urged the Biden administration to swiftly launch a primary iteration of the Local weather and Financial Justice Screening Instrument, which would offer authorities businesses with data and knowledge on the consequences that environmental harms have on deprived communities. (Clark Hill Insight)
Bipartisan Group of Lawmakers Introduce Coastal Resilience Laws: A bunch of bipartisan lawmakers on Thursday launched a invoice that goals to guard in opposition to coastal and river flooding as local weather change makes sea ranges rise. The invoice, from Sens. Tom Carper (D-DE) and Invoice Cassidy (R-LA), in addition to Reps. Garret Graves (R-LA) and Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), comes as resilience and adaptation is rising as an space of bipartisan cooperation on local weather change, an in any other case extremely partisan difficulty. (The Hill)
Power
Two Home Democrats Query PR-award Corporations on Work with Fossil Gas Corporations: Reps. Katie Porter (D-CA) and Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ) despatched a letter Wednesday to 6 public relations-award corporations, asking for particulars on their work with power firms and whether or not they had aided them in campaigns to obscure the hyperlink between fossil fuels and local weather change. (The Hill)
Republican U.S. Senator Presses Power Division on Seabed Mining: A prime Republican U.S. senator urged the U.S. power secretary this week to offer data on the Biden administration’s technique for home mining of minerals for electrical car batteries on the seabed flooring. Seabed mining is a brand new trade that backers say can provide most of the metals together with nickel, copper, cobalt, and manganese for superior batteries and different parts in electrical autos. (Reuters)
U.S. Senate Committee to Maintain Listening to on Biofuel Mandates: A U.S. Senate committee is predicted to carry a listening to across the nation’s biofuel mixing legal guidelines this week, because the Biden administration works to finalize controversial proposals round mixing necessities and exemptions for oil refiners. (Reuters)
Sens. Kelly, Hassan Lead Colleagues in Introducing Invoice to Decrease Excessive Fuel Costs on the Pump: U.S. Senators Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) are introducing the Fuel Costs Reduction Act, laws to decrease excessive fuel costs by quickly suspending the federal fuel tax via the top of the 12 months, bringing much-needed financial aid to households throughout Arizona and the nation. Kelly and Hassan’s invoice can also be co-sponsored by Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), and Jackie Rosen (D-NV). (Clark Hill Insight)
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
Banking & Housing/HUD
FHFA Seeks Enter on FY2022-26 Strategic Plan: The Federal Housing Finance Company (FHFA) has requested enter on its Draft Strategic Plan, which outlines the company’s priorities for the approaching years as regulator of the Federal Residence Mortgage Financial institution System and as regulator and conservator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises). (National Mortgage Professional)
Fed to Stress Check Banks Towards Industrial Actual Property, Company Debt Troubles in 2022: The U.S. Federal Reserve introduced on Thursday that its 2022 spherical of enormous financial institution stress checks will embrace a extreme decline in business actual property costs and turmoil in company bond markets. (Reuters)
Treasury Releases Competitors Report for Alcohol Market, Recommends Boosting Alternative for Small Companies: The U.S. Division of the Treasury, in session with the U.S. Division of Justice and the Federal Commerce Fee, launched a brand new report on competitors within the markets for beer, wine, and spirits. (Clark Hill Insight)
Transportation/DOT
FAA Strikes to Shield Security Staff from Producer Interference: The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) mentioned it was issuing draft steerage searching for to guard aviation workers who carry out authorities certification duties from interference by airplane producers and others. (Reuters)
Commerce
Police Arrest Protesters Blocking a Key Border Crossing Between the U.S. and Canada, Nearing an Finish to ‘Financial Disaster’: A crackdown to take away protesters decrying Covid-19 mandates may quickly restore normalcy to American and Canadian companies impacted by the standoff. Canadian Police have began arresting protesters blocking the Ambassador Bridge linking the U.S. and Canada — an deadlock that has snarled visitors and crippled a key commerce route for each international locations. (CNN)
Protection/DOD
The Military’s New Many years-Lengthy Local weather Technique Has No Price range: The Military’s new local weather technique contains plans for an all-electric car fleet and requires microgrids on all of its 130 installations, however no estimates for what all the pieces will price. “We’re working via the funding,” Paul Farnan, the appearing assistant secretary for Military installations, power, and setting informed reporters on Wednesday. And as applied sciences “mature and develop,” the funding will proceed to be a “transferring goal.” (Defense One)
DHS & Immigration
U.S. Testing Robotic Canines to Assist Patrol the Border: Robotic canines may quickly assist patrol the U.S.-Mexico border. Each political events have lengthy mentioned U.S. Customs and Border Safety wants extra know-how to observe the two,000-mile terrain, however some Democrats and advocates say the border is already overly militarized. (Axios)
FEMA Rolls Out Textual content Function to Assist People Discover Open Shelters Throughout Disasters: The Federal Emergency Administration Company (FEMA) has up to date its texting characteristic to assist People discover open shelters throughout disasters. The company introduced final Tuesday that an individual will be capable of textual content “shelter” and their ZIP code to 43362, and a listing of shelters inside 200 miles of their location might be despatched to them. (The Hill)
Cyber
SEC’s Breach Notification Proposal One Step Nearer to a Closing Vote: The Securities and Alternate Fee voted Wednesday 3-1 to approve a suggestion for tighter necessary cybersecurity necessities for monetary establishments. The proposed rule will now open to public remark earlier than a last vote. Most critically, the brand new rule would require confidential experiences of any “vital” cybersecurity incidents to the SEC inside 48 hours, and in addition would require advisers and funds to undertake a typical set of cybersecurity protections. (Cyberscoop)
US Cyber Protection Company Warns of Doable Russian Cyberattacks Amid Tensions: The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Safety Company (CISA) has issued a “Shields Up” alert for American organizations saying that U.S. methods may face Russian cyberattacks amid warnings from Biden administration officers {that a} Russian invasion of Ukraine might be imminent. CISA mentioned organizations ought to check backup procedures to rapidly restore compromised knowledge, designate a disaster response crew, be sure that software program is updated and validate that administrative entry to methods requires multi-factor authentication, amongst different suggestions. (The Hill)
