Author: Thornrun

Capitol Hill Update

Senators will close out their legislative work week today and depart for their Memorial Day district work period. When the upper chamber returns, it’s likely to focus on clearing pending presidential nominations as House Democrats and Senate Republicans remain far apart on the next round of COVID-19 relief legislation. While Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has emphasized the need for more time to analyze implementation of the CARES Act, some GOP Senators — including Sens. Cory Gardner (R-CO), Susan Collins (R-ME), Roy Blunt (R-MO) and Roger Wicker (R-MS) — have begun to express a sense of urgency on addressing various COVID-19 related issues. Despite this intraparty pressure, it remains to be seen whether Leader McConnell will begin to mobilize on the next round of relief efforts when the Senate returns in June.

Continue reading “Today on the Hill: Special COVID-19 Edition (5/21)”

Capitol Hill Update

House lawmakers are poised to take up a measure that would reform the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) when they return to Washington next week. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) plans to call up a bipartisan bill from Reps. Dean Phillips (D-MN) and Chip Roy (R-TX) that would: (1) provide flexibilities on how small businesses use PPP loan funding; (2) give businesses 24 weeks to spend the funds instead of eight; and (3) eliminate a non-statutory requirement preventing non-payroll costs from accounting for more than 25 percent of loan forgiveness. Despite widespread support for additional PPP flexibility from stakeholders and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, it remains to be seen whether the Senate takes up this measure should it clear the House next week.

Continue reading “Today on the Hill: Special COVID-19 Edition (5/20)”

Capitol Hill Update

Senators will resume legislative business today to continue consideration of pending presidential nominations. With House Democrats and Senate Republicans still far apart on the next round of COVID-19 relief legislation, Senate leadership does not currently have plans to take up legislation pertaining to the outbreak. For today, the Senate will hold a final confirmation vote on Scott Rash’s nomination to be a District Judge for the District of Arizona, as well as James Trainor’s nomination to be a Member of the Federal Election Commission. 

Continue reading “Today on the Hill: Special COVID-19 Edition (5/19)”

Capitol Hill Update

House lawmakers have left Washington following passage of the HEROES Act and a resolution to facilitate temporary remote voting and virtual hearings. The rule change will allow Members to submit votes for up to ten absent lawmakers by proxy and permit committees to convene hearings, markups, and depositions through a chief administrative officer-approved software platform. These changes will only last 45 days before needing renewal and will not extend beyond the 116th Congress. In the coming days and weeks ahead, House leadership expects to utilize these remote work flexibilities to convene virtual hearings, markups, and consideration of key 2020 legislative priorities including fiscal year (FY) 2020 appropriations, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), and reauthorization of expiring Surface Transportation and Water Resources Development programs.

Continue reading “Today on the Hill: Special COVID-19 Edition (5/18)”

Capitol Hill Update

House lawmakers have convened for legislative business and have begun consideration of a resolution that would facilitate temporary remote voting and virtual hearings. The rule change would allow Members to submit votes for up to ten absent lawmakers by proxy, and would permit committees to convene hearings, markups, and depositions through a chief administrative officer-approved software platform. These changes would only last 45 days before needing to be renewed, and would not extend beyond the 116th Congress. The resolution is expected to pass along party lines early this afternoon.

Continue reading “Today on the Hill: House Meets to Consider HEROES Act, Remote Work Resolution”

Capitol Hill Update

The House Rules Committee is set to meet today to develop a rule that will govern the floor debate for tomorrow’s session in the lower chamber. Action on the House floor tomorrow includes a vote on the Democrats’ sweeping $3 trillion Health Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act (TRP analysis), as well as a change in the House rules that would facilitate temporary remote work and voting for Members who are unable to travel due to circumstances related to the pandemic. In the upper chamber, Senators will close out their work week with a vote on final passage of a bill that would reauthorize and reform the Foreign Intelligence Services Act (FISA).

Continue reading “Today on the Hill: Special COVID-19 Edition (5/14)”

Capitol Hill Update

House Democrats introduced their sweeping $3 trillion “CARES 2.0” stimulus legislation (text; section-by-section; one pager; state and local fact sheet) yesterday following weeks of intraparty negotiations and assessments of current COVID-19 response efforts. If enacted, the Health Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act would represent the largest federal response to the COVID-19 pandemic to date, with provisions that would provide another round of direct payments to individuals and families, additional funding for health care providers and COVID-19 testing, as well as nearly $1 trillion in aid to state and local governments. TRP’s instant, comprehensive analysis of this legislation can be read here.

Continue reading “Today on the Hill: Special COVID-19 Edition (5/13)”

Capitol Hill Update

House lawmakers are continuing to work on their “CARES 2.0” stimulus proposal, as well as a temporary emergency rule change that would allow for remote voting and committee hearings.The Rules Committee is currently scheduled to meet Thursday morning to develop the rule that will govern debate for these measures — a move that suggests we could see text for these proposals as soon as today with a vote scheduled no earlier than Friday. Members will receive a 72-hours’ notice of any changes to the House schedule. Meanwhile, the Senate will convene today to hold final confirmation votes on Brian Montgomery’s nomination to be Deputy Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, as well as Troy Edgar’s nomination to be Chief Financial Officer of the Department of Homeland Security.

Continue reading “Today on the Hill: Special COVID-19 Edition (5/12)”