Author: Thornrun

Capitol Hill Update

House lawmakers are continuing their 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. As such, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer announced moments ago that Members “may” convene for legislative business no earlier than this Friday pending the introduction of these measures. Democratic leadership will give a 72-hours notice of any scheduled votes in the near future.

Continue reading “This Week on the Hill: House Dems Continue Work on ‘CARES 2.0,’ Remote Work Proposals”

Capitol Hill Update

House lawmakers are currently scheduled to return to Washington next week, yet the lack of a “CARES 2.0” proposal from House Democratic leadership suggests that this date could get pushed to the following week of May 18. House Democrats are still tying up loose ends on their forthcoming stimulus proposal and have cooled on their original timeline of producing legislative text by the end of this week. Intel from senior Democratic leadership sources suggests that the House majority could have a section-by-section outline of the package as soon as this weekend, with legislative text released toward the middle to late part of next week. Meanwhile, the two parties are currently far apart on the next round of relief efforts and will need to navigate deep policy schisms over the size and scope of the next package before a concrete timeline emerges.

Continue reading “Today on the Hill: Special COVID-19 Edition (5/8)”

Capitol Hill Update

Senators will convene for legislative business this morning while House lawmakers continue to distance themselves from Capitol Hill due to health and safety concerns from the Attending Physician’s office. While House Democratic leadership indicated that members could return as soon as next week, that date could get pushed to the following week of May 18 if a vote on the next round of COVID-19 relief legislation does not get scheduled. The two parties are currently far apart on the next round of relief efforts and will need to navigate deep policy schisms over the size and scope of the next package before a concrete timeline for enactment emerges. Regardless of the level of bipartisan support, House Democrats are expected to push forward with a measure that mirrors Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) counteroffer to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY) original CARES Act proposal.

Continue reading “Today on the Hill: Special COVID-19 Edition (5/7)”

Capitol Hill Update

House Democratic leadership is formulating a strategy to bring another COVID-19 legislative package to the floor. Democrats have reportedly been working off of Speaker Pelosi’s counteroffer to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY) original CARES Act as a starting point for developing their forthcoming bill, prioritizing funding for state and local governments, election assistance, workforce protections, and reforms to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), among other things. While Democrats are pressing for a finalized bill by the end of this week — followed by a vote that would likely occur at some point next week — Leader McConnell offered lukewarm support for another round of COVID-19 legislation during a press conference yesterday, saying Congress should “take a pause” to evaluate the implementation of the previous relief efforts before moving onto another stimulus package.

Continue reading “Today on the Hill: Special COVID-19 Edition (5/6)”

Capitol Hill Update

House Democratic leadership is formulating a strategy to bring another COVID-19 legislative package to the floor. On a caucus call yesterday, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) stated that she is pushing Committee chairs to finalize their portions of the “CARES 2.0” legislation as soon as possible in the hopes of finalizing the package by the end of the week. Should House Democrats release finalized text by this week, the measure will likely be brought to the floor for a vote at some point next week. Democrats have reportedly been working off of Speaker Pelosi’s counteroffer to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY) original CARES Act as a starting point for developing their forthcoming bill, prioritizing funding for state and local governments, election assistance, workforce protections, and reforms to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), among other things.

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

Capitol Hill Update

Senators will return this afternoon to resume legislative business, but the House will remain away from Washington amid health and safety concerns from the Attending Physician’s office. As the floor and Committee schedules for coming days and weeks take shape, leadership officials stated that Congress is likely to consider another round of COVID-19 legislation as they look to stem emerging and existing issues pertaining to the outbreak. For now, the Senate is expected to primarily focus on clearing judicial nominees and presidential nominations, starting with consideration of Robert Feitel’s nomination to be Inspector General of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Continue reading “Today on the Hill: Special COVID-19 Edition (5/4)”