The House
This week, the House will likely consider the tax-and-spend reconciliation bill currently undergoing a Congressional Budget Office (CBO) cost analysis. Moderate Democrats have withheld their support for the bill until they see a CBO report that aligns with previous White House cost estimates. Progressives insist they will vote on the bill regardless of the CBO’s timing.
The House will have multiple hearings this week:
- The Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee will discuss rebuilding Coast Guard infrastructure. The full Committee will also examine current North American supply chain challenges,
- The Energy and Commerce Committee, Environment and Climate Change Subcommittee will discuss supply chain solutions for a clean energy economy,
- The Foreign Affairs Committee, Western Hemisphere, Civilian Security, Migration, and International Economic Policy Subcommittee will consider the Biden Administration’s policy priorities for Latin America and the Caribbean. The Subcommittee on the Middle East, North Africa, and Global Counterterrorism will consider the State Department Counterterrorism Bureau’s Fiscal Year 2022 budget,
- The Ways and Means Committee, Oversight Subcommittee will discuss the Opportunity Zone Program.
The Senate
The Fiscal Year 2022 Defense Authorization bill is on this week’s priority list for the Senate. This measure authorizes essential annual funding for troops and other military expenses and is considered a must-pass. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), seeking to break an impasse, has attached certain provisions aimed at increasing U.S. competition with China and alleviating the global microchip shortage. Though the Senate already passed the China measure, it has not budged in the House. Leader Schumer hopes that attaching the measure to the must-pass defense authorization will get it passed sooner.
The Senate will also host numerous hearings this week, including markups of:
- S.1127 requiring the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to avail certain operational models to the public,
- S.46 reauthorizing the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000 and establishing the United States Coral Reef Task Force,
- S.1617 modifying the Small Business Administration’s Administrator’s requirements concerning declaring a disaster in a rural area, and
- S. 1621 reauthorizing and limiting the Small Business Administration’s pre-disaster mitigation program.
The Administration
President Biden will sign the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal – the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) – this week, cementing a cornerstone of his domestic agenda. Please see last week’s Washington Weekly for details on the bill.
Becker’s Federal Lobbying Team will continue to monitor these developments as they evolve and will share with you as soon as information becomes available.