The following provides an overview of the budget reconciliation process as well as congressional Republicans’ plans to enact President-elect Trump’s tax and immigration agenda, either through a single reconciliation package or in two separate bills. Budget Reconciliation Process Overview Definition and Purpose: Reconciliation is a specialized legislative process designed to streamline passage of budget-related measures […]
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Becker Spotlight: Legislative Outlook
Congress has only five legislative days until its Thanksgiving recess and just ten days until December 3 when the government funding stopgap expires. While Congress is set to conclude its 2021 business on December 10, Members may stay in town past that point to take up last-minute legislation. Legislative Outlook: Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act […]
Read MoreBecker Spotlight: President Biden’s FY2022 Budget Request
President Biden released his $6 trillion budget proposal on May 28th, which calls for massive funding increases to address infrastructure modernization and climate change resiliency. It projects a $1.8 trillion deficit in the first year and at least a trillion-dollar deficit annually for the next decade. As a result of those deficits, the Administration projects […]
Read MoreBECKER UPDATE: 2021 Florida Legislative Session, Week #4
HEADLINES Budget. This week, the House and Senate released their respective budget proposals for the 2021-2022 fiscal year. Both houses of the legislature prioritized resiliency, flood mitigation, and sea level rise-focused projects this year. The House set aside $29.1M for water projects; the Senate set aside $37.5M. Additionally, the House’s proposal included $100M for land […]
Read MoreBECKER UPDATE: 2021 Florida Legislative Session, Week #3
COVID-19. Governor DeSantis announced on Friday that Floridians aged 50 and older will be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine beginning March 22nd, due to the now modest demand for vaccines. The Governor estimates that the state will be on track to open vaccines to all Floridians before May 1st. At this juncture, more than 3 million […]
Read MoreBECKER UPDATE: 2021 Florida Legislative Session, Week #2
WASHINGTON, D.C. UPDATES COVID-19 On Thursday, March 11, 2021, President Biden signed a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 stimulus bill known as the American Rescue Plan. This packaged bill contains a wide range of benefits to help Americans still suffering from the pandemic-related collapse of the economy. The measure includes direct payments of up to $1,400 for […]
Read MoreBECKER UPDATE: 2021 Florida Legislative Session, Week #1
OPENING DAY Tuesday, March 2, 2021 marked the opening day for the 2021 Legislative Session for the House and the Senate. Senate President Wilton Simpson, House Speaker Chris Sprowls, and Gov. Ron DeSantis addressed both chambers with a level of hope and optimism as the state is doing its best to function in what is […]
Read MoreBecker’s Spotlight: The State of the House of Representatives Moving Forward
The State of the House of Representatives Moving Forward Nearly a week after Election Day, Democrats across the country were celebrating as the major television networks declared Joe Biden the next President of the United States. That celebration, however, may be short-lived, as both parties prepare for two Senate elections in Georgia on January […]
Read MoreBecker’s Spotlight: Top 2020 House Races to Watch
Top 2020 House Races to Watch After two years of unified Republican control of the White House and both chambers of Congress following the 2016 election, Democrats reclaimed a significant majority of the 435 voting seats in the House of Representatives in the 2018 midterm elections. Republicans held an impressive 59-seat majority after the […]
Read MoreBecker’s Spotlight: Fall Appropriations Outlook
Fall Appropriations Outlook With the 2020 Fiscal Year beginning October 1st, Congress has less than three weeks to pass legislation to avoid another government shutdown. While Congressional Leadership from both parties have struck an optimistic chord on avoiding a shutdown, it is almost certain that a Continuing Resolution will be required in order to […]
Read MoreBecker’s Spotlight: Consumers First Act
Consumers First Act On Wednesday, the House passed HR 1500, the Consumers First Act, by a 231-191 vote strictly along party lines. The bill is House Democrats most significant effort to date aimed at reversing or mitigating the impact of the substantial changes made by the Trump Administration to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau […]
Read MoreBecker’s Spotlight: U.S.- China Trade Dispute
Becker’s Spotlight offers a weekly in-depth analysis of an issue driving the discussion in Washington. This week in the spotlight: dispute over U.S.-China Trade continues, Chinese trade practices are under scrutiny, and the consequences of tariffs could be widespread. Learn what the impact of these issues means for the U.S.
Read MoreBecker’s Spotlight: Review of the 116th Congress and a Look Ahead
Becker’s Spotlight offers a weekly in-depth analysis of an issue driving the discussion in Washington. Since the start of 2019, the divided 116th Congress has been able to secure passage and enactment of several bipartisan bills. Learn what bills have passed and stay up to date on priorities still on the horizon.
Read MoreBecker’s Spotlight: Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act
Becker’s Spotlight offers a weekly in-depth analysis of an issue driving the discussion in Washington. This week’s spotlight addresses the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, originally signed into law in 1994.
Read MoreBecker’s Spotlight: Disaster Aid Funding
Becker’s Spotlight offers a weekly in-depth analysis of an issue driving the discussion in Washington. This week’s spotlight dives into proposed amendments to a disaster aid package (H.R. 268) that will provide recovery funds for recent natural disasters.
Read MoreBecker’s Spotlight: Consumer Privacy
Becker’s Spotlight offers a weekly in-depth analysis of an issue driving the discussion in Washington. This week’s edition highlights how technology has outpaced the law and discusses legislation related to GDPR, IoT, and more.
Read MoreBecker’s Spotlight: President Trump’s Fiscal 2020 Budget Proposal
Becker’s Spotlight offers a weekly in-depth analysis of an issue driving the discussion in Washington. This week’s edition focuses on the release of President Trump’s Fiscal 2020 Budget Proposal, which requests $4.7 trillion while proposing large domestic discretionary spending cuts.
Read MoreBecker’s Spotlight: Climate Change
Becker’s Spotlight offers a weekly in-depth analysis of an issue driving the discussion in Washington. This week’s edition focuses on the ongoing conversation surrounding climate change.
Read MoreBecker’s Spotlight: Congressional Diversity Efforts
Becker’s Spotlight offers a weekly in-depth analysis of an issue driving the discussion in Washington. This week’s edition discusses the expected expanded legislative efforts to increase diversity in Congress and the private sector.
Read MoreBecker’s Spotlight: Infrastructure Package Outlook
Becker’s Spotlight offers a weekly in-depth analysis of an issue driving the discussion in Washington. This week’s edition discusses the new efforts in the House and Senate that could outline the pathway to reaching a bipartisan agreement on an infrastructure package.
Read MoreBecker’s Spotlight: Conference Committee Outlook
Becker’s Spotlight offers a weekly in-depth analysis of an issue driving the discussion in Washington. This week, the conference committee tasked with negotiating a border security measure and averting another shutdown met for the first time.
Read MoreBecker’s Spotlight: Diversity and Bipartisanship Matter
Becker’s Spotlight offers a weekly in-depth analysis of an issue driving the discussion in Washington. This week, we discuss the record number of minority members recently elected to Congress and State Capitols around the county. At Becker, we are also committed to a diverse and bipartisan team, realizing that our strengths truly lie in our […]
Read MoreBecker’s Spotlight: House Rules Package Overview
Becker’s Spotlight offers a weekly in-depth analysis of an issue driving the discussion in Washington. This week, the 116th Congress met for the first time and one of the first actions was to pass a rules package for the Congress.
Read MoreBecker’s Spotlight: Criminal Justice Reform Update
Becker’s Spotlight offers a weekly in-depth analysis of an issue driving the discussion in Washington. This week’s edition highlights the Senate’s passing of the First Step Act, a criminal justice reform package that will change criminal sentencing guidelines and increase job training opportunities for prisoners. Click here to read.
Read MoreBecker’s Spotlight: Farm Bill Passes Congress
Becker’s Spotlight offers a weekly in-depth analysis of an issue driving the discussion in Washington. This week, the Farm Bill passed in the House and Senate and President Donald Trump is expected to sign the $867 billion measure, which will reauthorize agriculture and nutrition programs for five more years.
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