Updates
The latest news and advocacy information for industrial bankers.
Senate approves funding to March 11, leaves postal reform undone
Last night the Senate voted 65-27 to extend funding for the federal government another three weeks, preventing a shutdown. Work continues on an omnibus funding bill.
Postal Service reform passes House
The House of Representatives approved HR 3076, the bipartisan Postal Service Reform Act, by a vote of 342-92 on Tuesday.
House passes America COMPETES Act
The House of Representatives voted along party lines (222-210, with Rep. Adam Kinzinger the only Republican voting aye) to pass HR 4521, which House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) described as “a generational commitment to America’s technological edge, to our research and development, and to our economic competitiveness.”
House Democrats unveil America COMPETES Act
On Tuesday, the chairs of 11 House Committees jointly unveiled the text of the America Creating Opportunities for Manufacturing, Pre-Eminence in Technology and Economic Strength Act of 2022 (America COMPETES), the House’s companion bill to the Senate’s United States Innovation and Competition Act (USICA), which passed the Senate last June.
Seeing paradise by the dashboard light
We can’t publish this week without noting the passing of Meat Loaf, best known for his operatic rock album Bat out of Hell but immortal in our memories as Eddie in The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Tonight we’ll gather our lighters, rice, newspapers, and squirt guns, and do the Time Warp in his honor.
All Federal Reserve, all the time
Fed watchers were busy this week. Chairman Jay Powell appeared before the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday for a hearing on his nomination to a second term.
Happy New Year
Or maybe, Happy New Year? Washington got back to work slowly this week after a sudden, massive snowstorm on Monday.
Farewell to 2021
The year is drawing to a close, and Washington is settling down for a short winter’s nap. The House of Representatives has left town for the holidays. The Senate is still in session, voting on nominations, but has pushed consideration of the President’s Build Back Better Act to 2022. It’s eerily warm out, but we’re hanging our stockings anyway, and wishing all of you a safe and happy holiday season.
House Financial Services Committee gets a lesson on stablecoins
Although subcommittees and task forces had held hearings on a wide range of topics related to cryptocurrency and digital assets, it wasn’t until this week that the full House Financial Services Committee held a hearing on the topic.
The CR is only half the battle
The House and Senate agreed yesterday to a continuing resolution that should keep the government running until February 18, but the government may default on its obligations sometime before the year end anyway, unless Congress raises the debt ceiling.
House approves Build Back Better plan on party lines
After a speech by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) lasting more than eight hours (we admit we did not stay up for all of it), the House of Representatives approved HR 5376, the Build Back Better Act, by a 220-213 vote this morning.
Working late on a Friday
As we write, the House has begun the process of voting on an infrastructure package. President Joe Biden asked the House today to pass both an infrastructure bill and the reconciliation legislation that includes his Build Back Better plan.
Biden unveils Build Back Better framework, House readies for action
The House of Representatives postponed its expected vote on the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework (BIF) this week as President Joe Biden announced a revised version of his Build Back Better plan, which he described as “a historic economic framework.”
FSOC calls climate change “an emerging and increasing threat to US financial stability”
The Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) published its much-anticipated Report on Climate-Related Financial Risk yesterday, making specific recommendations for action by its member agencies.
Senate approves temporary increase to debt limit
Financial markets breathed a tentative sigh of relief last night when the Senate voted 50-48 to raise the statutory debt limit by $480 billion. This should push the federal government’s risk of default to early December.
Happy new year?
The federal fiscal year ended yesterday at midnight — mostly, sort of, except for the House side of Capitol Hill, where it remains the legislative day of September 30. Congress did pass a temporary spending bill to keep the government open until December 3. The House continues to work on its version of an infrastructure bill.
Debt ceiling looms as fiscal year ends
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) vowed at a press conference yesterday that Congress will keep the federal government open and prevent a default on federal debt. The House of Representatives approved a continuing resolution with a debt limit suspension on Tuesday with a party-line vote.
Deadlines met, deadlines pending
All 13 House committees charged with marking up pieces of the budget reconciliation package have finished that work, voting out spending bills along party lines, with no Republicans voting in the affirmative. But the end of the fiscal year—September 30—looms, as does the debt ceiling.
Welcome back!
Welcome back! While the House officially remains in its district work period until September 20, several committees have been hard at work this week, and that work will continue next week.
Senate approves bipartisan infrastructure plan
Unless you’ve been asleep for the last week, you already know that the Senate voted on Tuesday morning to pass their version of a bill to authorize five years of infrastructure funding. The bill replaced the text of H.R. 3684, the INVEST in America Act, which the House passed on July 1.