The Weekly Hill Update

By: Adam J. Higgins

Below is this week’s congressional update by BakerHostetler’s Federal Policy team. We’ll continue to post in weeks when both chambers of Congress are in session.

HEADLINES

Congressional Democrats are braced for “a time of intensity” this week as they hope to keep the government open, approve bipartisan infrastructure legislation, and reach consensus on their $3.5 trillion plan to increase taxes and safety-net spending.
President Joe Biden, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and their deputies must find a way to unite fractious Democrats amid sharp disagreements on health policy, taxes, and climate goals, as well as process and tactics.
Biden plans to spend most of the week cajoling Democrats to support his agenda but will travel to Chicago on Wednesday to tout vaccine mandates for businesses.

The Weekly Hill Update

By Adam Higgins on September 20, 2021 Posted in Congress, Federal Policy, Healthcare, Spending Bill, The Weekly Hill Update

Below is this week’s congressional update by BakerHostetler’s Federal Policy team. We’ll continue to post in weeks when both chambers of Congress are in session.

HEADLINES

Both chambers are in session together for the first time since July, as the Democratic Congress faces the most significant legislative crunch in years. In the next 10 days, they hope to fund the government for fiscal 2021 and raise the debt ceiling while also considering a $1 trillion infrastructure bill and a second multitrillion-dollar bill that would raise taxes and expand safety net spending. No one, including Democratic leaders, currently knows how this will end.
President Joe Biden will be in New York for the United Nations General Assembly amid lingering criticism of the American withdrawal from Afghanistan and fresh international controversy over a U.S. partnership with Australia on submarines.
Biden will also seek to reset the COVID-19 pandemic with a new proposal on worldwide vaccine allocation, as booster shots roll out in the U.S.

The Weekly Hill Update

By Adam Higgins on July 26, 2021 Posted in The Weekly Hill Update

Washington D.C. The capitol, the seat of the government of the United States. Below is this week’s congressional update by BakerHostetler’s Federal Policy team. We’ll continue to post in weeks when both chambers of Congress are in session.

HEADLINES

• President Joe Biden’s cabinet is fanning out across Asia in a broad diplomatic effort, headlined by Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman meeting with China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi, the first high-level meeting since March between the two countries amid deepening tensions over a wide range of issues.

• Worries among policymakers are growing over the COVID-19 delta variant as vaccine hesitancy has stalled recovery and enabled a surge of illness and hospitalization in certain parts of the country.

• Lawmakers are continuing intense negotiations toward finalizing infrastructure legislation as well as police reform as their August recess looms. Continue Reading

Congress Pushes on Corporate Disclosure Mandates

By Kevin Edgar on July 20, 2021 Posted in Congress

The House recently approved legislation that would trigger a series of disclosure mandates on public companies, underscoring escalating interest from the Democratic-controlled Congress and the Biden administration on requiring corporations to disclose their environmental, social and governance activities. The Federal Policy team’s Kevin Edgar led a team of BakerHostetler attorneys in a review of the House legislation and offered context on the likelihood for future congressional action on corporate disclosure mandates.

The Weekly Hill Update

By Adam Higgins on July 19, 2021 Posted in The Weekly Hill Update

HEADLINES

• Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has teed up a procedural vote on bipartisan infrastructure legislation – despite the details of the bill not being finalized by senators.

• Schumer is separately pressing his caucus to reach agreement this week on a budget resolution to set up passage of Democrats’ other priorities in a reconciliation bill, the second part of his two-track strategy.

• President Joe Biden this week will host his second cabinet meeting and also host King Abdullah of Jordan at the White House. Continue Reading

The Weekly Hill Update

By Adam Higgins on July 12, 2021 Posted in The Weekly Hill Update

HEADLINES

• Congress returns from its Independence Day recess for a legislative blitz as leaders press forward on a bipartisan infrastructure bill and a separate partisan package that Democrats expect will include trillions of dollars of President Joe Biden’s tax and other spending priorities.

• Federal Reserve Chairman Jay Powell will appear before committees in both chambers to deliver the Fed’s semiannual report to Congress.

• Biden will host Angela Merkel at the White House, likely her final visit after 16 years as chancellor of Germany. Continue Reading

The Weekly Hill Update

By Adam Higgins on June 28, 2021 Posted in The Weekly Hill Update

HEADLINES

• After securing agreement late last week on the framework of a major infrastructure bill, President Joe Biden and Senate negotiators are working to secure support for the agreement.

• The House is wrapping up business ahead of its July 4 recess, with the Senate already departed.

• BakerHostetler’s 32nd Annual Legislative Seminar Series concludes with important bipartisan discussions with a key senator and two House lawmakers. Please join us! Continue Reading

The Weekly Hill Update

By Adam Higgins on June 21, 2021 Posted in The Weekly Hill Update

HEADLINES

• Negotiations between a bipartisan group of lawmakers and the White House on a large-scale infrastructure bill enter a critical phase this week.

• The Senate will vote on Democrats’ voting and campaign finance legislation that is likely to fail on a procedural motion.

• BakerHostetler’s 32^nd Annual Legislative Seminar will host two important House leaders: Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., today, and Energy and Commerce Committee Republican Leader Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., on Wednesday. Continue Reading

The Weekly Hill Update

By Adam Higgins on June 14, 2021 Posted in The Weekly Hill Update

HEADLINES

• President Joe Biden enters the final stretch of his first trip abroad, culminating in a high-stakes meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

• A bipartisan group of senators continues developing and gathering support for a large-scale infrastructure proposal after announcing agreement Thursday on a “compromise framework.”

• The House returns for votes as reports continue to emerge of former President Donald Trump’s Justice Department subpoenaing phone data of Democratic lawmakers and even his own White House counsel, Don McGahn, as reported Sunday afternoon. Continue Reading

Not So Fast: Why Congress May Not Raise Taxes This Year

By Chris Jones on May 26, 2021 Posted in Congress

When Democrats won the Georgia Senate elections in January, giving the party control of Washington for the first time in more than a decade, progressive lawmakers began promoting a series of sweeping tax increases that they said would help pay for trillions of dollars in planned new spending.

With their newfound majorities, Democrats could fast-track tax changes without Republican legislative obstruction, making a sweeping overhaul of the tax code seem like a foregone conclusion.

Rolling back key provisions of the 2017 Tax Cut and Jobs Act was just the appetizer for what leading congressional Democrats envisioned. Corporations would pay higher rates and global minimum taxes, wealthy individuals would see higher marginal rates, investors would face steep new taxes on capital gains, and estates and heirs would be singled out, too. Continue Reading