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Category: 117th Congress

After Approval of Process, COVID Package Getting Put Together

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With both chambers of Congress having approved last week the processes by which the Biden Administration COVID relief package will move, House committees with jurisdiction over different pieces of the legislation will begin to craft their portions starting Tuesday.

The House Education and Labor Committee is scheduled to move first tomorrow with its bill.  The committee staff has produced a summary of the legislation.

The Democrats’ proposal would provide $39.6 billion for higher education; 91 percent of the funds would be allocated to institutions based on the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund formula.  Institutions would have to spend at least 50 percent of the funds it receives on student grants but they would have the flexibility on determining which students receive aid.

In addition, the legislation would provide $100 million for Institute for Education Science to conduct research on learning loss as well as $135 million each to the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Following the Education and Labor Committee’s markup tomorrow, a slew of other House committees are scheduled to follow suit throughout the rest of this week and next week.

Please continue to check back for additional updates on the relief package.

Budget Resolution Under Consideration

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The FY21 joint budget resolution under consideration by the House and Senate will give “reconciliation” instructions to 11 authorizing committees, directing them to report legislation related to spending, revenue, or debt. The Democrats’ joint resolution carves out an addition $1.9 trillion in deficit spending by changing the top level discretionary spending amount for FY21.

The 3 committees with the largest instructions are:

  • Finance ($1.296 trillion)
  • Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions ($305 billion)
  • Baking, Housing, and Urban Affairs ($89 billion)

The deadline to report legislation is February 16th.

The reconciliation process can be used as a vehicle to pass large agenda items such as a minimum wage increase, COVID relief, and additional stimulus checks, as long as it is related to the budget. Congress is limited to one reconciliation measure each year from each of the categories of direct spending, revenue and the debt limit.

There are various restrictions as to how this process can be used. In the Senate, reconciliation bills are not subject to the filibuster (can pass by simple majority) and amendments must be germane to the bill, however the Byrd Rule applies which limits the provisions included. For a more detailed overview, you can read here.

Mayorkas, Buttigieg Confirmed

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As expected, Alejandro Mayorkas and Pete Buttigieg were confirmed earlier this afternoon as Secretary of Homeland Security and Transportation, respectively. Mayorkas was approved 56-43 and the vote on Buttigieg’s nomination was 86-13.

Two More Nominations Headed to Floor

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Later today, the Senate is scheduled to vote on two more Biden Cabinet nominations. The Senate is set to vote on the nominations of Pete Buttigieg for Transportation Secretary and Alejandro Mayorkas for Secretary of Homeland Security.

Yellen Confirmed as Treasury Secretary

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By a vote of 84 – 15, Janet Yellen was confirmed yesterday as Treasury Secretary by the Senate.  She becomes the first woman to head Treasury in its history.  In her role, she will play a critical role in the Biden Administration’s COVID recovery plans.