Skip to content

Biden COVID Bill Heads to House Floor with Senate Adding a Not-So-Unexpected Wrinkle

Later this afternoon, the House is scheduled to take up H. R. 1319, the budget reconciliation bill that serves as the Biden Administration’s COVID relief package.  Among the provisions of greatest interest to the higher education and research community are the allocation of nearly $40 billion for higher education as well as $600 million for NSF.  The funds for NSF were added at the last minute to the bill as it was being considered by the House Rules Committee.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Capitol complex yesterday, Senate Democrats were busy making arguments to the Senate Parliamentarian about why various parts of the package that some considered extraneous to the immediate relief efforts should remain it it when the House-adopted measure reaches their side of the Hill.  The Senate is bound by a set of arcane rules and procedures known as the “Byrd Rule”– named after the late-Sen. Robert Byrd (D) of West Virginia– which, in effect, states that all provisions must be directly relevant to the reconciliation bill and cannot be tangential to the issue at hand.  A huge point of opposition in the House bill for all Senate Republicans and at least two Senate Democrats is the $15-an-hour minimum wage provision.  Last evening, the Senate Parliamentarian, whose job is to rule on procedural and process matters, ruled that the minimum wage section was not germane and that it needs to come out when the bill reaches the Senate.  There were questions going to the drafting of the bill as to whether an increase in the federal minimum wage would survive a Byrd Rule challenge.

While it is possible for the Parliamentarian to be over-ruled, it appears that President Biden, who spent six terms in the Senate, is reluctant to pursue that course of action at this point.  This likely means that the Senate would need to take up a bill that is different from the House-passed package, forcing that newer version to go back to the House.  We continue to track the activities around the reconciliation package.

Read more about the developments herehere, and here.

UW Publishes 2021 Federal Agenda

The University of Washington has published our 2021 Federal Agenda outlining our top priorities for the coming year. Our agenda reflects a commitment to service, excellence, and innovation, taking into account the unique challenges of the past year.

We are proud of our longstanding partnership with the federal government and look forward to further collaboration in 2021.

Democrats Introduce Immigration Reform Bill

Democrats have introduced an immigration bill – The US Citizenship Act- which could provide a pathway to citizenship for millions of undocumented people. The bill is being championed by Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA) and Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ). President Biden has already indicated support. Among other things, the bill will:

  • Provide an 8-year pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants who arrived in the US by January 1st, 2021 and pass a background check. The first 5 years would be provisional, after which the non-citizen could apply for a green card, and then 3 years later could apply for citizenship.
  • There would be an expedited pathway for farmworkers and persons holding DACA status. No specific timeline was announced.
  • Replace “alien” with “non-citizen” in law.
  • Increase caps on family and employment based green cards. Eliminate the caps for STEM doctoral students.
  • Establish dual-intent for international students with regards to immigration.
  • Prevent states from charging non-resident tuition to refugees, asylum seekers, and other special categories of non-citizens.
  • H-4 visa reform including adding work authorization for spouses and children.
  • Expand transnational anti-drug task forces in Central America and improve technology at the southern border.

The bill is expected to be introduced in the House this week, and in the Senate next week, where it would need 10 Republican Senators to vote in favor. Bill text is available here (Senate) and here (House).

The bill contains numerous, wide-ranging provisions, and our office is still working through the text.

 

Hearing on Research Infrastructure

The US House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology will host a hearing titled “Building Back the U.S. Research Enterprise: COVID Impacts and Recovery”.

Date: Thursday, February 25, 2021
Time: 10:00 a.m. EST (7:00 a.m. PST)
Place: Online via videoconferencing. Link will be posted here.
Witnesses:
• Dr. Sudip Parikh, Chief Executive Officer, American Association for the Advancement of Science
• Dr. Christopher Keane, Vice President for Research, Washington State University
• Dr. Felice J. Levine, Executive Director, American Educational Research Association
• Mr. Thomas Quaadman, Executive Vice President, Center for Capital Markets Competitiveness, U.S. Chamber of Commerce