Dr. Eric Lander, the President’s Chief Science Advisor and Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, has reportedly submitted his resignation effective February 18th. The resignation comes amidst several reports that he bullied subordinates. Read more here.
Category: Pure Politics
Register Now: Federal Relations Spring Town Hall
The Office of Federal Relations will host a virtual town hall for the campus community on Thursday, March 24th from 12pm-1pm PT. Our staff will provide an update on the federal budget, infrastructure and competitiveness bills, and preview the UW’s 2022 federal agenda. This will be followed by an opportunity for Q&A. Register here (NetID restricted).
SCOTUS Justice Breyer to Step Down
Stephen Breyer, the most senior of the three liberal justices on the US Supreme Court, announced he will retire. President Biden is expected to move quickly to fill the vacancy given the 50-50 balance of the Senate.
Read more here.
CR until February 18
The House and Senate have agreed to pass a continuing resolution (CR), which would keep the federal government open and funded, until February 18, 2022. Congress has previously passed a CR that expires at midnight on Friday, December 3, 2021.
The extension gives the House and Senate additional time to finish FY2022 funding and try to pass other legislative priorities, like Build Back Better and raise the debt ceiling, before the end of the calendar year.
While the extension is not happy news, there had been political rumblings of allowing the federal government to shut down for a short time in December for political gains. The CR until February 18, 2022 avoids that situation.
The legislation would be a straight extension of existing funding with the only increase in appropriations for Afghan refugees.
House Passes “Build Back Better” Package
After months of intraparty discord among Democrats, both within the House and between chambers, the House passed early this morning the “Build Back Better” reconciliation package. The House cleared the measure by a vote of 220 – 213, with one Democrat voting against it. The vote was delayed to this morning after Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) spoke for more than eight hours against the package, lasting into the very early hours of this morning.
The package now goes to the Senate, where changes are likely, as at least one Democrat in that chamber has made clear his reservations about several parts of the House bill.