Skip to content
News and updates

News and updates

Another CR Needed

Posted on

The House plans to take up another short-term funding measure this week to keep the federal government funded through next Friday, December 18.  The current funding mechanism is scheduled to expire at midnight Saturday.

The extension through next Friday is being sought to buy extra time for negotiators to come to an agreement on, among other things, the FY2021 spending package and another COVID relief bill.  Congressional leaders have discussed the possibility of combining the two into a single measure and neither has been finalized.

DACA Reinstated

Posted on

A federal court has ordered US Citizenship and Immigration Services to accept new DACA applications and restore two-year work permit validity. Judge Nicholas Garaufis of the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York issued the ruling today. USCIS is required to update information on their website by Monday, as well as develop a mechanism to notify eligible applicants. The Administration has the option to appeal the decision.

Read more here.

What We’re Reading this Week (November 30th-December 4th, 2020)

Posted on

Election Fraud Claims: In a 46 minute-long video filmed at the Diplomatic Reception Room, the President continued to push unsubstantiated claims of a “rigged election”. US Attorney General Bill Barr has confirmed that there is no evidence of widespread election fraud. Read more.

Federal Budget: Certain provisions related to environmental protection, the National Academies, and the US Capitol Police are holding up a potential omnibus spending bill to fund the Federal Government after December 11th. Appropriators have turned to leadership to resolve the differences. More.

Lame Duck Nominee: The Senate confirmed Christopher Waller to the Federal Reserve Board in a 48-47 partisan vote. Sen. Paul (R-KY) was the only Republican to vote against his confirmation. Waller is the first Board nominee to be confirmed during a lame duck session. Read more.

Facebook Lawsuit: The US Department of Justice has sued Facebook, alleging the company hired several thousand foreign workers under the H-1B program, without considering qualified American applicants. Full story.

Marijuana Vote: Today, the House will vote on a bill removing marijuana from a federal list of controlled substances and expunge some marijuana-related convictions. More.

Census Delays: The US Census Bureau has conveyed to Congress that they will need until at least January 23rd to review anomalies and transmit results to the President, potentially thwarting plans to exclude undocumented persons. More.

DeLauro Wins Appropriations Gavel, Kelly Sworn In

Posted on

Earlier today, Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut was chosen by the House Democrats to serve as the chairwoman of the Appropriations Committee when the new 117th Congress convenes in January.  She beat out Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida.  Marcy Kaptur, who was expected to run as well, dropped out at the last minute.

DeLauro won the vote of Democratic Steering and Policy Committee yesterday but she needed the approval of the full Democratic caucus.  She is currently the chair of the Labor-HHS-Education Subcommittee and takes over the full committee’s gavel from Nita Lowey of New York, who is retiring at the end of this Congress.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Capitol, Democrat Mark Kelly of Arizona was sworn in yesterday as the newest member of the Senate.  He defeated Martha McSally in a special election, which enabled him to be sworn in this Congress.  With Kelly, the Republican majority in the Senate now stands at 52 – 48.  Two Senate elections are scheduled in Georgia for January 5.