The House has passed their updated, smaller “HEROES 2.0” COVID-19 relief bill that was introduced earlier this week. The largely symbolic bill passed 214-207 on party lines. The Senate is not expected to take action on the legislation.
Negotiations continue between Speaker Pelosi and Secretary Mnuchin, however there is about a $1 trillion difference in their proposals.
Full story here.
After returning from a campaign rally late last night, President Trump signed a continuing resolution (CR) that will keep the government funded through December 11. FY2021 officially started at midnight this morning and none of the 12 individual spending bills have been signed into law. In theory, the extension until December 11 gives Congress and the White House extra time to reach agreement on the appropriations bills. The Senate cleared the CR earlier in the day yesterday by a vote of 84 to 10.
There was a bit of drama last night as the President technically missed the midnight deadline to sign the resolution, which was not officially signed until about 1 AM. However, given that he was going to sign the measure, federal agencies were not making preparations to shutdown.
House Democrats have released an updated, smaller, “HEROES Act 2.0”, totaling approximately $2.2 trillion. This COVID relief bill would provide support for small businesses, airline workers, childcare, food security, the Census, education, local governments, and healthcare. Specifically, $39 billion would go to colleges and universities, $3 billion would go to research relief for NIH, and $2.9 billion would go to research relief for NSF. Research relief for other agencies is not included.
A one-pager is available here.
A vote is expected in the coming days. The Senate is not expected to take action, however negotiations between House Democrats, Senate Republicans, and the Administration continue.
Keep up with what’s happening in DC. Below is a selection of articles the Federal Relations team read this week.
Breonna Taylor: Protests erupted across the US after a grand jury declined to indict three Louisville police officers following in the death of Breonna Taylor in her home. One officer, Brett Hankinson, was charged with wanton endangerment for firing shots into another apartment. Live updates.
DeVos Under Investigation: It was reported that Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos is under investigation by the US Office of the Special Counsel for violating the Hatch Act by using government resources to campaign for the President. Inquiries were prompted after Department officials distributed a clip of the Secretary criticizing Presidential candidate Joe Biden as part of official communications. More here.
RBG: Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was the first woman ever to lie in state on Friday at the US Capitol. Read here.
Supreme Court Nominee: Amy Coney Barrett was nominated by the President to fill Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Supreme Court vacancy. After Senator Romney (R-UT) backed a floor vote on a new SCOTUS nominee, Majority Leader McConnell now has enough votes to proceed, potentially before the election. Only two Members, Sen. Murkowski (R-AK) and Sen. Collins (R-ME) said they would not support a vote before the election, in recognition that Republicans blocked a vote during the last Presidential election year. Barrett will still have to undergo a confirmation hearing and vote. Updates here.
Census: US District Judge for the Northern District of California Lucy Koh ordered the census to continue counting until the original October 31st deadline. Full story.
Today, Senate Democrats introduced the America Labor, Economic competitiveness, Alliances, Democracy and Security (America LEADS) Act which is aimed at bolstering the US economy in order to compete with China.
The bill would invest over $350 billion in American businesses, manufacturing communities, federal research and development, STEM education, and training programs. It also expands the Manufacturing USA Network, renews the US diplomatic strategy towards China and Indo-Pacific partners, and takes action on human rights issues in Tibet, Hong Kong, and Xinjiang.
The press release is here and a one-page summary is here.
The bill has not yet passed in the Senate. It would then need to pass in the House and be signed into law by the President.