The House met at 10 a.m. and will take up 25 bills under suspension of the Rules, including H.R. 2655 – Insider Trading Prohibition Act. The House will also consider the Rule Providing for Consideration of a resolution condemning the horrific shootings in Atlanta, Georgia, on March 16, 2021, and reaffirming the House of Representative’s commitment to combating hate, bigotry, and violence against the Asian-American and Pacific Islander community and H.R. 1629 – Fairness in Orphan Drug Exclusivity Act.
The Senate met at 10 a.m. to resume work on the Endless Frontier Act. TEXT. The Senate voted on Monday to advance the broad bipartisan effort to counter China’s economic and geopolitical ambitions, though Senators are still hammering out critical details of the legislation. Senators voted 86-11 to move forward on the base text for the larger China bill. Ultimately it’s expected to include additional measures boosting technology research and development, revitalizing manufacturing sectors, and outlining a diplomatic and national security strategy for the U.S. in the Indo-Pacific region. President Joe Biden supports the bill, the White House announced Monday, calling it “an important step in ensuring the U.S. remains globally competitive in the 21st century.” The final legislation is likely to include bipartisan bills to boost semiconductor manufacturing, push back against China’s continuing theft of U.S. intellectual property, and confront Beijing’s threats to U.S. national security, among others. The Senate is expected to wrap up its work on the effort by the Memorial Day recess which begins next Friday.
A group of Senate Republicans are expected to unveil a new infrastructure proposal as early as today as optimism grows about a possible bipartisan deal that would cover a fraction of President Joe Biden’s $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R- West Virginia), who is leading the Republican infrastructure drive, told reporters on Monday that she expected Republicans to unveil a new counter-proposal to Biden’s sweeping plan sometime early this week. Her comments followed a day of discussions between Senate Republicans and White House staff, on the eve of a meeting with top administration officials slated for Tuesday afternoon. The meeting will include Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo along with senior White House aides and are a continuation of an effort that started last week with President Joe Biden hosting a meeting at the White House. While the GOP initially proposed a $568 billion, five-year package that was well short of Biden’s $2.25 trillion American Jobs Plan, there are increasing signs the party will back a bigger bill. Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) has said he could envision a total of as much as $800 billion. The meeting is also expected to include discussion of financing of the new public spending, Republicans have opposed the tax increases that Biden has proposed, but yet to detail how they would pay for their plan. The GOP is working on a financing authority where you can leverage some money into public-private partnerships.
In hearings of note, at 9:30 a.m. the House Rules Committee met to consider the Emergency Security Supplemental to Respond to January 6th Appropriations Act, 2021. The Senate Finance Committee met at 10 a.m. on “Funding and Financing Options to Bolster American Infrastructure.”
President Joe Biden is traveling to southeast Michigan to tour and speak at the Ford Motor Company Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn, one day before the company formally unveils its electric version of the best-selling F-150 pickup truck. The visit comes as Congress begins discussions on the president’s $2 trillion jobs and infrastructure package, which includes $174 billion to support the growth of U.S. electric vehicle manufacturing. Analysts say it also highlights a project that is a model of what the administration hopes to incentivize: mass market electric vehicles built in the U.S. by union workers. The president plans to visit the new electric vehicle manufacturing center in the historic Rouge complex and is expected to receive a technical rundown of the vehicle from Ford engineers. Then he’ll deliver remarks on his policy priorities for developing electric vehicles while protecting jobs.
Adam S. Olsen, Washington, D.C.
