The House met at 9 a.m. for a brief pro forma session and will return tomorrow with votes at 6:30 p.m. and a busy agenda for the week. The Senate will convene at 3:00 p.m. and will resume consideration of the nomination of Christopher Charles Fonzone to be General Counsel of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
The House is gearing up for votes this week to undo three Trump-era rules, using a legislative tool to repeal some of the previous administration’s agency actions. Democrats will use the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to take aim at rules governing methane regulations, lending practices and employment discrimination cases. The three resolutions, which made it through the Senate on simple majority votes that included Republicans crossing the aisle on two of the measures, all have a good chance of passing the House. One of the Trump administration rules set for elimination this week got rid of methane emissions standards for the oil and gas sector and nixed limits for substances known as volatile organic compounds from oil and gas transmission and storage. The CRA resolution on lending would repeal a currency rule that allows lenders to offer loans at interest rates that exceed state limits if they team up with a federally chartered bank headquartered in a state with a higher cap. The third rule up for elimination requires the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to provide more information to employers when the agency is trying to help reach an out-of-court resolution in discrimination cases.
The Senate’s months-long fight over voting is set to come to a head this week before lawmakers leave town for the July 4th recess. The Senate is set to leave town for over two weeks on Thursday, while the House is in town through next week before leaving until July 19th. The Senate is set to vote Tuesday on a sweeping bill to overhaul federal elections, known as the For the People Act. The legislation is guaranteed to fail to get the 60 votes needed to advance past a GOP filibuster, with Republicans dug in against the bill. But Democrats are hoping to be able to unite their 50 members in support of it in an effort to put the political spotlight on Republican opposition. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) said on Sunday that they were still working to win over the caucus’s lone holdout: Senator Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia). The For the People Act, among other initiatives aimed at expanding voting, requires states to offer mail-in ballots and a minimum of 15 days of early voting while calling for online and same-day voter registration. It also totally overhauls campaign finance rules, changes the makeup of the Federal Election Commission, imposes new ethics rules for public officials and establishes new requirements on congressional redistricting.
Talks on a bipartisan infrastructure plan are coming down to the wire with President Joe Biden back in Washington, D.C., days before senators leave town. A proposal put forward by a group of moderate senators is gaining traction, with what was a group of roughly 10 growing to a group of 21. But there are still big hurdles to clinching an agreement that can get the 60 votes needed to pass the Senate. The group still haven’t locked down how they would pay for their framework — which spends $973 billion over five years and roughly $1.2 trillion over eight years — amid pushback from senators and the White House over indexing the gas tax to inflation. The group also proposes redirecting unused COVID-19 funds, which Democrats are opposed to. Biden told reporters last week that he will have a response to the plan as soon as Monday after reviewing it. Twenty-one senators – including 11 Republicans, nine Democrats and one independent who caucuses with Democrats – support the framework to rebuild roads, bridges and other traditional infrastructure that would cost $1.2 trillion over eight years.
President Biden plans to meet Monday afternoon with lead financial regulators for an update on the state of the country’s financial system and institutions and also discuss climate change risks and increasing access to credit. President Biden is expected to be joined by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu, as well as the heads of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Of note, the White House announced President Biden will welcome Israeli President Reuven Rivlin to the White House on June 28th.
Adam S. Olsen, Washington, D.C.
