The House convened at 10 a.m. and will consider H.R. 2062 – Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act of 2021. The House will also resume consideration of 16 bills under suspension of the Rules.
The Senate will convene at 2:00 p.m.
In hearings today, at 10 a.m. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough will testify before Senate Appropriations subcommittees about their departments’ fiscal year 2022 Budget submissions.
A busy afternoon of meetings between senior White House officials and Senate moderates failed to achieve a breakthrough Tuesday after senior Biden advisers made it clear they do not support several of the senators’ strategies for paying for new infrastructure investment. The prospects of a bipartisan infrastructure deal appeared to slip Tuesday after senior White House officials raised concerns over the funding sources proposed by a bipartisan group of 21 senators and resisted Republican suggestions to repurpose more in unspent COVID-19 relief funding to pay for new infrastructure projects. While White House officials indicated they like the idea of an infrastructure bank to leverage public funding to raise private investment for infrastructure projects, they see such financing authority as a supplemental strategy for spurring new infrastructure development and not a core strategy for funding a potential $974 billion, five-year bipartisan infrastructure package. Instead, the White House appears to be turning its attention to setting up a budget reconciliation process that would allow Congress to pass a major infrastructure bill with only Democratic votes. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) informed Senate colleagues at a closed-door lunch Tuesday that he and Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) will meet with White House officials Wednesday to discuss strategy for moving a budget resolution through Congress. White House aides set to attend include director of the Office of Management and Budget Shalanda Young, Domestic Policy Council head Susan Rice, head of the National Economic Council Brian Deese, Legislative Affairs director Louisa Terrell, and White House counselor Steve Ricchetti.
At 2:15 p.m. President Joe Biden and the Attorney General meet with stakeholders to discuss ways the Biden-Harris Administration is acting to keep our cities and neighborhoods safe which will be followed by remarks on the Administration’s gun crime prevention strategy. Biden will announce a crime prevention strategy that includes establishing a “zero tolerance policy” for rogue gun dealers and steps to stop the illegal trafficking of firearms. Biden’s plan includes a new Justice Department policy that will allow the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to revoke federal licenses of gun dealers the first time they violate federal law. Violations could include selling firearms to a prohibited buyer, failing to run required background checks or falsifying firearm transaction forms or other records. Biden will also unveil a new partnership with 15 cities to expand community violence intervention programs with federal funds and private dollars from philanthropic organizations. Biden proposed $5 billion for such programs in his infrastructure and jobs plan. The White House will work to expand summer employment, programming and other opportunities for youth and young adults. Biden’s Department of Labor this month awarded $89 million through the federal YouthBuild program for pre-apprenticeships for people 16 to 24 years old. The Biden administration also identified steps to help formerly incarcerated individuals to enter the workforce. That includes an $85.5 million Labor Department grant to improve access to jobs in 28 communities and evaluating potential barriers preventing the formerly incarcerated from getting hired by the federal government.
Fact Sheet: Biden-Harris Administration Announces Comprehensive Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Gun Crime and Ensure Public Safety.
Adam S. Olsen, Washington, D.C.
