Tag: Congress

Washington navigates ethical minefield on getting first Covid shots

President Donald Trump, President-elect Joe Biden and leaders in Congress could help themselves to the vaccine in the coming days. The question is: should they?

The first Covid shots will soon be available to top officials and essential staff in the White House, the Pentagon and Congress. But they’re already facing a political and ethical dilemma over who should be at the front of the line.

While most of the scarce Pfizer vaccine is now on its way to hospitals and nursing homes across the country, some of the first tranche was reserved for federal leaders to ensure the government can continue to function as U.S. deaths and hospitalizations peak. President Donald Trump, President-elect Joe Biden and leaders in Congress could help themselves to it in the coming days. The question is: should they?

On Monday, Biden’s transition team said no decision had been made, and that the president-elect is consulting with his chief medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci on timing. Trump will hold off for now, but Secret Service agents, the White House medical unit staff and those who run critical operations like the Situation Room will be vaccinated on a staggered basis in the coming weeks, to ensure they don’t all suffer unexpected side effects at once. Congress still is waiting to find out how many doses will be available and when, but some lawmakers are already vowing not to elbow their way ahead. Continue reading.

Congress dares Trump to veto defense bill

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Congress is barreling toward a veto showdown with President Trump over the mammoth must-pass annual defense policy bill.

The House is scheduled to take up the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) on Tuesday, and the Senate is expected to follow shortly after.

Both chambers are expected to have strong bipartisan votes in favor, even as Trump has repeatedly threatened to veto the $740 billion measure. Continue reading.

Lawmakers face hurdles to COVID relief deal

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Negotiators in the House and Senate are racing to finish a massive end-of-year deal to fund the government and provide help to workers and families struggling through a worsening pandemic.

Last-minute sticking points are threatening to push the talks into the weekend or next week and may scuttle an agreement all together despite momentum for a deal that has been building since last week.

Congress is expected to pass a one-week stopgap measure as soon as Wednesday to keep the government funded through Dec. 18. Without such action, the government could shut down on Saturday. Continue reading.

Stimulus checks debate now focuses on size, eligibility

The Hill logoRepublicans and Democrats negotiating the next coronavirus relief package are voicing support for including another round of stimulus checks, but their competing proposals for direct payments have some differences that need to be hammered out.

The two key issues that need resolving: payment amounts for dependents and eligibility requirements.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have put forth direct payment proposals largely similar to the stimulus checks included in the CARES Act from late March that provided checks for most Americans — up to $1,200 per adult and $500 per child under 17. Continue reading.

Congress set for brawl as unemployment cliff looms

The Hill logoCongress is barreling toward a showdown over federal unemployment benefits, with millions of Americans hanging in the balance.

As part of the March $2.2 trillion coronavirus bill, Congress agreed to a $600-per week boost of unemployment benefits, but those are set to start expiring in a matter of days.

What to replace it with is shaping up to be a clash as lawmakers and the White House prepare to negotiate the fifth coronavirus bill. Continue reading.

Congress set for showdown on coronavirus relief legislation

The Hill logoA fight over the next round of coronavirus aid is coming to a head as lawmakers prepare to race the clock to get a deal.

Congress faces multiple hurdles to getting an agreement including the growing pull of the November election, a tight schedule and significant policy differences.

Both Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) say they think they’ll be able to get a deal, but leaders haven’t yet started negotiating and both sides have appeared skeptical of the other side’s key priorities.  Continue reading.

Jobless claims raise stakes in battle over COVID-19 aid

The Hill logoThe U.S. is facing significant long-term economic damage from the coronavirus as lawmakers spar over boosted unemployment benefits amid stubbornly high weekly jobless claims.

More than 1 million Americans have filed new claims for unemployment benefits each week for the past four months. Those figures provide a grim backdrop to the fight unfolding in Washington over whether to extend enhanced unemployment insurance for millions of job-seekers.

Economists say the persistently high jobless claims coupled with the growing number of permanent job losses are troubling signs for both workers and the economy. Continue reading.

Economists Think Congress Could Create An Economic Disaster This Summer

Congress has less than a month to hammer out a deal on the next round of stimulus before expanded unemployment benefits expire. State and local governments are starting to feel the pinchof budget shortfalls. And while the U.S. got a piece of (relatively) good news in last week’s jobs report, which featured an unemployment rate 2.2 percentage points lower in June than it had been in May, the economy has been thrown back into chaos in the meantime, with a number of states pulling back on their reopenings amid spiking COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations.

Our newest survey of economists highlights just how consequential governmental decisions over the next month may be: On average, these economists think that a refusal by Congress to extend unemployment benefits or bail out state and local governments is just as likely to hurt the economy as local economies staying open in spite of COVID-19 spikes — or even closing because of the virus.

In partnership with the Initiative on Global Markets at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, FiveThirtyEight asked 31 quantitative macroeconomic economists what they thought about a variety of subjects around the coronavirus recession and recovery efforts. The most recent survey was conducted from July 2 through 6, which means the June jobs report was fresh on respondents’ minds — but so was the state of the pandemic, along with challenges ahead for lawmakers. Continue reading.

Democrats face disadvantage in COVID-19 political battle

The Hill logoHouse Democrats are facing a disadvantage in the political battle over the coronavirus pandemic, with the one chamber controlled by their party delaying its return to Washington while Senate Republicans come back in session next week.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has been a constant presence on television while the House is out of session, and rank-and-file Democrats have been busy pushing relief proposals from their districts with virtual town halls and forums.

But Senate Republicans will have the optical advantage of taking floor votes, holding hearings — and boasting that they’re hard at work in the Capitol while the House remains on recess.  Continue reading.

Coronavirus fuels K Street lobbying gush, new disclosures show

Airlines, utilities and shrimp processors are among the industries that turned to lobbyists for help.

Airlines, pharmaceutical companies, utilities and shrimp processors are among the industries that have stepped up their Washington lobbying in an effort to influence the federal government’s response to coronavirus.

New disclosure filings show how much of corporate America — as well as small companies that had never hired lobbyists before — have pressed Congress and the Trump administration for help as the virus has placed entire industries in peril.

At least 3,200 companies, trade groups and other organizations lobbied on the $2.2 trillion relief bill that President Donald Trump signed into law last month and other efforts to respond to coronavirus, according to an analysis of disclosure filings by the Center for Responsive Politics. They include giants such as Apple, CVS and Toyota, as well as smaller players, such as the American Shrimp Processors Association. Continue reading.