WASHINGTON UPDATES
Capitol Advocacy Partners provides weekly newsletter updates featuring curated news from the executive and legislative branches, along with timely information on federal funding opportunities—tailored to keep you informed and ahead.
Weekly Update: 1/6/20
President and Administration
White House budget leaders will spend January finalizing Trump's wish list for funding federal departments in fiscal 2021, scheduled for release on 2/10/20…
A new rule proposed by the Administration would no longer require agencies to take climate change into account when they assess the environmental impacts of highways, pipelines and other major infrastructure projects…
This week HUD is anticipated to release a proposal to rollback Obama-era regulations designed to crack-down on housing segregation- the 2015 Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule…
Congress
The House will vote on a resolution limiting President Trump’s military actions toward Iran following his decision to launch a drone strike that killed a top Iranian commander, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said Sunday, 1/5/20…
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) must transmit the articles of impeachment adopted on 12/18/19 to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY)…
On Thursday, 1/9/20, at 10am EST the House Oversight and Reform Committee will hold a hearing entitled “Reaching Hard-to-Count Communities in the 2020 Census.” …
On Thursday, 1/9/20, at 10am EST the House Homeland Security Committee Emergency Preparedness, Response and Recovery Subcommittee will hold a hearing entitled “Understanding the importance of DHS Preparedness Grants: Perspectives from the field.” …
Weekly Update: 12/16/19
President and Administration
The Trump administration is hosting a mental health summit Thursday, 12/19, that's expected to include a discussion about mass shootings…
Congress
Last week, the House Judiciary Committee approved two articles — abuse of power and obstruction of Congress — in party-line votes…
This afternoon, 12/16, Congress released the text of the FY20 appropriations package…
On Thursday, 12/12, the House passing a bill that for the first time would require the government to negotiate prices for costly drugs…
Weekly Update 12/9/19
President and Administration
The Trump Administration gave final approval on Wednesday, 12/4, to a rule that will remove nearly 700,000 people from the federal food-stamp program by strictly enforcing federal work requirements…
The Department of Health and Human Services Department announced their plan to provide donated HIV prevention drugs (PrEP) for free to the uninsured, as part of the President’s end HIV initiative…
On Wednesday, 12/4, California Gov. Gavin Newsom confirmed the allocation of $650 million directly to counties and cities to address homelessness across the state, saying he was frustrated with the federal government's slow process in allowing him to release the state funds…
Congress
Democrats indicated optimism that the House and Senate can negotiate all of the Fiscal Year 20 bills and clear them by Dec. 20, when government Continuing Resolution (CR) expires…
Today, 12/9, the House Judiciary Committee began a hearing on the House Intelligence Committee’s impeachment report…
Ways and Means Democrats are expected to finally unveil legislation this month taking aim at the $10,000 limit on the federal deduction for state and local taxes…
Witnesses at a House Education and Labor Committee hearing on Wednesday, 11/4, testified that the Trump administration’s immigration policies could be deterring undocumented children and children from mixed-status families from attending school and receiving health and nutrition benefits…
Education
At an annual education conference in Reno, U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos pitched an idea to have federal student loans managed by a standalone entity that is separate and independent from the Education Department…
Democratic presidential candidates are pitching tuition-free community college as a way to prevent students from piling up student debt…
Weekly Update 11/25/19
President and Administration
President Trump's nominee for FDA commissioner declined at his confirmation hearing Wednesday, 11/20, to promise to move forward with an e-cigarette flavor ban that the administration has put on hold…
For communities with significant numbers of Latino and immigrant residents, the barriers to an accurate 2020 Census count are high…
California’s government has hit back at automakers that sided with President Trump over the state on fuel efficiency standards, saying Sacramento will halt all purchases of new vehicles from General Motors, Toyota, Fiat Chrysler and other automakers…
Department of Education
Secretary of Education DeVos announced Wednesday, 11/20, that the new College Scorecard is now available…
The Education Department is planning to draft new federal rules to carry out President Donald Trump’s executive order on campus free speech…
Congress
On Thursday, 11/21, President Trump signed a stopgap bill that pushed the appropriations deadline to December 20th…
Now that the last scheduled impeachment hearing has wrapped up, Democrats are eyeing the next phase of their investigation: passing the baton to the House Judiciary Committee…
The House Judiciary Committee approved a bill Wednesday, 11/20, that would decriminalize marijuana at the federal level…
John Pallasch, assistant secretary for employment and training at the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), acknowledged during a House Education and Labor Committee hearing on apprenticeships…
Weekly Update 11/18/19
President and Administration
President Trump has postponed his plan to ban flavored e-cigarette products after listening to advisers wary of political fallout…
Implementing the VA Mission Act: The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is amending its regulations that govern scholarships to certain health care professionals…
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Labor (DOL) (collectively, the Departments), are jointly issuing a final rule to amend the regulations governing DOL's certification of nonagricultural labor or services to be performed by temporary foreign workers in H-2B nonimmigrant status (H-2B workers)…
Education
Secretary Betsy DeVos on Wednesday,11/13, proposed revamping both K-12 and higher education to make them more tailored to the needs of the workforce…
The U.S. Department of Education announced Friday, 11/8, that it invested $540 million to support science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education, including computer science, through discretionary and research grants in Fiscal Year 2019, in accordance with President Trump's directive to foster expanded opportunities in these in-demand career fields…
On Wednesday, 11/20, the House Education and Labor Higher Education and Workforce Investment Subcommittee will hold a hearing entitled "Examining the Policies and Priorities of the Labor Department's Apprenticeship Program."…
The number of enrolled international students at American colleges and universities decreased at all academic levels -- undergraduate, graduate and nondegree -- in the 2018-19 academic year, according to new data from the "Open Doors" report…
Two new polls show that Americans—particularly young Americans—don’t see a college degree as crucial to their career success, yet one more sign that people are questioning whether higher education is worth the debt…
Congress
Dramatic testimony from U.S. diplomats working in Ukraine have significantly raised the stakes for this week’s impeachment inquiry appearance from Gordon Sondland…
While top appropriators say they’ve made progress on how to tackle the 12 annual spending bills that keep the government running, the short timeline and continued disagreement…