Infrastructure and Transportation Update 7/21/21

Infrastructure Plan Debate

Senate Republicans blocked debate on a vast and still-unfinished infrastructure plan, rejecting Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-NY) drive to forge ahead while negotiators from both parties struggle to complete details of the $579 billion package…

President Biden, appearing at a union electrical training center in Cincinnati, Ohio, was asked if he’ll get an infrastructure deal…

In the House, where Democrats currently have a four-vote majority, it may be opposed by some progressive Democrats who want more infrastructure resources and assurances that a larger partisan economic will pass the Senate, and by some Republicans who say it spends too much…

Some Democrats in the House and Senate are growing impatient with the negotiations, and are advocating dropping the talks and adding the infrastructure package to a planned $3.5 trillion economic measure they could pass under Senate procedures without GOP support...

President meets Democrats on Infrastructure

President Joe Biden returned to Capitol Hill last Wednesday, 7/14, to meet with Senate Democrats during their luncheon to pitch both the bipartisan infrastructure proposal and a legislative package that can be pursued through reconciliation…

Senate Committee Advances Bipartisan Energy Infrastructure Bill

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on 7/14 advanced an energy bill that’s expected to be part of the bipartisan infrastructure framework by a 13-7 vote…

House Passes $715 Billion Infrastructure Bill

On July 1, the House approved a five-year, $715 billion transportation and drinking water bill that would do more to combat climate change than the Senate’s bipartisan measure embraced by President Biden…

Bipartisan House Group’s endorsement of Senate Infrastructure Plan

A group of Democratic and Republican House members on Tuesday, 7/6, endorsed the bipartisan infrastructure framework crafted by senators and the White House, but potentially complicated its path to passage along the way…

Conservative Advocates Align Against Infrastructure Deal

Conservative political groups are organizing in opposition to the tentative bipartisan infrastructure deal, urging Republican lawmakers to reject the framework agreed on by the White House and a bipartisan group of senators…

Weekly Update 7/19/21

California

California lawmakers on Thursday, 7/15, approved the first state-funded guaranteed income plan in the U.S. - $35 million for monthly cash payments to qualifying pregnant people and young adults who recently left foster care with no restrictions on how they spend it…

Gov. Gavin Newsom will appear on recall ballots without his Democratic Party label after losing a last-minute legal fight last week…

Forty-one candidates met the qualifications to run in the California gubernatorial recall election, less than a third of the number who ran in the state's memorable 2003 contest and well below what some pundits predicted, according to an official list released Saturday, 7/17…

A recent USC and the Policy Analysis for California Education survey shows that a vast majority of parents (71%) want to keep online learning as a fall option…

Rep. Katie Porter isn’t a member of congressional leadership, nor is she a firebrand who is constantly in the news…

Coronavirus

Fully vaccinated Americans and permanent residents will be allowed to enter Canada for non-essential travel beginning 8/9, Canadian government ministers announced today, 7/19…

The COVID-19 curve in the U.S. is rising after months of decline, with the number of new cases per day doubling over the past three weeks, driven by the fast-spreading delta variant, lagging vaccination rates and Fourth of July gatherings…

With deaths and hospitalizations from COVID-19 on the rise, the U.S. is seeing a “pandemic of the unvaccinated” in parts of the country where inoculation rates are low, the head of the CDC said…

Children are at extremely slim risk of dying from COVID-19, according to studies, which indicate the threat might be even lower than previously thought...

Pressure is growing for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to grant full approval to the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines - or to at least more clearly explain to the public its decision-making process - to convince Americans to get shots…

The White House is countering misinformation and scare tactics after Republican lawmakers and conservative activists pledged to fight its plans to go “door-to-door” to increase vaccination rates…

President and Administration

This afternoon, 7/19, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is expected to schedule a procedural vote for Wednesday, 7/21, to begin debate on the bipartisan infrastructure package…

The Judge Rotenberg Educational Center can continue to use electric shock devices to modify behavior by students with intellectual disabilities, a federal court said this month, overturning an attempt by the government to end the controversial practice, which has been described as “torture” by critics but defended by family members…

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled Thursday, 7/15, that private student loans are dischargeable in bankruptcy…

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has backed away from new public housing requirements such as fire extinguishers, a minimum number of electrical outlets and other measures intended to protect residents from serious and potentially life-threatening hazards, according to the latest draft of the new standards…

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is calling for the child tax credit expansion to be made permanent. Under the Biden administration's American Rescue Plan passed by Congress in March, parents are set to receive $250 to $300 per child every month for the rest of this year…

A new Gallup poll found that 59.2% of Americans say they're thriving…

Last week, Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough acknowledged fundamental flaws in the agency’s troubled $16 billion effort to modernize veterans’ medical records, a project championed by former President Trump that is beset by cost overruns, delays, misrepresentations to Congress and a disastrous rollout at its first hospital…

Last week, the Senate confirmed Julie Su’s nomination to serve as deputy labor secretary…

President Biden’s pick to lead the Office for Civil Rights at the Department of Education maintained her strong opinions of current Title IX regulations during her confirmation hearing last week, even as Republican senators criticized her previous tenure at the department…

The U.S. budget gap surpassed $2 trillion in the first three quarters of the fiscal year, showcasing the continuing impact of the COVID-19 crisis as the federal government heads for a deficit that will be close to last year’s all-time record…

Wall Street investors have bought into the Federal Reserve’s assurances that higher inflation won’t last, but a looming trend will test their composure over the coming months: soaring home and rental costs…

Justice Stephen Breyer has not decided when he will retire and is especially gratified with his new role as the senior liberal on the bench, he said in his first public comments amid the incessant speculation of a Supreme Court vacancy…

Congress 

The House has completed full committee action on all 12 appropriations bills…

Senate Democrats on the Budget Committee agreed to a $3.5 trillion top-line spending level for a bill to carry most of President Biden’s economic agenda into law without Republican support…

Americans looking to apply for or renew a passport will face a wait time of as much as 18 weeks…

Senate Majority Leader Schumer, Finance Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) released a discussion draft of their marijuana legalization bill at a press conference Wednesday, 7/14…

Last week, the Senate confirmed Jen Easterly to lead the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, filling an eight-month leadership void at the top of an agency struggling to address widespread digital weaknesses inside the government and across the country…

Education

Last week, the Education Department released Frequently Asked Questions: Using American Rescue Plan Funding to Support Full-Service Community Schools & Related Strategies…

The high school Class of 2021 completed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) at a rate 4.8% lower than the year before, according to a report released last week by the National College Attainment Network…

The Education Department is temporarily changing its federal student aid verification process to focus only on identity theft and fraud for the 2021-22 application cycle…

A report released last week by the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce finds no "strong evidence" of discrimination against Asian American applicants in admissions to the 91 most selective colleges…

The House Appropriations Committee approved a bill Thursday, 7/15, that includes nearly $31 billion in total higher education funding for fiscal year 2022…

The Education Department's office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) recently added three leaders in key roles that will focus on improving operations and accountability in the areas of student loan servicing and postsecondary institution compliance…

Public Safety Update 7/14/21

Appropriations

The House Appropriations Committee released its Commerce-Justice-Science bill on 7/1 and held subcommittee markups on Monday, 7/12…

The bill funds the Justice Department at $36.04 billion, an increase of $2.64 billion above the FY 2021 discretionary enacted level. This includes funding for the following…

Public Safety, Violence Prevention, and Police and Gun Reform

The Biden administration in June announced a comprehensive strategy to combat gun violence and violent crime through preventative measures restricting access to guns…

In preparation for a possible increase in violence typically seen over the summer months, the Justice Department’s Comprehensive Strategy for Reducing Violent Crime includes supporting state and local law enforcement efforts to identify the most violent offenders and most dangerous criminal organizations in communities…

The president’s nomination of David Chipman to lead the ATF is uncertain to win approval…

Last month, Congressional negotiators announced they reached an agreement on a framework for legislation aimed at overhauling the nation's policing laws, but any agreement remains elusive…

A group of 29 civil rights organizations penned a letter to top-ranking lawmakers last week to raise concerns about the talks surrounding a police reform bill, zeroing in on the qualified immunity doctrine…

Concern over crime is at the highest point in four years amid a spike in killings in big cities and an uptick in violent crime, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll released 7/2, and the percentage of Americans who say crime in the United States is “extremely serious” has reached its highest point in two decades…

Eric Adams, the Democratic nominee for New York City mayor, attended a White House meeting with Biden, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, local law enforcement leaders and elected officials last month to discuss gun crime and firearms dealers…

Bolstered by widespread outcry over racial policing policies, new district attorneys came into office vowing to reduce the criminal justice footprint, but six months in, the prosecutors are struggling to navigate tensions between supporters for change and police unions blaming crime spikes as proof that progressive approaches to violence don’t work…

Democratic lawmakers want to eliminate funding long-designated for school resource officers (SROs), with The Counseling Not Criminalization in Schools Act…

A newly approved city budget will not include an additional $18 million for the Oakland Police Department, increasing vulnerability in a city already battling an epidemic of violent crime…

Innovative Policing and Police Technology

Mark43 Inc., a software provider to police departments, is spending more on lobbying and emphasizing its role in helping agencies share information with the public amid a pushback against law enforcement over the past year…

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) announced last month that Vibrant Emotional Health (Vibrant) will be the administrators of the new 988 dialing code for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (Lifeline)…

The Mental Health Justice Act, which was introduced in the House in February, would create a national grant program to pay for first responder units made up of mental health providers on the local level…

Weekly Update 7/12/21

California

California will require that masks be worn at schools when classrooms open this fall, despite new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that says vaccinated teachers and students don’t need to wear face coverings inside school buildings…

There are now over 80 candidates running for governor of California in the 2021 recall election, all aiming to oust Democrat Gavin Newsom…

Coronavirus

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is preparing to announce a new warning for the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) COVID-19 vaccine saying the shot has been linked to Guillain-Barré syndrome, a serious but rare side effect in which the immune system attacks the nerves…

The CDC has updated its COVID-19 guidance for kindergarten through high school, providing flexibility for local decision makers to determine what’s needed to safely keep kids in the classroom…

Pfizer plans to request U.S. emergency authorization in August for a third booster dose of its COVID-19 vaccine, based on data from an early human study showing that a third dose of its existing COVID-19 vaccine is safe and can raise neutralizing antibody levels by five to 10 fold compared with the original vaccine…

Faced with a steep decline in vaccination rates, President Joe Biden announced last week that his administration would send people door to door, set up clinics at workplaces and urge employers to offer paid time off as part of a renewed push to reach tens of millions of unvaccinated Americans…

Americans are almost evenly divided over whether schools or most private employers should require COVID-19 vaccinations as part of reopening, according to a Politico-Harvard survey…

President and Administration

The U.S. Supreme Court will clarify next term whether victims of disability discrimination under federal law can win emotional distress damages, after it granted review of a Fifth Circuit decision…

Facing a nationwide increase in violent crime - particularly involving firearms - President Biden will meet with law enforcement, local elected officials and advocates to discuss his efforts to address gun crimes…

President Biden’s executive order to bolster competition includes 72 initiatives by more than a dozen federal agencies…

Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday, 7/8, announced a $25 million expansion of the Democratic National Committee’s “I Will Vote” campaign, a move intended to increase voter registration, turnout and protections…

Yields in the $4 trillion municipal-bond market, already historically low, could drop even more, according to the biggest underwriter of state and local debt…

Congress 

House appropriators are set to finish markups this week after releasing their final four spending bills yesterday, 7/11, though they haven’t made progress toward a bipartisan top-line spending deal…

Child Tax Credit checks are going to start going out this week…

Education

Last week, the administration formally withdrew a rule proposed by the Trump administration that would have required international students to reapply for student visas after fixed terms of up to four years…

As momentum grows around providing students with supports that foster retention and completion, a bill seeking to address one of the biggest hindrances in bringing these types of programs to community colleges has been reintroduced in the Senate, with a path forward appearing to be clearer than in years past…

Secretary Cardona visited Puerto Rico in the last week of June…

Education Department officials are recommending that the White House once again extend the pause on federal student loan payments, according to people familiar with the internal discussions, putting pressure on the administration ahead of a fall deadline…

Almost all schools with fourth and eighth grades were offering some in-person learning at the end of the school year, but more than half of students at those levels remained in hybrid or fully remote programs, according to the final round of school reopening data from the Institute of Education Sciences…

Last week, the Education Department announced more political appointees including…

As required by law, the Education Department issued annual determinations regarding states’ implementation of IDEA…

Weekly Update 7/6/21

California

Last week, both chambers of the California legislature approved Gov. Gavin Newsom's plan to send additional $600 stimulus checks to residents across the state, sending the legislation to the governor's desk…

Californians legally bought a record 686,435 handguns in 2020 - a nearly 66% increase from the year before - while annual long-gun sales reached their second-highest total with 480,401 legal purchases, according to data Attorney General Rob Bonta released Thursday, 7/2…

The gubernatorial recall election is set for 9/14…

San Jose officials have passed the first law in the nation that requires gun owners to carry liability insurance and pay a fee to cover taxpayers’ costs associated with gun violence…

California broadly reopened its economy barely two weeks ago and since then an especially contagious COVID-19 variant has spread among the unvaccinated, a development that has health officials on edge and already has prompted Los Angeles County to strongly recommend everyone resume wearing masks inside…

Coronavirus

Last week, the Supreme Court voted 5 to 4 to leave in place the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) ban on evictions, imposed to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and prevent homelessness…

The Biden administration on Thursday, 7/1, announced the formation of “surge response” teams intended to combat the fast-moving delta variant by deploying additional expertise and supplies to hot spots…

FEMA has changed its pandemic funeral assistance policy to allow family members of those who died from COVID-19 between 1/20/20 and 5/16/20 to submit for reimbursement even if the death certificate does not identify the illness as the cause of death…

The highly contagious delta variant quickly spreading through the U.S. may force schools to double down on mitigation measures in order to reopen safely later this summer and into the fall, health experts say…

President and Administration

State and local officials responsible for doling out more than $46 billion in federal rental assistance had distributed just $1.5 billion as of the end of May, according to new Treasury Department data that illustrated a severe bottleneck in the aid…

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is ordering car manufacturers to disclose crashes involving automated driving systems - ranging from fully autonomous to those that can perform driver tasks such as steering, changing speeds and switching lanes - as part of an effort to monitor the safety of new technologies being used on the nation’s roads…

The U.S. will no longer require Americans applying for passports or consular reports of birth abroad to undergo a medical certification if their self-selected gender doesn’t match the gender listed on other citizenship or identity documents, the State Department announced…

Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday, 7/1, issued a moratorium on federal executions, ordering a review of death penalty policy changes made under former President Trump…

Congress 

The House passed two bills last week that are expected to form the core of legislation in the chamber designed to boost U.S. research and development in response to China’s challenge to U.S. economic supremacy…

A rare show of bipartisan unity over tax policy unfolded last week, with 18 lawmakers making their case on why House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) should include an expansion of the state and local tax (SALT) deduction in upcoming legislation…

Every child whose parent or guardian earns less than $100,000 per year would be granted a savings account under a bill introduced by Sens. Bob Casey (D-PA), Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY)…

Last week, the House voted to create a new select committee that will investigate the deadly 1/6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, in a vote falling mostly along party lines that signals the political fight to come over the panel's examination of the insurrection…

Education

Data released last week revealed a startling decline in the number of American children attending public schools: Total K-12 enrollment dropped by roughly 3% in 2020-21 compared with the previous school year - which amounts to a drop of roughly 1.5 million pupils…

Last week, the Supreme Court declined to hear a high-profile feud over the rights of transgender youth in public schools, letting stand a lower court victory for a Virginia student whose school barred him from using the boys’ restroom…

On Thursday, 7/1, the Education Department released more than $3 billion in American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds to states to support infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities…