ASAToday for May 13th, 2021

This Week in Congress This week, the House and Senate were in session following two weeks of committee focused activity. The Senate focused on presidential nominees and negotiations continued on President Biden’s $4 trillion economic plan, as President Biden met with members from both parties on Wednesday. To date, the Senate Republicans led by Sen.…

White House Taskforce on Pipeline Cyber Attack The investigation into a major cyber-attack on the largest U.S. pipeline continued this week as the White House created an inter-agency task force to tackle the problem. The task force worked through the weekend to address the breach, including exploring options for lessening its impact on the energy…

American Rescue Plan The Biden administration will begin distributing the $350 billion, provided by the American Rescue Plan, to states and local governments this month. The Treasury Department said that states that were hit the hardest economically by the pandemic would be the first to receive the funds. The states that have a net increase…

Debt Limit Deadline The White House might be forced to deal with the debt limit before the August recess.  Treasury Secretary Yellen said that the federal government could run out of borrowing room as early as this summer, contradicting some analysts who have said Treasury’s large cash balance could provide a cushion well into the…

Sens. Marshall, Burr, and Scott’s Opposition Letter to OSHA’s ETS for COVID-19 On May 3, 2021, Sens. Marshall (R-KS), Burr (R-NC), and Scott (R-SC) sent an opposition letter to U.S. Department of Labor Secretary Walsh regarding an issuance of an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) for COVID-19 by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA). Per…

U.S. House Requests $14.9 Billion in Earmarks Members of the U.S. House have requested $14.9 billion in spending on earmarked projects for a transportation bill that will be the vehicle for President Biden’s economic agenda.  Republicans joined Democrats in making use of the new earmark process, inaugurated after the practice was effectively banned for a…