On Monday, the House Budget Committee passed the $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill in a 19-16 vote and a floor vote is expected this week. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has expressed confidence the measure will pass in the Senate before unemployment benefits expire on March 14. On Tuesday, Senators Mitt Romney (R-UT) and Tom Cotton (R-AR) introduced the Higher Wages for American Workers Act, which proposes a phased in $10 per hour wage through 2025. The bill suggests that implementation through an E-Verify system would disincentivize the hiring illegal immigrants, preserving American jobs. The House Financial Services’ Subcommittee on Oversight & Investigations will hold a hearing this afternoon, entitled How Invidious Discrimination Works and Hurts: An Examination of Lending Discrimination and Its Long-term Economic Impacts on Borrowers of Color, on the Fair Lending for All Act.In other news, the Democratic Women’s Caucus (DWC) has selected Gabrielle Gould to serve as its first Executive Director.

 

Happening on the Hill

The House… 

…Committee on Financial Services will hold a virtual hearing on How Invidious Discrimination Works and Hurts: An Examination of Lending Discrimination and Its Long-term Economic Impacts on Borrowers of Color. The hearing will take place TODAY at 3:00 PM. 

…Committee on Financial Services will hold a virtual hearing on Dollars Against Democracy: Domestic Terrorist Financing in the Aftermath of Insurrection. The hearing will take place TODAY at 10:00 AM.  

…Committee on Financial Services will hold a virtual hearing on Climate Change and Social Responsibility: Helping Corporate Boards and Investors Make Decisions for a Sustainable World. The hearing will take place TODAY at 2:00 PM. 

…Committee on Appropriations will hold a virtual Subcommittee on Agriculture hearing on Oversight Hearing: Office of Inspector General, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture. The hearing will take place on TODAY at 10:00 AM.

…Committee on Appropriations will hold a virtual hearing on Strategies for Energy and Climate Innovation. The hearing will take place TODAY at 2:00 PM.

…Committee on Appropriations will hold a virtual hearing titled U.S. Capitol Police and House Sergeant at Arms, Security Failures Hearing. The hearing will take place TODAY at 10:00 AM.

…Committee on Ways and Means will hold a virtual Subcommittee on Health hearing on The Path Forward on COVID-19 Immunizations. The hearing will take place Friday, February 26 at 2:00 PM. 

…Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health will hold a virtual hearing on The Future of Telehealth: How Covid-19 is Changing the Delivery of Virtual Care. The hearing will take place on Tuesday, March 2 at 10:30 AM. 

 

The Senate… 

…Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs will hold a virtual hearing on The Coronavirus Crisis: Next Steps for Rebuilding Main Street. The hearing will take place TODAY at 9:30 AM.  

…Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs will hold a virtual hearing to nominate Gary Gensler to be a Member of the Securities and Exchange Commission; and Rohit Chopra to be Director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection. The hearing will take place on Tuesday, March 2 at 10:00 AM.

…Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions will hold a virtual hearing on the Nominations of Vivek Murthy to serve as Medical Director in the Regular Corps of the Public Health Service and Surgeon General of the Public Health Service, and Rachel Levine to serve as Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services. The hearing will take place TODAY at 10:00 AM.

…Committee on Finance will hold an open executive session to organize for the 117th Congress. The session will take place TODAY at 9:45 AM.  

…Committee on Finance will hold a virtual hearing to to Consider the Nomination of of Katherine C. Tai, of the District of Columbia, to be United States Trade Representative, with the rank of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary. The hearing will take place TODAY at 10:00 AM.

…Committee on the Judiciary will hold a virtual hearing on Oversight of the Federal Bureau of Investigation: the January 6 Insurrection, Domestic Terrorism, and Other Threats. The hearing will take place on Tuesday, March 2 at 10:00 AM.

 

Bills of Interest

  • Rep. Jennifer Wexton (D-VA-10) introduced a bill to require Federal agencies to conduct a benefit-cost analysis on relocations involving the movement of employment positions to different areas.
  • Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI-3) introduced a bill to amend the Small Business Act to allow ranchers and farmers to use an alternative calculation for a maximum loan amount under the paycheck protection program.
  • Rep. Derek Kilmer (D-WA-6) introduced a bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to establish a tax credit for training services received by individuals who are unemployed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
  • Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO-6) introduced a bill to establish a Next Generation Entrepreneurship Corps program within the Small Business Administration.
  • Rep. Gerald Connolly (D-VA-11) introduced a bill to improve diversity and inclusion in the workforce of national security agencies.
  • Sen. Christopher Coons (D-DE) introduced a bill to promote registered apprenticeships, including registered apprenticeships within in-demand industry sectors.
  • Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) introduced a bill to require Federal agencies to conduct a benefit-cost analysis on relocations involving the movement of employment positions to different areas.
  • Sen. Christopher Coons (D-DE) introduced a bill to establish a Next Generation Entrepreneurship Corps program within the Small Business Administration.
  • Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) introduced a bill to require the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to encourage entrepreneurship training in after school programs.

 

At the Agencies

U.S. Department of Labor

The U.S. Department of Labor published a news release titled “OSHA Cites Missouri Auto Parts Manufacturer for Failing to Implement, Enforce, Coronavirus Protections as Exposure Leads to Press Operator’s Death.” 

The U.S. Department of Labor published a news release titled “OSHA, Consulate General of Ecuador Establish Alliance to Train Chicago-Area Ecuadorian Workers, Protect Them from Job Hazards.”

 

U.S. Department of the Treasury

The U.S. Department of the Treasury published a readout of Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen’s Call with Bank of Italy Governor Ignazio Visco.