On Friday, House lawmakers passed the Equality Act (H.R. 5) which would extend anti-discrimination protections to LGBTQ individuals in employment and other areas, President Trump announced a deal reached with Canada and Mexico to lift steel and aluminum tariffs, to the relief of auto manufactures, and a bill was introduced by Rep. Paul Mitchell (R-MI) to require the Secretary of Labor to improve worker training, retention, and advancement as part of an infrastructure investment. Meanwhile, legislators in Connecticut voted to make it the seventh state in the nation to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2023.

This week, the House Committee on Small Business will hold a hearing on the SBA’s Community Advantage loan program and another on immigration’s impact on the small business workforce, while the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship will hold a hearing on reauthorization of the SBA’s Office of Advocacy. The SECURE Act (H.R. 1994), a bill sponsored by Rep. Richard Neal (D-MA) which would make it easier for small businesses to set up retirement plans by removing restrictions on small employers’ currently limited ability to band together in a multiple employer plan (open MEP), is up for a full House vote this week.

On Capitol Hill

Floor Proceedings

House: In Session

Senate: In Session

Committee Proceedings

House Committee on Small Business

  • Today, the committee will host a hearing titled, “Investing in Community: The SBA’s Community Advantage Loan Program”
  • Tomorrow, the committee will host a hearing titled, “Immigration and the Small Business Workforce”

 

House Committee on Financial Services

  • No relevant hearings today

 

House Committee on Appropriations

  • No relevant hearings today

 

House Committee on Ways and Means

  • Tomorrow, the committee will hold a hearing titled, “Enforcement in the New NAFTA”

 

House Committee on Energy and Commerce

  • Tomorrow, the committee will hold a hearing titled, “LIFT America: Modernizing Our Infrastructure for the Future”

 

House Committee on Education and Labor

  • Today, the committee will hold a hearing titled, “Eliminating Barriers to Employment: Opening Doors to Opportunity”
  • Tomorrow, the committee will hold a hearing titled “Engines of Economic Mobility: The Critical Role of Community Colleges, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and Minority-Serving Institutions in Preparing Students for Success”

 

Senate Committee on Appropriations

  • Tomorrow, the committee will hold a hearing titled “Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Subcommittee”

 

Senate Committee on Small Business

  • Tomorrow, the committee will host a hearing titled, “Reauthorization of the SBA Office of Advocacy”

 

Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs

  • Today, the committee will host a hearing titled, “Combating Illicit Financing by Anonymous Shell Companies Through the Collection of Beneficial Ownership Information”

 

Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions

  • No relevant hearings today

 

Senate Committee on Finance

  • No relevant hearings today

 

Senate Judiciary Committee

  • Today, the committee will host a hearing titled “Understanding the Digital Advertising Ecosystem and the Impact of Data Privacy and Competition Policy”

 

Bills of Interest

  • A bill was introduced by Rep. Paul Mitchell (R-MI) to require the Secretary of Labor to award grants for promoting industry or sector partnerships to encourage industry growth and competitiveness and to improve worker training, retention, and advancement as part of an infrastructure investment (H.R.2831)

 

At the Agencies

 

Department of Labor

  • No relevant news today

 

Treasury

  • No relevant news today

 

SBA

  • No relevant news today

 

USTR

  • United States Announces Deal with Canada and Mexico to Lift Retaliatory Tariffs

 

Commerce

  • Statement from U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross on President Trump’s Section 232 Tariff Modifications

 

Links You Can Use

For reviewing legislation and tracking appropriations: www.congress.gov

For reviewing proposed and pending regulation: www.federalregister.gov