Update 558 — Debt Limit Dilemma:Have Faith in “Full Faith and Credit”? The U.S. financial system and therefore the economy is under the sword of Damocles right now, with the statutory debt limit already exceeded, emergency measures estimated to expire as soon as mid-October, markets in turmoil, and no viable legislative solution in reasonable reach. Last night, …
Update 557 – Senate Ds Back Freedom to Vote,But Will Senators Be Free to Vote on Passage? The Freedom to Vote Act (FVA), based almost entirely on the previous iteration, HR 1/S 1, has been introduced, with the support of every Senate Democrat. The new bill preserves many of the major provisions of the Democrats’ sweeping bill filibustered …
Update 556 – Engine of Robust Recovery:FY22 Spending Fuels Building Back Better The House and Senate have two weeks to complete work on a federal budget for FY22, aka the Build Back Better Act. This bill codifies President Biden’s economic, fiscal, and social agenda, creating jobs, cutting taxes, and lower costs for working families. Payfors are making …
Update 555 — Reforming Money in Politics:Compromise’s Promise on Campaign Finance Word is just in, Democratic Senators have agreed to a new compromise political reform bill — the “Manchin compromise” — that is expected to be introduced as the Senate returns. Many years of work on the political reform bill of a generation are coming to legislative fruition. Senate …
Update 554 — The Road to Reconciliation:Path, Process Ahead for Budget Resolution Last week, the House passed an FY2022 budget resolution, allowing the $3.5 trillion package to move forward via reconciliation, which requires only a simple majority to pass. In order to achieve the Democratic unity needed for passage, Speaker Pelosi promised a group of moderate Democrats …
Update 553 — Last Rodeo at Jackson Hole?Rush to Renominate Fed Chair Powell Slows Investors and observers await Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech tomorrow at the Kansas City Fed’s annual Jackson Hole Conference. Issues abound: inflation, the still-recovering labor market, tapering down Fed’s balance sheet, and the economic uncertainty from the Delta variant. Unspoken is whether …
The 2020 census data released last week depicts a paradox. The country grew by only 7.4 percent in the past decade, slower than any decade except the 1930s. Just seven House seats will shift states, far below average. But the U.S. population continues to diversify — more people, and from more backgrounds, are living in …
Update 551 — Carried Interest Loophole:Which is the Fairest Payfor of Them All? The prospect for trillions of dollars in new federal spending in FY 22 and a consensus that the spending should be paid for — by taxes, not by borrowing and adding debt — put a premium on payfors, provisions to raise up …
Update 550 — Senate Stays in SessionTo Debate Infrastructure Down Payment With the nation’s economy poised to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, the bipartisan infrastructure bill serves as a critical down payment on rebuilding American transportation systems and ensuring the recovery is robust, broad-based, equitable, and durable. The Congressional Budget Office estimated yesterday that the …
Update 549 — See You in September:State of Play as Lengthy Recess Begins The August recess is more of a misnomer this year than usual. Formal action, committee consideration, and votes won’t occur, but negotiations and conversations will continue behind the scenes, with the possibility of material progress. On Congress’ extensive to-do list after the …
