Update 568 — CPI up 6.2%, I-Word HeardBut Benefits Top Risks: IIJA, Look Forward In less than 24 hours, the world’s three largest economies — the U.S., China and Japan — each released inflation data showing prices rising at the fastest rate in 30 years. The 6.2 percent increase in prices over the last 12 months shows …
Update 562 — 1, 2, 3, What’re We Fighting For?Democrats’ BBB Message Mixed or Missing? With the ticking time bomb that is (still) the debt limit to be reset for December 3, the conversation on the Hill returns to reconciliation negotiations. President Joe Biden spoke in Michigan this week, campaigning for the reconciliation and infrastructure bills being …
Update 561 — Shutdown Narrowly Averted;Negotiations on BIF and BBB Intensify Yesterday, Congress managed to avoid a government shutdown by passing a stopgap continuing resolution to keep the federal government open through December 3. Speaker Pelosi also put off a vote last night on BIF, the bipartisan $1.2 infrastructure bill, when the needed 218 votes could not …
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 …
Update 544 — Cart and Horse:SOP on Bipartisan, Budget Deals After two-weeks off, both Congressional chambers are back in session, with two-track negotiations on big-ticket infrastructure bills topping the agenda. Eleven legislative days remain in the House and 17 in the Senate before recesses are slated to start. Democratic leadership has its sights on passing both a …
Update 541 — Paying for Infrastructure:The Financing Options and the Recovery Last week, President Biden and a bipartisan group of Senators struck a deal on a $579 billion infrastructure package. Democrats also seek to pass a second bill worth trillions in additional spending. But unclear is how to pay for it — through taxes that …
Update 540 — Bipartisan Deal on the Table:What’s in It; What’s Left for Reconciliation? After weeks of intermittent talks and progress, the administration and a bipartisan group of 21 senators struck a deal yesterday on a large long-term investment in traditional domestic infrastructure. The $1.2 trillion package comprises just $579 billion in new spending, with …
Update 531 — Infrastructure Pay-Fors:Financing Options and Considerations Congress has been grappling this week with the question of how to fund President Biden’s two-part $4.5 trillion infrastructure plan. The conversation in hearings on the Hill has largely focused on paying for the package with new or higher taxes, which runs counter to the goal of …
Update 519–916,000 Jobs Added in March;Can Recovery Act to Sustain Gains Pass? The US added 916,000 jobs in March, double the number in February — a robust start to what we hope will be a durable recovery. The nation is still 8.4 million jobs short of pre-pandemic levels. In 1937 most famously, in the midst …
