On The Hill

COVID-19 Relief Talks Stall, Trump May Take Executive Action   White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) met throughout the week to hold negotiations on the next COVID-19 relief package.   The group met Friday (Aug. 7) afternoon and…

US Response to Airbus   On Wednesday (Jul. 29), U.S. trade officials said they could not “take seriously” the announcement by Airbus and the European Union (EU) that it had resolved the subsidies in question in a World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute over large civil aircraft.[1]   “USTR is aware of press reports on this…

HEALS Act   On Monday (Jul. 27), Senate Republicans released their $1 trillion COVID-19 relief package. The package includes a reduction of federal unemployment insurance (UI) benefits, a second round of stimulus checks, expansion of the employee retention tax credit, new tax credits for employers that purchase personal protective equipment (PPE), and allows businesses a…

McConnell Unveils HEALS Act   On Monday (Jul. 27), Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Senate Republicans released their $1 trillion COVID-19 relief package.   The Health, Economic Assistance, Liability Protection, and Schools (HEALS) Act provides: $25 billion for testing, contact tracing, and surveillance in states; $20 billion to the Biomedical Advanced Research and…

FY 2021 NDAA On Thursday (Jul. 23), the Senate overwhelmingly passed the FY 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) with a vote of 86-14. The bill includes increased funding for a Centers for Disease Control (CDC) prevention study on PFAS chemicals in drinking water, an expansion of sanctions for the Russia-to-Germany Nord Stream 2 pipeline,…

Boeing – Airbus Dispute In an attempt to end the decades-long dispute, on Friday (Jul. 24) Airbus moved to halt subsidies for its A350 airliner. The company has agreed to pay a higher interest rate on loans granted by the governments of Spain and France.[1] The loans were one of the forms of aid to the…

COVID-19 Stimulus On Thursday (Jul. 23), Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said a package of COVID-19 relief legislation will be released early next week. “The administration has requested additional time to review the fine details, but we will be laying down this proposal early next week. We have an agreement in principle on the…

Senate GOP Poised to Unveil Next Relief Package Monday Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is working to find agreement amongst his caucus and the administration over the contents of the next coronavirus relief package, ‘CARES 2.0.’ At a press conference Thursday (Jul. 23), McConnell indicated the package will focus on children, health care, and…

House News LWCF The House of Representatives will consider the Great American Outdoors Act on Wednesday (Jul. 22). President Trump has committed to signing the legislation. A group of Republican lawmakers have objected to House Democratic leaders bringing the package to the floor under an expedited procedure.[1] This week, House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) said…

US – China Hong Kong On Tuesday (Jul. 14), President Trump signed H.R. 7440, the Hong Kong Autonomy Act, to impose sanctions on Chinese officials, businesses, and banks that help China restrict Hong Kong’s autonomy. “This law gives my administration powerful new tools to hold responsible the individuals and the entities involved in extinguishing Hong…