In April 2021, the EU Commission (EC) proposed a suite of new legislative and non-legislative proposals related to artificial intelligence (AI): in a proposed Regulation laying down rules on Artificial Intelligence (“Artificial Intelligence Act – AIA”), the EC attempts the first-ever comprehensive legal framework for this highly debated and fast-developing family of technologies.… Continue Reading
Pressure is mounting on Republican and Democratic negotiators in the US Capitol to reach an agreement on a COVID-19 response package that can pass both chambers of a divided Congress and be signed into law by President Donald Trump in the coming days. But evidence persists that the March 27 enactment of the massive CARES … Continue Reading
Talks among party leaders in Washington about a future COVID-19 relief package are at an impasse, with Democrats still adamant about enacting legislation that injects trillions of additional dollars into the American economy, and Republicans seemingly trying to run out the clock in hopes Democrats will consent to passing a “skinny” deal that temporarily addresses … Continue Reading
Bipartisan negotiations aimed at producing the next major federal COVID-19 response legislation – delayed by more than a week of infighting between congressional Republicans and the White House – are finally underway. The baseline for the talks: HEROES vs. HEALS, pitting the US$3.5 trillion HEROES Act passed by the US House of Representatives in May … Continue Reading
The enhanced unemployment benefits created by the March 27 CARES Act are set to expire in eight days. The US Congress will need more time than that to determine a path to passage of the next major bipartisan pandemic response legislation – assuming Republicans and Democrats in Washington are able to eventually reach agreement on … Continue Reading
The US Congress has returned to Washington, DC, and bipartisan negotiations to produce the next significant federal coronavirus response legislation have officially begun. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, representing President Donald Trump, are scheduled to meet this afternoon on Capitol Hill with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and … Continue Reading
Coronavirus cases in the US are surging. States are closing bars and restaurants. States, local governments, schools and private enterprises are calling upon the federal government for aid, and the US Congress is preparing to craft bipartisan emergency legislation of US$1 trillion or more. It’s March 2020 all over again – only this time, legislators … Continue Reading
An extension of the CARES Act’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) authored by a Democratic member of the US Senate is on its way to President Donald Trump’s desk to be signed into law. The US House of Representatives has approved a US$1.5 trillion national infrastructure bill loaded with Democratic priorities for climate change, clean energy … Continue Reading
Senate Republican leaders have begun to lift the veil on their plans for the next coronavirus response package, acknowledging in a news conference Tuesday that they will support opening the coffers next month to provide another round of aid. The timetable set by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and other Senate GOP leaders means … Continue Reading
The COVID-19 pandemic has reclaimed headlines in America as new cases spike in states that some national health authorities say reopened their economies too swiftly. The US House of Representatives and US Senate are both in legislative session this week in advance of the Independence Day work period, but bipartisan talks to hammer out the … Continue Reading
With the House of Representatives and Senate deadlocked over competing versions of police reform legislation, a divided Washington has failed, at least for the moment, to heed the national call for action on racial injustices that emerged from the killing of citizen George Floyd. The division could portend failure ahead on other urgent matters of … Continue Reading
President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans are being pressured by anti-establishment organizations to provide no further federal spending in response to the coronavirus. But the president and his team appear poised to move in the opposite direction, having recently revealed plans to put forth a US$1 trillion national infrastructure spending blueprint in the coming days … Continue Reading
White House officials have begun moving publicly to set the table for bipartisan negotiations that will determine the contents of the next major federal COVID-19 response bill. Larry Kudlow, the director of President Donald Trump’s National Economic Council (NEC), says the talks will formally begin after the US Congress’ Independence Day state/district work period. Senior … Continue Reading
A high-stakes summer is underway in America, where President Donald Trump and the nation’s governors are pushing forward with plans for reopening the nation’s economy even as many nervously eye health indicators that suggest the coronavirus may not be satisfactorily contained. In a vivid illustration of this tension, the Republican National Committee announced Thursday that … Continue Reading
The United States has experienced a sharp increase in the number of new reported cases of coronavirus over the past week, but Beltway media coverage and the policy debate in Washington this week are largely centered on the potential for action in both chambers of the US Congress on police reform legislation. Republicans, emboldened by … Continue Reading
Fueled by a stronger-than-expected monthly national employment report, President Donald Trump is vowing to press the US Congress to craft a bipartisan COVID-19 response package this summer that places a heavy emphasis on policies that would accelerate the return of the American economy as it emerges from the pandemic-driven shutdown. The White House drive comes … Continue Reading
As public protests against police brutality and racial disparity continued to dominate the national policy debate, pushing coronavirus-related news from the front pages, the US Senate has given its approval to legislation passed last week by the US House of Representatives making changes to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) created by the March 27 Coronavirus … Continue Reading
Turmoil on America’s streets has become the primary focus of attention for the White House in recent days, marking a pivot away from the around-the-clock pandemic response posture that characterized the Trump Administration’s activity this spring. President Donald Trump and his top advisors are reportedly set to meet in the coming days to begin the … Continue Reading
For the first time since early 2020, the dominant topic in the American policy debate is not the COVID-19 pandemic. With national attention consumed by protests, riots and the state of race relations in the United States, efforts continue in Washington to stabilize and stimulate an American economy that was brought to a screeching halt … Continue Reading
The Federal Reserve is set to begin providing emergency loans to midsize businesses as soon as this week through the US$600 billion Main Street Lending Program (MSLP) established by the March 27 Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The US Senate is preparing to return to Washington, DC to resume legislative activity, including … Continue Reading
The stay-at-home order in the nation’s capital has been lifted, while the debate continues in the United States Congress about the scope, timing and focus of the next major bipartisan federal COVID-19 response legislation. Stymied in their efforts to force quick congressional approval of another massive package, Washington Democrats are keeping busy by passing targeted … Continue Reading
With the country having passed a grim milestone Wednesday with the 100,000th death from coronavirus, the US House of Representatives will vote today on bipartisan legislation to provide additional flexibility under the March 27 CARES Act’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) for businesses reeling from the economic shutdown. For perhaps the first time since the pandemic … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House and Senate Budget Resolutions Heading to the Floor for Debate The House and Senate Budget Committees have reported their respective budget resolutions out of committee, and the House and Senate will bring those resolutions to the floor this week. Both committees have seen defense hawks and fiscal conservatives at odds over the … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House and Senate Committees to Mark Up Budget Resolutions; How Will Congress Deal with the Sequester? The House and Senate Budget Committees will hold markup hearings this week on their respective Budget Resolutions. The House Committee will mark up its resolution on Wednesday, while the Senate Committee will hold markup hearings on both … Continue Reading
