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
Five weeks after passing the US$3 trillion HEROES Act, House Democrats are moving to pass a companion measure, the Moving Forward Act, that would add another US$1.5 trillion by funding an array of national infrastructure projects and related Democratic priorities. The bill is expected to be taken up on the House floor prior to Independence … Continue Reading
America’s top monetary policy official, Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell, is urging the US Congress to extend the enhanced unemployment benefits approved this spring that are set to expire at the end of July, intensifying a policy debate that will be pivotal to the negotiations next month that will determine the next phase in … Continue Reading
US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who has been the lead domestic policy negotiator for President Donald Trump and his administration during the COVID-19 crisis, made clear in testimony Wednesday to congressional lawmakers that the White House believes passage of another major coronavirus response package will be necessary soon, notwithstanding a generally positive national jobs report … Continue Reading
The US Congress is moving urgently to formulate new legislation that goes to the heart of the current policy debate in America, and it has nothing to do with coronavirus. Instead, the focus of Congress’ current short-term agenda is police reform, calls for which have surged across the nation in the wake of the universally … 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
