This is a weekly post spotlighting labor topics in focus by the US legislative and executive branches during the previous week. In this issue, we cover: Reconciliation Package Updates COVID-19 Updates Federal Contract Workers’ Minimum Wage Update Registered Apprenticeship Funding Announced Upcoming Congressional Hearing… Continue Reading
Travel is easing in the European Union (EU), with implementation of a COVID-19 Digital Certificate. The United States (US), along with European partners, announced a joint financing package this week to help facilitate COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing capacity in South Africa. The White House also released the US COVID-19 Global Response and Recovery Framework. Meanwhile, the … Continue Reading
President-Elect Joe Biden is expected to prioritize rebuilding transatlantic relations, after several years of elevated tensions on a number of trade priorities. US and European officials have traded barbs on a number of fronts – from World Trade Organization (WTO) reform to the long-standing large civil aircraft dispute, and from Section 232 national security tariffs … Continue Reading
TPA Moves Separately, Senate Vote Sequencing Outlined After the House Rules Committee approved a vote on a standalone Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) bill – unlinking it from the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) bill that previously failed in a vote – the House passed the measure last Thursday by a vote of 218 to 208. This … Continue Reading
Recap of Last Week’s House Action on Trade Legislation Last Friday, President Barack Obama made a last-minute trip to Capitol Hill in the morning to encourage support among Democrats for the bill containing Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) and Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA), acknowledging to the press that the vote situation remained fluid. That afternoon, the … Continue Reading
G-7 Summit President Barack Obama arrived in Germany on Sunday to attend the G-7 Summit. The leaders are expected to review the current situation in Ukraine; discuss continued support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity; and underscore their support for a diplomatic solution based on full implementation of the Minsk agreements. Many expect the G-7 … Continue Reading
Vice President Mourns Death of Son Late on Saturday, 30 May, the White House informed the public that Vice President Joseph Biden’s son, Joseph R. “Beau” Biden III , passed away after a two-year battle with brain cancer. He was 46 years old. Iran Despite media reports last week that yet another delay may be … Continue Reading
TPA Update Last Wednesday, 6 May, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) filed a motion to proceed to a “shell” House-passed bill (H.R. 1314) for Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), a procedural tactic used since TPA is a revenue measure and must originate in the House. The next day, the Majority Leader filed cloture on a … Continue Reading
Upcoming Head of State Visit This week, President Obama will host his eighth Head of State visit, welcoming Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to the White House. Previous visits include: India (November 2009); Mexico (May 2010); China (January 2011); Germany (June 2011); Korea (October 2011); the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland (March 2012); and France … Continue Reading
Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) On Thursday, 16 April, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) released a draft Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) bill – The Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015 (“TPA-2015”). The bill includes objectives on currency manipulation, settlement of investor-state disputes, intellectual property protections, … Continue Reading
Iran With the Obama Administration facing months of international negotiations with Tehran for a comprehensive deal on Iran’s nuclear program, it also worked this week to ensure congressional actions do not compromise the diplomatic effort. Bipartisan lawmakers still believe Congress should have an up-or-down vote on any final accord reached with Iran. The Senate Foreign … Continue Reading
Russia/Ukraine Crisis Late last Wednesday, Vice President Joe Biden and Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko agreed that sanctions on Russia imposed in response to its actions in eastern Ukraine should be tied to full implementation of the Minsk agreements. Vice President Biden welcomed the Ukrainian Parliament’s adoption of measures in accordance with the Minsk agreements. The … Continue Reading
Russia/Ukraine Crisis Last Wednesday, 11 March, the Department of the Treasury announced the addition of 14 individuals and two organizations to its list of Specially Designated Nationals (SDN), pursuant to Executive Order 13660. The individuals include eight Ukrainian individuals identified as separatists, three former Ukrainian officials associated with former President Yanukovich, a Russian pro-separatist organization … Continue Reading
The Senate is in session this week, while the House of Representatives is in recess. Russia/Ukraine Crisis During a Wednesday hearing before the House Foreign Affairs Committee last week, Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland said Russia would face new consequences should it: (1) continue “fueling the fire” in any … Continue Reading
Iran/Israel The disagreement between the Obama Administration and Prime Minister Netanyahu deepened last week. In advance of his address before a joint session of Congress this week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned the deal emerging from the ongoing P5+1 Talks will allow Iran to become a “nuclear threshold state.” National Security Adviser Susan Rice … Continue Reading
State Department’s FY 2016 Budget Secretary of State John Kerry is scheduled to testify this week before Congress on the Department’s FY 2016 Budget request and U.S. interests abroad. The hearings will be held: On Tuesday, 24 February before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee; On Wednesday, 25 February before the House Foreign Affairs Committee; and On … Continue Reading
Upcoming Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) Summit U.S. National Counterterrorism Center Director Nicholas Rasmussen reported last week that 20,000 foreign fighters are joining ISIL and other extremist organizations. Secretary of State John Kerry also observed that thousands of extremist fighters have been killed in Syria and in Iraq, including many foreign fighters. This week, the White House … Continue Reading
Russia/Ukraine Crisis Last Thursday, Secretary of State John Kerry visited Kyiv and met with Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko. While seeking a diplomatic solution to the crisis in Ukraine, Secretary Kerry said the United States would not “close [its] eyes” to Russian tanks and fighters crossing Ukraine’s borders. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President François … Continue Reading
Russia/Ukraine Crisis Secretary of State John Kerry travels to Kyiv, Ukraine, on 5 February to meet with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin, and members of Ukraine’s parliament. Media reports indicate the Obama Administration may be reconsidering its position on providing Ukraine with lethal assistance, which is likely to be a topic … Continue Reading
Presidential Trip Over the weekend, President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama departed Washington for India, where the President will be the chief guest in the country’s Republic Day parade. In advance of the trip, U.S. and Indian negotiators met in London to reach an accord over a 2010 Indian nuclear liability law that prohibits … Continue Reading
Following a dramatic end to the 113th Congress – which saw year-end compromises around defense spending authorization and the so-called “cromnibus” appropriations bill – President Obama and the newly-elected Republican majority in the Senate are under pressure to demonstrate to the American people their capacity to govern for the next two years. As the new … Continue Reading
North Korea On 2 January, President Barack Obama ordered new sanctions on three (3) entities and 10 individuals connected with the North Korean government. This action is in response to a December cyberattack on Sony Pictures Entertainment. In announcing the new U.S. sanctions, White House Press Secretary Joshua Earnest said, “We take seriously North Korea’s … Continue Reading
Iraq/Syria Crisis Early last week, on Tuesday, President Barack Obama authorized the deployment of approximately 275 U.S. military personnel to provide support and security for U.S. personnel and the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. On Thursday, President Obama provided the nation with an update on U.S. action in response to the Islamic State of Iraq in the Levant … Continue Reading
Iraq The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, an al-Qaida offshoot, are moving toward Baghdad, having captured Mosul and other cities in the north. President Barack Obama called the developments in Iraq an “emergency situation” on Thursday, but on Friday announced he “will not be sending U.S. troops back into combat in Iraq.” President Obama … Continue Reading
