Congress unveiled the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022 on Wednesday, March 9, 2022. The roughly $1.5 trillion “omnibus” would entirely fund the federal government through Sept. 30, 2022, and provide economic,...more
Legislative Lowdown -
BBBA Comeback? President Biden’s first State of the Union address appears to have reignited discussions around a revised version of the Build Back Better Act (BBBA), though the president did not...more
The House and Senate reconvened on Monday at noon and 3 p.m., respectively.
What to Watch -
President Biden delivered his first State of the Union address last Tuesday, during which he outlined the contours of a slimmed...more
President Joe Biden delivered his first State of the Union (SOTU) address last night against the backdrop of war in Europe, persistently high inflation, a waning global pandemic and a deeply divided Congress. The scene was a...more
TAX TIDBIT -
State of the Union Look Ahead. President Joe Biden will make his first State of the Union address tonight before a joint session of Congress. As of this writing, the speech has not been made available to the...more
The House and Senate will reconvene Monday at 2 p.m. and 3 p.m., respectively.
What to Watch -
Both chambers return to Washington after an eventful week away from Capitol Hill. ...more
On Monday, Feb. 7, the White House Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment (“Task Force”) released its Report that includes nearly 70 recommendations to promote worker organizing and collective bargaining for public...more
2/22/2022
/ Collective Bargaining ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Kamala Harris ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
Labor Relations ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Unions
On Thursday, Feb. 17, the Senate Finance Committee held a hearing entitled “Spotlighting IRS Customer Service Challenges.” The witnesses included National Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins with the Internal Revenue Service...more
On Tuesday, Feb. 15, the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures held a hearing titled, “Examining the Economic Impact of Federal Infrastructure Investment.” Testifying before the committee were Dr. Shawn...more
TAX TIDBIT -
Race to Replace Brady: New Challenger. Rep. Jason Smith (R-MO) is the latest Republican seeking to replace the retiring House Ways and Means Committee ranking member and former chair, Kevin Brady (R-TX), as...more
On Tuesday, Feb. 8, the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Oversight held a hearing on the challenges facing taxpayers, tax professionals and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) during the current tax filing season. National...more
Legislative Lowdown -
Build Back Better Reboot. Rep. Richard Neal (D-MA), the House Ways and Means Committee chair, and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), chair of Senate Finance Committee, are cautiously optimistic negotiations over...more
The House and Senate will reconvene Tuesday at 2 p.m. and Monday at 3 p.m., respectively.
What to Watch -
Congressional Democrats have added another high-profile item to their growing list of legislative to-dos. In...more
Tax Tidbit -
Budget Reconciliation: By the Numbers. Since 1980, Congress has passed 26 budget reconciliation bills, 22 of which have become law. During 11 of those 41 years, Congress did not pass any budget reconciliation...more
2/2/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Budget Reconciliation ,
Business Taxes ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Taxes ,
Federal Budget ,
Income Taxes ,
Infrastructure ,
IRS ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Tax Reform ,
U.S. Treasury
State of Play -
On Jan. 19, the Senate failed 48-52 to change its filibuster rules, which would have been required in order to pass elections and voting reform. Senate Democrats have attempted to consider several pieces...more
Yesterday, the Supreme Court released its opinion in National Federation of Independent Business v. Department of Labor and Ohio v. Department of Labor. Concluding that OSHA’s proposed emergency temporary standard (ETS) was a...more
1/17/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Infectious Diseases ,
National Federation of Independent Business v Department of Labor and OSHA ,
OSHA ,
SCOTUS ,
Stays ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
After negotiating for months with the White House and congressional Democratic leaders, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) on Sunday announced he would not vote for the Build Back Better Act (BBBA)—the $2.4 trillion reconciliation...more
Senate Finance Committee Democrats Update Build Back Better. On Saturday afternoon, Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (D-OR) released legislative text for the committee’s portion of the Build Back Better Act. The text...more
The Senate Finance Committee released its draft tax provisions on Dec. 11 for the Build Back Better Act (BBBA). This draft is substantively similar to the House version that passed on Nov. 19, although Senate Democrats made...more
The House and Senate will reconvene Monday at 6:30 p.m. and 3 p.m., respectively. What to Watch This afternoon, President Joe Biden signed into law the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act—the bipartisan infrastructure...more
Tax Tidbit -
Year-End Legislative To-Dos. Washington has been consumed by President Joe Biden’s twin legislative vehicles: the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Build Back Better Act—only one of which has been...more
The House and Senate will reconvene Tuesday at 2 p.m. and Monday at 3 p.m., respectively.
What to Watch -
On Friday, Nov. 19, the House passed the Build Back Better Act 220-212. The only House Democrat to vote against...more
Tax Tidbit -
Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill Becomes Law. On Monday, President Joe Biden signed into law the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which contains $1.2 trillion in funding for traditional infrastructure...more
The Brownstein Tax Policy Team is currently combing through the 1,600-plus pages of budget reconciliation text released last week. Below is a truncated version of Taxation & Representation that provides the latest on the...more
The House and Senate will reconvene Monday at 6:30 p.m. and 3 p.m., respectively -
What to Watch -
Last week, congressional Democrats released 1,684 pages of legislative text mirroring portions of the budget...more