Category: Washington Weekly

As the Biden Administration works to close its second full week in office, both of which have included a flurry of executive actions and little legislative progress, a deal on additional stimulus seems imminent, but questions remain on its size and scope. President Biden touted bipartisanship in his 2020 presidential run, and he still appears…

After 6+ months of negation, Congress appears to be on the brink of passing an additional stimulus bill.  The package, which will most likely be attached to the year-end funding bill, looks to be approaching $1 trillion dollars but is not expected to include additional direct funding to state and local governments. While the package provides…

This week, the lame-duck session of Congress begun and has more than lived up to its name. Following a tightly contested election, one that has resulted in at least 2 more years of divided government, both Chambers have recessed for Thanksgiving with zero major (even minor) legislative achievements, but with ample pessimism emanating from both…

In what can only be described as a wild and unprecedented few weeks in Washington, President Trump and multiple members of his Administration tested positive for COVID-19 along with many sitting U.S. Senators-an October surprise like none seen before. After learning that multiple Members of his Caucus have tested positive, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell…

For the past few weeks, it appeared that Congress was headed towards a government shutdown, in the middle of a pandemic, less than 6 weeks to a presidential election, with no deal in sight.  This week, cooler heads prevailed, and disaster has been adverted-for now. House Leadership, along with Trump Administration officials struck a short…

Expectations were low for immediate Federal relief for the stalling US economy following the 5 week Congressional August recess. However, 2 days into the September session, any hopes have been swiftly dashed , a quick reminder of the Washington gridlock experienced prior to the COVID-19 outbreak. Yesterday, the narrow “skinny” Senate stimulus package failed to break filibuster, 52-47, a…

Following a month of lackluster Coronavirus and economic news, Congress once again pushed itself to the brink with 11th hour negotiations on a stimulus package. However, this round they failed to deliver relief for millions of struggling Americans, and entities such as state and local governments, including school and health care systems, that desperately need…

Following a surprising May jobs report in which the U.S economy gained over 2 million jobs, vastly higher than the projected 7 million job loss, odds of an immediate stimulus package took a direct hit. Its not time to rule out additional measures, but direct funding to state and local governments will have to wait…

In a week where the House of Representatives voted via proxy for the first time in American history, and the Senate began to signal that a new stimulus package may come in the next month, skeptics remain that state and local governments need more direct funding, even as a vast majority of cities have yet to receive any…