Summary
The House is in recess this week, but the Senate will push forward with their spring agenda, though mostly focused on energy and environmental issues. Appropriations hearings will continue with Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Jennifer Granholm and Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Pete Buttigieg testifying on the fiscal 2023 budget proposal. Meanwhile, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will headline the week’s markup schedule as it considers a biennial water resources development bill, with a particular focus on potential climate change action. Bipartisan Senate discussions on a possible deal to combat climate change and modernize U.S. energy policy also continue this week.
COVID SUPPLEMENTAL
Late last week President Biden formally requested $33 billion in supplemental funding to help Ukraine fend off Russia and requested that it be “approved as quickly as possible.” Included in the request was the $10 billion COVID-19 package (HR 7007) for the purchase of additional vaccines, therapeutics and tests, although GOP objections to spending figures and a pending decision to lift Title 42 public health restrictions for migrants at the border remain a hurdle. Though chief medical advisor and Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Dr. Anthony Fauci declared last Tuesday that we are “past the pandemic phase” thirty-six states saw an increase over the previous week in Covid-19 cases during the week ending April 24, according to CDC data. The Administration continues to highlight the pitfalls of not providing more funds: the U.S. wouldn’t be able to purchase additional COVID-19 boosters in the fall, money would run out for treatments, and monoclonal antibodies and testing capacity will diminish. On the vaccine front, the FDA has tentatively scheduled meetings on June 8 to review Pfizer and Moderna vaccines for children aged 6 months to 5 years.
FY 2023 Budget Talks
Prior to the House breaking for recess, top appropriators kicked off negotiations to agree on top-line spending levels for FY 2023 funding, and reportedly all four lawmakers remain optimistic about the odds of agreeing to top-line spending levels in the next few weeks. Though election-year politics will complicate their mission to close out fiscal 2023 work this fall, they hope to agree on the framework before the House starts marking up their bills in June.