Policy News, July 24, 2019

The Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee will meet to mark up a bill to reauthorize the Small Business Administration, the most significant hearing on Capitol Hill today. The House Committee on Appropriations will hold a hearing titled “Budget and Oversight Hearing: White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.” The House Committee on Financial Services will hold a hearing titled, “The Next Megabank? Examining the Proposed Merger of SunTrust and BB&T.” The House Committee on Small Business will hold a hearing titled “Is the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act a Help or Hinderance to Main Street?”

The Small Business Administration recently issued an interim final rule that will adjust monetary-based small business size standards for inflation. SBA contends that this will allow more small businesses to become eligible for the SBA’s loan and contracting programs, click here to view the full interim final rule.

On the Hill

Floor Proceedings

House: In Session

The House will convene at 10 AM and will begin debate on the 15 bills listed under suspension of the rules.

Senate: In Session

The Senate will convene at 9:30 AM and proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the nomination of Stephen M. Dickson, of Georgia, to be Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration.

Bills of Interest

A bill was introduced by Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) in the House and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) in the Senate to prohibit agreements between employers that directly restrict the current or future employment of any employee (H.R. 3920) (S. 2215)
A bill was introduced by Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK) to amend the America COMPETES Act to reauthorize the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, and for other purposes (H.R. 3915)
A bill was introduced by Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) to amend title 23 and 49, the United States Code, to repeal wage requirements applicable to laborers and mechanics employed on Federal-aid highway and public transportation construction projects (H.R. 3904)
A bill was introduced by Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to increase the dollar limitation on the exclusion for employer-provided dependent care assistance (H.R. 3903)
A bill was introduced by Rep. Josh Harder (D-CA) to direct the Secretary of Education to establish a program that awards grants to State coalitions that build or expand career pathways programs in schools within the State, and to direct the Secretary of Education to establish a program that awards grants to eligible agencies to carry out career pathways programs (H.R. 3893)
A bill was introduced by Rep. Josh Harder (D-CA) to amend the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act to award competitive grants for the purpose of developing, offering, improving, and providing educational or career pathway programs for workers (H.R. 3892)
A bill was introduced by Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) to amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to provide that over-the-road bus drivers are covered under the maximum hours requirement (H.R. 2217)
A bill was introduced by Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH) to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to expand refundability and increase simplification of the research credit for certain small businesses (S. 2207)

Committee Proceedings
House Committee on Education and Labor

On July 25th, the Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions Subcommittee will hold a hearing titled “Protecting the Right to Organize Act: Modernizing America’s Labor Laws”

House Committee on Small Business

Today, the committee will hold a hearing titled “Is the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act a Help or Hinderance to Main Street?”
On July 25th, the committee will hold a hearing titled “Supporting the Next Generation of Agricultural Business”

House Committee on Financial Services

Today, the committee will hold a hearing titled, “The Next Megabank? Examining the Proposed Merger of SunTrust and BB&T”
On July 25th, the Task Force on Financial Technology will hold a hearing titled, “Examining the Use of Alternative Data in Underwriting and Credit Scoring to Expand Access to Credit”

House Committee on Appropriations

Today, the committee will hold a hearing titled “Budget and Oversight Hearing: White House Office of Science and Technology Policy”

House Ways and Means Committee

On July 25th, the committee will hold a hearing titled, “Legislative Hearing on the Social Security 2100 Act”

Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship

Today, the committee will hold a business meeting to consider pending business of the committee

Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

On July 30th, the committee will hold a hearing titled, “Examining Regulatory Frameworks for Digital Currencies and Blockchain”

Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

On July 30th, the committee will hold an Executive Session: Nominations

Senate Committee on Appropriations

There are no relevant hearings today

Senate Committee on Finance

On July 25th, the committee will hold an executive session to “Consider an Original Bill Titled The Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act of 2019”
On July 30th, the committee will hold a hearing titled, “The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement”

Senate Judiciary Committee

On July 25th, the committee will hold an Executive Business Meeting
On July 30th, the committee will hold a hearing titled, “Oversight of the United States Copyright Office”
On September 17th, the Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights subcommittee will hold a hearing titled, “Oversight of the Enforcement of the Antitrust Laws”

At the Agencies
Department of Labor