No images? Click here Welcome back to this week's edition of the Washington Weekly newsletter - bringing you the latest and greatest policy updates from Washington, D.C.Biden Administration Announces Hundreds of Millions of Dollars in Global Food Aid to Respond to Putin’s Unprovoked Invasion of Ukraine On Wednesday, April 27, 2022, the Biden Administration announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) are taking the extraordinary step to draw down the full balance of the Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust (BEHT) as part of an effort to provide $670 million in food assistance to countries in need as a result of Putin’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. The world is suffering from historic levels of global food insecurity, which is being exacerbated by the impact Russia's war on Ukraine is having on global food supplies. Available estimates suggest an additional 40 million people could be pushed into poverty and food insecurity as a result of Russia’s aggression. USAID will use the BEHT’s $282 million to procure U.S. food commodities to bolster existing emergency food operations in six countries facing severe food insecurity: Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, and Yemen. USDA will provide $388 million in additional funding through the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) to cover ocean freight transportation, inland transport, internal transport, shipping and handling, and other associated costs. The BEHT is a special authority that was renamed for U.S. Congressman Bill Emerson in 1998 and reauthorized in the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, also known as the Farm Bill, that enables USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA) to respond to unanticipated food crises abroad when other resources are not available. The U.S. Secretary of Agriculture will authorize the release of funds from the BEHT to provide emergency food assistance if the USAID Administrator determines that funds available for emergency needs under title II of the Food for Peace Act for a fiscal year are insufficient to meet emergency needs during the fiscal year. Biden’s Firing of NLRB General Counsel Upheld by 5th Circuit President Joe Biden had the power to fire the National Labor Relations Board’s top lawyer during the Trump administration, a federal appeals court in New Orleans ruled. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on Friday, April 22, 2022, rejected business software firm Exela Enterprise Solutions Inc.’s challenge to the unprecedented Inauguration Day termination of NLRB General Counsel Peter Robb. The company had argued that general counsels enjoy the same removal protections that the National Labor Relations Act grants to board members. “The President’s power to remove is essential to the performance of his Article II responsibilities and control over the Executive Branch,” the court said. “Because we hold that the NLRA does not provide tenure protections to the General Counsel of the Board, President Biden lawfully removed former-General Counsel Robb without cause.” The Fifth Circuit ruling—the first judicial opinion on Robb’s firing—will protect the work of his immediate successor, Peter Sung Ohr, who served on an interim basis for six months before General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo won Senate confirmation. The ruling is binding in Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi, and persuasive precedent elsewhere. The decision also may help cement a new tradition of NLRB general counsels getting axed when there’s a change in partisan control of the White House. The case stems from Exela’s challenge to a board decision against the company for failing to bargain with a United Steelworkers affiliate. The company argued that the unfair labor practice complaint that Robb’s replacement issued against it was legally invalid because Robb’s termination was unlawful. Biden Seeks $33 Billion More in Emergency Funding for Ukraine The package is more than twice as large as the first emergency Ukraine assistance package enacted earlier this year. President Biden on Thursday, April 28, 2022, asked Congress for $33 billion in additional emergency aid for Ukraine, requesting money for defense, economic and humanitarian assistance as the country battles a Russian invasion. The request, more than twice the size of the $13.6 billion package lawmakers approved, and Mr. Biden signed last month, underscores how the United States and its allies are preparing for a sustained conflict in Ukraine and bracing for grave global economic and political consequences. It includes more than $20 billion for security and military assistance, including $11.4 billion to fund equipment and replenish stocks already provided to Ukraine, $2.6 billion to support the deployment of American troops and equipment to the region, and $1.9 billion for cybersecurity and intelligence support. The request also includes $8.5 billion in economic assistance for the government in Kyiv to provide basic economic support, including food and health care services, as the Ukrainian economy reels from the toll of the war. An additional $3 billion would be provided for humanitarian assistance and food security funding, including medical supplies and support for Ukrainian refugees and to help stem the impact of the disrupted food supply chain. Lawmakers in both parties have voiced support for another round of emergency aid for Ukraine, having approved more money in March than what the administration initially requested at the time. It is unclear, however, how quickly the measure will pass or what changes lawmakers might seek. In his letter, Biden also called on Congress to tie the aid package to $22.5 billion in pandemic response funding he requested in March, something Democrats have also floated. Read the full letter HERE. Inflation-Wary Democrats Weigh Ideas to Rein In Gasoline Prices House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer met to discuss possible legislation to reduce gasoline prices, as inflation poses an increasing political threat ahead of the midterm election. Leaders are hoping to pass legislation dealing with gas prices before the end of May but would need Republican cooperation in the Senate to do so. The GOP is pushing for expanded fossil fuel production domestically, something progressive Democrats may be unable to support. Rising prices are a top concern for many voters, and Democrats already face a tough road to holding on to control of the House and Senate in the November election. The Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation is estimated to have risen 6.7% in March from a year earlier. The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline is $4.134, up from $2.885 a year ago. Schumer last week has been talking about moving a bill that would beef up the Federal Trade Commission‘s ability to stop gas price manipulation. “There is something deeply wrong, deeply wrong, about seeing the largest oil and gas companies in the world drench top executives and wealthy shareholders with cash while Americans are struggling at the pump,” Schumer said Monday, April 25, 2022, on the Senate floor. “Democrats are also discussing – and will consider – other potential action to beef up the FTC’s ability to crack down on price gouging in industries, including the oil industry” he said. House Democratic Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries told reporters that the House hopes to vote on a gasoline price bill in the coming weeks. A gas-tax holiday is on the table as well as other elements to address supply chain issues, he said. If you have not yet participated in our grassroots campaigns, but would like to take action to oppose the PRO Act or oppose the harmful tax hikes in the American Job’s Plan, click the Take Action tab above now.
Missed last week's Washington Weekly? Catch up here on all our past editions. |