The House and Senate will reconvene Tuesday at 2 p.m. and Monday at 3 p.m., respectively.
 
What to Watch
 
Following the leaked U.S. Supreme Court draft opinion, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) announced that the Senate will vote Wednesday on the Women’s Health Protection Act (S.4132), which would establish that governments may not limit a health care provider’s ability to offer abortion services. The vote is expected to fail.
 
Lawmakers will also continue negotiations over an aid package for Ukraine. President Biden recently sent a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) outlining the administration’s request for the emergency supplemental funding. In it, the White House requested $33 billion for economic and security assistance in the form of ammunition, armored vehicles, small arms and unmanned aircraft systems. The administration’s proposal would also provide for additional authorities to investigate, prosecute and forfeit assets of Russian oligarchs to be used for the benefit of Ukraine.
 
That package has stalled over disagreement among Republicans and Democrats over whether to move that package alongside another providing $10 billion in COVID-19 funding. Both President Biden and Pelosi have said they want to pair the two—a position largely supported by Democrats. Republicans, however, are unlikely to support a combined packaged, which could total around $50 billion. Despite this, some members, including Schumer, have said the package could be placed on the Senate floor this week.
 
On the Floor
 
The House will vote on several financial services bills this week, including the Small Business Mergers, Acquisitions, Sales, and Brokerage Simplification Act (H.R.935), which would allow small business mergers and acquisitions brokers to organize sales and purchases of ownership and control of private companies without registering as “broker-dealers” with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. 
 
The House will also vote on a number of financial services bills related to Russian aggression against Ukraine, including the Russian and Belarus Financial Sanctions Act (H.R.7066), the Ukraine Comprehensive Debt Payment Relief Act (H.R.7081), the Isolate Russian Government Officials Act (H.R.6891) and the Russia and Belarus SDR Exchange Prohibition Act (H.R.6899).
 
The Senate will vote on multiple nominees and abortion legislation. Votes for Lisa Cook, nominated to serve on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, and Alvaro Bedoya, nominated to serve on the Federal Trade Commission, are likely to be delayed.  
 
In Committee
 
Senate Banking Committee
 
On Tuesday, the full committee will hold a hearing entitled “The Financial Stability Oversight Council Annual Report to Congress,” during which the following witnesses will testify:

• Janet Yellen (secretary, Department of the Treasury)

Established under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) is responsible for monitoring the stability of the U.S. financial system by identifying risks and promoting market discipline. Lawmakers are likely to press Treasury Secretary Yellen on the risks posed by climate change, inflation and cyberattacks, among other things, to financial stability.
 
On Thursday, the full committee will hold a hearing entitled “Addressing Climate Change with Energy-Efficient and Resilient Housing,” during which the following witnesses will testify:

• Ruth Ann Norton (president and CEO, Green and Healthy Homes Initiative(GHHI))

Energy-efficient homes can reduce electricity consumption by as much as 77% and greenhouse gas emissions by 2.4 tons per year, according to the Inter-American Development Bank. The committee could explore how Congress can promote these results through legislation. The subcommittee will hear from representatives of GHHI, an entity “dedicated to addressing the social determinants of health and the advancement of racial and health equity.”
 
House Financial Services Committee
 
On Wednesday, the Subcommittee on Investor Protection, Entrepreneurship and Capital Markets will hold a hearing entitled “A Notch Above? Examining the Bond Rating Industry,” during which the following witnesses will testify:

• Yann Le Pallec (executive managing director, head of global ratings services, S&P Global Ratings)
• Angela Liang (general counsel and executive committee member, Kroll Bond Rating Agency)
• Ian Linell (president, Fitch Rating)
• Mariana Gomez-Vock (senior vice president of policy and legal, American Council of Life Insurers)
   

Lawmakers will examine bond rating agencies, which evaluate the creditworthiness of debt issued by multiple types of entities, including corporations, sovereign nations and municipalities. The scope of this hearing will focus specifically on bonds. Subcommittee members are likely to discuss the three major entities: Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s and Fitch.
 
On Thursday, the full committee will hold a hearing entitled “The Annual Report of the Financial Stability Oversight Council,” during which the following witnesses will testify:

• Janet Yellen (Secretary, Department of the Treasury)

The hearing will likely contain discussion similar to that heard in the House Financial Services Committee, which held a hearing on the same topic earlier in the week.
 
On Friday, the Task Force on Artificial Intelligence will hold a hearing entitled “Keeping Up with the Codes – Using AI for Effective RegTech.” No witnesses have been named.
 
The Congressional Research Service defines “regtech” as “the use of technology by both regulators and regulated entities to facilitate compliance with applicable regulations and policy objectives.” Regtech can be used to monitor prudential financial risks and analyze the circulation of financial products and services. The process may be costly for certain institutions. Lawmakers could explore how house artificial intelligence can help reduce these costs.
 
Tax Committees
 
The House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee have no hearings scheduled this week.

Tax and Finance Rewind

In case you missed it…

• The Senate confirmed Joshua Frost 54-42 to serve as assistant secretary for financial markets at the Treasury Department.
• Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) said last week all 50 Senate Democrats support establishing a new 15% “book income” tax on large corporations. Warren specifically said she has “50 Democrats in favor of a minimum book tax” and that she “believe[s] this is going to happen.”
• Intuit, owner of TurboTax, agreed last week to pay $141 million to customers who paid for its products after the company advertised its free services.

In a nonbinding motion to instruct, the Senate encouraged conferees of the Bipartisan Innovation Act to include a specific tax provision in the final package. The motion offered by Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH) would direct conferees to include a research and development tax credit for small businesses and renew immediate expensing of research and development costs into the final package.

Upcoming Activity

Below is a complete list of all tax and financial services events in Congress, the administration and private sector for the upcoming week. 
 
Administration
 
Tuesday, May 10

Internal Revenue Service
Taxpayer Advocacy Panel’s Notices and Correspondence Project Committee
 
Internal Revenue Service
Taxpayer Advocacy Panel’s Tax Forms and Publications Project Committee
 
Internal Revenue Service
Taxpayer Advocacy Panel’s Toll-Free Phone Lines Project Committee

 
Wednesday, May 11

Internal Revenue Service
Taxpayer Advocacy Panel’s Special Projects Committee
 
Internal Revenue Service
Taxpayer Advocacy Panel’s Taxpayer Communications Project Committee

 
Thursday, May 12

Internal Revenue Service
Taxpayer Advocacy Panel’s Taxpayer Assistance Center Improvements Project Committee

 
Private Sector
 
Monday, May 9

Brookings Institution
Bank Mergers and Industry Resilience

 
Tuesday, May 10

Federalist Society
Central Bank Digital Currency – Efficient Innovation or the End of the Private Banking System?