Below is this week’s congressional update by BakerHostetler’s Federal Policy team. We’ll continue to post in weeks when both chambers of Congress hold floor votes.

HEADLINES

•  The Senate will begin consideration of a comprehensive bill aiming to bolster U.S. competitiveness with China.

•  The House agenda focuses on U.S. Capitol security, including the establishment of a 9/11-style commission on the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

•  The White House faces a potentially crucial week on multiple fronts: internationally with Gaza City escalating into full-scale war, domestically with cyberattack-induced gasoline shortages and economic jitters at home, and politically as prospects for bipartisanship on a major infrastructure bill remain alive but fragile.

HOUSE

• The House will be in session today through Thursday. The agenda includes funding to beef up security in the Capitol complex and establishing a commission to investigate the Jan. 6 attack, as well as a bill on pharmaceutical competition.
• On Tuesday the Consumer Protection Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee will hold a hearing titled “Promises and Perils: The Potential of Automobile Technologies.”
• The Ways and Means Committee will hold a hearing on taxes and infrastructure investment.
• The full list of this week’s House committee activity can be found here.

SENATE

• The Senate plans to take up a package of bills targeting competitiveness with China, based on the Endless Frontier Act sponsored by Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind. Prospects for the legislation are unclear.
• On Tuesday the Senate Finance Committee will hold a hearing on funding for infrastructure; the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday will also hold an infrastructure hearing, with Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Marcia Fudge and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
• The Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday will hold a hearing on cybersecurity of the defense industrial base.
• The current list of Senate committee activity can be found here.

WHITE HOUSE

• President Joe Biden will visit Dearborn, Mich., on Tuesday as Ford Motor Company unveils its new electric F-150 pickup.
• Wednesday, the president will speak at the Coast Guard Academy’s commencement in New London, Connecticut.
• South Korean President Moon Jae-in will arrive Friday for a bilateral meeting at the White House.