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 are in session.

HEADLINES

• The year-end legislative rush begins this week with lawmakers first having to extend government funding beyond the expiration this week of current appropriations.
• Congress in the next month also must deal with the debt limit, the annual Pentagon policy bill, ongoing negotiations on President Biden’s Build Back Better Act, and a host of other programs set to expire at year’s end.
• Biden and his team are scrambling to confront the new, highly contagious omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus.

HOUSE

• The House plans to hold votes tomorrow through Friday. Leaders are working toward a vote on a short-term funding extension, with several details, including its length, still unresolved.
• The House Financial Services Committee on Thursday will hold a pandemic response oversight hearing with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and newly reappointed Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.
• The Energy and Commerce Committee will hold a legislative hearing titled “Holding Big Tech Accountable: Targeted Reforms to Tech’s Legal Immunity.”
• The full list of this week’s House committee activity can be found here.

SENATE

• The Senate will take up the annual National Defense Authorization Act as senators continue debating several points of contention, including the inclusion of a major China policy
• The Senate Banking Committee will also host an oversight hearing with Yellen and Powell.
• The Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data Security will hold a hearing on product safety during the holiday season, focusing on counterfeit children’s toys.
• The current list of Senate committee activity can be found here.

WHITE HOUSE

• President Biden is speaking this morning on the omicron variant. This afternoon, he will meet with CEOs to discuss supply chain challenges as the holiday season begins.
• Tomorrow, he will travel to Rosemount, Minn., to speak at Dakota County Technical College about this month’s infrastructure bill.
• Later in the week, Biden will host a menorah lighting for Hanukkah as well as the National Christmas Tree