February 19, 2021

February 19, 2021

Top News

  • House aims to vote on Covid relief bill by the end of next week, Pelosi says. CNBC
  • Could this be the return of earmarks? CNN
  • Democrats Unveil Sweeping Immigration Bill. NPR
  • Covid vaccine shipments will be delayed because of weather, CDC says. NBC
  • Treasury’s Yellen says U.S. ‘desperately’ needs Congress to act on stimulus. Reuters
  • The nation’s cartoonists on the week in politics. Politico

Energy & Natural Resources

  • Senate committee plans grid reliability hearing after Texas outages. The Hill
  • U.S. rejoins Paris climate agreement. Now comes the daunting part. NBC
  • SEC’s Coates says agency should help create ESG disclosure system. Reuters
  • House Democrats Ready to Address Climate Crisis, Pallone Says. Transport Topics
  • The Texas Power Grid Failure Is a Climate Change Cautionary Tale? Time

Indian Affairs

  • Why Native Americans Are Getting COVID-19 Vaccines Faster. NPR
  • Native Americans ‘Left Out in the Cold’ Under Trump Press Biden for Action. New York Times
  • U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announces $220 million contract awards for the clean-up of more than 50 abandoned uranium mine sites on the Navajo Nation. Indian Country Today
  • For the first time, a Native American may oversee U.S. policies on tribal nations. The Harvard Gazette
  • Climate justice must include Indigenous sovereignty. Berkeley Beacon

Labor

  • Jobless claims jump: Another 861,000 Americans filed for initial benefits last week. CNN
  • Biden discusses COVID relief and infrastructure with top labor leaders. Reuters
  • Amazon’s Great Labor Awakening. New York Times
  • Governor Signs Bill for Indiana COVID-19 Lawsuit Shield. US News
  • Lawmakers Call for Federal Program to Upgrade Unemployment Systems. Route Fifty
  • Cal/OSHA COVID-19–Related Citations May Provide Leverage to Labor Unions and Their Members. National Law Review

Taxation & Trade

  • China overtakes US as EU’s biggest trading partner. BBC News
  • Democrats urge IRS to extend tax-filing season. The Hill
  • Biden’s trade czar nominee Tai to get Feb. 25 Senate confirmation hearing. Reuters
  • U.S. Treasury reaps a windfall as stock sales surge. Politico
  • Pandemic Drives Historic State Tax Revenue Drop. Pew Research Center
  • Democrats’ stimulus plan would cut taxes by an average of $3,100, analysis shows. CNN

Technology

  • House to grill Facebook, Google, Twitter CEOs as Washington seeks to crack down on disinformation, antitrust. Washington Post
  • Big Tech lobbying groups sue Maryland to stop country’s first digital advertising tax. CNN
  • Facebook and Google could lose bargaining power under upcoming U.S. bill to help news outlets. Reuters
  • FTC Chair Rebecca Slaughter Outlines Data Privacy Enforcement Agenda. JD Supra
  • Hill Report: who wants to talk to Reddit? The Verge

Transportation & Infrastructure

  • Post-Covid, Transit Agencies Must Look Beyond Ridership. Bloomberg CityLab
  • Texas’s power grid failing shows why Biden needs to go big on infrastructure. Washington Post
  • Inslee Taking ‘Strategic Role’ When it Comes to Transportation Package. KPQ
  • Transit workers face growing rate of assaults: ‘There’s not much we can do’. Smart Cities Dive
  • DOT Opens Funding Opportunity for $889 Million in INFRA Grants. Transport Topics
  • PennDOT Announces ‘Major Bridge P3 Initiative’ Next Steps, Private-Sector Opportunities. PennDOT
  • ACPA Participates in Highway Users Roundtable with Hill Staff. ECPA

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