February 14

This week in MORE POWER:

Regulating Running
Housing Veterans
Three New Heads
Reversing Last-Minute Rules
Regulating China’s Money

Regulating Running

The House passed the Agent Raul Gonzalez Officer Safety Act on Thursday. If made law, this bill would create both criminal and immigration penalties for anyone who purposefully flees either U.S. Border Patrol or any law enforcement assisting Border Patrol while driving within 100 miles of the U.S. border. Specifically, the bill would impose up to 2 years in prison for fleeing, with harsher penalties if the act causes serious injury or death. Additionally, non-citizens convicted of this offense would become inadmissible, deportable, and ineligible for immigration relief, including asylum. The bill was named after Border Patrol Agent Raul Gonzalez Jr., who died chasing people who illegally crossed the U.S.-Mexico border; it is now going to the Senate.

Housing Veterans

The House passed the Disabled Veterans Housing Support Act and Housing Unhoused Disabled Veterans Act which will, if made law, prevent veterans’ disability benefits from counting against their eligibility for housing programs. The bills would both ensure service-connected disability compensation is not counted as income when determining eligibility for Housing and Urban Development (HUD) programs that use low or moderate income thresholds. While the Disabled Veterans Housing Support Act is broad, targeting all disabled veterans, the Housing Unhoused Disabled Veterans Act specifically targets homeless veterans by ensuring disability benefits do not disqualify veterans from the HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) program. This program provides rental assistance vouchers and support services to help homeless veterans secure stable housing. Both bills are headed to the Senate.

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Three New Heads

The Senate continued to hold confirmation hearings for Trump nominees. Republican senators voted to confirm Tulsi Gabbard to be the director of national intelligence by a margin of 52 to 48; Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) was the only Republican to join Democrats in opposing Gabbard. Gabbard was an especially controversial nominee due to what her opposition perceived as a lack of relevant experience; a post she made, blaming the U.S. for the war Russia instigated against Ukraine; her trip to Syria, where she met former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad; and her refusal to condemn Edward Snowden, who purposefully leaked classified information.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was confirmed to be the secretary of health and human services by the exact same margin, with McConnell being the only Republican to join Democrats’ opposition. Kennedy is another controversial nominee due to his skepticism regarding vaccines and what his opposition perceives as a lack of relevant experience and formal medical education. The Senate also confirmed Brooke Rollins to be secretary of agriculture with bipartisan support.

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Reversing Last-minute Rules

This week, the House passed the Midnight Rules Relief Act, which would make it easier for Congress to overturn multiple regulations issued in the final year of a president’s term. Currently, Congress must overturn regulations one by one and only if they were made in the final 60 days of the previous administration. If this bill becomes law, Congress will be able to overturn many regulations from the last year of the outgoing administration all at once. The bill is now heading to the Senate.

For context: these regulations, called “midnight rules,” are rules issued by federal agencies to enforce laws passed by Congress. The phrase “midnight rules” refers to last-minute regulations made by an outgoing administration — particularly when the party in power is about to change.

Regulating China’s Money

The House passed two bills this week aimed at regulating how China’s currency, the renminbi, is valued in the global economy. The Chinese Currency Accountability Act would require U.S. representatives at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) — a global organization that helps stabilize currencies and economies — to oppose increasing the renminbi’s weight in the IMF’s Special Drawing Rights (SDR) basket unless China meets specific conditions, including compliance with IMF rules, avoiding currency manipulation, and adhering to international financial agreements. The SDR basket is a mix of major global currencies that helps determine exchange rates and international reserves.

The second bill, the China Exchange Rate Transparency Act, would direct U.S. representatives at the IMF to push for greater transparency in China’s currency policies, amid concerns that China manipulates its exchange rate to gain an economic advantage. Both bills now head to the Senate.

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