March 24th
1000 MORE's weekly nonpartisan roundup of the most important happenings in federal government, written in a way that doesn't require a law degree to understand, with tools to take action
March 24, 2023
This week in MORE POWER:
Biden's first veto
Update: Parents Bill of Rights vote
Proposed bills to regulate the banks
Veterans' healthcare facilities
An Indo-Pacific region security partnership
Renormalizing relations with Taiwan
The status of ASEAN
Bills the President signed into law
Biden's First Veto
In December, the Labor Department added a new rule to allow fiduciaries to include ESG (environmental, social, governance) factors in decisions about where to invest retirement plans, arguing that factors like climate impact an investment's long term health. There was a lot of resistance to this change, particularly from conservatives and centrists in Congress, who took the position that the only factor that should be considered is how much money an investment would make, which was the standard prior to the December rule.
This year, Congress attempted to overturn the rule by passing House Joint Resolution 30. Then this week, President Biden responded by issuing the first veto of his presidency to keep the rule in place. You can use 1000 MORE to let your representatives know how you feel about the rule, and their actions.
Update: Parents Bill Of Rights Vote
If the Parents Bill of Rights passes Congress and gets enacted, it would codify a parent's right to know immediately what is happening in their child's school, be it what is in the curriculum or instances of violence on campus. As reported last week, the bill would also force every school to keep up-to-date book and material lists available on demand for parents, and it would require schools to notify all parents if a school employee changes any students' name, pronouns or sex-based accommodations, including bathrooms and locker rooms.
The House voted on the bill today and it passed 213 to 208, even with 4 Republicans joining with 208 Democrats in voting "no." The bill is headed to the Senate. You can use 1000 MORE to learn more and contact your Senators.
Proposed Bills To Regulate The Banks
Following the failures of two banks that fall into the small to mid sized banking category, Congress has been discussing legislation to regulate banks and prevent further failures. According to a study released this week, nearly 190 banks that fall into this category risk similar failure due to a run on the bank if only half of their depositors were to withdrawal funds.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, (D-MA) & Rep. Katie Porter, (D-CA) introduced legislation - the Secure Viable Banking Act - alongside other Democrats. If passed, this bill would reestablish the Dodd-Frank era banking protections on banks in this category, regulations that were rolled back during the Trump administration.
Similarly, on Friday of last week, President Biden called on Congress to pass legislation so that in the future, when a bank fails due to mismanagement and irresponsible risk taking by executives, their pay and bonuses would be forfeited, stating that: "no one is above the law – and strengthening accountability is an important deterrent to prevent mismanagement in the future."
You can use 1000 MORE to contact your legislators and let them know the actions you want to see them take on this.
A Bill To Upgrade Veterans' Healthcare Facilities
This week, the Senate passed the bipartisan Fiscal Year 2023 Veterans Affairs Major Medical Facility Authorization Act. If passed by the House and signed into law by the President, it would authorize $3.7 billion in spending on the construction and renovation of veterans medical buildings from coast to coast.
A Bill To Study How To Implement AUKUS
Last year, leaders of Australia (AU), the United Kingdom (UK), and the United States (US) announced a new Indo-Pacific region security partnership, a trilateral agreement known as the AUKUS partnership. Under the pact, the US and the UK will assist Australia in acquiring nuclear-powered submarines, a move many consider to be a partnership designed to get ahead of any potential future military aggression by China.
The House passed a bipartisan bill, H.R. 1093, to make the State Department issue a report to assess the preparedness of implementing the AUKUS partnership this week. It goes to the Senate next.
Re-Normalizing Relations With Taiwan
For decades, it has been official policy of the U.S. government not to have diplomatic relations with Taiwan. In fact, the approach has been an example of policy of "deliberate ambiguity," meaning that it benefits the U.S. to be vague. In practical terms, this means that federal officials were not allowed to visit Taiwan, and Taiwan's senior officials could not travel to the U.S. Meetings and communication between the two countries had to meet special requirements, like "holding meetings at hotels rather than in official federal buildings or asking Taiwanese officials not to wear any official uniforms or insignia," according to Rep. Ann Wagner, (R-MO), who is one of a number of bipartisan members of Congress who see the policy as appeasing China.
The Trump administration moved to normalize relations with Taiwan and extend the treatment that the U.S. would to other allied nations, but the Biden administration reversed course, reinstating the policy of deliberate ambiguity, meaning no official diplomatic relations. In response, a bipartisan group in Congress worked on a bill to re-normalize relations known as the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act. Members were concerned that the policy shift was a slap in the face to Taiwan, and that it would embolden China. This week, the House passed the bill, and it goes to the Senate next.
A Bill To Upgrade The Status Of ASEAN
Due to a law that Congress passed in 1945 called the International Organizations Immunities Act (IOIA), many international organizations, like the African Union, the United Nations, and the World Health Organization, are on a list of approved IOIA members. That means their workers don’t have to pay American taxes and get other benefits generally extended to diplomats while working in the US. One organization that is not on the list? The Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Known as ASEAN, the association is "an intergovernmental organization of ten Southeast Asian countries: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam," according to the Council on Foreign Relations.
This week, the House passed a bipartisan bill - Providing Appropriate Recognition and Treatment Needed to Enhance Relations with ASEAN Act - that, if it passes the Senate and gets signed into law by the President, would add ASEAN to the IOIA list. The bill moves to the Senate next.
Bills The President Signed Into Law
This week, for the first time in this term of Congress, the President signed bills into law. Here are the bills that were enacted:
H.J.Res. 26, which cancels the Revised Criminal Code Act of 2022 enacted by the D.C. City Council,
and S. 619 COVID–19 Origin Act, which makes the Director of National Intelligence declassify government documents on the origin of COVID-19.
