The Senate last year passed a major bill dealing with maintaining pre-eminence in technology, manufacturing, national security, and global competition, “Senate Amendment to H.R. 4521, United States Innovation and Competition Act of 2021.”
The House, having passed the related “America COMPETES Act of 2022,” opposes the Senate version, and on April 4, 2022 Speaker Pelosi requested a conference with the House to resolve their differences.
They cover a large number of policy areas aimed generally at obtaining critical resources for the homeland and not selling them to our enemies.
The House bill is 3,600 pages long, the Senate’s 2,300 pages. Staffs and lobbyists from many different quarters of the economy have been devouring these bills since the Biden administration took office.
Our interest in these bills is to make the case for the Employee Retention Tax Credit, Expanded Work Opportunity Tax Credit, Restaurant and other small business loans and grants, and our critically important WOTC program add-ons for service members, people with disabilities, and other improvements that enlarge our reach and add value.
Importantly, Leaders and members of the tax-writing committees, chosen from both Parties of House and Senate, will sit as members of the Conference Committee, that is, the “conferees.”
This will give us plenty of opportunity to reach out to the conferees to press our case for moving now to enact our agenda on this major bill, and not wait for passage on the perilous FY 2023 budget reconciliation bill this September 30th (which is likely to be December 9th for final passage.)
Of course, this bill may falter or fail of passage; it may be combined with the FY 2023 budget measure. Tax leaders may argue against early action, but it’s May 5 and early action is precisely what Senator Ben Cardin took the Senate floor yesterday to urge again on behalf of the nation’s restaurants and other small businesses.
When Napoleon was asked how he fought a battle, he answered, “First you engage, then you see.”
The Conference has not had its first meeting but the Senate began action yesterday by taking several votes on “motions to instruct” the conferees. You may find a thumbnail title for each motion and vote result by going to www.democrats.senate.gov/floor.
It’s the House which asked the Senate for the conference. Speaker Pelosi was first to appoint conferees (Ways and Means Chairman Neal and Ranking Member Brady are on the list), but because the list is long we will reserve the full House list for our next report.
Here’s the list of 26 senators appointed as conferees by Senate Majority Leader Schumer in consultation with Senate Minority Leader McConnell.
The list is:
Cantrell
Menendez
Wyden
Peters
Murray
Brown
Warner
Kelly
Warnock
Hickenlooper
Tester
Heinrich
Baldwin
Wicker
Crapo
Risch
Burr
Portman
Grassley
Shelby
Toomey
Barrasso
Capito
Cornyn
Young
Moran
We will expand on our grassroots strategy in subsequent reports.
Please contact TIA if you would like copies of the legislative text.
