It’s been Immigration Week on Capitol Hill but now it’s time to move on. So what will drive headlines in the week ahead? Here’s a look at the Washington Week Ahead.
TECH HEARING: Leaders of major Silicon Valley companies like Facebook, Alphabet, and Twitter will be testifying in front of subcommittees of the House Energy and Commerce Committee about how their platforms are handling misinformation and disinformation. Spoiler: not well, according to lawmakers. Expect officials on both sides to criticize the platforms. Democrats will likely focus on the role of Google, Facebook, and Twitter in the January 6 insurrection and misinformation generally while Republicans will attempt to get to the root of what they see as anti-conservative bias.
BIDEN SPEAKS: President Joe Biden will take center stage to answer questions from journalists for the first time in his presidency. Biden has received a lot of criticism for not taking questions up to this point. The White House has pointed to COVID-19 restrictions as a major reason why, but after four years of frequent access to the U.S. president, reporters are hoping for more comments directly from the Commander-in-Chief.
FOR THE PEOPLE: The Senate will take up H.R. 1, the “For the People Act,” that passed the House of Representatives early in March. The comprehensive voting rights legislation would expand early voting, enact automatic voter registration and make Election Day a federal holiday. While the Senate is limited by the legislative filibuster, this will be the first time the bill will even be debated on that side of Capitol Hill.
INFRASTRUCTURE WEEK...NO, REALLY: It’s Infrastructure Week! No, really. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg will be testifying in front of the House Transportation Committee to sell Biden’s infrastructure plan. The $2 trillion plan would make major investments in green energy and renewable technology while also updating that nation’s crumbling roads and bridges. But, Republicans are not sold on the hefty price tag, especially right after another nearly $2 trillion bill passed out of Congress: the American Rescue Plan Act.
A Gallup poll finds that now 7.1% of American adults identify as LGBTQ, jumping from 3.5% in 2012. The increase is driven by Generation-Z – those born between 1997 and 2003 – of whom one out of five identify as LGBTQ. Cheddar News speaks with Washington Blade reporter Chris Johnson about the significant shift.
As the Biden administration continues to see the potential for an imminent invasion of Ukraine after contradictory reports of a Russian troop pullback or buildup, Rep. Ami Bera (D-Calif. 7th District), a member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, joined Cheddar News to give his insight into the tense situation. "When I was in Ukraine a couple of weeks ago and we were talking with the Ukrainian leadership with President Zelensky, they said we ought to approach Vladimir Putin as though he was a poker player," he said. "So this could be one of those head fakes where he's saying one thing and doing another thing."
The Biden Administration has now issued new guidelines when it comes to carbon capture. The new guidelines handed down this week encouraged the widespread use of climate attacks that traps and stores carbon emissions. The goal here is the process would help keep carbon out of the atmosphere without requiring a whole lot of change by big companies and manufacturing plants. Several scientists say that this method would be crucial to help us decrease the use of carbon emissions by the year 2050. Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Stanford University, Mark Jacobson, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Natalie Fertig, federal cannabis policy reporter for Politico Pro, joins Cheddar News to discuss the latest in marijuana legalization in the United States.
The Biden administration is launching a new task force to promote the use of 'cleaner' construction materials with lower life cycle emissions. This comes as the White House works to speed up government purchases of greener products. Sweta Chakraborty, climate change expert and U.S. president of "We Don't Have Time," joins Cheddar News to discuss.
Due to the staffing shortages of teachers in New Mexico, the state has been encouraging its National Guard members to fill in as licensed substitutes to keep schools open. Kurt Steinhaus, New Mexico secretary of education, joined Cheddar News to explain the state's stopgap measure amid its lack of teaching professionals. "The first thing they have to go through a fingerprint background check, just like any other substitute new Mexico. The second thing they have to do is go through some online training, and then we provided some in-person professional development about classroom management," Steinhaus explained about the qualifications process.
With contradictory reports about Russian troops pulling back or being added to the border with Ukraine and the expulsion of a U.S. diplomat from Russia, tensions in the region appear to be escalating. Jack Detsch, a Pentagon and national security reporter for Foreign Policy, joined Cheddar News to break down the situation. "Certainly a different tone out of Moscow today and a different tone out of the West. Even as the Kremlin has made the case that troops are moving back, the U.S. is saying that is certainly not the case with the satellite imagery that we have pouring in," he said.
New York City's famous subway system is currently facing scrutiny after several recent attacks on platforms. Now, local leaders in the Big Apple are calling on the MTA. To step in and take action.
