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.
Progress for the LGBTQ community was made last week when Andi Mudryk, a long-time disability advocate, became the first openly transgender person appointed to the bench in California. Chris Johnson, White House reporter for the Washington Blade, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
President Biden proposed a new billionaire’s tax, that would subject the richest Americans to a minimum tax rate of 20 percent. The White House says billionaires pay an average tax rate of just eight percent, much lower than the national average of 22 percent. Cheddar News speaks with ProPublica’s Paul Kiel who explains how the regulation would work.
The most popular and most valuable cryptocurrency is also the least eco-friendly - data shows that Bitcoin mining generates the same amount of carbon emissions as the entire country of Thailand. According to nonprofit Fair Planet, 96 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions come from Bitcoin mining every year. Now, a consortium of climate activist groups is calling on the Bitcoin industry to cut its energy use by making changes to its software code. Michael Brune, former executive director of the Sierra Club, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Imani Gandy, senior editor for law and policy at Rewire News Group, and co-host of the podcast Boom! Lawyered, joins Cheddar Politics to discuss Ketanji Brown Jackson's upcoming confirmation hearings, and the politics surrounding several Republican attack lines against her in the lead-up.
Susannah Wellford, founder and CEO of Running Start, joins Cheddar News to discuss getting more women involved in politics. Running Start helps provide women and girls the tools they need to get involved in politics, and to see a future where they can become political leaders.
Congressional candidate Melanie D'Arrigo came on Cheddar Politics to talk about her campaign for the Democratic nomination in New York's Third Congressional district. The progressive activist ran in the 2020 primary against incumbent Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi. The seat is open this time, as Suozzi seeks the New York Governorship.
Reecie Colbert, founder of Black Women Views Media, breaks down the roles of race and partisanship in the Senate hearings for Supreme Court Nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. She also discusses the importance of standing up for Black women in the public sphere.
Michael Kirk, director of the new Frontline documentary 'Pelosi's Power,' joins Cheddar Politics to discuss House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's long career as a Democratic leader in Congress.
President Joe Biden is ordering the release of 1 million barrels of oil per day from the nation’s strategic petroleum reserve for six months in a bid to control energy prices.
