Last month, House and Senate leaders announced that they would convene a conference committee after a year-long stalemate over how to address U.S. innovation and competition policy. This is the first conference committee of the 117th Congress, where policymakers will resolve differences between the House's America COMPETES Act and the Senate's US Innovation and Competition Act.

To learn more about these bills, including a section-by-section summary, check out these Prolegis Briefings:

- https://www.prolegis.com/briefings/us-china-strategic-competition-recent-congressional-proposals

- https://www.prolegis.com/briefings/conference-committees-background-and-overview

Last month, the House of Representatives voted to pass the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act. The bill would federally legalize marijuana by removing it as a Schedule I drug, while also retroactively decriminalizing it for federal offenses. Beyond the question of whether or not to legalize or decriminalize marijuana, Congress will also have to grapple with issues related to banking, taxation and interstate trade.

Read more about this topic with these Prolegis Briefings:

- https://www.prolegis.com/briefings/federal-cannabis-policy-background-and-issues

- https://www.prolegis.com/briefings/the-marijuana-opportunity-reinvestment-and-expungement-more-act

This episode, tune into our policy roundtable on the appropriations process with panelists Mark Harkins and Kimber Colton. These experts discuss the timeline for appropriations, how to engage with appropriations committee staff, and how to navigate the community project funding process.

The Biden administration announced this month that it would terminate Title 42, a program that has suspended the entry of many asylum seekers into the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic. The decision has been welcomed by advocates concerned about the human rights consequences of Title 42, but it has also drawn criticism due to fears that it will lead to a spike in asylum claims at the border that may overwhelm the immigration system.

For a deeper dive on this topic, check out this Prolegis Briefing

- https://www.prolegis.com/briefings/title-42-background-and-recent-policy-issues

Earlier this month, Major League Baseball and its players association ended a protracted lockout after failing to come to a collective bargaining agreement. The highly publicized nature of the lockout has led many, including members of Congress, to look at potentially stripping the MLB of its antitrust exemption.

For a deeper dive on this topic, check out this Prolegis Briefing:

- https://www.prolegis.com/briefings/major-league-baseballs-antitrust-exemption-background

Working on Capitol Hill is rarely as glamorous as it’s portrayed in TV and movies. High staff turnover, long hours, and stressful jobs are common, and recent studies have identified staffers’ challenges with inadequate pay. Changes may be coming for congressional staff pay after the omnibus spending bill for fiscal year 2022 passed with a 21% boost to Members Representational Allowances, which funds House office budgets.

To learn more about this topic, check out this Prolegis Briefing

- https://www.prolegis.com/briefings/congressional-staffer-salaries-background-and-recent-proposals

The backlog of cases across the immigration system has been growing for over a decade, resulting in prolonged wait times and a variety of adverse consequences as cases remain “in limbo”-- sometimes for multiple years.

For additional resources on this topic, check out this Prolegis Briefing:

- https://www.prolegis.com/briefings/reforming-the-immigration-court-system-addressing-the-backlog

The Biden administration has announced the most restrictive sanctions on Russia in history–targeting Russia’s central bank and oil and gas exports. While Russia’s economy is already feeling the weight of these actions, it has yet to stop its military operations in Ukraine.

Want to read more about this topic? Check out this Prolegis Briefing:

- https://www.prolegis.com/briefings/the-response-to-russia-invasion-of-ukraine-sanctions

There are many regulatory questions legislators are exploring in establishing frameworks for how to oversee the crypto industry. Two priority issues for policymakers this year are taxation of cryptocurrency and the energy and environmental impacts of crypto.

For more on these two issues, check out these Prolegis Briefings:

- https://www.prolegis.com/briefings/taxation-cryptocurrency

- https://www.prolegis.com/briefings/cryptocurrencies-energy-use

Efforts by the U.S. and foreign governments to crack down on digital currencies have caused volatility in cryptocurrency exchanges in the past few years. Regulatory clarity is necessary to guide the development of digital currencies but many investors are concerned about how authorities will regulate cryptocurrencies.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of this series next week!

Check out our sources for this episode here:

- https://www.prolegis.com/briefings/cryptocurrency-background-and-policy-issues