CQ Roll Call Policy Briefs

The COVID-19 pandemic forced the nation’s federal courts to give the public more access to arguments and hearings over the past year, but it’s unclear how many of those changes will stick when courthouses fully reopen and a flood of backlogged cases is expected to hit the dockets. CQ Roll Call's Todd Ruger reports.

After much to and fro, the Senate passed the $1.9 trillion bill this weekend with some big changes. It goes back to the House this week and Democrats hope to have it over to the White House for a signature by March 14. CQ Roll Call's Paul Krawzak reports on what was left out of this version.

The Congressional Budget Office announced that U.S. debt as a share of the economy will be slightly lower over the next three decades than projected last year, though still hitting about 195 percent of gross domestic product by 2050. CQ Roll Call's Paul Krawzak reports.

Nearly one year into the coronavirus pandemic, the airline industry is far from a full recovery, losing $150 million a day. Witnesses told a House panel the industry needs a third tranche of payroll support funding in a pending coronavirus relief bill key to survive through September.

In a meeting Friday that marks the final hurdle before the Johnson & Johnson vaccine can be approved for use, the FDA's independent advisers are reviewing whether to recommend the third COVID-19 vaccine. CQ Roll Call's Emily Kopp has the latest.

In the first House Foreign Affairs Committee markup of the new Congress, a State Department authorization bill passed for the first time in almost two decades. CQ Roll Call's Rachel Oswald has the details on what has tanked the bill in the past and the likelihood of it getting a vote on the House and Senate floors.

Vivek Murthy and Rachel Levine, nominees for two of the Biden administration’s top health posts, told senators they would follow scientific recommendations and ensure health equity if given the opportunity to help lead the COVID-19 pandemic response and recovery. CQ Roll Call reporter Ariel Cohen reports on the top issues brought up by members of the Senate HELP Committee.

Tribal leaders delineated the major issues facing Native American communities nationwide this week, including health care access and climate change issues. CQ Roll Call reporter Michael Macagnone reports on the policy gains for tribal communities under the Biden administration and the biggest issues they still face.

The Biden administration’s 100-day deportation moratorium was blocked indefinitely in court on Tuesday night. CQ Roll Call immigration reporter Suzanne Monyak reports on the sharp blow to Biden’s effort to hit reset on the government’s immigration enforcement priorities.

President Joe Biden’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, Xavier Becerra, on Tuesday appeared for his first of two Senate confirmation hearings before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. CQ Roll Call health care reporter Mary Ellen McIntire reports on his testimony as Republican senators needle his record.