Weekly Federal Update 3/14/22

President Biden promptly signed a bill to fund the federal government through September 30 after Congress passed a $1.5 trillion omnibus government funding bill…

President and Administration

Executives from Samsung, Whirlpool, HP, Medtronic, Micron, and Cummins came to the White House Wednesday, 3/9, along with governors Eric Holcomb (R-IN) and Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI), to address the semiconductor shortage…

The President’s Committee on People with Intellectual Disabilities serves as a federal advisor to the President and the Secretary of Health and Human Services on matters relating to persons with intellectual disabilities…

The 2020 Census missed counting Latinos, Blacks, and other minority groups and overcounted Whites and Asians, according to the bureau’s post-enumeration survey, a resurvey of randomly selected geographic areas the bureau conducts after each decennial census…

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Thursday, 3/10, ,that Americans will likely see another year of “very uncomfortably high” inflation as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine muddles her prior forecast that price acceleration would moderate in the months ahead…

The American Academy of Pediatrics and American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, in collaboration with experts from the National Institute of Mental Health, have created a comprehensive set of resources intended to support pediatric health clinicians in identifying strategies and partnerships to support children and teens at risk for suicide…

Senators are expected to confirm Shalanda D. Young to lead the Office of Management and Budget this week, installing a Senate-confirmed leader in the only Biden administration cabinet post to remain vacant since inauguration day…

The White House has released new fact sheets highlighting the one year anniversary of the American Rescue Plan…

Congress  

The Senate unanimously passed a bill last week that criminalizes lynching and make it punishable by up to 30 years in prison…

Education

The Biden administration dropped a new hint last week that it may further extend the freeze on federal student loan payments for tens of millions of borrowers as the White House weighs a final decision… 

The Education Department announced last week that it has identified 100,000 borrowers with approximately $6.2 billion in loans to be erased by the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program…

Northern Essex Community College, the first Hispanic-serving institution in Massachusetts, experienced an alarming 7.5 percent drop in Hispanic student enrollment at the height of the pandemic in fall 2020…