We previewed the 1Q22 congressional agenda in our note last Friday. Congress seems headed to a relatively early conclusion to 2022 optional legislating but committee hearings throughout the year will be used as platforms to appeal to midterm voters. A few sessions this week illustrate what will increasingly become regular fare, including a non-congressional event in Brussels. The Biden administration is sure to recommend regulatory changes in related policy areas.
Digital Money and Technology
Draft cryptocurrency rules are expected this quarter from the administration. This week, blockchain technology receives attention at a 10:30 a.m. House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing on the environmental implications of crypto mining. The importance of this issue won’t be the driver of expected rules as regulators focus on taxpayer and investor protections while promoting innovation and competition.
Competition Policy
Vertical integration has become a hot topic again three years after Judge Richard Leon’s ruling allowing the T/TWX merger in 2018. The House Judiciary Committee at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday launches the fifth long-planned hearing on market concentration and related network effects, or businesses protected by commercial “moats.”
Seaports
As supply chains remain a factor in supply side inflation and prices continue to generate headlines, the House Homeland Security Committee on Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. examines the broad economic consequences of federal investment in US ports.
Global Minimum Tax
It is neither a hearing nor a decision meeting but the EU finance ministers gathering today points focus back across the Atlantic on whether the Biden administration can convince Congress to enact the OECD-agreed 15% global minimum tax on multinationals to which Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen committed last year. This proposal will be in President Biden’s March FY23 budget. Failure by Congress to enact the idea would complicate implementation of the plan.
22V Webinar
Dennis DeBusschere and Kim Wallace invite you to a webinar discussion of Washington DC market risks Tuesday, January 18th at 10:30 a.m. ET (registration HERE). We will discuss Federal Reserve Board nominations, monetary policy challenges and implications for banks, the near-term fiscal policy outlook, and the market relevant congressional agenda for the first quarter. Please register via this link, and we will look forward to having you join the webinar.
