The Human Needs Report: February 22, 2022

View the complete report here (HTML) or here (PDF).

Dear John,

CHN just released another edition of the Human Needs Report. Read on for the latest on FY 2022 spending, efforts to resuscitate the Build Back Better Act, postal reform, and more. ? ?

In This Edition

One more stopgap spending measure keeps the government open while work on an FY22 spending package continues ?
Nearly five months into Fiscal Year 2022, and with only one day to spare until government funding ran out, the Senate passed (65-27) another stopgap spending measure on Feb. 17 and it was signed into law by President Biden on February 18. The bill, known as a Continuing Resolution or CR, will fund government operations through March 11. READ MORE ?

Advocates continue to push for measures to Build Back Better
Three months after the Nov. 19 House passage of the historic Build Back Better Act (H.R. 5376), the future of the bill is dim. Opposition to the House-passed bill from Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), and all Senate Republicans means that any bill that can pass the Senate will have to be scaled down considerably from the House version. Advocates remain hopeful that the Senate may still be able to pass legislation containing significant pieces of the Build Back Better Act. READ MORE ?

Postal Reform Service Bill passes the House
On Feb. 8, the House passed the Postal Service Reform Act (H.R. 3076) on a strong bipartisan vote of 342-92. The legislation eliminates the George W. Bush Administration and congressional mandate that the Postal Service prefund its retiree health care benefits decades in advance, a requirement asked of no other public or private agency. READ MORE ?

House passes America COMPETES Act
On Feb. 4, the House passed the America Creating Opportunities for Manufacturing, Pre-Eminence in Technology and Economic Strength (COMPETES) Act of 2022 on a mostly party-line vote of 222-210. READ MORE ?