On July 22, 2010, the Senate began consideration of the amendment of House-amended H.R. 4899, the 2010 emergency supplemental appropriations bill. During its consideration, the Senate rejected the House amendment and failed to adopt a motion to end debate on the bill. (The House-passed version of H.R. 4899 contains provisions for funding enforcement on the Southwest border, restricting funding for contracts without Iran Sanctions certifications, etc. See ITT’s Online Archives or 07/15/10 news, 10071526, for BP summary.)
On July 22. 2010, following hearings and an extended stakeholder process in response to the release of a discussion draft in April, Representative Rush (D), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection, and Representative Waxman (D), Chairman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, introduced H.R. 5820, the Toxic Chemicals Safety Act of 2010, a bill aimed at strengthening and updating the decades-old Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) of 1976, the primary statute governing the safety of chemicals in commerce.
During the question and answer portion of a July 21, 2010 Senate Banking Committee hearing on the Federal Reserves Semiannual Monetary Policy Report to Congress, the press reports that Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke stated that, broadly speaking, China's currency policy is a type of subsidy, noting that the literature has reported its value at 10-30%.
On July 22, 2010, the Senate passed H.J. Res. 83, a resolution approving the renewal of import restrictions contained in the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003, clearing the measure for the President. (See ITT’s Online Archives or 07/16/10 news, 10071628, for details of H.J. Res. 83.)
On July 21, 2010, the following trade-related bills were introduced:
On July 20, 2010, a House Transportation Subcommittee1 held a hearing entitled, “Status of U.S.-flagged Vessels in U.S.-Foreign Trade” to discuss the conditions under which operators of U.S. flag ships must compete, their challenges, and ideas for developing maritime policies that will enhance their competitiveness.
On July 22, 2010, the following trade-related hearings will be held:
The Residential Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Prevention Act (H.R. 1796), which was ordered reported by the House Energy and Commerce Committee on July 15, 2010, would require the Consumer Product Safety Commission to establish mandatory consumer product safety standards for carbon monoxide and similar detectors.
On July 21, 2010, the Senate Committee on Appropriations’ Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies approved for full committee consideration an original bill making appropriations for Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies for fiscal year 2011.
On July 22, 2010, the Senate will begin consideration of H.J. Res. 83, approving the renewal of import restrictions contained in the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003. (The House passed H.J. Res. 83 on July 14, 2010, see ITT's Online Archives or 07/16/10 news, 10071628, for BP summary of H.J. Res. 83.)