[Senate Report 118-4]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
118th Congress} { Report
SENATE
1st Session } { 118-4
======================================================================
R E P O R T
ON THE ACTIVITIES
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON FINANCE
OF THE
UNITED STATES SENATE
DURING THE
117th CONGRESS
PURSUANT TO
Rule XXVI of the Standing Rules
OF THE
UNITED STATES SENATE
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
March 28, 2023.--Ordered to be printed
__________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
39-010 WASHINGTON : 2023
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[117th Congress--Committee Membership]
COMMITTEE ON FINANCE
RON WYDEN, Oregon, Chairman
DEBBIE STABENOW, Michigan MIKE CRAPO, Idaho
MARIA CANTWELL, Washington CHUCK GRASSLEY, Iowa
ROBERT MENENDEZ, New Jersey JOHN CORNYN, Texas
THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware JOHN THUNE, South Dakota
BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, Maryland RICHARD BURR, North Carolina
SHERROD BROWN, Ohio ROB PORTMAN, Ohio
MICHAEL F. BENNET, Colorado PATRICK J. TOOMEY, Pennsylvania
ROBERT P. CASEY, Jr., Pennsylvania TIM SCOTT, South Carolina
MARK R. WARNER, Virginia BILL CASSIDY, Louisiana
SHELDON WHITEHOUSE, Rhode Island JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma
MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire STEVE DAINES, Montana
CATHERINE CORTEZ MASTO, Nevada TODD YOUNG, Indiana
ELIZABETH WARREN, Massachusetts BEN SASSE, Nebraska
JOHN BARRASSO, Wyoming
Joshua Sheinkman, Staff Director
Gregg Richard, Republican Staff Director
SUBCOMMITTEES
HEALTH CARE
DEBBIE STABENOW, Michigan, Chair
ROBERT MENENDEZ, New Jersey STEVE DAINES, Montana
THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware CHUCK GRASSLEY, Iowa
BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, Maryland JOHN THUNE, South Dakota
ROBERT P. CASEY, Jr., Pennsylvania RICHARD BURR, North Carolina
MARK R. WARNER, Virginia PATRICK J. TOOMEY, Pennsylvania
SHELDON WHITEHOUSE, Rhode Island TIM SCOTT, South Carolina
CATHERINE CORTEZ MASTO, Nevada BILL CASSIDY, Louisiana
MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma
ELIZABETH WARREN, Massachusetts TODD YOUNG, Indiana
JOHN BARRASSO, Wyoming
______
INTERNATIONAL TRADE, CUSTOMS, AND GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS
THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware, Chairman
RON WYDEN, Oregon JOHN CORNYN, Texas
DEBBIE STABENOW, Michigan CHUCK GRASSLEY, Iowa
ROBERT MENENDEZ, New Jersey JOHN THUNE, South Dakota
BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, Maryland ROB PORTMAN, Ohio
SHERROD BROWN, Ohio PATRICK J. TOOMEY, Pennsylvania
MICHAEL F. BENNET, Colorado TIM SCOTT, South Carolina
ROBERT P. CASEY, Jr., Pennsylvania STEVE DAINES, Montana
MARK R. WARNER, Virginia TODD YOUNG, Indiana
CATHERINE CORTEZ MASTO, Nevada BEN SASSE, Nebraska
JOHN BARRASSO, Wyoming
(ii)
SOCIAL SECURITY, PENSIONS, AND FAMILY POLICY
SHERROD BROWN, Ohio, Chairman
RON WYDEN, Oregon TODD YOUNG, Indiana
MICHAEL F. BENNET, Colorado ROB PORTMAN, Ohio
ROBERT P. CASEY, Jr., Pennsylvania BILL CASSIDY, Louisiana
MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma
BEN SASSE, Nebraska
______
ENERGY, NATURAL RESOURCES, AND INFRASTRUCTURE
MICHAEL F. BENNET, Colorado, Chairman
THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma
MARK R. WARNER, Virginia JOHN CORNYN, Texas
SHELDON WHITEHOUSE, Rhode Island TIM SCOTT, South Carolina
MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire JOHN BARRASSO, Wyoming
STEVE DAINES, Montana
______
TAXATION AND IRS OVERSIGHT
SHELDON WHITEHOUSE, Rhode Island, Chairman
DEBBIE STABENOW, Michigan JOHN THUNE, South Dakota
ROBERT MENENDEZ, New Jersey CHUCK GRASSLEY, Iowa
BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, Maryland JOHN CORNYN, Texas
SHERROD BROWN, Ohio RICHARD BURR, North Carolina
CATHERINE CORTEZ MASTO, Nevada ROB PORTMAN, Ohio
ELIZABETH WARREN, Massachusetts PATRICK J. TOOMEY, Pennsylvania
BEN SASSE, Nebraska
______
FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY AND ECONOMIC GROWTH
ELIZABETH WARREN, Massachusetts, Chair
RON WYDEN, Oregon BILL CASSIDY, Louisiana
RICHARD BURR, North Carolina
(iii)
LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL
----------
U.S. Senate,
Committee on Finance,
Washington, DC, March 28, 2023.
Honorable Sonceria ``Ann'' Berry,
Secretary, U.S. Senate,
Washington, DC.
Dear Madam Secretary: In accordance with rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the United States Senate and the pertinent
unanimous consent order pertaining to this rule, I am
transmitting herewith a report on the activities of the
Committee on Finance of the United States Senate for the 117th
Congress.
Sincerely,
Ron Wyden, Chairman.
(v)
C O N T E N T S
__________
Page
117th Congress--Committee Membership............................. II
Letter of Transmittal............................................ V
Committee Jurisdiction........................................... 1
Rules of Procedure............................................... 2
Tax--Summary of Activities....................................... 5
Full Committee Hearings...................................... 6
Full Committee Open Executive Sessions....................... 8
Full Committee Member Meetings............................... 8
Subcommittee on Taxation and IRS Oversight................... 9
Subcommittee on Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Growth.... 9
Trade--Summary of Activities..................................... 11
Full Committee Hearings...................................... 12
Full Committee Member Meetings............................... 13
Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global
Competitiveness............................................ 13
Subcommittee on Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Growth.... 13
Health--Summary of Activities.................................... 15
Full Committee Hearings...................................... 17
Subcommittee on Health Care.................................. 19
Subcommittee on Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Growth.... 19
Human Services--Summary of Activities............................ 21
Social Security--Summary of Activities........................... 23
Full Committee Hearing....................................... 23
Subcommittee on Social Security, Pensions, and Family Policy. 23
Oversight and Investigations--Summary of Activities.............. 25
Full Committee Hearings...................................... 31
Nominations...................................................... 33
Bills and Resolutions Referred to the Committee.................. 49
Reports, Prints, and Studies..................................... 51
Official Communications.......................................... 53
(vii)
118th Congress} { Report
SENATE
1st Session } {118-4
======================================================================
REPORT ON THE ACTIVITIES OF THE COMMITTEE ON FINANCE DURING THE 117TH
CONGRESS
_______
March 28, 2023.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Wyden, from the Committee on Finance, submitted the following
REPORT
This report reviews the legislative and oversight
activities of the Committee on Finance during the 117th
Congress. These activities parallel the broad scope of
responsibilities vested in the committee by the Legislative
Reorganization Act of 1946, as amended, rule XXV(k) of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, and additional authorizing
resolutions.
COMMITTEE JURISDICTION
Rule XXV(i) of the Standing Rules of the Senate requires
reference to this committee of all proposed legislation, and
other matters, dealing with (i) Committee on Finance, to which
committee shall be referred all proposed legislation, messages,
petitions, memorials, and other matters relating to the
following subjects:
1. Bonded debt of the United States, except as
provided in the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
2. Customs, collection districts, and ports of entry
and delivery.
3. Deposit of public moneys.
4. General revenue sharing.
5. Health programs under the Social Security Act and
health programs financed by a specific tax or trust
fund.
6. National social security.
7. Reciprocal trade agreements.
8. Revenue measures generally, except as provided in
the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
9. Revenue measures relating to the insular
possessions.
10. Tariffs and import quotas, and matters related
thereto.
11. Transportation of dutiable goods.
(1)
COMMITTEE RULES
I. RULES OF PROCEDURE
Rule 1. Regular Meeting Days.--The regular meeting day of the
committee shall be the second and fourth Tuesday of each month, except
that if there be no business before the committee the regular meeting
shall be omitted.
Rule 2. Committee Meetings.--(a) Except as provided by paragraph 3
of Rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate (relating to special
meetings called by a majority of the committee) and subsection (b) of
this rule, committee meetings, for the conduct of business, for the
purpose of holding hearings, or for any other purpose, shall be called
by the chairman. Members will be notified of committee meetings at
least 48 hours in advance, unless the chairman determines that an
emergency situation requires a meeting on shorter notice. The
notification will include a written agenda together with materials
prepared by the staff relating to that agenda. After the agenda for a
committee meeting is published and distributed, no nongermane items may
be brought up during that meeting unless at least two-thirds of the
members present agree to consider those items.
(b) In the absence of the chairman, meetings of the committee may
be called by the ranking majority member of the committee who is
present, provided authority to call meetings has been delegated to such
member by the chairman.
Rule 3. Presiding Officer.--(a) The chairman shall preside at all
meetings and hearings of the committee except that in his absence the
ranking majority member who is present at the meeting shall preside.
(b) Notwithstanding the rule prescribed by subsection (a) any
member of the committee may preside over the conduct of a hearing.
Rule 4. Quorums.--(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) one-
third of the membership of the committee, including not less than one
member of the majority party and one member of the minority party,
shall constitute a quorum for the conduct of business.
(b) Notwithstanding the rule prescribed by subsection (a) one
member shall constitute a quorum for the purpose of conducting a
hearing.
Rule 5. Reporting of Measures or Recommendations.--No measure or
recommendation shall be reported from the committee unless a majority
of the committee is actually present and a majority of those present
concur.
Rule 6. Proxy Voting; Polling.--(a) Except as provided by
paragraph 7(a)(3) of Rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate
(relating to limitation on use of proxy voting to report a measure or
matter), members who are unable to be present may have their vote
recorded by proxy.
(b) At the discretion of the committee, members who are unable to
be present and whose vote has not been cast by proxy may be polled for
the purpose of recording their vote on any roll call taken by the
committee.
Rule 7. Order of Motions.--When several motions are before the
committee dealing with related or overlapping matters, the chairman may
specify the order in which the motions shall be voted upon.
Rule 8. Bringing a Matter to a Vote.--If the chairman determines
that a motion or amendment has been adequately debated, he may call for
a vote on such motion or amendment, and the vote shall then be taken,
unless the committee votes to continue debate on such motion or
amendment, as the case may be. The vote on a motion to continue debate
on any motion or amendment shall be taken without debate.
Rule 9. Public Announcement of Committee Votes.--Pursuant to
paragraph 7(b) of Rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate
(relating to public announcement of votes), the results of roll call
votes taken by the committee on any measure (or amendment thereto) or
matter shall be announced publicly not later than the day on which such
measure or matter is ordered reported from the committee.
Rule 10. Subpoenas.--Subpoenas for attendance of witnesses and the
production of memoranda, documents, and records shall be issued by the
chairman, or by any other member of the committee designated by him.
Rule 11. Nominations.--In considering a nomination, the committee
may conduct an investigation or review of the nominee's experience,
qualifications, and suitability, to serve in the position to which he
or she has been nominated. To aid in such investigation or review, each
nominee may be required to submit a sworn detailed statement including
biographical, financial, policy, and other information which the
committee may request. The committee may specify which items in such
statement are to be received on a confidential basis. Witnesses called
to testify on the nomination may be required to testify under oath.
Rule 12. Open Committee Hearings.--To the extent required by
paragraph 5 of Rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate (relating
to limitations on open hearings), each hearing conducted by the
committee shall be open to the public.
Rule 13. Announcement of Hearings.--The committee shall undertake
consistent with the provisions of paragraph 4(a) of Rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate (relating to public notice of committee
hearings) to issue public announcements of hearings it intends to hold
at least one week prior to the commencement of such hearings.
Rule 14. Witnesses at Hearings.--(a) Each witness who is scheduled
to testify at any hearing must submit his written testimony to the
staff director not later than noon of the business day immediately
before the last business day preceding the day on which he is scheduled
to appear. Such written testimony shall be accompanied by a brief
summary of the principal points covered in the written testimony.
Having submitted his written testimony, the witness shall be allowed
not more than 10 minutes for oral presentation of his statement.
(b) Witnesses may not read their entire written testimony, but
must confine their oral presentation to a summarization of their
arguments.
(c) Witnesses shall observe proper standards of dignity, decorum,
and propriety while presenting their views to the committee. Any
witness who violates this rule shall be dismissed, and his testimony
(both oral and written) shall not appear in the record of the hearing.
(d) In scheduling witnesses for hearings, the staff shall attempt
to schedule witnesses so as to attain a balance of views early in the
hearings. Every member of the committee may designate witnesses who
will appear before the committee to testify. To the extent that a
witness designated by a member cannot be scheduled to testify during
the time set aside for the hearing, a special time will be set aside
for the witness to testify if the member designating that witness is
available at that time to chair the hearing.
Rule 15. Audiences.--Persons admitted into the audience for open
hearings of the committee shall conduct themselves with the dignity,
decorum, courtesy, and propriety traditionally observed by the Senate.
Demonstrations of approval or disapproval of any statement or act by
any member or witness are not allowed. Persons creating confusion or
distractions or otherwise disrupting the orderly proceeding of the
hearing shall be expelled from the hearing.
Rule 16. Broadcasting of Hearings.--(a) Broadcasting of open
hearings by television or radio coverage shall be allowed upon approval
by the chairman of a request filed with the staff director not later
than noon of the day before the day on which such coverage is desired.
(b) If such approval is granted, broadcasting coverage of the
hearing shall be conducted unobtrusively and in accordance with the
standards of dignity, propriety, courtesy, and decorum traditionally
observed by the Senate.
(c) Equipment necessary for coverage by television and radio
media shall not be installed in, or removed from, the hearing room
while the committee is in session.
(d) Additional lighting may be installed in the hearing room by
the media in order to raise the ambient lighting level to the lowest
level necessary to provide adequate television coverage of the hearing
at the then current state of the art of television coverage.
(e) The additional lighting authorized by subsection (d) of this
rule shall not be directed into the eyes of any members of the
committee or of any witness, and at the request of any such member or
witness, offending lighting shall be extinguished.
Rule 17. Subcommittees.--(a) The chairman, subject to the approval
of the committee, shall appoint legislative subcommittees. All
legislation shall be kept on the full committee calendar unless a
majority of the members present and voting agree to refer specific
legislation to an appropriate subcommittee.
(b) The chairman may limit the period during which House-passed
legislation referred to a subcommittee under paragraph (a) will remain
in that subcommittee. At the end of that period, the legislation will
be restored to the full committee calendar. The period referred to in
the preceding sentences should be 6 weeks, but may be extended in the
event that adjournment or a long recess is imminent.
(c) All decisions of the chairman are subject to approval or
modification by a majority vote of the committee.
(d) The full committee may at any time by majority vote of those
members present discharge a subcommittee from further consideration of
a specific piece of legislation.
(e) The chairman and ranking minority member shall serve as
nonvoting ex officio members of the subcommittees on which they do not
serve as voting members.
(f) Any member of the committee may attend hearings held by any
subcommittee and question witnesses testifying before that
subcommittee.
(g) Subcommittee meeting times shall be coordinated by the staff
director to ensure that--
(1) no subcommittee meeting will be held when the committee
is in executive session, except by unanimous consent;
(2) no more than one subcommittee will meet when the full
committee is holding hearings; and
(3) not more than two subcommittees will meet at the same
time.
Notwithstanding paragraphs (2) and (3), a subcommittee may meet
when the full committee is holding hearings and two subcommittees may
meet at the same time only upon the approval of the chairman and the
ranking minority member of the committee and subcommittees involved.
(h) All nominations shall be considered by the full committee.
(i) The chairman will attempt to schedule reasonably frequent
meetings of the full committee to permit consideration of legislation
reported favorably to the committee by the subcommittees.
Rule 18. Transcripts of Committee Meetings.--An accurate record
shall be kept of all markups of the committee, whether they be open or
closed to the public. A transcript, marked as ``uncorrected,'' shall be
available for inspection by members of the Senate, or members of the
committee together with their staffs, at any time. Not later than 21
business days after the meeting occurs, the committee shall make
publicly available through the Internet--
(a) a video recording;
(b) an audio recording; or
(c) after all members of the committee have had a reasonable
opportunity to correct their remarks for grammatical errors or to
accurately reflect statements, a corrected transcript.
Notwithstanding the above, in the case of the record of an
executive session of the committee that is closed to the public
pursuant to Rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the record
shall not be published or made public in any way except by majority
vote of the committee after all members of the committee have had a
reasonable opportunity to correct their remarks for grammatical errors
or to accurately reflect statements made.
Rule 19. Amendment of Rules.--The foregoing rules may be added to,
modified, amended, or suspended at any time.
TAX
SUMMARY OF ACTIVITIES
In the 117th Congress, the Senate Finance Committee was
responsible for the enactment of significant legislation
including continued response to the coronavirus pandemic and
its far-reaching effects on the economy, significant efforts to
upgrade the Nation's infrastructure, to increase American
technological competitiveness, to reform our Nation's tax code,
and to make unprecedented investments in combating climate
change and achieving sustainable, domestically produced energy.
During the first session, the Finance Committee focused on
continued temporary tax and economic relief to individuals,
families, and businesses in response to the ongoing coronavirus
pandemic. The committee played a leading role in developing the
American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Pub. L. 117-2), in particular
the additional Economic Impact Payments, the expanded Child Tax
Credit, Earned Income Tax Credit, and Child and Dependent Care
Tax Credit, and continued tax credits for sick leave, family
leave, and employee retention and rehiring.
The committee also continued its focus on investing in the
American economy by supporting infrastructure investment,
action on climate change, and incentives for domestic
manufacturing. The committee marked up the Clean Energy for
America Act (S. 2118) on May 26, 2021, resulting in a tied 14-
14 vote. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021
(Pub. L. 117-58) funded and reauthorized payments out of the
Highway Trust Fund through 2026 and included new or expanded
tax-preferred bond financing for broadband, carbon capture, and
surface transportation. The Act also reinstated the Superfund
excise taxes on certain chemicals and included new reporting
requirements on digital assets.
The committee's work in the second session continued to
focus on tax incentives to take action on climate change, to
promote domestic manufacturing, and to enhance retirement
savings. The CHIPS Act of 2022 (enacted in Pub. L. 117-80)
included a new advanced manufacturing investment tax credit,
derived from the committee's bipartisan work on encouraging
domestic semiconductor manufacturing. The committee also
engaged in bipartisan work on enhancing retirement savings,
unanimously approving the Enhancing American Retirement Now
(EARN) Act on June 22, 2022, which included over 70 different
bipartisan proposals. The EARN Act was largely incorporated
into the bicameral, bipartisan SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 and
enacted as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023
(Pub. L. 117-315).
The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (Pub. L. 117-169)
reflected the culmination of the Finance Committee's efforts
this Congress on policies to combat climate change, improve tax
fairness, and reduce the deficit. The Act incorporated aspects
of the committee's work on legislation such as the Clean Energy
for America Act (S. 2118) in extending and reforming tax
incentives for clean electricity, transportation, and energy
efficiency to be technology-
neutral and premised on carbon emissions and energy
conservation. The Act also created a new corporate alternative
minimum tax and excise tax on stock repurchases.
Throughout both sessions, the committee continued
discussions with the Treasury Department on the implementation
of various coronavirus tax relief measures and received updates
on the ongoing negotiations at the Organisation for Economic
Co-operation and Development (OECD) related to the global
minimum taxes on multinational corporations, anti-tax base
erosion proposals, global profit allocation, and the taxation
of digital services.
Full Committee Hearings
2021
March 16, 2021--``Made in America: Effect of the U.S. Tax Code
on Domestic Manufacturing.'' Testimony was heard from
George S. Davis, executive vice president and chief
financial officer, Intel Corporation, Santa Clara, CA;
Jonathan Jennings, vice president, global commodity
purchasing and supplier technical assistance, Ford Motor
Company, Dearborn, MI; Jay Timmons, president and CEO,
National Association of Manufacturers, Washington, DC;
Michelle Hanlon, Ph.D., Howard W. Johnson professor, Sloan
School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, Cambridge, MA; and Donnie Blatt, District 1
director, United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber,
Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial, and Service
Workers International Union (USW), Columbus, OH.
March 25, 2021--``How U.S. International Tax Policy Impacts
American Workers, Jobs, and Investment.'' Testimony was
heard from Kimberly Clausing, Ph.D., Deputy Assistant
Secretary, Tax Analysis, Department of the Treasury,
Washington, DC; Pamela F. Olson, former Assistant Secretary
for Tax Policy, Department of the Treasury, Washington, DC;
Chye-Ching Huang, executive director, Tax Law Center, New
York University School of Law, New York, NY; and James R.
Hines, Jr., Ph.D., Richard A. Musgrave collegiate professor
of economics and L. Hart Wright collegiate professor of
law, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.
April 13, 2021--``The 2021 Filing Season and 21st-Century
IRS.'' Testimony was heard from Hon. Charles P. Rettig,
Commissioner, Internal Revenue Service, Washington, DC.
April 20, 2021--``Combating Inequality: The Tax Code and
Racial, Ethnic, and Gender Disparities.'' Testimony was
heard from Dorothy A. Brown, Asa Griggs Candler professor
of law, School of Law, Emory University, Atlanta, GA; Mihir
A. Desai, Ph.D., Mizuho Financial Group professor of
business, Harvard Business School, and professor of law,
Harvard Law School, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA;
Himalaya Rao-Potlapally, managing director, Black Founders
Matter Fund, Salem, OR; and Shay Hawkins, co-founder and
president, Opportunity Funds Association, Washington, DC.
April 27, 2021--``Climate Challenges: The Tax Code's Role in
Creating American Jobs, Achieving Energy Independence, and
Providing Consumers with Affordable, Clean Energy.''
Testimony was heard from Jason Walsh, executive director,
BlueGreen Alliance, Washington, DC; Maria M. Pope,
president and CEO, Portland General Electric, Portland, OR;
Alex Brill, research fellow, American Enterprise Institute,
Washington, DC; and Kevin Sunday, director of government
affairs, Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry,
Harrisburg, PA.
May 18, 2021--``Funding and Financing Options to Bolster
American Infrastructure.'' Testimony was heard from Joseph
Kile, Ph.D., Director of Microeconomic Analysis,
Congressional Budget Office, Washington, DC; Victoria F.
Sheehan, president, American Association of State Highway
and Transportation Officials, Washington, DC; Heather Buch,
subcommittee chair, Transportation Steering Committee,
National Association of Counties, Washington, DC; and
Shirley Bloomfield, chief executive officer, NTCA--The
Rural Broadband Association, Arlington, VA.
June 8, 2021--``The IRS's Fiscal Year 2022 Budget.'' Testimony
was heard from Hon. Charles P. Rettig, Commissioner,
Internal Revenue Service, Washington, DC.
June 16, 2021--``The President's Fiscal Year 2022 Budget.''
Testimony was heard from Hon. Janet L. Yellen, Secretary,
Department of the Treasury, Washington, DC.
July 28, 2021--``Building on Bipartisan Retirement Legislation:
How Can Congress Help?'' Testimony was heard from Aliya
Robinson, senior vice president, retirement and
compensation policy, The ERISA Industry Committee,
Washington, DC; Brian H. Graff, chief executive officer,
American Retirement Association, Arlington, VA; David
Certner, legislative counsel and policy director, AARP,
Washington, DC; and Hon. Tobias Read, Oregon State
Treasurer, Salem, OR.
2022
February 17, 2022--``Spotlighting IRS Customer Service
Challenges.'' Testimony was heard from Erin M. Collins,
National Taxpayer Advocate, Internal Revenue Service,
Washington, DC; Jessica Lucas-Judy, Director, Strategic
Issues, Government Accountability Office, Washington, DC;
and Jan Lewis, chair, Tax Executive Committee, American
Institute of CPAs, Washington, DC.
March 17, 2022--``Examining Charitable Giving and Trends in the
Nonprofit Sector.'' Testimony was heard from Daniel
Cardinali, president and CEO, Independent Sector,
Washington, DC; Susannah Morgan, CEO, Oregon Food Bank,
Portland, OR; Una Osili, Ph.D., Efroymson chair in
philanthropy and economics, and associate dean for research
and international programs, Lilly Family School of
Philanthropy, Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN; and C.
Eugene Steuerle, Ph.D., co-founder, Urban-Brookings Tax
Policy Center, Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy, Urban
Institue, and ACT for Alexandia, a community foundation,
Washington, DC.
April 7, 2022--``The IRS, the President's Fiscal Year 2023
Budget, and the 2022 Filing Season.'' Testimony was heard
from Hon. Charles P. Rettig, Commissioner, Internal Revenue
Service, Washington, DC.
June 7, 2022--``The President's Fiscal Year 2023 Budget.''
Testimony was heard from Hon. Janet L. Yellen, Secretary,
Department of the Treasury, Washington, DC.
June 14, 2022--``Examining the Impact of South Dakota v.
Wayfair on Small Businesses and Remote Sales.'' Testimony
was heard from James R. McTigue, Jr., Director, Tax Policy
and Administration, Government Accountability Office,
Washington, DC; John E. Hennessey, president and CEO,
Littleton Coin Company, Inc., Littleton, NH; Michelle Huie,
founder and CEO, VIM and VIGR Compression Legwear,
Missoula, MT; Craig Johnson, executive director,
Streamlined Sales Tax Governing Board, Inc., Westby, WI;
and Diane L. Yetter, president and founder, Sales Tax
Institute, Chicago, IL.
July 20, 2022--``The Role of Tax Incentives in Affordable
Housing.'' Testimony was heard from Andrea Bell, Director,
Oregon Housing and Community Services, Salem, OR; Jerry
Konter, founder and president, Konter Quality Homes, and
chairman of the board, National Association of Home
Builders, Washington, DC; Lee E. Ohanian, Ph.D., senior
fellow, Hoover Institute, Stanford University, and
distinguished professor of economics, University of
California--Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA; Benson (Buzz)
Roberts, president and CEO, National Association of
Affordable Housing Lenders, Washington, DC; and Hon. Dana
T. Wade, chief production officer, FHA finance, Walker and
Dunlop, Bethesda, MD.
Full Committee Open Executive Sessions
2021
May 26, 2021--Open Executive Session to consider the Clean
Energy for America Act.
2022
June 22, 2022--Open Executive Session to consider the Enhancing
American Retirement Now (EARN) Act.
Full Committee Member Meetings
2021
September 23, 2021--Briefing from Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala,
Director General of the World Trade Organization, and
Angela Ellard, Deputy Director General of the World Trade
Organization.
2022
February 15, 2022--Briefing with IRS Commissioner Rettig and
Deputy Treasury Secretary Adeyemo on the upcoming tax
filing season.
July 26, 2022--Briefing with the IRS Commissioner Rettig on IRS
Audit Selection Procedures.
Subcommittee on Taxation and IRS Oversight
2021
May 11, 2021--``Closing the Tax Gap: Lost Revenue From
Noncompliance and the Role of Offshore Tax Evasion.''
Testimony was heard from Hon. J. Russell George, Treasury
Inspector General for Tax Administration, Department of the
Treasury, Washington, DC; Douglas O'Donnell, Deputy
Commissioner, Services and Enforcement, Internal Revenue
Service, Department of the Treasury, Washington, DC; Hon.
Charles O. Rossotti, former Commissioner (1997-2002),
Internal Revenue Service, Washington, DC; Nina E. Olson,
executive director, Center for Taxpayer Rights, Washington,
DC; and Barry Johnson, Acting Chief, Research and
Analytics, Internal Revenue Service, Department of the
Treasury, Washington, DC.
2022
May 4, 2022--``Laws and Enforcement Governing the Political
Activities of Tax-Exempt Entities.'' Testimony was heard
from Philip Hackney, associate professor of law, University
of Pittsburgh School of Law, Pittsburgh, PA; Bradley A.
Smith, chairman, Institute for Free Speech, Washington, DC;
Hon. Ann Ravel, former Chair, Federal Election Commission,
Los Gatos, CA; and Scott Walter, president, Capital
Research Center, Washington, DC.
Subcommittee on Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Growth
2021
April 27, 2021--``Creating Opportunity Through a Fairer Tax
System.'' Testimony was heard from Abigail E. Disney,
Ph.D., CEO and co-founder, Fork Films, New York, NY; Cheryl
Straughter, owner, Soleil Restaurant, Boston, MA; David
Gamage, professor of law, Maurer School of Law, Indiana
University, Bloomington, IN; Scott A. Hodge, president, Tax
Foundation, Washington, DC; Jeffrey L. Hoopes, Ph.D.,
associate professor, Kenan Flagler Business School,
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC; and Kyle
Pomerleau, resident fellow, American Enterprise Institute,
Washington, DC.
TRADE
SUMMARY OF ACTIVITIES
In the 117th Congress, the Senate Finance Committee worked
to expand trade and investment-related opportunities for
American workers, farmers, and businesses. This work included
thorough oversight and communication of committee priorities
with respect to the administration's new ``worker-centered''
trade policy--including the various trade initiatives led by
the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) and
the Department of Commerce.
The administration has proposed negotiating a number of new
initiatives, such as the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework
(IPEF), the Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity, the
U.S./UK Dialogues on the Future of Atlantic Trade, the U.S.-
Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade, and the U.S.-Kenya
Strategic Trade and Investment Partnership. In addition to
these initiatives, the administration is engaging with U.S.
trading partners on various issues through Trade and Investment
Framework Agreements (TIFAs) and Trade and Investment Councils
(TICs), and through international forums such as the World
Trade Organization (WTO) and the Asia-Pacific Economic
Cooperation (APEC).
With respect to all of this work, the committee is
insisting on close congressional consultation and greater
transparency and stakeholder engagement.
Throughout the 117th Congress, the committee also conducted
oversight over the administration's implementation and
enforcement of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement
(USMCA), emphasizing the importance of full enforcement of the
Agreement.
With respect to legislation, the committee drafted a
bipartisan bill to increase U.S. competitiveness and
innovation, including by improving and renewing two expired
trade programs: the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill (MTB) and the
Generalized System of Preferences (GSP). The Senate passed this
legislation as an amendment to the Senate-passed United States
Competition and Innovation Act (USICA) by an overwhelmingly
bipartisan vote of 91-4. The committee worked with the House
Ways and Means Committee on a path forward for this
legislation, but did not reach agreement. In addition, the
committee worked to hold Russia accountable for its unprovoked
invasion of Ukraine, including by passing into law a
legislative package to repeal permanent normal trade relations
with Russia and ban imports of Russian energy products.
The committee also held several hearings and member
meetings to examine the successes and challenges of U.S. trade
policies and to assess opportunities to improve and increase
trade. These meetings included a meeting with the Senate
Advisory Group on Negotiations (SAGON) to discuss IPEF with
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, and a Finance
Committee member meeting with Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo
to discuss IPEF.
Full Committee Hearings
2021
March 18, 2021--``Fighting Forced Labor: Closing Loopholes and
Improving Customs Enforcement to Mandate Clean Supply
Chains and Protect Workers.'' Testimony was heard from
Joseph Wrona, Local 135L member, United Steel, Paper and
Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial,
and Service Workers International Union (USW), Buffalo, NY;
Martina E. Vandenberg, J.D., president, Human Trafficking
Legal Center, Washington, DC; Julia K. Hughes, president,
U.S. Fashion Industry Association, Washington, DC; and
Leonardo Bonanni, Ph.D., founder and CEO, Sourcemap, Inc.,
New York, NY.
April 22, 2021--``U.S.-China Relations: Improving U.S.
Competitiveness Through Trade.'' Testimony was heard from
Michael R. Wessel, Commissioner, U.S.-China Economic and
Security Review Commission, Washington, DC; Aynne Kokas,
Ph.D., senior faculty fellow, Miller Center for Public
Affairs; and associate professor of media studies,
University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA; Clete R.
Willems, partner, Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer, and Feld LLP,
Washington, DC; and David Baer, chief operating officer and
general counsel, Element Electronics, Winnsboro, SC.
May 12, 2021--``The President's 2021 Trade Policy Agenda.''
Testimony was heard from Hon. Katherine C. Tai, United
States Trade Representative, Executive Office of the
President, Washington, DC.
July 27, 2021--``Implementation and Enforcement of the United
States-Mexico-Canada Agreement: One Year After Entry Into
Force.'' Testimony was heard from Benjamin Davis, director
of international affairs, United Steelworkers, Pittsburgh,
PA; Allan Huttema, chair, board of directors, Darigold and
Northwest Dairy Association, Parma, ID; Michelle McMurry-
Heath, M.D., Ph.D., president and CEO, Biotechnology
Innovation Organization, Washington, DC; and Beth Lowell,
deputy vice president, U.S. Campaigns, Oceana, Washington,
DC.
2022
March 15, 2022--``The Promise and Challenge of Strategic Trade
Engagement in the Indo-Pacific Region.'' Testimony was
heard from Sharon Bomer Lauritsen, principal, AgTrade
Strategies LLC, Washington, DC; Emma Llanso, director, Free
Expression Project, Center for Democracy and Technology,
Washington, DC; Kelly Ann Shaw, former Deputy Assistant to
the President for International Economic Affairs (2018-
2019), and partner, Hogan Lovells, Washington, DC; and
Michael Wessel, staff chair, Labor Advisory Committee for
Trade Negotiations and Trade Policy, and president, The
Wessel Group Inc., Washington, DC.
March 31, 2022--``The President's 2022 Trade Policy Agenda.''
Testimony was heard from Hon. Katherine C. Tai, United
States Trade Representative, Executive Office of the
President, Washington, DC.
Full Committee Member Meetings
October 26, 2021--Full Committee Member Meeting with United
States Trade Representative Katherine Tai for a trade
agenda update.
November 17, 2021--Full Committee Member Meeting with United
States Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen for the
latest in OECD developments.
March 22, 2022--Briefing with Commerce Secretary Raimondo on
the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework.
Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs,
and Global Competitiveness
2021
June 22, 2021--``The Strategic Benefits of a Multilateral
Approach to Trade Policy in the Asia-Pacific Region.''
Testimony was heard from Wendy Cutler, vice president, Asia
Society Policy Institute, Washington, DC; Donald Allan,
Jr., president and chief financial officer, Stanley Black &
Decker, New Britain, CT; Peter A. Petri, Ph.D., Carl J.
Shapiro professor of international finance, Brandeis
University, nonresident senior fellow, Brookings
Institution, and visiting fellow, Peterson Institute for
International Economics, Boston, MA; and Hon. James B.
Cunningham, nonresident senior fellow, The Atlantic
Council, former U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan, Israel, and
the United Nations, former Consul General of the United
States in Hong Kong, and board chair, Committee for Freedom
in Hong Kong, Elizabethtown, NY.
2022
June 15, 2022--``Supply Chain Resiliency: Alleviating Backlogs
and Strengthening Long-Term Security.'' Testimony was heard
from Scott N. Paul, president, Alliance for American
Manufacturing, Washington, DC; Douglas L. Potvin, chief
financial officer, Trinity Logistics, Inc., Seaford, DE;
Orit Frenkel, Ph.D., founder and CEO, American Leadership
Initiative, Washington, DC; and Gilman Louie, chief
executive officer, America's Frontier Fund, Arlington, VA.
November 30, 2022--``Opportunities and Challenges for Trade
Policy in the Digital Economy.'' Testimony was heard from
Christine Bliss, president, Coalition of Services
Industries (CSI), Washington, DC; David Feith, adjunct
senior fellow, Indo-Pacific Security Program, Center for a
New American Security, Washington, DC; Joshua P. Meltzer,
S.J.D., senior fellow, Global Economy and Development,
Brookings Institution, Washington DC; and Patrick Woodall,
policy and research director, AFL-CIO Technology Institute,
Washington, DC.
Subcommittee on Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Growth
2021
July 14, 2021--``Defending and Investing in U.S.
Competitiveness.'' Testimony was heard from Hon. William E.
Spriggs, Ph.D., professor of economics, Howard University,
and chief economist, AFL-CIO, Washington, DC; Roy Houseman,
legislative director, United Steelworkers, Pittsburgh, PA;
Mary Gallagher, Ph.D., Amy and Alan Lowenstein Professor of
Democracy, Democratization, and Human Rights, University of
Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI; David M. Luna, executive director,
International Coalition Against Illicit Economies (ICAIE),
Washington, DC; Yaya J. Fanusie, adjunct senior fellow,
Center for a New American Security, Washington, DC; and
Jane Nakano, senior fellow, Energy Security and Climate
Change Program, Center for Strategic and International
Studies, Washington, DC.
December 7, 2021--``Promoting Competition, Growth, and Privacy
Protection in the Technology Sector.'' Testimony was heard
from Courtenay Brown, Amazon associate and leader, United
for Respect, Newark, NJ; Hon. Karl A. Racine, Attorney
General, District of Columbia, Washington, DC; Barry C.
Lynn, executive director, Open Markets Institute,
Washington, DC; Justin Sherman, fellow and research lead,
Data Brokerage Project, Sanford School of Public Policy,
Duke University, Durham, NC; Samm Sacks, senior fellow,
Yale Law School Paul Tsai China Center, New Haven, CT, and
cybersecurity policy fellow, New America, Washington, DC;
and Stacey Gray, senior counsel, Future of Privacy Forum,
Washington, DC.
HEALTH
SUMMARY OF ACTIVITIES
In the 117th Congress, the committee focused on improving
Medicare, Medicaid, and Children's Health Insurance Program
(CHIP) for individuals, providers, and taxpayers.
In March of 2021, the chairman authored several provisions
that were included in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021,
which was passed by Congress and signed into law by the
President. The health provisions expanded premium tax credits
for 2 years in the health insurance marketplaces, established a
State option to provide 12 months of Medicaid and CHIP coverage
during the postpartum period, required coverage of COVID-19
vaccines and treatment under Medicaid and CHIP, provided
enhanced funding for Medicaid home and community-based
services, established a State option in Medicaid to provide
temporary enhanced funding for mobile crisis services, and
provided grant funding for new and existing Elder Justice Act
(EJA) programs that are aimed at protecting seniors and people
with disabilities who reside in nursing homes.
In August of 2021, the committee embarked on a bipartisan
effort following hearings earlier in the year to improve access
to mental health-care services in Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP.
The committee released a Request for Information (RFI) to
stakeholders and the public to gather information on proposals
in five distinct policy areas that would be considered for a
bipartisan legislative package. The five policy areas included:
(1) behavioral health-care workforce, (2) primary care and
behavioral health-care integration, (3) tele-mental health
care, (4) youth mental health, and (5) behavioral and physical
health-care parity. The committee designated 10 bipartisan
Finance Committee members to lead the development of
legislation in each of these policy areas.
In March of 2022, the committee released a bipartisan
report titled ``Mental Health Care in the United States: The
Case for Federal Action'' that describes the state of mental
health care in the Medicare and Medicaid programs and potential
policy interventions based on information gathered from experts
and stakeholders who testified at committee hearings and
provided responses to the committee's RFI. Beginning in May of
2022 and concluding in December of 2022, the committee released
bipartisan discussion drafts containing policy proposals to
address mental health care for each of the five identified
subject areas. Through this bipartisan process, the committee
authored several provisions related to improving access to
mental health-care services in Medicaid and CHIP which were
included in the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act of 2022 that
was passed by Congress and signed into law by the President in
June of 2022. The policies include an extension and nationwide
expansion of the Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic
(CCBHC) demonstration program, increased access to Medicaid
tele-mental health services, support for Medicaid/CHIP funding
for mental health services in schools, and improved oversight
and enforcement of Medicaid's early and periodic screening,
diagnostic, and treatment benefit, which provides comprehensive
health coverage to children.
Several more of the committee's mental health provisions
were signed into law as a part of the Consolidated
Appropriations Act, 2023 (CAA 2023). With respect to Medicare,
these provisions included providing Medicare coverage of
marriage and family therapist services and mental health
counselor services, improving Medicare payment for mobile
crisis services, providing additional medical residency slots
for psychiatry specialties and other specialties in Medicare's
graduate medical education (GME) program, and providing
flexibility under Medicare's program integrity laws to allow
for hospitals to provide mental health wellness programs to
physicians and other clinicians. With respect to Medicaid and
CHIP, the provisions will strengthen requirements on health
plans and State Medicaid programs to publish updated
directories of the providers in their networks, including
mental health providers, improve access to mental health and
substance use disorder services for
justice-involved youth, and provide States with additional
guidance to build out their crisis care continuums.
The committee also worked on a bipartisan basis to extend
flexibilities and expiring authorities in the Medicare and
Medicaid programs by authoring provisions in continuing
resolutions to fund the government. This includes the
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022. Examples of health
provisions in this bill include the extension of telehealth
flexibilities beyond the end of the COVID-19 public health
emergency and the extension of Medicaid funding for U.S.
territories.
In December of 2022, as a part of CAA 2023, the committee
authored a number of bipartisan health provisions beyond mental
health care under Medicare and Medicaid that were signed into
law. Examples include extension of expiring Medicare payment
policies for hospitals, as well as the provision of Medicare
coverage of compression garments for treatment of lymphedema,
coverage under Medicare Part D for COVID-19 treatment
medications that were authorized by the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) under emergency use authorization, and a
transition of Medicare's Intravenous Immune Globulin (IVIG)
demonstration to a permanent benefit.
The CAA 2023 also included significant improvements in
Medicaid and CHIP coverage authored by the committee, such as a
permanent requirement for States to provide 12 months of
continuous eligibility for children in Medicaid/CHIP; a
permanent extension of the State option to provide 12 months of
Medicaid/CHIP coverage for postpartum women; a 2-year extension
of funding for CHIP through fiscal year 2025; a 4-year
extension of the Money Follows the Person program and spousal
impoverishment protections, which help seniors and individuals
with disabilities access home and community-based care, through
fiscal year 2027; and a long-term extension of Medicaid funding
for the U.S. territories, including 5 years of funding for
Puerto Rico and permanent funding for the other territories. In
addition, the CAA 2023 provided funding and guard rails to
support State Medicaid programs' transition from COVID-19
public health emergency requirements beginning in April 2023.
The chairman led an effort to reduce the cost of
prescription drugs in the Medicare program and authored several
provisions included in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022,
which was passed by Congress and signed into law by the
President in August of 2022. These provisions authorize the
Medicare program to negotiate program payment for certain
prescription drugs under the Part B and Part D programs, cap
the beneficiary monthly out-of-pocket cost of insulin
prescribed under Part B and Part D, cap the beneficiary total
annual out-of-pocket cost for prescription drugs covered under
Medicare Part D, and provide recommended vaccines for seniors
under Medicare and all Medicaid and CHIP beneficiaries at no
out-of-pocket cost.
In November of 2022, the chairman released a report titled
``Deceptive Marketing Practices Flourish in Medicare
Advantage,'' which investigated the marketing practices of
Medicare Advantage plans. This investigation was in response to
concerns raised by State insurance commissioners, insurers, and
Medicare beneficiaries. This report summarized information on
marketing practices from fourteen different States and provided
recommendations to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Services on regulatory actions to protect beneficiaries from
misleading marketing.
Full Committee Hearings
2021
May 19, 2021--``COVID-19 Health Care Flexibilities:
Perspectives, Experiences, and Lessons Learned.'' Testimony
was heard from Jessica Farb, Director, Health Care,
Government Accountability Office, Washington, DC; Kisha
Davis, M.D., MPH, FAAFP, member, Commission on Federal and
State Policy, American Academy of Family Physicians,
Leawood, KS; Linda V. DeCherrie, M.D., clinical director,
Mount Sinai at Home, and professor of geriatrics and
palliative medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount
Sinai, Mount Sinai Health System, New York, NY; Narayana
Murali, M.D., board member, America's Physician Groups, and
executive director, Marshfield Clinic, Marshfield, WI; and
Robert A. Berenson, M.D., institute fellow, Urban
Institute, Washington, DC.
June 10, 2021--``The President's Fiscal Year 2022 HHS Budget.''
Testimony was heard from Hon. Xavier Becerra, Secretary,
Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, DC.
June 15, 2021--``Mental Health Care in America: Addressing Root
Causes and Identifying Policy Solutions.'' Testimony was
heard from Benjamin F. Miller, PsyD, chief strategy
officer, Well Being Trust, Oakland, CA; Chantay Jett, MA,
MFT, executive director, Wallowa Valley Center for
Wellness, Enterprise, OR; Michelle P. Durham, M.D., MPH,
FAPA, DFAACAP, assistant professor of psychiatry, Boston
University School of Medicine, and vice chair of education
and psychiatry residency training director, Department of
Psychiatry, Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA; and Thomas
Betlach, MPA, partner, Speire Healthcare Strategies,
Phoenix, AZ.
October 20, 2021--``Health Insurance Coverage in America:
Current and Future Role of Federal Programs.'' Testimony
was heard from Hon. Rick Scott, a U.S. Senator from
Florida; Hon. Raphael Warnock, a U.S. Senator from Georgia;
Frederick Isasi, J.D., MPH, executive director, Families
USA, Washington, DC; Douglas Holtz-Eakin, Ph.D., president,
American Action Forum, Washington, DC; Sara R. Collins,
Ph.D., vice president for health care coverage and access,
The Commonwealth Fund, New York, NY; and Linda J. Blumberg,
Ph.D., institute fellow, Urban Institute, Washington, DC.
2022
February 8, 2022--``Protecting Youth Mental Health: Part I--An
Advisory and Call to Action.'' Testimony was heard from
Hon. Vivek H. Murthy, M.D., M.B.A., Surgeon General, Office
of the Secretary, Department of Health and Human Services,
Washington, DC.
February 15, 2022--``Protecting Youth Mental Health: Part II--
Identifying and Addressing Barriers to Care.'' Testimony
was heard from Trace Terrell, Lead Intervention and
Outreach Specialist, YouthLine, La Pine, OR; Tami D.
Benton, M.D.,
psychiatrist-in-chief, executive director, and chair,
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and
Behavioral Sciences, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia,
Philadelphia, PA; Jodie L. Lubarsky, M.A., LCMHC, vice
president of clinical operations, Youth and Family
Services, Seacoast Mental Health Center, Inc., Portsmouth,
NH; and Sharon Hoover, Ph.D., professor, child and
adolescent psychiatry, and co-director, National Center for
School Mental Health, University of Maryland School of
Medicine, Baltimore, MD.
March 16, 2022--``Prescription Drug Price Inflation: An Urgent
Need to Lower Drug Prices in Medicare.'' Testimony was
heard from Rena Conti, Ph.D., associate professor,
Department of Markets, Public Policy, and Law, Questrom
School of Business, Boston University, Boston, MA; Douglas
Holtz-Eakin, Ph.D., president, American Action Forum,
Washington, DC; Stephen J. Ezell, vice president, global
innovation policy, Information Technology and Innovation
Foundation, Washington, DC; and Steffany Stern, MPP, vice
president of advocacy, National Multiple Sclerosis Society,
Minneapolis, MN.
March 30, 2022--``Behavioral Health Care When Americans Need
It: Ensuring Parity and Care Integration.'' Testimony was
heard from John E. Dicken, Director, Health Care,
Government Accountability Office, Washington, DC; Andy
Keller, Ph.D., president and CEO, and Linda Perryman Evans
Presidential Chair, Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute,
Dallas, TX; Anna Ratzliff, M.D., Ph.D., co-director,
Advancing Integrated Mental Health Solutions (AIMS) Center,
and professor, University of Washington, Seattle, WA; and
Reginald D. Williams II, vice president, international
health policy and practice innovations, Commonwealth Fund,
Washington, DC.
April 5, 2022--``The President's Fiscal Year 2023 Health and
Human Services Budget.'' Testimony was heard from Hon.
Xavier Becerra, Secretary, Department of Health and Human
Services, Washington, DC.
Subcommittee on Health Care
2021
May 12, 2021--``The COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond: Improving
Mental Health and Addiction Services in Our Communities.''
Testimony was heard from Victor Armstrong, MSW, Director,
Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and
Substance Abuse Services, North Carolina Department of
Health and Human Services, Raleigh, NC; Stephanie Woodard,
Psy.D., Senior Advisor, Division of Public and Behavioral
Health, Nevada Department of Health and Human Services,
Carson City, NV; Lenette Kosovich, R.N., MHA, chief
executive officer, Rimrock Foundation, Billings, MT; and
Malkia Newman, team supervisor, CNS Healthcare Anti-Stigma
Program, Waterford, MI.
Subcommittee on Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Growth
2022
February 2, 2022--``The Hospital Insurance Trust Fund and the
Future of Medicare Financing.'' Testimony was heard from
Michael E. Chernew, Ph.D., Chair, Medicare Payment Advisory
Commission, Washington, DC; Susan Rogers, M.D., FACP,
president, Physicians for a National Health Program,
Chicago, IL; Amy Kapczynski, professor and faculty co-
director, Global Health Justice Partnership and Law and
Political Economy Project, Yale Law School, New Haven, CT;
Katherine Baicker, Ph.D., dean and Emmett Dedmon professor,
Harris School of Public Policy, University of Chicago,
Chicago, IL; and James C. Capretta, senior fellow and
Milton Friedman chair, American Enterprise Institute,
Washington, DC.
HUMAN SERVICES
SUMMARY OF ACTIVITIES
In the 117th Congress, the Senate Finance Committee worked
to improve programs and opportunities for American workers and
their families.
In March of 2021, the chairman played a leading role in
developing the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Pub. L. 117-
2), which included substantial funding for unemployment
insurance (UI) programs to address the needs of millions of
workers who lost jobs or who were otherwise unable to work as a
result of COVID-19. The American Rescue Plan Act also contained
new permanently increased investment in the Child Care
Entitlement to States by $633 million. This funding increase
also included set-asides for American Indian tribes and tribal
organizations and U.S. territories.
On December 29, 2022, Congress passed the Consolidated
Appropriations Act of 2023 (Pub. L. 117-328). The committee
authored a significant portion of that law, including several
bipartisan human services provisions. Most notably, section
6101 of the law reauthorized the Maternal, Infant, and Early
Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program through September 30,
2027. As part of this 5-year reauthorization, MIECHV funding
will gradually double through a combination of Federal base
grants and Federal matching grants, while improving
transparency and stability for grantees by establishing a
funding formula in statute. This section also reserved funds
for purposes other than the State/territory grants, including a
6-percent set-aside to provide and administer grants to Indian
tribes, and created an option to provide virtual home visits.
Pub. L. 117-328 also continued funding for the Temporary
Assistance for Needy Families program and child and family
services programs authorized under title IV-B of the Social
Security Act through the end of Fiscal Year 2023.
SOCIAL SECURITY
SUMMARY OF ACTIVITIES
In the 117th Congress, the Senate Committee on Finance
activities with respect to the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance
(OASI), the Disability Insurance (DI), and the Supplemental
Security Income (SSI) programs were limited to oversight of the
Social Security Administration's (SSA) operations. The
committee held a hearing about the SSA's service delivery
during the COVID-19 pandemic and to discuss ways to improve
service delivery going forward. The Social Security, Pensions,
and Family Policy Subcommittee held a hearing to examine policy
options to improve the SSI program.
Full Committee Hearing
2021
April 29, 2021--``Social Security During COVID: How the
Pandemic Hampered Access to Benefits and Strategies for
Improving Service Delivery.'' Testimony was heard from
Grace Kim, Deputy Commissioner for Operations, Social
Security Administration, Baltimore, MD; Kascadare Causeya,
program manager, Central City Concern, Portland, OR; Peggy
Murphy, immediate past president, National Council of
Social Security Management Associations, Great Falls, MT;
and Tara Dawson McGuinness, fellow and senior advisor, New
Practice Lab, New America, Washington, DC.
Subcommittee on Social Security, Pensions,
and Family Policy
2021
September 21, 2021--``Policy Options for Improving SSI.''
Testimony was heard from Elizabeth Curda, Director,
Education, Workforce, and Income Security, Government
Accountability Office, Washington, DC; Stephen Evangelista,
Acting Deputy Commissioner, Retirement and Disability
Policy, Social Security Administration, Baltimore, MD; Mia
Ives-Rublee, director, Disability Justice Initiative,
Center for American Progress, Washington, DC; and Kathleen
Romig, senior policy analyst, Center on Budget and Policy
Priorities, Washington, DC.
OVERSIGHT AND INVESTIGATIONS
SUMMARY OF ACTIVITIES
Oversight
Investigations
In August 2021, Chairman Wyden joined with Senator Brown
and Senator Warren to launch a still ongoing investigation into
private equity-backed for-profit hospice facilities. Citing
findings from a 2019 Government Accountability Office study,
the Senators seek to determine whether for-profit ownership of
hospice facilities may have led to lower quality care. The
Senators wrote to for-profit hospice company Kindred at Home
seeking more information about quality metrics at hospice
facilities it owned before and after a private equity
investment in the company.
In July 2022, Chairman Wyden and Health, Education, Labor,
and Pensions Committee Chair Murray launched an ongoing
investigation into allegations of child abuse and neglect at
the Nation's largest residential treatment facilities. The
Senators sent letters to the heads of four of the largest
companies and organizations operating residential treatment
facilities across the country, Vivant Behavioral Healthcare,
Universal Health Services, Acadia Healthcare, and Devereux
Advanced Behavioral Health, to request information on each of
their facilities and programs.
In August 2022, Chairman Wyden launched an investigation
into certain marketing practices for Medicare Advantage (MA)
and Medicare Part D plans. In response to reports of alleged
increased fraud and aggressive sales tactics to seniors and
people with disabilities, the chairman sent letters to 15 State
insurance regulators asking for information on complaints they
received from 2019 through 2022 on MA and Part D plan
marketing. In November 2022, the chairman issued a preliminary
report that spotlighted deceptive tactics identified by 14
State agencies. Following the release of the report, Chairman
Wyden and ten Senate Democratic colleagues wrote to HHS pushing
for stronger consumer protections for beneficiaries.
Letters
In March 2021, Chairman Wyden and Ranking Member Crapo,
joined by Chairman Casey and Ranking Member Scott of the Aging
Committee, sent a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary
Xavier Becerra asking the administration to collect and
publicly report facility-level data on COVID-19 vaccinations at
nursing homes. In September 2021, following multiple requests
from Chairman Wyden and Chairman Casey, the Centers for
Medicare and Medicaid Services began to publish nursing home
vaccination data on Care Compare.
In May 2022, Chairman Wyden, joined by Senate Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Chair Patty Murry,
Special Committee on Aging Chair Casey, and Senator Hassan,
wrote letters to CVS Caremark, OptumRx, and Express Scripts,
which represent some of the Nation's largest pharmacy benefits
managers, to ask for information related to the entities'
compliance with Affordable Care Act contraception mandates.
In May 2022, Chairman Wyden and House Energy and Commerce
Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ-06) wrote to
companies contracting with States in order to help determine
who was eligible for Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance
Program coverage at the end of the COVID-19 Public Health
Emergency. The committee chairmen expressed their concern that
many of the most vulnerable populations could fall through the
cracks during eligibility redeterminations if States and
private contractors are not properly prepared.
In May 2022, Senator Wyden joined fellow democratic
Senators Warren, Sanders, and Murray to probe certain alleged
business practices at private equity firm KKR, following
reports of inadequate care at its intermediate care facilities.
A letter was sent in response to some reporting which found,
following KKR's acquisition of BrightSpring Health in 2019, KKR
allegedly provided substandard care and unsafe living
conditions in its intermediate care facilities--group homes for
people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Executives at KKR and BrightSpring are alleged to cash out
while patient safety and care quality allegedly declines. The
Senators are seeking answers from KKR about whether its
business practices put the safety of patients at risk.
On May 20, 2021, Ranking Members Crapo and Brady, along
with several Senate Finance Committee and House Ways and Means
Committee Republicans, sent a letter to Health and Human
Services Secretary Becerra and Internal Revenue Service
Commissioner Rettig, to request the administration's plan to
verify eligibility for the enhanced advance premium tax credits
enacted under the American Rescue Plan Act. In 2017, the
Government Accountability Office found these subsidies to be
susceptible to significant improper payments.
On October 6, 2021, Ranking Members Crapo and Brady sent a
letter to Comptroller General Gene Dodaro to request
information on further program integrity measures that may be
necessary to reduce advance premium tax credit improper
payments.
On September 14, 2022, Ranking Member Crapo, along with 24
of his Senate Republican colleagues, sent a letter to Health
and Human Services Secretary Becerra and Centers for Medicare
and Medicaid Services Administrator Brooks-LaSure to request
their implementation plan for title I, subtitle B, part 1
(relating to the Federal Government's negotiation of drug
prices under Medicare) of the Inflation Reduction Act. The
letter requests information on engagement with patients,
providers and manufacturers; the use of certain benchmarks and
metrics; and the methodology for determining drug prices, among
other elements of implementation.
Tax Oversight
Investigations
In January 2022, Chairman Wyden launched an investigation
into the Opportunity Zone program. The chairman sought to
determine whether the program had effectively delivered job
creation and economic growth in low-income communities, or
whether the program merely served as a tax break for
developers. In his letter, sent to luxury developers in
Opportunity Zones, Chairman Wyden noted that there were ``no
safeguards or transparency measures in place to ensure
taxpayers are not simply subsidizing high-end real estate
investments by billionaires without demonstrating the benefit
they are providing to low income-communities they claim to
help.'' Chairman Wyden is considering additional transparency
requirements for investors to demonstrate the benefit they are
providing to low-income communities in order to qualify for
Opportunity Zone tax breaks. This inquiry is ongoing.
Throughout 2021 and 2022, Chairman Wyden conducted an
investigation into certain tax practices of major multinational
pharmaceutical companies. The purpose of the investigation was
to determine the means by which large multinational companies
are able to shift profits overseas as a way to avoid U.S.
taxes, with pharmaceutical companies chosen as the case study.
Chairman Wyden wrote inquiry letters to companies such as
Merck, AbbVie, Abbott Labs, Bristol Myers Squib, and Amgen
requesting certain operational and tax information.
In July 2022, Chairman Wyden's staff issued an interim
report entitled ``Big Pharma Tax Avoidance: Senate Finance
Committee Investigation Reveals Extent to Which Pharma Giant
AbbVie Exploits Offshore Subsidiaries to Avoid Paying Taxes on
U.S. Drug Sales.'' The staff report found that in 2020, AbbVie
generated 75 percent of its sales in the U.S. based on
financial statement information, but reported almost all of its
taxable income in foreign subsidiaries. AbbVie's Humira
profits, even those generated from sales in the U.S., typically
face the 10.5-percent minimum tax on foreign earnings, not the
21-percent U.S. corporate tax rate. As a result of this
treatment and the R&D tax credit, the report concluded that the
company was able to post single-digit tax rates. The chairman's
investigation into the tax practices of the broader
pharmaceutical industry is ongoing.
During 2021 and 2022, Chairman Wyden also conducted
investigations into certain alleged loopholes exploited by
high-net-worth individuals to evade U.S. taxes, including the
role that may have been played by offshore banks. In August
2022, Chairman Wyden's staff released a report entitled ``The
Shell Bank Loophole: Billionaire tax evasion scheme exposes how
weak enforcement of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act
[FATCA] enables wealthy tax cheats to hide income offshore.''
Senator Wyden's committee staff identified the loophole as part
of an investigation into the case of a billionaire software
developer who was indicted in the largest tax evasion case
against an individual in U.S. history. The report described a
process that starts by setting up shell companies abroad and
registering them with the IRS as offshore financial
institutions. The IRS then issues the entities unique Global
Intermediary Identification Numbers, or GIINs, which work to
relieve the banks of a FATCA requirement to investigate whether
such shell entities are held by Americans. The report asserts
that there are hundreds of thousands of these shell banks, with
IRS issued GIINs, in tax havens like the Cayman Islands,
Bermuda, and the British Virgin Islands and that their
registrations are almost always approved with virtually no
scrutiny by IRS personnel. The chairman's investigation into
the effectiveness of FATCA is ongoing.
Chairman Wyden is also conducting an ongoing investigation
into whether Swiss financial institution Credit Suisse violated
its plea agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice and
continued to enable wealthy Americans to conceal hundreds of
millions of dollars offshore, untaxed. In April 2021, Chairman
Wyden wrote to Credit Suisse and the U.S. Department of
Justice, asking each of their leaders to explain how the
lender's banking unit pleaded guilty to enabling tax evasion in
May 2014, but failed to disclose more than $200 million in
accounts held by an American businessman.
In August 2022, Chairman Wyden opened an ongoing
investigation into the use of private placement life insurance
as an alleged tax loophole for wealthy Americans to avoid
paying billions in capital gains and estate taxes. The chairman
requested information from Blackstone Inc.'s Lombard
International. Chairman Wyden later expanded his investigation
to include Prudential, Zurich, and the American Council of Life
Insurers.
Letters
Throughout 2021 and 2022, Ranking Member Crapo and Senate
Republicans on the Finance Committee conducted oversight of the
IRS and the Treasury Department, including respective agency
implementation of enacted legislation, the leak of protected
taxpayer information to ProPublica, the IRS's backlog and
customer service shortcomings, and its use of and planning with
respect to tens of billions of dollars in additional taxpayer
funding provided by COVID-19 legislation and the Inflation
Reduction Act. Letters included oversight into:
LThe impact of proposed changes to the Child Tax
Credit (CTC) on the administration of the IRS.
LTreasury's oversight of, and transparency with
respect to, the American Rescue Plan Act.
LOutlining concerns about a provision inserted into
the Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Fund prior to it
being signed by President Biden.
LUrging PBGC to put into place a public comment
process on the implementation of PBGC's Special
Financial Assistance program, enacted as part of the
American Rescue Plan.
LEstimates of the annual tax gap.
LThe amount of fraud in the COVID unemployment
insurance programs and also requested timely, targeted
investigations to stop COVID unemployment fraud, as
well as evidence of how funds appropriated to DOL to
investigate fraud were being used.
LThe involvement of the non-profit group Code for
America in the development of the IRS's CTC update
portal.
LReports that the IRS mandated the use of facial
recognition technology to access online IRS services.
LCustomer service challenges present during the 2022
tax filing season.
LThe TIGTA report which identified the IRS's
destruction of 30 million paper-filed information
returns in March 2021.
Ranking Member Crapo and Senate Republicans on the Finance
Committee conducted extensive oversight of the government's
handling of an apparent breach of confidential taxpayer
information. Letters included:
LRequests that the IRS respond to reports that media
outlet ProPublica obtained confidential taxpayer
information of U.S. citizens.
LRequests that the Treasury Inspector General for Tax
Administration (TIGTA) respond on these reports and
provide regular updates on the status of its
investigations into the matter.
LRequests that the Government Accountability Office
(GAO) review IRS data security practices, procedures,
policies, and methods.
LA follow-up request that the IRS provide additional
information regarding its compliance with its
obligations under the Federal Information Security
Modernization Act (FISMA).
LA follow-up request that TIGTA provide additional
information and oversight on the use of confidential
taxpayer information by the IRS Office of Research,
Applied Analytics, and Statistics (RAAS).
LA follow-up request to the IRS on its steps to
enhance the security of taxpayer information.
LRequests that Treasury provide updates with respect
to the months-long investigation into the ProPublica
matter, including confirmation that the IRS and
Treasury had still not confirmed there was a breach of
confidential taxpayer information despite numerous
reports that such had occurred.
Ranking Member Crapo and Senate Republicans on the Finance
Committee conducted oversight of IRS implementation of its
nearly $80 billion in additional multiyear funding provided by
the Inflation Reduction Act. Letters included:
LRequests that the IRS provide responses with respect
to its plans for the additional funding.
LRequests for information regarding TIGTA's oversight
plans with respect to the Inflation Reduction Act
funding provided to the IRS.
LRequests that the GAO undertake additional oversight
of Inflation Reduction Act funding for the IRS.
Throughout 2021 and 2022, Ranking Member Crapo and Senate
Republicans on the Finance Committee conducted broader
oversight of legislative changes made by COVID-19 legislation.
Letters included requests to the GAO:
LRequesting that GAO fully investigate the scope and
severity of fraudulent activity in COVID unemployment
insurance programs.
LRequesting that GAO promptly engage in a review and
assessment of the of the Coronavirus State and Local
Fiscal Recovery Fund at Treasury because the American
Rescue Plan Act lacked any oversight mechanism.
Throughout 2021 and 2022, Ranking Member Crapo and Senate
Republicans on the Finance Committee requested information from
Treasury regarding the ongoing OECD international tax
negotiations and agreement, including the effect of the
agreement on U.S. businesses, jobs, and revenue. These requests
repeatedly highlighted the need for robust consultation and
transparency from Treasury, and included:
LA request for information on Treasury's proposed
Pillar One approach, data and analysis regarding the
amount of profit that would be reallocated from the
United States to foreign countries, and the ultimate
effect on U.S. businesses, jobs, and revenue.
LFollow-up requests for detailed information from
Treasury regarding the effect of the agreement on U.S.
businesses and revenue. While this data and analysis
have not been provided to date, Finance Committee
Republicans continue to pressure the administration to
provide the information necessary to determine the
effect of the agreement on U.S. jobs and workers.
LRepeated highlights of concerns with the Pillar Two
model rules agreed to by Treasury, including the
harmful effect on U.S. competitiveness resulting from
the less favorable treatment granted to U.S. tax
credits, like the research and development credit.
LCriticism of Treasury for the lack of consultation
with Congress before agreeing to international tax law
changes under Pillar Two that are inconsistent with
U.S. law and bilateral tax treaties.
Trade Oversight
Investigations
In March 2021, Chairman Wyden opened an investigation into
Brazil's Amazon rainforest deforestation problem. He sent a
request for information to JBS Foods, one of the world's
largest beef producers, about reports of deforestation of the
Brazilian rainforest allegedly found in the JBS supply chain.
The chairman's staff also engaged with JBS's former auditor,
DNV, regarding JBS's compliance with its sustainability
pledges. The chairman also contacted several major U.S. grocers
and restaurant chains to obtain information about how beef
sourced from illegally deforested land might affect U.S.
consumers. This investigation is ongoing.
In October 2022, Chairman Wyden joined House Oversight
Committee Chair Malone to expand an investigation into Jared
Kushner and Steven Mnuchin's business dealings in the Middle
East, in connection to whether each used their official
government positions to access multi-billion-dollar investments
from Middle East sovereign wealth funds. This investigation is
ongoing.
Letters
On November 24, 2021, Ranking Member Crapo and House Ways
and Means Committee Ranking Member Brady wrote a letter to
Ambassador Tai that offered several approaches to achieve
priorities that could lead to successful outcomes at the
twelfth ministerial conference (MC12) of the World Trade
Organization (WTO). The letter also discussed approaches that
could put the WTO on the wrong path. In particular, the letter
noted that USTR needed to revitalize the negotiating and
enforcement functions of the WTO and avoid accepting measures
that would weaken existing WTO rules, including those relating
to intellectual property.
On May 10, 2022 Chairman Wyden and Ranking Member Crapo,
plus four other bipartisan committee members, wrote to
Ambassador Katherine Tai, the United States Trade
Representative (USTR), to request that she take all necessary
steps to ensure Congress is a full partner in the
administration's ongoing trade negotiations. The letter
explained that USTR must provide Congress with timely,
substantive briefings on trade negotiations and share all U.S.
negotiating texts before the administration commits the United
States to a particular negotiating position or outcome. The
letter also informed her that her office had failed to comply
with the Transparency Principles and Consultation Guidelines it
had committed to following, particularly with respect to a
compromise outcome on the waiver of the World Trade
Organization (WTO) Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of
Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS agreement)--and that the
USTR must adhere strictly to them moving forward.
On January 12, 2022, Chairman Wyden and Ranking Member
Crapo wrote a letter to Ambassador Tai on enforcement of the
United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). The bipartisan
letter emphasized that the administration must be prepared to
go beyond negotiation and use all of its tools to enforce the
USMCA to ensure the agreement lived up to its promise. The
letter highlighted a number of issues that USTR should
prioritize for enforcement, including in such areas as
agriculture, labor, digital trade, services, environment,
energy, telecommunications, and pharmaceuticals.
On December 1, 2022, Chairman Wyden and Ranking Member
Crapo, along with 19 other bipartisan members, wrote a letter
to President Biden which explained that potential agreements
like the proposed Indo-Pacific Economic Framework needed to
have congressional approval. Moreover, the members advised with
respect to such agreements, the administration needs to
strengthen consultation with Congress, heighten transparency
with the public, and work with Congress on an appropriate
approval, submission, and implementation mechanism.
Full Committee Hearings
2021
March 17, 2021--``A National Tragedy: COVID-19 in the Nation's
Nursing Homes.'' The hearing examined the impact of COVID-
19 on America's nursing homes, including residents, staff,
and their families. It also examined the disproportionate
impact of COVID-19 on communities of color living and
working in nursing homes. Testimony was heard from Adelina
Ramos, Certified Nursing Assistant, SEIU District 1199 New
England, Greenville, RI; Denise Bottcher, State director,
AARP Louisiana, Baton Rouge, LA; Quiteka Moten, MPH, CDP,
State Long-Term Care Ombudsman, Commission on Aging and
Disability, State of Tennessee, Nashville, TN; R. Tamara
Konetzka, Ph.D., Louis Block professor, Department of
Public Health Sciences, Biological Sciences Division,
University of Chicago, Chicago, IL; John E. Dicken,
Director, Health Care, Government Accountability Office,
Washington, DC; and David Gifford, M.D., MPH, chief medical
officer, American Health Care Association/National Center
for Assisted Living, Washington, DC.
2022
August 3, 2022--``A System in Need of Repair: Addressing
Organizational Failures of the U.S.'s Organ Procurement and
Transplantation Network.'' Testimony was heard from Brian
Shepard, chief executive officer, United Network for Organ
Sharing (UNOS), Richmond, VA; Diane Brockmeier, R.N., BSN,
MHA, president and CEO, Mid-America Transplant, St. Louis,
MO; Barry S. Friedman, R.N., BSN, executive director,
AdventHealth Transplant Institute, Orlando, FL; Calvin
Henry, Region 3 Patient Affairs Committee (PAC)
representative, Organ Procurement and Transplantation
Network (OPTN), Dacula, GA; and Jayme E. Locke, M.D., MPH,
director, Division of Transplantation Surgery, Heersink
School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham,
Birmingham, AL.
The hearing came after more than 2 years of investigation
into the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network's (OPTN)
operations in the United States. The investigation initially
began when Senator Grassley was chairman of the committee and
Senator Wyden was ranking member, and continued into the 117th
Congress. The hearing issues included an examination of how
health and safety violations at U.S. Organ Procurement
Organizations (OPOs) are managed by the OPTN contractor, UNOS,
as well as an assessment of the safety and security of the
OPTN's underlying technology. During the hearing, committee
members asserted, throughout their questions and comments, that
deficiencies at UNOS and OPOs were allegedly causing needless
deaths and patient harm.
Nominations
Daniel I. Werfel, of the District of Columbia, to be
Commissioner of Internal Revenue for the term expiring
November 12, 2027, vice Charles P. Rettig, term
expired.
November 14, 2022: Received in the Senate and referred to the
Committee on Finance.
January 3, 2023: Returned to the President under the
provisions of Senate Rule XXXI, paragraph 6 of the
Standing Rules of the Senate.
Douglas J. McKalip, of the District of Columbia, to be Chief
Agricultural Negotiator, Office of the United States
Trade Representative, with the rank of Ambassador, vice
Gregory Doud.
June 8, 2022: Received in the Senate and referred to the
Committee on Finance.
July 28, 2022: Committee on Finance. Hearings held.
September 7, 2022: Committee on Finance. Ordered to be
reported favorably.
September 7, 2022: Reported by Senator Wyden, Committee on
Finance, without printed report.
September 7, 2022: Placed on Senate Executive Calendar.
Calendar No. 1136. Subject to nominee's commitment
to respond to requests to appear and testify before
any duly constituted committee of the Senate.
December 22, 2022: Confirmed by the Senate by voice vote.
Richard K. Delmar, of Virginia, to be Inspector General,
Department of the Treasury, vice Eric M. Thorson.
June 7, 2022: Received in the Senate and referred
sequentially to the Committee on Finance; when
reported by the Committee on Finance, pursuant to
an order of January 7, 2009, to be sequentially
referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs for 20 calendar days.
January 3, 2023: Returned to the President under the
provisions of Senate Rule XXXI, paragraph 6 of the
Standing Rules of the Senate.
Andrew G. Biggs, of Oregon, to be a member of the Social
Security Advisory Board for a term expiring September
30, 2024, vice Lanhee J. Chen, term expired.
May 17, 2022: Received in the Senate.
May 17, 2022: Placed on Senate Executive Calendar in the
Privileged Nominations section with nominee
information requested by the Committee on Finance,
pursuant to S. Res. 116, 112th Congress.
January 3, 2023: Returned to the President under the
provisions of Senate Rule XXXI, paragraph 6 of the
Standing Rules of the Senate.
Rebecca Lee Haffajee, of Massachusetts, to be an Assistant
Secretary of Health and Human Services, vice Richard G.
Frank.
May 9, 2022: Received in the Senate and referred to the
Committee on Finance.
July 12, 2022: Committee on Finance. Hearings held.
July 28, 2022: Committee on Finance. Failed to report
favorably.
January 3, 2023: Returned to the President under the
provisions of Senate Rule XXXI, paragraph 6 of the
Standing Rules of the Senate.
Sharon Beth Lewis, of Oregon, to be a member of the Social
Security Advisory Board for a term expiring September
30, 2022, vice Alan L. Cohen, term expired.
April 7, 2022: Received in the Senate.
April 7, 2022: Placed on Senate Executive Calendar in the
Privileged Nominations section with nominee
information requested by the Committee on Finance,
pursuant to S. Res. 116, 112th Congress.
January 3, 2023: Returned to the President under the
provisions of Senate Rule XXXI, paragraph 6 of the
Standing Rules of the Senate.
Sharon Beth Lewis, of Oregon, to be a member of the Social
Security Advisory Board for a term expiring September
30, 2028 (reappointment).
April 7, 2022: Received in the Senate.
April 7, 2022: Placed on Senate Executive Calendar in the
Privileged Nominations section with nominee
information requested by the Committee on Finance,
pursuant to S. Res. 116, 112th Congress.
January 3, 2023: Returned to the President under the
provisions of Senate Rule XXXI, paragraph 6 of the
Standing Rules of the Senate.
Patricia Hart Neuman, of the District of Columbia, to be a
member of the Board of Trustees of the Federal Hospital
Insurance Trust Fund for a term of 4 years, vice Robert
D. Reischauer, term expired.
April 7, 2022: Received in the Senate.
April 7, 2022: Placed on Senate Executive Calendar in the
Privileged Nominations section with nominee
information requested by the Committee on Finance,
pursuant to S. Res. 116, 112th Congress.
January 3, 2023: Returned to the President under the
provisions of Senate Rule XXXI, paragraph 6 of the
Standing Rules of the Senate.
Patricia Hart Neuman, of the District of Columbia, to be a
member of the Board of Trustees of the Federal
Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund for a term
of 4 years, vice Robert D. Reischauer, term expired.
April 7, 2022: Received in the Senate.
April 7, 2022: Placed on Senate Executive Calendar in the
Privileged Nominations section with nominee
information requested by the Committee on Finance,
pursuant to S. Res. 116, 112th Congress.
January 3, 2023: Returned to the President under the
provisions of Senate Rule XXXI, paragraph 6 of the
Standing Rules of the Senate.
Patricia Hart Neuman, of the District of Columbia, to be a
member of the Board of Trustees of the Federal Old-Age
and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal
Disability Insurance Trust Fund for a term of 4 years,
vice Robert D. Reischauer, term expired.
April 7, 2022: Received in the Senate.
April 7, 2022: Placed on Senate Executive Calendar in the
Privileged Nominations section with nominee
information requested by the Committee on Finance,
pursuant to S. Res. 116, 112th Congress.
January 3, 2023: Returned to the President under the
provisions of Senate Rule XXXI, paragraph 6 of the
Standing Rules of the Senate.
Jay Curtis Shambaugh, of Maryland, to be an Under Secretary of
the Treasury, vice Brent James McIntosh.
March 7, 2022: Received in the Senate and referred to the
Committee on Finance.
July 12, 2022: Committee on Finance. Hearings held.
July 28, 2022: Committee on Finance. Ordered to be reported
favorably.
July 28, 2022: Reported by Senator Wyden, Committee on
Finance, without printed report.
July 28, 2022: Placed on Senate Executive Calendar. Calendar
No. 1103. Subject to nominee's commitment to
respond to requests to appear and testify before
any duly constituted committee of the Senate.
December 7, 2022: By unanimous consent agreement, debate and
vote to be determined.
December 12, 2022: By unanimous consent agreement, debate and
vote December 13, 2022.
December 13, 2022: Considered by Senate.
December 13, 2022: Confirmed by the Senate by Yea-Nay vote,
70-27. Record vote number: 389.
January Contreras, of Arizona, to be Assistant Secretary for
Family Support, Department of Health and Human
Services, vice Lynn A. Johnson.
January 7, 2022: Received in the Senate and referred to the
Committee on Finance.
February 9, 2022: Committee on Finance. Hearings held.
March 2, 2022: Committee on Finance. Ordered to be reported
favorably.
March 2, 2022: Reported by Senator Wyden, Committee on
Finance, without printed report.
March 2, 2022: Placed on Senate Executive Calendar. Calendar
No. 764. Subject to nominee's commitment to respond
to requests to appear and testify before any duly
constituted committee of the Senate.
March 28, 2022: Motion to proceed to executive session to
consideration of nomination agreed to in Senate by
voice vote.
March 28, 2022: Cloture motion presented in Senate.
March 28, 2022: By unanimous consent agreement, mandatory
quorum required under Rule XXII waived.
March 30, 2022: Cloture invoked in Senate by Yea-Nay vote,
54-45. Record vote number: 118.
March 30, 2022: Considered by Senate.
March 30, 2022: Confirmed by the Senate by Yea-Nay vote, 54-
44. Record vote number: 119.
Rebecca E. Jones Gaston, of Oregon, to be Commissioner on
Children, Youth, and Families, Department of Health and
Human Services, vice Elizabeth Darling.
January 7, 2022: Received in the Senate.
January 7, 2022: Placed on Senate Executive Calendar in the
Privileged Nominations section with nominee
information requested by the Committee on Finance,
pursuant to S. Res. 116, 112th Congress.
February 9, 2022: Committee on Finance. Hearings held.
March 1, 2022: Referred to the Committee on Finance as
requested by Senator Wyden.
March 2, 2022: Committee on Finance. Ordered to be reported
favorably.
March 2, 2022: Reported by Senator Wyden, Committee on
Finance, without printed report.
March 2, 2022: Placed on Senate Executive Calendar. Calendar
No. 763. Subject to nominee's commitment to respond
to requests to appear and testify before any duly
constituted committee of the Senate.
December 22, 2022: Considered by Senate.
December 22, 2022: Confirmed by the Senate by voice vote.
Robert Otto Burciaga Valdez, of New Mexico, to be an Assistant
Secretary of Health and Human Services, vice Richard G.
Frank.
October 28, 2021: Received in the Senate and referred to the
Committee on Finance.
January 7, 2022: Received message of withdrawal of nomination
from the President.
Elaine Trevino, of California, to be Chief Agricultural
Negotiator, Office of the United States Trade
Representative, with the rank of Ambassador, vice
Gregory Doud.
October 7, 2021: Received in the Senate and referred to the
Committee on Finance.
March 21, 2022: Received message of withdrawal of nomination
from the President.
Robert Michael Gordon, of the District of Columbia, to be an
Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services, vice
Ellen Gloninger Murray.
September 20, 2021: Received in the Senate and referred to
the Committee on Finance.
February 9, 2022: Committee on Finance. Hearings held.
March 2, 2022: Committee on Finance. Ordered to be reported
favorably.
March 2, 2022: Reported by Senator Wyden, Committee on
Finance, without printed report.
March 2, 2022: Placed on Senate Executive Calendar. Calendar
No. 762. Subject to nominee's commitment to respond
to requests to appear and testify before any duly
constituted committee of the Senate.
September 29, 2022: Considered by Senate.
September 29, 2022: Confirmed by the Senate by voice vote.
Marisa Louise Lago, of New York, to be Under Secretary of
Commerce for International Trade, vice Gilbert B.
Kaplan.
September 20, 2021: Received in the Senate and referred to
the Committee on Finance.
November 16, 2021: Committee on Finance. Hearings held.
December 8, 2021: Committee on Finance. Ordered to be
reported favorably.
December 8, 2021: Reported by Senator Wyden, Committee on
Finance, without printed report.
December 8, 2021: Placed on Senate Executive Calendar.
Calendar No. 596. Subject to nominee's commitment
to respond to requests to appear and testify before
any duly constituted committee of the Senate.
December 16, 2021: Confirmed by the Senate by voice vote.
Christopher S. Wilson, of the District of Columbia, to be Chief
Innovation and Intellectual Property Negotiator, Office
of the United States Trade Representative, with the
rank of Ambassador (new position).
September 13, 2021: Received in the Senate and referred to
the Committee on Finance.
October 26, 2021: Committee on Finance. Hearings held.
November 17, 2021: Committee on Finance. Ordered to be
reported favorably.
November 17, 2021: Reported by Senator Wyden, Committee on
Finance, without printed report.
November 17, 2021: Placed on Senate Executive Calendar.
Calendar No. 548. Subject to nominee's commitment
to respond to requests to appear and testify before
any duly constituted committee of the Senate.
January 3, 2023: Returned to the President under the
provisions of Senate Rule XXXI, paragraph 6 of the
Standing Rules of the Senate.
Maria L. Pagan, of Puerto Rico, to be a Deputy United States
Trade Representative (Geneva Office), with the rank of
Ambassador, vice Dennis Shea.
September 13, 2021: Received in the Senate and referred to
the Committee on Finance.
October 26, 2021: Committee on Finance. Hearings held.
November 17, 2021: Committee on Finance. Ordered to be
reported favorably.
November 17, 2021: Reported by Senator Wyden, Committee on
Finance, without printed report.
November 17, 2021: Placed on Senate Executive Calendar.
Calendar No. 547. Subject to nominee's commitment
to respond to requests to appear and testify before
any duly constituted committee of the Senate.
March 3, 2022: Motion to proceed to executive session to
consideration of nomination agreed to in Senate by
voice vote.
March 3, 2022: Cloture motion presented in Senate.
March 3, 2022: By unanimous consent agreement, mandatory
quorum required under Rule XXII waived.
March 8, 2022: By unanimous consent agreement, debate and
vote March 8, 2022.
March 8, 2022: Cloture invoked in Senate by Yea-Nay vote, 78-
19. Record vote number: 72.
March 8, 2022: Considered by Senate.
March 8, 2022: By unanimous consent agreement, vote to be
determined.
March 10, 2022: By unanimous consent agreement, vote March
10, 2022.
March 10, 2022: Considered by Senate.
March 10, 2022: Confirmed by the Senate by Yea-Nay vote, 80-
19. Record vote number: 74.
Joshua Frost, of New York, to be an Assistant Secretary of the
Treasury, vice Matthew S. Rutherford.
September 13, 2021: Received in the Senate and referred to
the Committee on Finance.
October 26, 2021: Committee on Finance. Hearings held.
November 17, 2021: Committee on Finance. Ordered to be
reported favorably.
November 17, 2021: Reported by Senator Wyden, Committee on
Finance, without printed report.
November 17, 2021: Placed on Senate Executive Calendar.
Calendar No. 546. Subject to nominee's commitment
to respond to requests to appear and testify before
any duly constituted committee of the Senate.
April 28, 2022: Motion to proceed to executive session to
consideration of nomination agreed to in Senate by
voice vote.
April 28, 2022: Cloture motion presented in Senate.
April 28, 2022: By unanimous consent agreement, mandatory
quorum required under Rule XXII waived.
April 28, 2022: By unanimous consent agreement, debate May 2,
2022.
May 2, 2022: Considered by Senate.
May 2, 2022: Cloture invoked in Senate by Yea-Nay vote, 54-
36. Record vote number: 143.
May 2, 2022: By unanimous consent agreement, debate and vote
May 3, 2022.
May 3, 2022: Considered by Senate.
May 3, 2022: Confirmed by the Senate by Yea-Nay vote, 54-42.
Record vote number: 144.
Samuel R. Bagenstos, of Michigan, to be General Counsel of the
Department of Health and Human Services, vice Robert
Charrow.
August 10, 2021: Received in the Senate and referred to the
Committee on Finance.
October 26, 2021: Committee on Finance. Hearings held.
November 17, 2021: Committee on Finance. Failed to report
favorably.
February 8, 2022: Motion to discharge Senate Committee on
Finance. Made by the Majority Leader pursuant to S.
Res. 27 of the 117th Congress.
February 8, 2022: By unanimous consent agreement, vote on the
motion to discharge to be determined.
February 9, 2022: By unanimous consent agreement, vote on the
motion to discharge February 9, 2022.
February 9, 2022: Senate Committee on Finance discharged by
Yea-Nay vote, 48-47. Record vote number: 51.
Pursuant to S. Res. 27 of the 117th Congress,
placed on the Executive Calendar.
February 9, 2022: Placed on Senate Executive Calendar.
Calendar No. 728.
May 18, 2022: Motion to proceed to executive session to
consideration of nomination agreed to in Senate by
voice vote.
May 18, 2022: Cloture motion presented in Senate.
May 18, 2022: By unanimous consent agreement, mandatory
quorum required under Rule XXII waived.
May 24, 2022: By unanimous consent agreement, vote.
May 25, 2022: Cloture motion withdrawn by unanimous consent
in Senate.
May 25, 2022: By unanimous consent agreement, vote to be
determined.
June 8, 2022: By unanimous consent agreement, debate and vote
June 9, 2022.
June 9, 2022: Considered by Senate.
June 9, 2022: Confirmed by the Senate by Yea-Nay vote, 49-43.
Record vote number: 224.
Brent Neiman, of Illinois, to be a Deputy Under Secretary of
the Treasury, vice Ramin Toloui.
August 10, 2021: Received in the Senate and referred to the
Committee on Finance.
October 26, 2021: Committee on Finance. Hearings held.
November 17, 2021: Committee on Finance. Ordered to be
reported favorably.
November 17, 2021: Reported by Senator Wyden, Committee on
Finance, without printed report.
November 17, 2021: Placed on Senate Executive Calendar.
Calendar No. 545. Subject to nominee's commitment
to respond to requests to appear and testify before
any duly constituted committee of the Senate.
January 3, 2023: Returned to the President under the
provisions of Senate Rule XXXI, paragraph 6 of the
Standing Rules of the Senate.
Lisa W. Wang, of the District of Columbia, to be an Assistant
Secretary of Commerce, vice Jeffrey Kessler.
August 9, 2021: Received in the Senate and referred to the
Committee on Finance.
November 16, 2021: Committee on Finance. Hearings held.
December 8, 2021: Committee on Finance. Ordered to be
reported favorably.
December 8, 2021: Reported by Senator Wyden, Committee on
Finance, without printed report.
December 8, 2021: Placed on Senate Executive Calendar.
Calendar No. 595. Subject to nominee's commitment
to respond to requests to appear and testify before
any duly constituted committee of the Senate.
December 16, 2021: Confirmed by the Senate by voice vote.
Christi A. Grimm, of Colorado, to be Inspector General,
Department of Health and Human Services, vice Daniel R.
Levinson, resigned.
June 24, 2021: Received in the Senate and referred
sequentially to the Committee on Finance; when
reported from the Committee on Finance, pursuant to
an order of January 7, 2009, to be sequentially
referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs for 20 calendar days.
September 22, 2021: Committee on Finance. Hearings held.
November 17, 2021: Committee on Finance. Ordered to be
reported favorably.
November 17, 2021: Reported by Senator Wyden, Committee on
Finance, without printed report.
November 17, 2021: Referred sequentially to the Committee on
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs for 20
calendar days under authority of the order of the
Senate of January 7, 2009.
December 9, 2021: Senate Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs discharged under the authority
of the order of the Senate of January 7, 2009.
December 9, 2021: Placed on Senate Executive Calendar.
Calendar No. 605. Subject to nominee's commitment
to respond to requests to appear and testify before
any duly constituted committee of the Senate.
February 17, 2022: Considered by Senate.
February 17, 2022: Confirmed by the Senate by voice vote.
Jayme Ray White, of Washington, to be a Deputy United States
Trade Representative (Western Hemisphere, Europe, the
Middle East, Labor, and Environment), with the rank of
Ambassador, vice Michael N. Nemelka.
June 9, 2021: Received in the Senate and referred to the
Committee on Finance.
June 24, 2021: Committee on Finance. Hearings held.
July 13, 2021: Committee on Finance. Ordered to be reported
favorably.
July 13, 2021: Reported by Senator Wyden, Committee on
Finance, without printed report.
July 13, 2021: Placed on Senate Executive Calendar. Calendar
No. 245. Subject to nominee's commitment to respond
to requests to appear and testify before any duly
constituted committee of the Senate.
September 20, 2021: Motion to proceed to executive session to
consideration of nomination agreed to in Senate by
voice vote.
September 20, 2021: Cloture motion presented in Senate.
September 20, 2021: By unanimous consent agreement, mandatory
quorum required under Rule XXII waived.
September 21, 2021: By unanimous consent agreement, debate
and vote September 22, 2021.
September 22, 2021: Cloture invoked in Senate by Yea-Nay
vote, 78-20. Record vote number: 371.
September 22, 2021: Considered by Senate.
September 22, 2021: By unanimous consent agreement, vote
September 22, 2021.
September 22, 2021: Confirmed by the Senate by Yea-Nay vote,
80-18. Record vote number: 373.
Neil Harvey MacBride, of Virginia, to be General Counsel for
the Department of the Treasury, vice Brian Callanan.
June 8, 2021: Received in the Senate and referred to the
Committee on Finance.
September 22, 2021: Committee on Finance. Hearings held.
December 16, 2021: Committee on Finance. Ordered to be
reported favorably.
December 16, 2021: Reported by Senator Wyden, Committee on
Finance, without printed report.
December 16, 2021: Placed on Senate Executive Calendar.
Calendar No. 636. Subject to nominee's commitment
to respond to requests to appear and testify before
any duly constituted committee of the Senate.
February 3, 2022: By unanimous consent agreement, vote to be
determined.
February 9, 2022: Considered by Senate.
February 9, 2022: By unanimous consent agreement, vote
February 9, 2022.
February 9, 2022: Confirmed by the Senate by Yea-Nay vote,
61-33. Record vote number: 50.
Sarah Bianchi, of Virginia, to be Deputy United States Trade
Representative (Asia, Africa, Investment, Services,
Textiles, and Industrial Competitiveness), with the
rank of Ambassador, vice Jeffrey Gerrish.
May 27, 2021: Received in the Senate and referred to the
Committee on Finance.
June 24, 2021: Committee on Finance. Hearings held.
July 13, 2021: Committee on Finance. Ordered to be reported
favorably.
July 13, 2021: Reported by Senator Wyden, Committee on
Finance, without printed report.
July 13, 2021: Placed on Senate Executive Calendar. Calendar
No. 244. Subject to nominee's commitment to respond
to requests to appear and testify before any duly
constituted committee of the Senate.
September 21, 2021: Motion to proceed to executive session to
consideration of nomination agreed to in Senate by
voice vote.
September 21, 2021: Cloture motion presented in Senate.
September 21, 2021: By unanimous consent agreement, mandatory
quorum required under Rule XXII waived.
September 23, 2021: Considered by Senate.
September 23, 2021: Cloture invoked in Senate by Yea-Nay
vote, 85-13. Record vote number: 376.
September 23, 2021: Confirmed by the Senate by Yea-Nay vote,
85-11. Record vote number: 377.
Chris Magnus, of Arizona, to be Commissioner of U.S. Customs
and Border Protection, Department of Homeland Security,
vice Kevin K. McAleenan, resigned.
May 12, 2021: Received in the Senate and referred to the
Committee on Finance.
October 19, 2021: Committee on Finance. Hearings held.
November 3, 2021: Committee on Finance. Ordered to be
reported favorably.
November 3, 2021: Reported by Senator Wyden, Committee on
Finance, without printed report.
November 3, 2021: Placed on Senate Executive Calendar.
Calendar No. 513. Subject to nominee's commitment
to respond to requests to appear and testify before
any duly constituted committee of the Senate.
December 2, 2021: Motion to proceed to executive session to
consideration of nomination agreed to in Senate by
voice vote.
December 2, 2021: Cloture motion presented in Senate.
December 2, 2021: By unanimous consent agreement, mandatory
quorum required under Rule XXII waived.
December 6, 2021: By unanimous consent agreement, debate
December 7, 2021.
December 7, 2021: Cloture invoked in Senate by Yea-Nay vote,
52-47. Record vote number: 482.
December 7, 2021: Considered by Senate.
December 7, 2021: Confirmed by the Senate by Yea-Nay vote,
50-47. Record vote number: 483.
Melanie Anne Egorin, of the District of Columbia, to be an
Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services, vice
Sarah C. Arbes.
April 27, 2021: Received in the Senate.
April 27, 2021: Placed on Senate Executive Calendar in the
Privileged Nominations section with nominee
information requested by the Committee on Finance,
pursuant to S. Res. 116, 112th Congress.
June 24, 2021 Committee on Finance. Hearings held.
July 12, 2021: Referred to the Committee on Finance as
requested by Senator Wyden.
July 13, 2021: Committee on Finance. Ordered to be reported
favorably.
July 13, 2021: Reported by Senator Wyden, Committee on
Finance, without printed report.
July 13, 2021: Placed on Senate Executive Calendar. Calendar
No. 243. Subject to nominee's commitment to respond
to requests to appear and testify before any duly
constituted committee of the Senate.
September 30, 2021: Considered by Senate.
September 30, 2021: Confirmed by the Senate by voice vote.
J. Nellie Liang, of Maryland, to be an Under Secretary of the
Treasury, vice Mary John Miller, resigned.
April 22, 2021: Received in the Senate and referred to the
Committee on Finance.
May 25, 2021: Committee on Finance. Hearings held. Hearings
printed: S. Hrg. 117-582.
June 10, 2021: Committee on Finance. Ordered to be reported
favorably.
June 10, 2021: Reported by Senator Wyden, Committee on
Finance, without printed report.
June 10, 2021: Placed on Senate Executive Calendar. Calendar
No. 171. Subject to nominee's commitment to respond
to requests to appear and testify before any duly
constituted committee of the Senate.
July 12, 2021: Motion to proceed to executive session to
consideration of nomination agreed to in Senate by
voice vote.
July 12, 2021: Cloture motion presented in Senate.
July 12, 2021: By unanimous consent agreement, mandatory
quorum required under Rule XXII waived.
July 14, 2021: By unanimous consent agreement, debate and
vote July 14, 2021.
July 14, 2021: Cloture invoked in Senate by Yea-Nay vote, 72-
27. Record vote number: 262.
July 14, 2021: By unanimous consent agreement, debate July
15, 2021.
July 15, 2021: Considered by Senate.
July 15, 2021: Confirmed by the Senate by Yea-Nay vote, 72-
27. Record vote number: 264.
Benjamin Harris, of Virginia, to be an Assistant Secretary of
the Treasury, vice Michael Faulkender.
April 22, 2021: Received in the Senate and referred to the
Committee on Finance.
May 25, 2021: Committee on Finance. Hearings held. Hearings
printed: S. Hrg. 117-582.
June 10, 2021: Committee on Finance. Ordered to be reported
favorably.
June 10, 2021: Reported by Senator Wyden, Committee on
Finance, without printed report.
June 10, 2021: Placed on Senate Executive Calendar. Calendar
No. 170. Subject to nominee's commitment to respond
to requests to appear and testify before any duly
constituted committee of the Senate.
October 28, 2021: Motion to proceed to executive session to
consideration of nomination agreed to in Senate by
voice vote.
October 28, 2021: Cloture motion presented in Senate.
October 28, 2021: By unanimous consent agreement, mandatory
quorum required under Rule XXII waived.
November 1, 2021: By unanimous consent agreement, vote
November 2, 2021.
November 2, 2021: Cloture invoked in Senate by Yea-Nay vote,
79-20. Record vote number: 452.
November 2, 2021: Considered by Senate.
November 2, 2021: By unanimous consent agreement, vote
November 3, 2021.
November 3, 2021: Considered by Senate.
November 3, 2021: Confirmed by the Senate by Yea-Nay vote,
78-21. Record vote number: 457.
Lily Lawrence Batchelder, of Massachusetts, to be an Assistant
Secretary of the Treasury, vice David J. Kautter.
April 15, 2021: Received in the Senate and referred to the
Committee on Finance.
May 25, 2021: Committee on Finance. Hearings held. Hearings
printed: S. Hrg. 117-582.
June 10, 2021: Committee on Finance. Ordered to be reported
favorably.
June 10, 2021: Reported by Senator Wyden, Committee on
Finance, without printed report.
June 10, 2021: Placed on Senate Executive Calendar. Calendar
No. 169. Subject to nominee's commitment to respond
to requests to appear and testify before any duly
constituted committee of the Senate.
September 20, 2021: Motion to proceed to executive session to
consideration of nomination agreed to in Senate by
voice vote.
September 20, 2021: Cloture motion presented in Senate.
September 20, 2021: By unanimous consent agreement, mandatory
quorum required under Rule XXII waived.
September 21, 2021: By unanimous consent agreement, debate
and vote September 22, 2021.
September 22, 2021: Cloture invoked in Senate by Yea-Nay
vote, 63-35. Record vote number: 370.
September 22, 2021: Considered by Senate.
September 22, 2021: Confirmed by the Senate by Yea-Nay vote,
64-34. Record vote number: 372.
Jonathan Davidson, of Maryland, to be Deputy Under Secretary of
the Treasury, vice Brian McGuire.
April 15, 2021: Received in the Senate.
April 15, 2021: Placed on Senate Executive Calendar in the
Privileged Nominations section with nominee
information requested by the Committee on Finance,
pursuant to S. Res. 116, 112th Congress.
May 25, 2021: Committee on Finance. Hearings held. Hearings
printed: S. Hrg. 117-582.
June 7, 2021: Referred to the Committee on Finance as
requested by Senator Wyden.
June 10, 2021: Committee on Finance. Ordered to be reported
favorably.
June 10, 2021: Reported by Senator Wyden, Committee on
Finance, without printed report.
June 10, 2021: Placed on Senate Executive Calendar. Calendar
No. 168. Subject to nominee's commitment to respond
to requests to appear and testify before any duly
constituted committee of the Senate.
October 28, 2021: Motion to proceed to executive session to
consideration of nomination agreed to in Senate by
voice vote.
October 28, 2021: Cloture motion presented in Senate.
October 28, 2021: By unanimous consent agreement, mandatory
quorum required under Rule XXII waived.
November 1, 2021: Considered by Senate.
November 1, 2021: By unanimous consent agreement, debate and
vote November 2, 2021.
November 2, 2021: Considered by Senate.
November 2, 2021: Cloture invoked in Senate by Yea-Nay vote,
88-11. Record vote number: 451.
November 2, 2021: Confirmed by the Senate by Yea-Nay vote,
88-10. Record vote number: 456.
Andrea Joan Palm, of Wisconsin, to be Deputy Secretary of
Health and Human Services, vice Eric D. Hargan.
February 22, 2021: Received in the Senate and referred to the
Committee on Finance.
April 15, 2021: Committee on Finance. Hearings held. Hearings
printed: S. Hrg. 117-341.
April 22, 2021: Committee on Finance. Ordered to be reported
favorably.
April 22, 2021: Reported by Senator Wyden, Committee on
Finance, without printed report.
April 22, 2021: Placed on Senate Executive Calendar. Calendar
No. 69. Subject to nominee's commitment to respond
to requests to appear and testify before any duly
constituted committee of the Senate.
April 29, 2021: Motion to proceed to executive session to
consideration of nomination agreed to in Senate by
voice vote.
April 29, 2021: Cloture motion presented in Senate.
April 29, 2021: By unanimous consent agreement, mandatory
quorum required under Rule XXII waived.
April 29, 2021: By unanimous consent agreement, debate and
vote May 10, 2021.
May 10, 2021: Considered by Senate.
May 10, 2021: Cloture invoked in Senate by Yea-Nay vote, 62-
35. Record vote number: 179.
May 10, 2021: By unanimous consent agreement, debate May 11,
2021.
May 11, 2021: Considered by Senate.
May 11, 2021: Confirmed by the Senate by Yea-Nay vote, 61-37.
Record vote number: 180.
Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, of Virginia, to be Administrator of the
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, vice Seema
Verma.
February 22, 2021: Received in the Senate and referred to the
Committee on Finance.
April 15, 2021: Committee on Finance. Hearings held. Hearings
printed: S. Hrg. 117-341.
April 22, 2021: Committee on Finance. Failed to report
favorably.
May 11, 2021: Motion to discharge Senate Committee on
Finance. Made by the Majority Leader pursuant to S.
Res. 27 of the 117th Congress.
May 11, 2021: By unanimous consent agreement, debate and vote
the motion to discharge May 12, 2021.
May 12, 2021: Motion to discharge considered by Senate.
May 12, 2021: Senate Committee on Finance discharged by Yea-
Nay vote, 51-48. Record vote number: 184. Pursuant
to S. Res. 27 of the 117th Congress, placed on the
Executive Calendar.
May 12, 2021: Placed on Senate Executive Calendar. Calendar
No. 117.
May 20, 2021: Motion to proceed to executive session to
consideration of nomination agreed to in Senate by
voice vote.
May 20, 2021: Cloture motion presented in Senate.
May 20, 2021: By unanimous consent agreement, mandatory
quorum required under Rule XXII waived.
May 20, 2021: By unanimous consent agreement, debate May 24,
2021.
May 24, 2021: Considered by Senate.
May 24, 2021: Cloture invoked in Senate by Yea-Nay vote, 52-
43. Record vote number: 200.
May 24, 2021: By unanimous consent agreement, debate May 25,
2021.
May 25, 2021: Considered by Senate.
May 25, 2021: Confirmed by the Senate by Yea-Nay vote, 55-44.
Record vote number: 201.
Adewale O. Adeyemo, of California, to be Deputy Secretary of
the Treasury, vice Justin George Muzinich.
January 20, 2021: Received in the Senate and referred to the
Committee on Finance.
February 23, 2021: Committee on Finance. Hearings held.
Hearings printed: S. Hrg. 117-205.
March 3, 2021: Committee on Finance. Ordered to be reported
favorably.
March 3, 2021: Reported by Senator Wyden, Committee on
Finance, without printed report.
March 3, 2021: Placed on Senate Executive Calendar. Calendar
No. 30. Subject to nominee's commitment to respond
to requests to appear and testify before any duly
constituted committee of the Senate.
March 18, 2021: Motion to proceed to executive session to
consideration of nomination agreed to in Senate by
voice vote.
March 18, 2021: Cloture motion presented in Senate.
March 18, 2021: By unanimous consent agreement, mandatory
quorum required under Rule XXII waived.
March 24, 2021: Cloture motion withdrawn by unanimous consent
in Senate.
March 24, 2021: By unanimous consent agreement, debate and
vote March 25, 2021.
March 25, 2021: Considered by Senate.
March 25, 2021: Confirmed by the Senate by voice vote.
Janet Louise Yellen, of California, to be Secretary of the
Treasury.
January 20, 2021: Received in the Senate and referred to the
Committee on Finance.
January 22, 2021: Committee on Finance. Ordered to be
reported favorably.
January 22, 2021: Reported by Senator Grassley, Committee on
Finance, without printed report.
January 22, 2021: Placed on Senate Executive Calendar.
Calendar No. 2. Subject to nominee's commitment to
respond to requests to appear and testify before
any duly constituted committee of the Senate.
January 22, 2021: By unanimous consent agreement, debate and
vote January 25, 2020.
January 25, 2021: Considered by Senate.
January 25, 2021: Confirmed by the Senate by Yea-Nay vote,
84-15. Record vote number: 6.
Katherine C. Tai, of the District of Columbia, to be United
States Trade Representative, with the rank of
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary.
January 20, 2021: Received in the Senate and referred to the
Committee on Finance.
February 25, 2021: Committee on Finance. Hearings held.
Hearings printed: S. Hrg. 117-239.
March 3, 2021: Committee on Finance. Ordered to be reported
favorably.
March 3, 2021: Reported by Senator Wyden, Committee on
Finance, without printed report.
March 3, 2021: Placed on Senate Executive Calendar. Calendar
No. 29. Subject to nominee's commitment to respond
to requests to appear and testify before any duly
constituted committee of the Senate.
March 11, 2021: Motion to proceed to executive session to
consideration of nomination agreed to in Senate by
voice vote.
March 11, 2021: Cloture motion presented in Senate.
March 11, 2021: By unanimous consent agreement, mandatory
quorum required under Rule XXII waived.
March 16, 2021: Cloture invoked in Senate by Yea-Nay vote,
98-0. Record vote number: 122.
March 16, 2021: Considered by Senate.
March 16, 2021: By unanimous consent agreement, debate March
17, 2021.
March 17, 2021: Considered by Senate.
March 17, 2021: Confirmed by the Senate by Yea-Nay vote, 98-
0. Record vote number: 123.
Xavier Becerra, of California, to be Secretary of Health and
Human Services.
January 20, 2021: Received in the Senate and referred to the
Committee on Finance.
February 23, 2021: Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and
Pensions. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S. Hrg.
117-171.
February 24, 2021: Committee on Finance. Hearings held.
Hearings printed: S. Hrg. 117-234.
March 3, 2021: Committee on Finance. Failed to report
favorably.
March 10, 2021: Motion to discharge Senate Committee on
Finance. Made by the Majority Leader pursuant to S.
Res. 27 of the 117th Congress.
March 10, 2021: By unanimous consent agreement, debate the
motion to discharge March 11, 2021.
March 11, 2021: Motion to discharge considered by Senate.
March 11, 2021: Senate discharged by Yea-Nay vote, 51-48.
Record vote number: 117. Pursuant to S. Res. 27 of
the 117th Congress, placed on the Executive
Calendar.
March 11, 2021: Placed on Senate Executive Calendar. Calendar
No. 37.
March 15, 2021: Motion to proceed to executive session to
consideration of nomination agreed to in Senate by
voice vote.
March 15, 2021: Cloture motion presented in Senate.
March 15, 2021: By unanimous consent agreement, mandatory
quorum required under Rule XXII waived.
March 17, 2021: Cloture invoked in Senate by Yea-Nay vote,
50-49. Record vote number: 124.
March 17, 2021: Considered by Senate.
March 17, 2021: By unanimous consent agreement, debate March
18, 2021.
March 18, 2021: Considered by Senate.
March 18, 2021: Confirmed by the Senate by Yea-Nay vote, 50-
49. Record vote number: 125.
William Patrick Joseph Kimmitt, of Virginia, to be a member of
the United States International Trade Commission for a
term expiring June 16, 2029, vice F. Scott Kieff, term
expired.
January 6, 2021: Received in the Senate and referred to the
Committee on Finance.
February 4, 2021: Received message of withdrawal of
nomination from the President.
Mark Van Dyke Holmes, of New York, to be a judge of the United
States Tax Court for a term of 15 years
(reappointment).
January 3, 2021: Received in the Senate and referred to the
Committee on Finance.
February 4, 2021: Received message of withdrawal of
nomination from the President.
BILLS AND RESOLUTIONS REFERRED
TO THE COMMITTEE
There were 860 Senate bills and 7 House bills referred to
the committee for consideration during the 117th Congress. In
addition, 11 Senate and House resolutions (joint, concurrent,
or simple resolutions) were referred to the committee.
REPORTS, PRINTS, AND STUDIES
During the 117th Congress, the committee and supporting
joint committees prepared and issued 3 reports, special prints,
and studies on the following topics:
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Title Document no. To accompany
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Enhancing American Retirement 117-142........... S. 4808
Now Act.
Report on the Activities of the 117-9............. ..................
Committee on Finance of the
United States Senate During the
116th Congress.
Rules of Procedure of the 117-2............. ..................
Committee on Finance.
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OFFICIAL COMMUNICATIONS
During the 117th Congress, a total of 346 official
communications were submitted to the committee. Of these, 2
were Presidential Messages; 310 were Executive Communications--
these communications include reports to advise and inform the
Congress, required annual or semi-annual agency budget and
activities summaries, and requests for legislative action. The
committee also received 34 Petitions and Memorials.
[all]