Congressional Outlook

Committee Activity

Andrew McCabe’s Senate testimony on Crossfire Hurricane postponed

House chairman asks Secret Service for briefing on COVID-19 safeguards for agents

Tech CEOs to testify on Section 230 before Senate Commerce Committee


Floor Outlook

Senate gavels out for two weeks amid coronavirus outbreak

Leader McConnell floor comments

Congress Last Week

Weekly Digest of the Congressional Record

Floor Activity Headlines

McConnell moves to delay Senate return after 3 lawmakers test positive for COVID-19

Supreme Court Nominee Update

Nominee

Empirical SCOTUS: A comprehensive look at Judge Amy Coney Barrett

Barrett Sees No 'Superprecedent' in Roe

Trump pick noncommittal on recusing from election-related cases

House COVID-19 relief bill allows funds for abortion

On October 1, 2020, the House of Representatives passed the House Amendment to the Senate Amendment to H.R. 925, also known as “The Heroes Act,” by a vote of 214-207.

Division K, Title VIII, Section 801 states that, both in this bill and portions of past COVID-19 relief bills signed into law, no person shall be “excluded from participation in, denied the benefits of, or subjected to discrimination… based on any factor … such as… pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions…”.

“Related medical conditions” has been recognized by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and courts as a reference to abortion. If adopted, this provision could override Hyde protections that apply to provisions in this bill and override Hyde protections in past COVID-19-related legislation.