ALI Hosts Senior Senate Staffers to Discuss the Senate’s 2022 International Economic Agenda
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ALI members only event
Speakers:
Chad Kreikemeier (Sen. Shaheen, NH)
Vivek Chilukuri (Sen. Bennet, CO)
Molly Cole (Sen. Van Hollen, MD)
Evan Giesemann (Sen. Carper, DE)
ALI hosted a conversation with four senior Senate staffers to look ahead at the 2022 Senate international agenda. Panelists outlined a wide-ranging legislative agenda, including the FY22 appropriations package and the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (USICA), with some question on how much of the CHIPs funding will get through. Both are high priority, and panelists remained optimistic about their contents and passage.
Bipartisan work on sanctions and deterrents, as the Russia Ukraine situation unfolds has also moved to the top of the agenda.
On trade, panelists thought 2022 should bring substantive trade progress, after a year of work to rebuild relationships with key allies and trade partners. Engaging in the Indo-Pacific is the top trade priority for many Senators, and it is likely that reauthorization of Trade Adjustment Authority and the Generalized System of Preference will be included in the USICA/America Competes legislation. On climate, many of the climate provisions from the Build Back Better (BBB) Act are widely supported among Democrats, but negotiations continue on the rest of the new package.
Finally, the Senate is accelerating confirmations on the large number of outstanding nominations for ambassadors and senior agency positions, and the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) is expected toward the end of the year, likely after elections.
