Capitol Hill Intern Update (December 6th, 2021)

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Capitol Hill Intern Update

5 min readDec 6, 2021

We’re approaching the last few weeks of the semester, which means internships are wrapping up and finals are upon us. Good luck cranking out those final papers!

Don’t forget to follow us on Instagram @internupdate and on Twitter @intern_update to keep up with news and events throughout the week.

Check out the archives and resources on Medium.

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THIS WEEK ON THE FLOOR

The House is expected to vote on H.R. 5314 — Protecting our Democracy Act this week.

The Senate will work on nominations and continue negotiations on the NDAA.

THIS WEEK IN COMMITTEE

Full Schedule | Select Hearings:

“Examining the Worldwide Threat of al Qaeda, ISIS, and Other Foreign Terrorist Organizations” in House Oversight and Reform, Dec. 7 @ 9:30 AM, 2154 Rayburn

“H.R. 5314 — Protecting Our Democracy Act” in House Rules, Dec. 7 @ 1 PM, H-313 Capitol

“Growing our Economy by Investing in Families: How Supporting Family Caregiving Expands Economic Opportunity and Benefits All Americans“ in House Select Committee on Economic Disparity and Fairness in Growth, Dec. 8 @ 11 AM, 2118 Rayburn

“Disrupting Dangerous Algorithms: Addressing the Harms of Persuasive Technology” in Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation, Dec. 9 @ 10 AM, Committee Hearing Room, Russell 253

“Unsustainable Drug Prices: Findings from the Committee’s Drug Pricing Investigation and the Need for Structural Reforms” in House Oversight and Reform, Dec. 9 @ 10:30 AM, 2154 Rayburn

WHAT WE’RE WATCHING

Last week, Congress passed a continuing resolution to avoid government shutdown until February 18; lawmakers have until then to reach agreements on FY 22 appropriations spending or pass another stopgap measure

The NDAA is currently stalled in the Senate due to disagreement over the inclusion of an amendment that would restrict Chinese imports based on alleged mistreatment of the Uyghurs

Former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, one of the longest-serving Senate leaders and 1996 presidential nominee, passed away yesterday from lung cancer

In last week’s oral arguments for Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, SCOTUS signaled a willingness to roll back abortion rights

The first cases of the omicron coronavirus variant have been detected in the U.S. across 15 states; cases are expected to rise as health officials urge vaccines and booster shots

OF INTEREST

A volcano eruption in Indonesia killed at least 14 people this weekend; almost 13,000 people have been evacuated from the island

Spotify Wrappeds dropped last week, reminding us about the good (and bad) of inescapable algorithms

Building your winter break reading list? Check out this list of curated reads from NPR

An awesome app to reduce food waste has saved more than 20 million pounds of surplus food (and mitigated more than 11 million pounds of CO2)

South Korea plans to develop the world’s first floating city by 2025

Democracy and Tech Webinar this Wednesday

Join The Brookings Institution’s Global Forum on Democracy and Technology for a discussion about AI and economic inequality this Wednesday @ 11 AM. Register here!

DEADLINE EXTENDED — Apply for APAICS Spring Internship!

Are you a student looking to gain first-hand knowledge of the policy-making process in Washington and work on Capitol Hill? Apply to the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies (APAICS) Spring 22 Congressional Internship Program. Apply here and tell a friend about it!