Media

This week, rising U.S. office vacancy rates were the focus of several media reports as a result of the ongoing, negative impact of hybrid work arrangements. Additional Roundtable Weekly stories cover Beneficial Ownership and LIBOR.

The House of Representatives is expected to pass a Senate-approved $1.65 trillion fiscal 2023 bill by tomorrow to avert a government shutdown. President Biden needs to sign the 4,155-page “omnibus” package before midnight on Dec. 23 to fund the government through Sept. 30, 2023.

The Treasury Department issued a set of proposed rules in December that address how government officials could access information about the “beneficial owners” of most corporations, limited liability companies, and other entities created in or registered to do business in the United States.

This week, Congress passed a government funding extension package until Dec. 23 while appropriators continue working on a $1.7 trillion FY2023 “omnibus” spending deal that they may unveil on Monday. Additionally, The Roundtable wrote to President Biden about the ongoing, harmful economic impacts of widespread remote work on cities, local tax bases, and small businesses—and how work-from-home policies by federal agencies threaten to magnify these negative economic and social consequences.

Congress reached an impasse on a government spending package this week, leaving lawmakers with limited options before Dec. 16 when the expiration of current funding would cause a partial shutdown. Policymakers may opt to pass a short-term Continuing Resolution (CR) to fund the government at current levels while they attempt to reach an agreement by year-end on a massive “omnibus” package—which could include tax, affordable housing, and other measures important to commercial real estate.

President Biden met with congressional leaders on Tuesday to discuss the legislative agenda for the remaining weeks of the lame duck session before the new Congress begins on Jan. 3 with a House Republican majority.

Significant transition came to Washington this week as Republicans officially secured a slim majority in the House of Representatives for the 118th Congress that convenes on Jan. 3. The GOP will control House committees for the final two years of President Biden’s current term, ensuring a clash of policy approaches.