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Over 2,500 small-business owners gathered on Capitol Hill this week to meet with more than 400 lawmakers and federal officials to urge reauthorization of the Small Business Administration (SB) for the first time in over 20 years. Small businesses throughout the nation are facing inflationary pressures, supply chain shortages, labor challenges, limited access to capital and a looming possibility of recession.

Democrats scaled down their ambitions for a budget reconciliation bill in the wake of Sen. Joe Manchin’s (D-WV) recent rejection of any climate and tax legislative package. Instead, congressional Democrats this week focused on a limited prescription drug pricing and health care subsidy bill as President Biden announced executive actions to make progress on climate initiatives.

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), a key centrist in Democrats’ ongoing efforts to pass a party-line budget reconciliation bill, said this week he would not move forward on an economic package that contains climate provisions or tax increases, upending weeks of negotiations with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY). Manchin added he would support a limited measure this month aimed at reducing pharmaceutical prices and extending federal subsidies for buying health care coverage.

Rent increases, financial barriers to homeownership, and the growing role of institutional investors in single-family home markets were the focus of two hearings in the House this week. Committee Democrats blamed corporate landlords for exacerbating affordable housing problems as Republicans emphasized high inflation and excessive government spending as the root causes.

2022 Annual Report - Building a More Resilient and Dynamic Future

As rising inflation diminishes the spending power of the trillion-dollar bipartisan infrastructure law enacted seven months ago, the Biden administration continues to work on a potential reconciliation deal with congressional Democrats that could combat price pressures and revive parts of the president’s agenda.

This week, Congress passed the first major federal gun safety legislation in three decades and sent the bipartisan compromise to President Biden for his expected signature. The Senate passed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act last night with a filibuster-proof 65-33 vote, which included the support of 15 Republicans and all Democrats. The House passed the measure 324-193 today.

The Roundtable’s 2022 Annual Meeting in Washington, DC this week focused on key policy issues affecting the commercial real estate industry—including inflation and interest rates; prospects for a scaled-back Build Back Better (BBB) Act; proposed climate risk disclosure rules; and a new industry Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion initiative.