Monday, March 27th, 2023
Parents Bill of Rights: The House passed H.R.5 (213-208), which would protect the right of parents to address a school board and to receive information about incidents of violence at their child's school. It would also require that schools provide curriculum materials, and that school libraries disclose a list of their inventory. Those that do not comply with the provisions of the bill would lose federal funding.
Democrats contend that the bill is a federal version of policies passed in several Republican-controlled states, including Florida. They argue that it would entangle teachers and school districts across the country in lawsuits and make it easier to ban books.
Retirement Investment Rule: The House failed, in a 219-200 vote, to override President Joe Biden’s veto of a measure to overturn a controversial investment rule in a victory for the White House. The rule was issued in December 2022 that allows the fiduciaries of employee benefit plans to make investment and other decisions on the basis of ESG (environmental, social and governance) factors, reversing a Trump administration policy set in late 2020 to effectively prohibit the consideration of such factors.
President Biden vetoed the disapproval resolution saying that retirement plan fiduciaries in making investment decisions should be able to take into account factors such as the physical risks of climate change or poor corporate governance that could affect investment returns. A two-thirds majority vote would have been needed in both chambers of Congress to override the veto – a high threshold to meet.
Taiwan: The House passed H.R.1159, which would amend the Taiwan Assurance Act of 2020, that requires the U.S. State Department periodically conduct reviews of its guidelines for engagement with Taiwan, and submit a report to Congress at least once every two years to strengthen the governing body's supervision of U.S.-Taiwan relations. It also asks that the U.S. secretary of state identify opportunities to lift any remaining self-imposed limitations on U.S.-Taiwan engagement and articulate a plan to do so.
