Eye on Congress

Ransomware attacks, in which hackers shut down computer systems and demand payment to undo the damage, are growing more brazen. The attacks have hit local governments as well as companies. Will the U.S. be able to get a handle on the growing problem? CQ Roll Call's Shawn Zeller talks with Rep. Jim Langevin, a Rhode Island Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee’s cybersecurity panel, who two years ago co-chaired a congressional commission seeking collaboration between the public and private sectors in fighting the hackers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why does something that seems pretty common sense and has wide bipartisan support get stalled in the Senate? A case study is the current debate over how to address military sexual assault, an issue the Pentagon has grappled with for years. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

John Rogers Jr., the co-CEO of Ariel Investments, the oldest Black-owned asset management firm, and Robert Smith, Vista Equity’s CEO and the wealthiest Black person in America, talk about Black banks and the challenges of digitalization. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Senate Democrats are preparing to draft a fiscal 2022 budget resolution with up to $6 trillion in reconciliation spending during the next decade. CQ Roll Call’s Jennifer Shutt and David Lerman break down what this means for bipartisan talks on an infrastructure package and the path through reconciliation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Even as the U.S. will likely have a federal holiday to mark Juneteenth — an important date not a part of many history books — battles over teaching race continue. After the murder of George Floyd, many sought to learn lessons that were absent in the traditional white-washed version of American history taught for generations. But educating students about race — what some call critical race theory — has become another flashpoint in the culture wars pitting red against blue. Mary C. Curtis talks with education policy expert Jazmyne Owens of New America about why some states are trying to ban the teaching of systemic racism and what it will mean if they succeed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, the House and Senate were both in session for the first time since before Memorial Day, and it feels like Spring Fever, with pandemic precautions mostly being cast aside. CQ Roll Call Staff Writer Jim Saksa has been there for the most moribund times of the pandemic, and now, a kind of Great Reopening. He gathered sound, wrote a couple of stories, caught up with folks from the Before Times and talks about it with host Jason Dick on this edition of Political Theater. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The World Economic Forum’s Sheila Warren and Global Digital Finance’s Jeff Bandman discuss whether ESG — and by extension, climate, governance and diversity considerations — will impact the future of crypto. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing Tuesday on the ninth anniversary of the Dreamers act. CQ Roll Call's Suzanne Monyak reports on what to expect. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The White House has laid out how they’ll use the funds allocated to the previous administration's border wall efforts. CQ Roll Call's Paul Krawzak reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

House Democrats are preparing to approve a roughly $1.5 trillion total discretionary spending level in a deeming resolution so appropriators can begin work on the fiscal 2022 spending bills. But partisanship is leaving the fate of these spending bills up in the air. CQ Roll Call’s Jennifer Shutt and David Lerman break down the major spending level debates that will play out over the next couple of months. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Amazon is at the center of a firestorm from employee activists and shareholders who want the company to pay more attention to environmental justice — a social movement that focuses on equality in the distribution of environmental benefits and burdens. Environmental justice is emerging as the latest corporate sustainability issue and CQ Roll Call's Laura Weiss sits down with Shawn Zeller to discuss how its impacting companies, Congress and the country. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Europe is still deeply disquieted by the illiberal direction the U.S. has taken, despite Biden's victory. President Biden will have to calm jittery nerves to successfully negotiate new understandings on thorny issues. CQ Roll Call's Rachel Oswald reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

House lawmakers, angry about ransomware, and hearing the Colonial Pipeline CEO, urge the Biden administration to be more aggressive in fighting cyber threats. CQ Roll Call's Gopal Ratnam reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For a small state, West Virginia has outsize political influence. The Mountain State's two senators, Democrat Joe Manchin and Republican Shelley Moore Capito, are in the middle of the biggest debates on the congressional and White House agenda. Andrea Billups, news director at West Virginia Public Broadcasting, explains why these two politicians are so effective. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Senators grilled the acting OMB director, Shalanda Young, on Tuesday over the administration's proposed fiscal 2022 budget. Their questions provide a roadmap for potential stumbling blocks ahead. CQ Roll Call's Paul Krawzak reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Biden's task force to reunite families separated under the Trump administration says it lacks records on more than 2,100 kids, according to a new progress report. CQ Roll Call's Suzanne Monyak reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Biden took Congress by surprise by proposing a severe cut in funds for the program designed to improve safety and security of biological materials and medical surveillance overseas. CQ Roll Call's John Donnelly reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The pandemic made clear that the digital divide is profound--especially when it comes to tribal lands. CQ Roll Call's Dean DeChiaro reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The CEO of Propel, a startup dedicated to helping low-income Americans improve their financial health, sits down to talk about how his venture capital-backed startup is innovating how food stamp recipients manage their benefits. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As OMB considers tinkering with the official population threshold of "city" for the first time in 70+ years, leaders in 144 cities fear they may lose billions of dollars. CQ Roll Call's Michael Macagnone reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices