Recommended subject line: 13 states sue Biden admin over ARPA tax rule
April 1, 2021: Thirteen states, led by Republican attorneys general from Alabama, Arkansas, and West Virginia, sued the Biden administration regarding a tax provision in the American Rescue Plan Act.
Every weekday, Ballotpedia is tracking key presidential appointments, executive actions, and policy developments from the Biden administration.
- There are no committee hearings scheduled Thursday. The Senate stands adjourned until April 12 for a full session.
News
- Thirteen states, led by Republican attorneys general from Alabama, Arkansas, and West Virginia, sued the Biden administration on Wednesday regarding a provision in the American Rescue Plan Act that prohibits states from using federal aid to offset tax cuts. The other states involved in the lawsuit aree Alaska, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Utah. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement regarding this issue last week, “Nothing in the Act prevents States from enacting a broad variety of tax cuts. It simply provides that funding received under the Act may not be used to offset a reduction in net tax revenue resulting from certain changes in state law.”
- Biden issued several proclamations on Wednesday acknowledging monthly awareness programs related to the justice system, cancer, organ donation, child abuse prevention, sexual assault prevention, financial education, transgender visibility, and labor organizing.
- NPR reported that the Biden administration was considering revamping the asylum system to process cases more quickly. Under this plan, some asylum cases from the southern border would be processed by the Department of Homeland Security rather than the Department of Justice.
- The Biden administration ended Trump-era restrictions on transgender servicemembers. Troops will be allowed to serve under their self-identified gender and receive medical treatments related to transitioning.
- Biden is convening his first in-person Cabinet meeting on Thursday. The meeting will focus on the American Jobs Plan and the federal response to COVID-19. Shalanda Young, the acting director of the Office of Management and Budget, will attend the meeting along with other confirmed Cabinet members.
Transition in Context: Congressional Approval Rating
The following chart compares congressional approval ratings during the administrations of Presidents Donald Trump (R) and Joe Biden (D) on a week-over-week basis. This number is taken from the 30-day average of polls conducted by a select list of polling organizations and outlets. Click here to read the list of polling organizations used.
Congress’ approval rating during the ninth week of President Biden’s term was 26.5%, about the same as the week before. At the same point in President Trump’s term, Congress’ approval rating was 20.4%, down 1.7 percentage points from the week before.
