Insights

Washington – May 1, 2023: Aaron Cummings, former chief of staff to Republican U.S. Senator Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, the most senior member of the U.S. Senate, has joined Crowell & Moring to serve as co-chair of the firm’s bipartisan Government Affairs Group with partner Jim Flood, former Counsel to Sen. Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-NY). 

Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) has issued a mandate to the Biden Administration: stop the spending spree with the remaining dollars in the CHIPs for America Program.  Senator Ernst’s missive is a direct response to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo’s push to have every employee in the Department of Commerce work overtime to spend billions of dollars in CHIPs funding before President Biden leaves office—a push that has already resulted in almost as much spending since the November 5thelection as was spent in the preceding two years since the CHIPs Act was passed.  Senator Ernst warned, the success of the CHIPs initiative “requires thoughtful planning and strategic spending, not binge buying shopping sprees by bureaucrats shoveling billions out the door before” Biden’s term expires. 

While not new, Congressional investigations have certainly been receiving increased press coverage in recent years, raising questions about their scope and potential risk for organizations and individuals. Congressional investigations have some similarities to other law enforcement and regulatory investigations, but are distinct in many respects. This alert will provide guidance about the unique nature of congressional investigations, and how to respond if you are the target of one.

If the year 2022 was about Executive Branch agencies pursuing ESG (environmental, social, and governance)-related activities—from the Securities and Exchange Commission’s GHG and ESG disclosure proposals, to the Department of Labor’s final reversal of the Trump-era rule discouraging ESG-focused investing by pension funds, and the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council’s proposal to require government contractors to disclose GHG emissions—then 2023 has seen the 118thCongress taking center stage. Policymakers are questioning how ESG issues impact businesses, workers, and investors; and what role the government should play in encouraging or discouraging ESG considerations.