Two long weeks until August recess - This is the last week with both chambers in session until September, and things are relatively slow as lawmakers count down the days to the month-long August recess. With reconciliation...more
On July 16, the House Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee held a hearing titled Making America the Crypto Capital of the World: Ensuring Digital Asset Policy Built for the 21st Century. The hearing confronted the widening...more
The House and Senate are in session this week, with both chambers set to recess in the coming weeks for the entire month of August. However, President Trump has called on Congress to cancel August recess in a bid to advance...more
Below is this week’s congressional update by BakerHostetler’s Federal Policy team. We’ll continue to post in weeks when both chambers of Congress are in session....more
THIS WEEK’S DOSE - - OBBBA implementation begins. While the administration focuses on implementing the new law, some lawmakers are already discussing adjustments to health provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act...more
On July 9, the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) voted 26-1 to advance the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 to the Senate floor. The Senate version of the NDAA includes a comprehensive...more
The Senate approved a revised version of H.R.4, the Rescission Act of 2025 on July 17, concluding a vote-a-rama that began the morning of July 16 and lasted 13 hours. Senators took roll call votes on 17 amendments and motions...more
In this week’s Film Room, we provide updates on: - College Sports Commission (CSC) activity - The SCORE Act College Sports Commission Update - On July 10, Ross Dellenger of Yahoo! Sports published a memo sent by...more
On Tuesday, July 15, the Senate voted 51-50, with Vice President JD Vance casting the tie-breaking vote, on the motion to proceed with debate on H.R.4, the Rescission Act of 2025. Democrats used 10 hours of the statutorily...more
The U.S. House of Representatives returns from a district work period. The U.S. Senate is expected to consider the $9.4 billion rescissions package that passed the House last month. If not passed by July 18, 2025, the...more
Both the House and Senate are in session this week. The House will consider a tranche of pro-crypto legislation on the floor this week, including a Senate-passed bill (S. 1582) that would establish rules for stablecoins, a...more
THIS WEEK’S DOSE - - President Trumps signs OBBBA into law. After months of debate, Congress passed and President Trump signed H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), into law on July 4, 2025. - Senate HELP...more
Senate Republicans Introduce Legislation to Empower Independent Workers - Earlier this week, Senators Bill Cassidy, (R-LA), chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and Senators Rand Paul...more
On July 3, the House adopted the Senate substitute to H.R. 1, the One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) by a vote of 218-214. The bill was signed into law on July 4, 2025 and is now Public Law 119-21....more
In Brief - - The Senate passed H.R. 1, as amended, 51-50 on July 1, 2025 (legislative day began on June 30, 2025). Vice President JD Vance broke the tie by voting for the measure and presiding over the closing of the vote....more
On June 28, the Senate voted 51-49 on the motion to proceed with debate on a revised version of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) (H.R. 1), triggering a statutorily required 20 hours of debate divided equally between the...more
Senate Republicans have adopted an unusual procedural strategy to bypass the Byrd Rule’s budget restrictions on their “One Big Beautiful Bill.” Rather than seeking the parliamentarian’s approval or invoking the so-called...more
Senators voted overwhelmingly in the early morning hours yesterday to drop the proposed pause on state AI laws that would have dissuaded state lawmakers from regulating artificial intelligence at the local level for the next...more
Welcome to what technically was supposed to be a congressional recess week in advance of the Fourth of July. The Fourth also has been Republicans’ internal deadline for having a reconciliation package on the president’s desk,...more
Earlier today, the Senate voted 51-50, with Vice President JD Vance casting the tie-breaking vote, to approve a revised version of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) (H.R. 1). This concluded a vote-a-rama that began the...more
On June 28, 2025, Senate Republicans released their updated version of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), moving closer to finalizing their sweeping tax reform package ahead of a self-imposed July 4 deadline. A key...more
On June 19, the U.S. Senate Committee on the Budget issued an update on the Senate Parliamentarian’s ruling that the provision in HR 1, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” to eliminate all funding the CFPB may request would...more
Republicans currently control the White House and both chambers of Congress. As the majority power controlling both the House and Senate, the GOP holds the reins of the congressional oversight and investigations agenda....more
On June 16, 2025, the U.S. Senate released its version of the budget reconciliation bill (“Senate bill”), making several changes to the House-passed version from May 22, 2025 (“House bill”). One major difference is the cap on...more