Both the House and Senate are back in session today at the same time since the second week of July. While much has happened since then, both chambers will spend this week and next week trying to wrap up legislative work prior to the August recess which begins next Friday, August 2nd.
On the Senate side, later today, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) will start the process of bringing a bipartisan package of Big Tech regulations to the floor this week. The combined Kids Online Safety Act and Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act could get a procedural vote as soon as Thursday. The bills, known as KOSA and COPPA 2.0, are both aimed at protecting minors online.
On the House said, House Republicans have pulled two government funding bills scheduled for a floor vote this week, signaling further peril for leadership’s doomed efforts to pass all 2025 spending measures before the August recess. Republicans’ funding bill for the Agriculture Department and the FDA, in addition to the Financial Services spending bill, will not be considered on the floor as originally planned, however GOP leaders still plan to put their Energy-Water and Interior-Environment funding bills on the floor in the coming days. There are three other bills with arguably even worse odds for floor passage, tentatively slated for floor action next week: Labor-HHS-Education, Commerce-Justice-Science and Transportation-HUD. Republican leaders might abandon their appropriations push altogether, leaving at the end of this week for August recess rather than stick around only to not be able to bring the bills to the floor.
For today, the Senate will reconvene for the week at 3:00 P.M. and take up consideration of the nomination of Kashi Way to be a Judge of the United States Tax Court for a term of fifteen years. At approximately 5:30 P.M. the Senate will vote on confirmation of the nomination of Colleen Duffy Kiko to be a Member of the Federal Labor Relations Authority for a term of five years expiring July 29, 2027.
The House convened at 9:00 A.M. and is expected to consider pursuant to a Rule H.R. 8997 – Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2025 and begin consideration of H.R. 8998 – Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2025.
