As the push towards the election recess continues, last night the Senate passed a sweeping bipartisan bill that would regulate college sports, an attempt to end “chaos” in an industry that has been upended by skyrocketing athlete payments and near-unrestricted transfers between schools. The overwhelming 77-22 vote to pass the legislation is the strongest effort yet by Congress to set national regulations governing payments to college athletes for their name, image and likeness and how often they can transfer. It would give the NCAA new authority over those rules and limited antitrust protections to enforce them.
For today, the Senate is expected to take up S.J.Res.197, a joint resolution introduced by Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin) in the 119th Congress to use the Congressional Review Act to overturn a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) rule regarding Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace standards for 2027.
During Monday’s session, Majority Leader John Thune (R-South Dakota) filed cloture on the following items, which Republican leadership hopes to complete before leaving Washington: Motion to proceed to Cal. #548 H.R.7008 Stop Insider Trading Act, Motion to proceed to Cal. #684 H.R.9340 Ratepayer Protection Act, and Executive Calendar #912 Keith Sonderling, of Florida, to be Secretary of Labor.
Another unresolved issue is a set of Congressional Review Act resolutions seeking to nullify California emission waivers relating to the state’s standards for ships that are docked at harbors and certain harbor craft, such as pilot boats. The waivers, issued by the EPA during the Biden administration, allow California to set stricter emissions standards than elsewhere in the country. Republicans have moved the disapproval resolutions even though California Attorney General Rob Bonta, a Democrat, is suing to challenge whether Congress can use the CRA on these waivers. Valid resolutions under the CRA may be considered under an expedited process in the Senate requiring just a simple majority vote for passage.
