Daily Updates

Congress is moving along this month on efforts to fund the federal government and prevent another January 30th shutdown, but the toughest fights are yet to come.  Entering the week, the House had already passed six of the 12 annual appropriations bills for fiscal 2026, three are now already law, and Wednesday the chamber added…

The House on Wednesday advanced a two-bill package to fund large parts of the government, teeing up a final vote later today.  The lower chamber voted 213-210 on the rule governing the spending package, which sets up debate and a vote on final passage. The legislation provides roughly $76 billion to fund the Department of…

As the House and Senate reconvene this week, lawmakers are racing against the clock as they work to push through the remaining appropriations bills ahead of the January 30th government shutdown deadline.  The Senate is expected to take up a minibus appropriations package that would fund the Department of Justice, Department of Commerce, key science…

The Senate now stands adjourned for pro forma sessions only with no business conducted on the following dates and times:  Tuesday, December 23rd at 8:30 A.M., Friday, December 26th at 1:30 P.M., Tuesday, December 30th at 11:00 A.M., Friday, January 2nd at 3:00 P.M. and Saturday, January 3rd at 12:00 P.M.  The Senate will then…

House Republicans on Wednesday passed a partisan package of health care policies designed to provide a conservative alternative to extending the expiring ObamaCare subsidies.  The legislation has little chance of passing through the Senate, however, and it does not address the cost cliff that’s expected to hit 22 million Americans when the enhanced Affordable Care…

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) said there will not be an amendment vote on extending expiring ObamaCare enhanced subsidies as part of a House Republican health care bill this week, in a move that is infuriating moderate Republicans who had been pushing to go on the record about the subsidies. Negotiations between moderates and GOP leadership…

The Republican-controlled Senate voted Thursday to reject health care bills offered by each party, as the U.S. barrels toward a cliff with steep premium hikes for millions of Americans set to hit next month.  The failed votes raise the likelihood that enhanced Obamacare subsidies passed in 2021 will expire at the end of this year…

The Senate is poised to vote on Thursday on two separate plans aimed at addressing a spike in health care costs that are expected for tens of millions of Americans who receive enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credits unless Congress acts.  Both plans, one put forward by Democrats and the other championed by Republicans, are…

The Senate will vote Thursday on a Republican proposal to replace enhanced health insurance subsidies under the Affordable Care Act with health savings accounts that would receive federal contributions to pay out-of-pocket expenses, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-South Dakota) announced Tuesday.  The Senate was already set to vote Thursday on a Democratic plan to…

With just two days until Democrats get a vote on their proposal to extend expiring Obamacare subsidies, Republican senators have yet to coalesce behind an alternative to put up alongside it.  Senate Republicans are expected to discuss their options at a closed-door lunch Tuesday afternoon and make a decision about which direction to take.  Factions…