OUR PERSPECTIVES

Just yesterday, new regulatory obligations came down on “social media platforms” that operate in Australia. Prompted by concern that young users – kids under 16 – are especially exposed to harm on those platforms -- and unpersuaded that platform operators were doing enough to protect them -- last year, the Australian Parliament amended its Online Safety Act to essentially ban creating underage accounts. The new rules took effect on 10 December, Australian time. As an island n

Unless you are deeply engaged in the healthcare package, you are probably looking at 2026 as the next opportunity to influence policy.  If you are looking to run the same playbook as you did in 2025, you will effectively be playing baseball on a tennis court. Strategies need to be realigned for the new dynamics that will come with the new year ahead.    Different Time Window:   Next year, the real window for policy is the first six months of the year (when political risk rem

Check out the most recent #RuralReport for updates on farm aid delivery and Congress' plans to negotiate a Farm Bill early next year. Click here to download the full PDF version of the Rural Report.

In DC, big-ticket policy solutions are always a hard sell, made even harder by an upcoming election. By late spring, Congress’s focus shifts from legislating to campaigning, making the next four months the real window to secure movement on big-ticket items. The compressed timeline matters, and what’s moving impacts the broader ecosystem. Here’s how: · Appropriators will be busy.   Congress has a January 30 deadline to pass the remaining appropriations bill. These will be must

Check out this week's #AppropriationsUpdate for details on the outlook for a second minibus in the coming weeks. Click here or the image below to download a PDF of the full document.

This week, Congress begins probing recent Venezuela boat strikes, Tennessee elects Matt Van Epps to Congress, and year-end negotiations intensify around a potential bipartisan healthcare package. Check it all out in this week's BG3! Click the image below to download a full PDF version of the document.

Check out November's #CongressionalUpdate  – a real-time year-to-date snapshot of legislative activity, tracking the number of bills introduced, passed, failed, vetoed, and signed.  Click here or the image below to download a PDF of the full document.

Next Thursday, the House Agriculture Committee is scheduled to hear testimony on reauthorization of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The CFTC’s last full reauthorization was in 2008. Since then, its remit has expanded dramatically (after the post-2008 global financial reforms) to cover swaps, derivatives, and a much broader set of markets, including digital assets, environmental/commodity derivatives, and novel financial products. Reauthorizing CFTC is much m

If we’ve learned anything from recent special elections, it’s that affordability has emerged as voters’ top priority. This flashing red light will inform how elected officials message their bills, shape committee agendas, and frame the work Congress is delivering back home. Both parties are centering affordability, but with different frames. Republicans are focusing on supply-side drivers, such as streamlining regulations, permitting delays, and agency actions they argue infl

Check out this week's #AppropriationsUpdate for details on what's included in the FY26 Financial Services and Energy & Water bills recently released by Senate Republicans. Click here or the image below to download a PDF of the full document.

This week, Rep. Swalwell launches a California gubernatorial bid, Rep. Greene announces her resignation, and President Trump holds a meeting with NYC Mayor-Elect Mamdani. Check it all out in this week's BG3! Click the image below to download a full PDF version of the document.

Check out our latest infographic outlining the policy timeline and when political risk and policy movement occur across the congressional year. Click here or the image below to download a full PDF version of the document.

As the politics of the last decade have grown dicier, those of us trying to advance any policy agenda have had to speed up and prolong our sprints back and forth across the aisle.  So, the Thanksgiving break is truly a rare chance to take a breath.  It’s also a chance to get outside and deliberately think about the common ground we have.   There’s no getting around how tension-filled life has become in the policy mosh pit. At the same time that the political environment has b

This week, Rep. Velázquez announces her retirement, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman visits the White House, and Congress advances legislation to release the Epstein files. Check it all out in this week's BG3! Click the image below to download a full PDF version of the document.

The House and Senate have released their official calendar for the 119th Congress. Check out Brumidi Group’s latest document for a full look at when Congress will be in session in 2026. Click here or the image below to download a full PDF version of the calendar.

This time last year, an array of advocates backing the EXPLORE Act were on a roller coaster of expectations. The legislation had over 80 pages of detailed updates to outdoor recreation rules, with provisions on permitting reform, accessibility, needs of gateway communities, technology upgrades, and more. Some sections were in the works for over a decade, and the House had finally passed the bill by unanimous consent in April 2024.  It took an all-out push and final-minute, M

In today’s Outdoor Report, the record shutdown comes to a close. the trade agenda zeroes in on a major IEEPA case, and Senators press BLM on the flexibility of federal land-use plans. Check it all out and more in the latest Outdoor Report! Click here to download a full PDF version of the report.

Within the bill to open the federal government, Congress passed nearly 100 extensions - most through September 30, 2026. Below are the extensions included in the CR. Click here or the image below to download a full PDF version of the document.

The Trump Administration released a pre-publication version of a proposed rule  to reduce the number of U.S. streams and wetlands that are covered by federal water pollution protections – offering new parameters for protected waterways, groundwater, ditches, converted cropland, and more. The proposal comes two years after the Supreme Court’s decision in Sackett v. EPA , which narrowed the definition of "waters of the United States" (WOTUS) and, by extension, the protections a

Congress didn’t just avert a shutdown last week; it quietly extended nearly 100 expiring authorities across every part of the federal government. While these extensions look like routine maintenance to keep key programs functioning, they reveal a Congress bracing for limited action in 2026. For most issues in Congress, tackling many issues on must-pass bills tends to be the surest way to find bipartisan consensus, and this time was no different. The reauthorizations signal se