Get Ready for Policy Season for Congress

The Republican Congress has been somewhat slow to advance policy thus far this year - allowing for the President to move as much as possible through Executive Orders (now up to 157 compared to 11 bills signed into law).  Strategically for Republicans, moving policy without having to secure Democratic votes is easier and requires no negotiation.  But, yielding to the White House to advance a policy agenda on its own is about to dramatically shift as Congress now has the need to urgently advance legislation. 

The One Big Beautiful Bill (budget reconciliation) is nearing the internal Republican deadline on July 4th.  It seems as though that deadline may not be reachable, but they need to wrap it up soon regardless given the growing agenda that awaits House and Senate action.  

If something changes and budget reconciliation is delayed for some reason, Congress will need to pass an increase to the debt ceiling. 

The funding season is now underway in the House as the Appropriations Committee has begun subcommittee markups and will soon pivot to full committee markups.  Leadership is hoping to advance all 12 bills prior to the August recess, despite the senate moving at a much slower pace.  This will also require a continuing resolution to pass prior to the end of September.  

Additionally, the House and Senate will need to advance the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) by the end of the year.  This should not be a problem, but will add some additional time to the floor schedules and committees are getting a later start given the delays in the release of the President’s proposed budget. 

Both the House and Senate are also starting the process of drafting a new surface transportation bill (one year early).  While a heavy lift at an already busy time, there does seem to be bipartisan support to move forward.  Without a near-term deadline this could slip, but committees are moving forward as though they want to be ready to move it. 

All that said, Congress is entering a busy legislative period that will move fast on a lot of different fronts.  This significant pivot for the House and Senate will likely get complicated quickly, but the race to get much of this agenda done is fueled by legitimate consequences of inaction and a looming election that will make legislating much more difficult next year.