Federal Legislative Update, Week of April 29, 2025
House and Senate Action
Congress gaveled into session on Monday afternoon after returning from a lengthy two-week recess. Before the break, both chambers adopted a final fiscal year 2025 budget resolution, which sets tax and spending targets for the GOP’s much-anticipated mega-policy bill. This week, several House committees will begin the process of considering their respective portions of the ambitious legislative package, the latest developments in the lengthy budget reconciliation process. Additional information on committee markups is located below.
While the House is primarily focused on committee markups this week, lawmakers will also attend to unrelated legislative business. On Monday, the lower chamber considered 17 non-controversial measures on the suspension calendar. This included the bipartisan Take it Down Act (S. 146), which would establish a new criminal offense for non-consensual intimate imagery, otherwise referred to as “revenge porn”. The measure passed the Senate earlier this year.
House lawmakers will also consider the following bills under suspension of the rules (which requires a two-thirds majority for passage):
- H.R. 973, which would establish consumer standards for lithium-ion batteries.
- The Ticket Act (H.R. 1402), which would require sellers of event tickets to disclose comprehensive information to consumers about ticket prices and related fees.
- The Promoting Resilient Supply Chains Act (H.R. 2444), which would establish a critical supply chain resiliency and crisis response program in the Department of Commerce.
- The Securing Semiconductor Supply Chains Act of 2025 (H.R. 2480), which would require SelectUSA to coordinate with State-level economic development organizations to increase foreign investment in semiconductor-related manufacturing and production.
- H.R. 1721, which would direct the Secretary of Commerce to conduct a study on the domestic manufacturing of critical infrastructure-related products.
- The Rural Broadband Protection Act of 2025 (H.R. 2399), which would require the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to establish a vetting process for prospective applicants for high-cost universal service program funding.
The full House agenda can be accessed here.
The upper chamber has a comparatively leaner week. On Monday, the Senate resumed consideration of former Georgia Senator David Purdue for U.S. Ambassador to China. On Tuesday, the upper chamber will vote on two of President Trump's senior USDA nominees. The Senate’s daily schedule is available here.
House Committees Begin Writing Budget Reconciliation Legislation
This week, several House committees will begin marking up their respective portions of a massive border, energy, defense, and tax policy bill. Pursuant to the House budget resolution, the Ways and Means Committee is permitted to spend $4.5 trillion on tax cuts as long as other committees are able to produce $2 trillion in spending reductions. If the amount of spending cuts is lower, the tax cuts would have to be reduced by the difference. The budget resolution also allows for a $4 trillion increase in the debt ceiling. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has set an ambitious timeline, aiming to pass the reconciliation package by Memorial Day. Below is the latest schedule for House committee markups:
Monday, April 28
- On Monday, the House Energy and Commerce Committee began marking up its portion of the reconciliation package. As outlined in the fiscal year 2025 budget blueprint, the committee must find $880 billion in savings, the vast majority of which is expected to come from cuts and programmatic changes to Medicaid (including the imposition of new work requirements).
Tuesday, April 29
- The House Armed Services Committee will begin its markup on Tuesday. The committee is permitted to increase Pentagon spending by $100 billion, which is expected to fund an expanded military presence on the southern border, Navy shipbuilding, nuclear weapons modernization, space capabilities, and President Trump's so-called "Golden Dome" missile defense program. Notably, the committee is pushing for a higher spending ceiling on Pentagon programs – seeking a total of $150 billion in new spending.
- The House Homeland Security Committee will also begin its markup on Tuesday and is permitted to increase border security spending by $90 billion. This is expected to include funding for the southern border wall, the modernization of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) facilities, the expansion and retention of the CBP workforce, new border surveillance technology, and technology that allows CBP to identify illicit drugs.
- The House Education and Workforce Committee will begin considering its portion of the budget reconciliation bill on Tuesday. The committee must find $330 billion in savings. To do so, Republican lawmakers are expected to repeal existing student loan repayment plans, restrict Parent and Grad Plus loans, and limit the amount of federal loans a borrower can take out.
Wednesday, April 30
- Per the budget resolution, the House Judiciary Committee may write legislation that adds $110 billion in new funding. In addition, the committee is expected to give the Trump administration broad discretion to charge fees to asylum seekers and other immigration applicants as a condition of remaining in the United States.
- The House Financial Services Committee will also begin its markup process on Wednesday and is tasked with finding $1 billion in savings. The committee is expected to write legislation that would dissolve the U.S.’s primary audit regulator, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, and fold it into the Securities and Exchange Commission. The committee is also expected to include language that reduces the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's funding cap by almost 60 percent.
- Also on Wednesday, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will consider legislation that would, among other things, overhaul the Federal Employee Retirement Program. The panel is required to reduce spending by $50 billion.
- Finally, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is scheduled to begin its markup on Wednesday. While the panel is required to find $1 billion in net savings, committee Republicans are aiming to provide $21 billion in new funding to help the Coast Guard defend the southern border, as well as $15 billion to upgrade the nation's air traffic control systems. The committee intends to offset those costs by enacting two new annual fees – a $200 registration fee on all electric vehicles and a $100 fee on all hybrid cars, both of which would be directed to the Highway Trust Fund.
Tuesday, May 6
- On May 6, the House Natural Resources Committee plans to markup its portion of the GOP's budget reconciliation package. The committee has been instructed to find $1 billion in total savings. To do so, the panel is expected to write legislation that expands oil and gas lease sales on federal lands and waters. The legislation is also likely to include language that would help develop new mines for critical minerals.
Thursday, May 8
- On May 8, the House Agriculture Committee will begin to craft legislation that cuts $230 billion in spending. The panel is expected to reach its savings goal by enacting significant cuts to SNAP/CalFresh. Specifically, the panel is expected to include provisions that limit future increases to food aid benefits for families, block undocumented immigrants from accessing benefits, implement stricter work requirements, and require states to pay penalties for overpayment errors.
Monday, May 12
- At the center of the reconciliation process is the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, which is eyeing a May 12-13 markup of legislation that would extend the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Moreover, blue-state Republicans are pushing for language that would raise the $10,000 cap on the State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction. On Monday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent met with House Speaker Johnson, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), and Congress's tax-writing chiefs to hammer out the details for the tax cut portion of the reconciliation bill.
Across Capitol Hill, Senate Republican leaders have opted not to begin committee markups this week. To streamline the reconciliation process, GOP leaders in the upper chamber plan to wait for the House to pass a bill that can earn the 51 votes needed to clear the Senate.
Relevant Hearings & Markups
Wednesday, April 30 | 10 a.m. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee markup of eight measures, including a resolution that would request that the president provide documentation concerning security clearances held by Elon Musk and any DOGE employees and members of the DOGE team.
Tuesday, April 29 | 10:15 a.m. House Natural Resources Oversight Subcommittee hearing on “Exploring the Potential of Deep-Sea Mining to Expand American Mineral Production.”
Tuesday, April 29 | 10:15 a.m. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee hearing on “America Builds: The Need for a Long-Term Solution for the Highway Trust Fund.”
Tuesday, April 29 | 10:30 a.m. House Administration Committee hearing on “Why the Wait? Unpacking California’s Untimely Election Counting Process.”
Tuesday, April 29 | 10:30 a.m. House Natural Resources Federal Lands Subcommittee legislative hearing on four bills, including the Post-Disaster Reforestation and Restoration Act of 2025 (H.R. 528).
Tuesday, April 29 | 11 a.m. House Oversight Economic Growth, Energy Policy, and Regulatory Affairs Subcommittee hearing on “Made in the USA: Igniting the Industrial Renaissance of the United States.”
Tuesday, April 29 | 2 p.m. House Oversight Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and Government Innovation Subcommittee hearing on “Unlocking Government Efficiency Through IT Modernization.”
Wednesday, April 30 | 10 a.m. House Natural Resources Water, Wildlife and Fisheries Subcommittee oversight hearing on “Advancing Federal Water and Hydropower Development: A Stakeholder Perspective.”
Wednesday, April 30 | 10 a.m. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing on “Building on the IIJA’s Successes: Identifying Opportunities to Strengthen Water Infrastructure Programs.”
Thursday, May 1 | 10 a.m. Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee hearing on “Examining Insurance Markets and the Role of Mitigation Policies."