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Federal Legislative Update, Week of May 19, 2025

House and Senate Action

The House and Senate convened on Monday afternoon, kicking off a make-or-break week for the GOP’s reconciliation package ahead of next week’s Memorial Day recess. With the House scheduled to adjourn on Thursday, Republicans in the lower chamber have just four legislative days to pass their reconciliation bill if they are to meet House Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-LA) ambitious timeline. More on the status of Republicans’ “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” is located below.

In addition to plans to advance the reconciliation package, House Republicans will consider a slate of bills on the suspension calendar (which requires a 2/3 majority vote). The majority of these non-controversial measures pertain to improving veterans’ services and supporting the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The chamber is also expected to vote on two Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolutions aimed at reversing recent Biden administration rules. The first (S.J. Res. 13) targets reforms to the federal bank merger approval process. The second (S.J. Res. 31) would repeal the Environmental Protection Agency’s “Once In, Always In” policy under the Clean Air Act, which requires facilities once classified as major sources of hazardous air pollutants to remain under that designation indefinitely. Opponents of the policy argue it discourages voluntary emissions reductions and stifles investment in pollution control technologies.

The full House agenda can be found here.

For its part, the Senate will continue consideration of President Trump’s nominee for Ambassador to France. Meanwhile, both the House and Senate Appropriations Committees will hold a number of budget-related hearings throughout the week, with testimony expected from several Cabinet officials. Additional details are included below. The Senate’s daily schedule can be accessed here.

 House Budget Committee Advances Republicans’ Reconciliation Package

Late Sunday night, the House Budget Committee advanced the GOP’s sweeping reconciliation package – known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” – as four conservative holdouts voted “present,” allowing the bill to move forward while internal negotiations continue over key sticking points. A slightly modified version of the legislation is now slated for an unconventional 1 AM markup in the powerful House Rules Committee on Wednesday morning. If the timeline holds, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) plans to bring the package to the House floor for a vote on Thursday.

While a Thursday vote would adhere to Johnson’s ambitious goal of clearing the legislation before the Memorial Day recess, it gives House Republicans just one day to advance the package. It should be noted that the House Rules Committee is expected to make several substantive changes to the measure during their markup this week. Although fiscal conservatives have already secured a key concession by moving up the implementation of Medicaid work requirements from 2029 to 2027, several contentious issues remain unresolved. This includes disagreements over the State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction, the timeline for repealing clean energy tax credits enacted under the Inflation Reduction Act, and whether to make additional cuts to federal Medicaid reimbursement rates.

As previously reported, the reconciliation measure would impose upwards of $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and SNAP programs alone. The proposed $300 billion in SNAP savings would largely come from a new cost-share structure that ties state contributions to SNAP payment error rates. States with the highest error rates would be required to cover up to 25 percent of benefit costs (which are currently fully funded by the federal government). In addition, all states would see their share of SNAP administrative costs rise from 50 to 75 percent and be subject to a zero-tolerance threshold for payment errors and associated penalties.

The bulk of the SNAP savings, however, would stem from stricter eligibility rules, particularly new work and reporting requirements for so-called “able-bodied” adults. Specifically, the proposal would raise the age at which a person no longer has to meet these requirements (from 54 to 64). It would also lower the age at which caring for a child exempts an individual from work requirements (from 18 to 7). The additional administrative burden for county human services agencies, which would be tasked with eligibility determinations for this significantly expanded population, is not accounted for in the projected costs of the legislation.

In addition, the bill, as currently written, is projected to generate $715 billion in savings over ten years through a series of major changes to Medicaid and the ACA. These savings would come from imposing new work requirements on able-bodied adults, increasing the frequency of eligibility redeterminations, and repealing federal regulations that had previously streamlined access and enrollment processes.

The legislation also would prohibit states from implementing or modifying provider taxes – a key financing mechanism for the Medicaid program – and penalize states that use state funds to cover undocumented individuals by reducing the federal match for their Medicaid expansion populations from 90 to 80 percent. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the measure would result in 8.6 million people losing health coverage. Democrats warn that the impact could be even greater, noting that the legislation fails to extend the ACA’s enhanced premium tax credits, which are set to expire in December. Unless they are renewed, the number of uninsured individuals could climb to 13.7 million over the next ten years.

Notably, the House Ways and Means Committee advanced its portion of the reconciliation package without making cuts to key safety net programs such as the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program or the Social Services Block Grant (SSBG). Instead, the bill identifies savings by repealing key subsidies for electric vehicles and phasing out a range of other clean energy tax incentives. Additionally, the measure would preserve the tax-exempt status of municipal bonds. The legislation also would expand the Child Tax Credit from $2,000 to $2,500 per child for four years. However, it would exclude nearly 4.5 million U.S. citizen children living in mixed-status immigrant households. Other measures aimed at boosting the working class – such as a temporary moratorium on taxing tips – are also included but would sunset after 2029. 

If House Republicans can unify to advance the package by week’s end, it will head to the Senate. However, with several apparent holdouts in both the far right and moderate factions of the Republican conference, the bill’s ultimate passage is still far from certain. Additionally, once in the upper chamber, the measure is expected to face significant changes, further complicating final passage.

House and Senate Committees Set to Hold Budget Hearings

Throughout the week, both chambers’ Appropriations Committees will hold a spate of hearings on the Trump administration’s fiscal year 2026 budget request.

On Tuesday, the House Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee will hold a budget hearing for the Interior Department, with testimony from Secretary Doug Burgum.

On Wednesday, the House Energy-Water Appropriations Subcommittee will meet to discuss the budget for the Army Corps of Engineers (Civil Works) and the Bureau of Reclamation.

Across Capitol Hill, a number of subcommittees within the Senate Appropriations Committee will hold budget hearings this week, including:

  Relevant Hearings & Markups

 Tuesday, May 20 | 10 a.m. House Energy and Commerce Environment Subcommittee hearing on the EPA’s fiscal 2026 budget.

Tuesday, May 20 | 9:30 a.m. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing on DHS’s

Wednesday, May 21 | 10 a.m. Senate Environment and Public Works hearing on the EPA’s proposed fiscal 2026 budget, with EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin.