Posts by Matt Zuiderhof

This Week in Congress! Congress returned to session this week to reopen the government. This past weekend, Senate Majority Leader Thune (R-SD) kept the chamber in session and by Sunday, the Senate voted in favor of a motion to reconsider the House-passed CR. This vote permitted leadership to bring that measure to the floor with…

Status of FY 2026 Government Funding Unless every Senator agrees to a time agreement, the process could take several days to pass in that chamber. Assuming that it eventually does, it will then go to the House.  Republican leadership advised that votes are expected in the House later this week.  The assumption is that a…

Reconciliation 2.0 / Healthcare Reform Legislation President Trump is against any extension of the ACA enhanced tax credits, arguing that such funds should be paid “to the people” instead of “money sucking Insurance Companies.” That likely will prevent any bipartisan deal on extending the subsidies, but Senate Budget Committee Chairman Graham (R-SC) has been talking to…

Republicans Release Package of Labor Bills On November 10th, Republicans from the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee announced a slate of labor reform bills aimed at improving the rights of workers. The bills in the package are as follows: Worker RESULTS Act (S.3117): Amends the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) regarding labor…

This Week in Congress! This week, the Senate was in session, but the House remained out of session; it has not voted in 45 days. The Senate considered the House-passed continuing resolution (CR) again this week and the chamber voted on administration nominees. Senate Democrats called for vote on a war powers resolution that would…

Status of FY 2026 Government Funding The current government shutdown is tied to the longest prior government shutdown, which lasted from December 21, 2018, to January 25, 2019. A possible lapse in federal food aid funding, the start of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) open enrollment, and upcoming elections could encourage a deal to reopen the…

FY 2026 Appropriations The Senate made some progress on FY 2026 appropriations bills last week. Senate Democrats hotlined a proposal to package together four appropriations bills:  Defense, Labor-HHS, Treasury-HUD, and C-J-S.  Hotlining tests for any objections to allowing the Senate to bypass regular procedure and move legislation to a vote with little or no floor…

Update on Tariffs Last week, the Senate approved three resolutions to end national emergencies declared under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the National Emergencies Act, which President Trump used to justify broad tariffs on imports. These resolutions did not require the usual 60-vote threshold. The first resolution (S.J. Res. 81) ended the emergency…

ASA Offers Comments on OSHA’s Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings Proposed Rule ASA, along with the Construction Industry Safety Coalition (CISC), submitted comments following written post-hearing brief regarding the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA)’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking concerning the Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and…

Update: Interest Rates Last week, the Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 0.25 percentage points. The U.S. labor market has slowed significantly throughout 2025, adding an average of just 29,000 jobs a month. The unemployment rate has risen to 4.3 percent from 4 percent in January, and the rate of hiring has slowed to levels…