Congress
“Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.), House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.) and other high-ranking Democrats say any government funding package to keep federal departments operating past Sept. 30 must include major concessions from Republicans to repair what they say is fast becoming a national health care crisis.
Democrats are looking for major concessions on two big issues: the enhanced Affordable Care Act insurance subsidies that are due to expire at the end of the year, and the deep cuts to Medicaid spending included in Republicans’ tax and spending bill, which threaten to put small hospitals around the country out of business.
The hard-line Democratic leaders are taking is raising the likelihood of a government shutdown in a few weeks, given that Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) on Tuesday closed the door on the possibility of adding language to extend the enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) health insurance subsidies to the funding stop gap.” (The Hill)
House
“Rep. Massie’s (R-KY4) discharge petition to force a vote on releasing all of the Department of Justice’s files on Jeffrey Epstein now has 215 co-sponsors. It needs 218. Only three other Republicans have signed on and they can always remove their names if they think it’s in their interest. There’s no time limit on gathering co-sponsors for a discharge petition, so now it’s just a question of whether Republican voters remain interested enough in the topic to force any of their representatives to sign on or whether the Administration succeeds in preventing any more Republicans from signing on.”
“The attempt to censure Rep. McIver (D-NJ10) failed this week thanks to support for a motion to table (aka kill) the censure resolution from a small number of Republicans.
Rep. McIver has been charged with assaulting law enforcement when ICE officers attempted to arrest the Mayor of Newark after three members of Congress had inspected an ICE facility in Newark and the members of Congress attempted to prevent ICE from doing so. The mayor was briefly detained and then released. The other Congress members were neither detained nor charged. Only McIver was charged. Her case has yet to be resolved.” (GovTrack.us)
Passed the House
“The House narrowly passed its major Pentagon policy bill Wednesday after Republicans attached hard-right provisions and shut down debates Democrats sought on the president’s unorthodox use of the military…The most controversial policy provisions stand little chance of clearing the Senate, where bipartisan support is needed to advance legislation. The upper chamber is considering its own bipartisan defense bill, which could pass in the coming days.” (Politico) Passed 231-196. All Indiana representatives votes yes except Rep. Carson who voted not. View the vote. “A bipartisan coalition of lawmakers voted to repeal the decades-old laws that authorized the U.S. to go to war in the Middle East…Lawmakers, in a 261-167 vote, approved an amendment to major defense legislation that would rescind the war powers laws — which passed in the run-up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq and the 1991 Gulf War. The vote is a small win for war powers advocates, who contend the laws need to go to prevent abuses of presidential power and reclaim Congress’ authority over use of the military.” (Politico) Indiana representatives Mrvan, Carson and Spartz voted aye; all other Indiana reps voted no. View the vote.
HR 3486 Stop Illegal Entry Act of 2025
“Among other changes, the bill would set a mandatory minimum prison sentence of five years, and allow up to a life sentence, for migrants who either improperly enter or attempt to improperly enter the United States and then are convicted of a felony. The bill also would increase the maximum term of imprisonment from two to five years for repeated improper entry. Democrats who opposed the measure said penalties are already in place for migrants who commit felonies in the United States and the legislation would bolster the harsh immigration policies of the Trump administration. The bill now heads to the Senate, where Republicans have a 53-vote majority but need 60 votes to overcome a filibuster on legislation. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, has introduced a companion bill, also known as Kate’s Law. That measure is named after Kate Steinle, who was killed in 2015 in San Francisco by an undocumented immigrant with multiple prior deportations.” (Roll Call)
These bills are not near passage. Having passed the House, they would need to pass the Senate in identical form. The ones repealing Biden Administration regulations may get through the Senate fairly soon based on the Senate’s actions on previous similar bills, but there’s no timeline for the rest. (GovTrack.us)
- H.R. 747: Stop Chinese Fentanyl Act of 2025, which would place sanctions on Chinese producers of fentanyl and , passed 407-4
- H.R. 4216: Made-in-America Defense Act, which would, according to Quiver Quantitative, streamline and enhance the process for selling defense articles and services to foreign entities, passed 395-20
- H.R. 4553: Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2026 passed 214-213
- H.J.Res. 105 “Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Bureau of Land Management relating to “North Dakota Field Office Record of Decision and Approved Resource Management Plan”’ passed 215-211
- H.J.Res. 106 “Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Bureau of Land Management relating to “Central Yukon Record of Decision and Approved Resource Management Plan”” passed 215-210
- H.J.Res. 104 “Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Bureau of Land Management relating to “Miles City Field Office Record of Decision and Approved Resource Management Plan Amendment”” passed 211-208
Passed the House by Voice Vote so no record of votes was taken.
H.R. 4550: United States Grain Standards Reauthorization Act of 2025
H.R. 2591: Mental Health in Aviation Act of 2025
H.R. 3423: Facility for Runway Operations and Safe Transportation Act
H.R. 3428: Mid-Atlantic River Basin Commissions Review Act
H.R. 3425: Personnel Oversight and Shift Tracking Act of 2025
Senate
“Republicans triggered the “nuclear option” to change the rules of the Senate on a party-line basis Thursday, a move that will allow them to speed up confirmation of President Donald Trump’s nominees for key executive branch positions. The vote was 53-45 to establish a new rule that allows the Senate to confirm an unlimited number of nominees en bloc, rather than process each one individually… Republicans say they’ll allow their own senators to object to individual nominees in any given block, but the rule will strip away the power of the minority party to do the same thing.” (NBC)
“Senate Republicans defeated a surprise attempt by Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Wednesday to force a vote demanding the Justice Department release the Jeffrey Epstein files. The Senate voted 51-49 to table Schumer’s measure to direct Attorney General Pam Bondi to make public any available documents that the Justice Department possesses related to the late convicted sex offender and his associates. Sens. Josh Hawley of Missouri and Rand Paul of Kentucky voted with Democrats against tabling the measure.” (Politico)
Passed the Senate by Unanimous Consent
S. 93: Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Amendments Act of 2025
S. 306: Fire Ready Nation Act of 2025
