Federal Advocacy Update: March 4, 2025
House Passes Sweeping Budget Resolution
Last week, House Republican leaders marshaled a fiscal year 2025 budget resolution through the lower chamber, a key step in advancing President Donald Trump’s domestic policy agenda. Facing unified Democratic opposition, the House approved the budget blueprint on a 217-215 vote, with Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) the lone GOP member to vote against the measure.
If approved by the Senate, the resolution would set the stage for Congress to consider a series of bills that would allow for changes in the tax code, as well as potential cuts to entitlement programs. Specifically, the House blueprint directs multiple authorizing committees to produce legislation that achieves at least $2 trillion in spending cuts over 10 years, most of which would be realized by reducing programs such as Medicaid and SNAP. The resolution also allows for a $4.8 trillion net increase in the deficit in order to make room for an extension of the tax cuts that were enacted during President Trump’s first term in office.
Looking ahead, Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee plan to begin drafting the party-line bill on March 10 and 12. The tax writers must determine how to extend Trump's tax cuts while staying within the $4.5 trillion cap. Additionally, they're under pressure to include several of President Trump's campaign promises - including eliminating taxes on tips and overtime work - in the reconciliation package.
While House adoption of the resolution marks a significant achievement for Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), Republicans are still facing several major obstacles before a final so-called “budget reconciliation” package can become law. For starters, both the House and Senate must adopt identical budget resolutions to unlock the next steps in the reconciliation process. A number of Republican senators, however, have already indicated that the House blueprint is a non-starter, with several expressing opposition to the proposed deep cuts to Medicaid. Moreover, Senate Republican leaders want the final bill to include a permanent extension of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the House measure would allow for a 10-year extension of the Act).
Finally, while Senate Republicans have been working on a two-bill reconciliation strategy (with the chamber recently approving a budget blueprint that calls for increased spending on border security and defense), Senate GOP leaders have signaled a willingness to adopt a one-bill approach, as favored by the House and President Trump. Accordingly, Senate Republicans are expected to move to modify provisions of the House budget resolution, potentially setting up a protracted debate over how to advance the president’s domestic priorities.
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Speaker Johnson Floats Stopgap Funding Bill as Government Shutdown Looms
After failing to pass a fiscal year appropriations package this past fall, Congress now faces a funding deadline on March 14, when the current Continuing Resolution (CR) expires. With little time to pass an FY 25 spending bill, Congress is increasingly likely to kick the can once again with another Continuing Resolution.
On Sunday, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said he favors a clean stopgap funding bill that would fund the government through September, avoiding a government shutdown next week. A clean CR may lower the risk of a shutdown, as House Republicans previously advocated for any appropriations bill to include language codifying Elon Musk's DOGE cuts into law (obviously, such a move would be a non-starter for Democrats. As the measure is subject to the Senate filibuster, any legislation will need bipartisan support).
Moreover, Speaker Johnson will need House Democrats to support his clean stopgap funding bill, as several House Republicans are refusing to support any CR. Thus far, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has not indicated whether his conference will support the measure, saying that Republicans have conducted zero outreach to his party. Moreover, Jeffries has indicated that any bipartisan deal should include protections for Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. Democrats are also looking to include language in the measure that restricts President Trump and Elon Musk's ability to withhold congressionally appropriated funding (which, notably, is already illegal). Both demands will likely be rejected by the right. Absent a bipartisan, bicameral deal by March 14, federal agencies will face another shutdown.
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Trump Prepares to Address Congress for the First Time in Five Years
On Tuesday, President Trump will address a joint session of Congress for the first time in five years. While his speech does not technically qualify as a State of the Union address, the event will take on similar pomp and circumstance.
The President's address comes at a critical moment for Congress. First, the President is likely to weigh in on his preferred method for keeping the government open past March 14, when the current Continuing Resolution expires. This past weekend, he endorsed Speaker Johnson's proposal for a clean CR, which does not have unanimous support in the GOP conference. Second, he's expected to address House Republican's budget resolution, which he favors over the Senate's slimmed-down blueprint. The high-profile address gives the President a powerful public platform to pressure GOP holdouts on both measures.
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White House Issues Executive Order Aimed at Increasing Timber Production
This weekend, President Trump issued an Executive Order that aims to increase domestic timber production, streamline the permitting process, and limit lengthy environmental reviews. Specifically, the order directs the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture, and the Chief of the United States Forest Service, to issue new or updated guidance to increase timber production on federal lands, improve forest management, reduce the time needed to deliver timber, and decrease timber supply uncertainty.
The directive also aims to streamline (and, in some cases,) eliminate environmental review processes that delay timber production. Specifically, the order directs agencies to find ways to “delegate consultation requirements under section 7 of the Endangered Species Act to other agencies and, if necessary, provide a legislative proposal to ensure consultation is streamlined.” Moreover, the EO directs agencies to streamline the permitting process by suspending, revising, or rescinding "all existing regulations, orders, guidance documents, policies, settlements, consent orders, and other agency actions that impose an undue burden on timber production.”
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House and Senate Action
This week, House and Senate Republicans have their hands full, as both chambers work to advance their respective budget resolutions and find consensus on a measure to keep the government open past March 14. However, House Republicans are also steaming ahead on their efforts to overturn federal regulations imposed by the Biden Administration during President Biden's last year in office. Under the Congressional Review Act, Congress has the authority to roll back individual federal rules through a joint resolution of disapproval, which is not subject to the Senate filibuster. The House will consider three such resolutions this week:
S.J. Res. 11, which nullifies a Biden-era rule requiring the Department of Energy to protect marine archaeological resources. Specifically, the rule requires oil and gas companies to submit archaeological reports on shipwrecks and other cultural resources before drilling. The resolution overturning that rule passed the Senate last week.
H.J. Res. 61, which overturns a Biden-era rule that set EPA emissions standards for rubber tire manufacturing; and
H.J. Res. 42, which nullifies a Biden-era rule that updated the certification and labeling requirements for products subject to energy efficiency standards, like walk-in coolers and freezers.
Notably, the House passed a measure last month (H.R. 77) that would fast-track the Congressional Review Act process by giving Congress the authority to overturn multiple federal rules under a single resolution. After House passage, the Midnight Rules Relief Act was referred to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security.
Separately, last week, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee marked up the Disaster Management Costs Modernization Act (H.R. 744). Among other things, the bill would authorize FEMA to permit recipients to retain excess management costs for up to five years after the close-out of a disaster; and permit grant recipients to use excess management funds for capacity-building activities to prepare for or recover from other disasters. Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) reintroduced the Senate companion bill (S. 773) last week.
Relevant Hearings and Markups
Tuesday, March 4 | 10 a.m.
House Agriculture Livestock, Dairy and Poultry Subcommittee hearing on “The State of the Livestock Industry: Producer Perspectives." (More Information on House Agriculture Livestock...)
Tuesday, March 4 | 10 a.m.
House Homeland Security Emergency Management and Technology Subcommittee hearing on “Future of FEMA: Perspectives from the Emergency Management Community.”
Tuesday, March 4 | 10 a.m.
House Transportation and Infrastructure Aviation Subcommittee hearing on “America Builds: Air Traffic Control System Infrastructure and Staffing.”
Tuesday, March 4 | 2 p.m.
House Financial Services Housing and Insurance Subcommittee hearing on “Building Our Future: Increasing Housing Supply in America.”
Wednesday, March 5 | 10 a.m.
House Energy and Commerce Energy Subcommittee hearing on “Scaling for Growth: Meeting the Demand for Reliable, Affordable Electricity.”
Wednesday, March 5 | 10 a.m.
House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing entitled “A Hearing with Sanctuary City Mayors.”
Wednesday, March 5 | 10:15 a.m.
House Education and Workforce Higher Education and Workforce Development Subcommittee hearing on “Strengthening WIOA: Improving Outcomes for America’s Workforce.”
Wednesday, March 5 | 2 p.m.
House Transportation Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management Subcommittee hearing on “America Builds: Making Federal Real Estate Work for the Taxpayer.”
Thursday, March 6 | 11 a.m.
Senate Agriculture Conservation, Climate, Forestry and Natural Resources Subcommittee legislative hearing on “The Fix Our Forests Act and Options to Reduce Catastrophic Wildfires.”