Archive for January 2025

This Week in Congress This week, the House was not in session, and the Senate held nomination votes for cabinet positions including Treasury, Transportation, Interior, Environmental Protection Agency, Housing and Urban Development, Veterans Affairs, and Energy.  Also, the Senate voted on a House-passed bill that would impose sanctions on the International Criminal Court over its…

Budget Reconciliation Strategy Last week, congressional leaders met with President Trump to discuss budget reconciliation strategies.  Reports from the meeting indicate that it did not result in clarity regarding strategy or substance, and that the party remains divided on both points.  During another meeting, House GOP members expressed frustration over the long list of potential…

Debt Ceiling Debate Continues It appears that Republicans will not attempt to increase the debt ceiling via the budget reconciliation process, for fear that opposition from far-right members of the party to any debt limit increase would tank the larger bill.  Instead, they will seek to deal with the issue as part of the upcoming…

This Week in Congress On Monday, President-elect Trump was sworn in as the 47th President of the United States.  This week, the House voted on legislation that would require the detention of any alien charged in the U.S. with theft (S. 5), measures related to forest management activities on public lands (H.R. 471) and abortion…

Debt Ceiling Debate Continues Last week, the Treasury Department announced that it will begin to implement special accounting measures to delay the date when the U.S. will no longer be able to pay its obligations.  Republicans continue strategizing how to deal with the debt limit before hitting that date.  One option under consideration is to…

House Timing on Budget Resolution Speaker Johnson (R-LA) continues to push a very ambitious timeline for enactment of a budget reconciliation package.  Last week, he announced that Congress will pass a budget resolution, the first step that sets topline spending figures and unlocks the special reconciliation process, by the end of February. Per his schedule,…

Congressional Party Ratios The Senate started the week with just 98 members.  But, two appointments will return the chamber to a full roster.  The Florida Governor appointed the state’s Republican Attorney General Ashley Moody to the seat vacated by former-Senator Marco Rubio, who is now the Secretary of State.  And the Ohio Governor appointed his…

ASA Supports the Main Street Tax Certainty Act of 2025 ASA joins over 200 business groups in strong support of the Main Street Tax Certainty Act of 2025, legislation to make permanent the 20-percent deduction for small- and family-owned businesses (Section 199A). This legislation would provide certainty to the millions of S corporations, partnerships and…

The SBA Office of Advocacy Comments on OSHA’s Proposed Heat Injury and Illness Prevention Rule The Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Advocacy filed comments regarding OSHA’s proposed Heat Injury and Illness Prevention Rule. OSHA’s proposed rule would apply to all employers in general industry, construction, maritime, and agriculture where OSHA has jurisdiction and whose…

This Week in Congress This week, the House voted on three bills and they included: H.R. 28 would amend Title IX to prohibit schools receiving federal funds from allowing transgender women to participate in women’s sports; H.R. 33 would amend the tax code to reduce double taxation for individuals and companies doing business in both…