This month, Lobbyit met with Andrew Smith, the Health Policy Adviser for Senator Jon Husted from Ohio, to discuss Congressional movement on Short-Term Limited Duration Insurance (STLDI). Sen. Husted is a member of the Senate HELP Committee and has been active on healthcare related issues in the past.
October was dominated by a deepening budget crisis, marked by the longest federal government shutdown since 2018. Beginning at midnight on the first of the month, the government entered a shutdown after Congress failed to pass appropriations legislation for the new fiscal year. The standoff reflected sharp partisan disagreements over spending levels, health care policy, and program riders including reforms to SNAP food assistance and the Affordable Care Act.
In September, Lobbyit conducted outreach with lead policymakers from the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight (CCIIO) within the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). CCIIO is responsible for the final rulemaking on short-term, limited-duration insurance (STLDI). As no final rule has been set yet, the team set a meeting between CCIIO and NEA leadership to discuss the impact of this policy on employers.
The meeting is with Peter Nelson, Deputy Administrator of CMS and Director of CCIIO.
The traditional summer lull on Capitol Hill in August 2025 belied significant shifts under the surface of federal policymaking. One month after the landmark One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R. 1) was signed into law, Washington has been adapting to the new legislative reality, even as Congress was essentially in recess. With lawmakers back in their districts, much of the action migrated to federal agencies, courts, and behind-the-scenes preparations for the fall session. The broad scope of H.R. 1, encompassing tax cuts, regulatory rollbacks, and benefit reforms, continued to set the policy backdrop. But August’s narrative extended beyond that single law, touching transportation, labor, finance, education, and more, as the government’s gears turned in anticipation of a busy autumn.t.
The passage of a landmark legislative package, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R.1), on July 4th marked a turning point in the federal policy landscape. Congress and federal agencies have since entered a new phase of legislative and administrative activity, setting the tone for policy developments across Washington. The law spans a wide range of sectors and was primarily designed to reshape tax policy, reduce regulatory burdens, and restructure federal incentives. It encompasses approximately 870 pages, including provisions affecting healthcare, energy and environmental regulation, infrastructure, defense, and more, reflecting a clear shift in federal priorities under the current administration. Even for organizations not directly impacted by its provisions, the bill has significantly influenced current budget decisions, regulatory agendas, and the overall pace and direction of policymaking. This influence continues to shape the federal environment and the broader dynamics of government engagement. To provide context and understanding for the current federal landscape across agencies and on Capitol Hill, the report begins by outlining developments that have followed the law’s enactment.
June 2025 was defined by congressional efforts to finalize the sweeping reconciliation package known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill” (H.R. 1), a central pillar of President Trump’s legislative agenda. The bill includes permanent extensions of the 2017 tax cuts, new investments in border and defense infrastructure, and provisions related to procurement modernization, AI incentives, and trade and manufacturing policy. Senate Republicans released their 940-page substitute amendment to the bill in the early hours of June 28ᵗʰ, just ahead of a motion to proceed. The revised text aims to comply with reconciliation rules and gain support from conservative holdouts while preserving the bill’s core tax and budget provisions. Although the Senate initially planned to vote on final passage by the end of June, procedural delays pushed the floor process into July. The Senate formally entered debate over the package and will begin a vote-a-rama on Monday, July 1ˢᵗ at 9 a.m. The daytime schedule could stretch final votes into early Tuesday morning. As of June 30ᵗʰ, the Senate remains on a clear path toward passing the bill. Speaker Mike Johnson has directed House Republicans to return to Washington by July 3ʳᵈ, signaling that House leadership is preparing to move quickly once the Senate completes its work.
In May 2025, Congress made significant progress on long-term federal budget planning while launching the annual appropriations process for Fiscal Year 2026. The most notable development came on May 22ⁿᵈ, when the House narrowly passed H.R. 1, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” a comprehensive 10-year budget reconciliation package that proposes a combination of extended tax relief, targeted spending reductions, and policy reforms across a wide range of federal programs. The bill aims to build on the 2017 tax law by permanently extending individual tax rate reductions and increasing the estate tax exemption. It also introduces new tax benefits, including a deduction for seniors and the elimination of federal taxes on tips and overtime pay.
Congress devoted April to FY2026 budget planning and oversight of agency reforms and engaged in discussions of foreign aid and the State Department. The government remains funded through September 30th, 2025, under (H.R. 1968), the full-year continuing resolution passed in March, while Congress continued working on a broader fiscal framework. The House advanced (H.Con.Res.14), a concurrent budget resolution that sets nonbinding fiscal targets and directs committees to identify potential spending cuts for FY2026 and beyond. While neither chamber passed a formal concurrent budget resolution, House and Senate leaders continued negotiations. Republican leadership advanced proposals calling for roughly $880 billion in spending cuts and rescissions for FY2026. These amendments, still under discussion in committee, reflect efforts to set fiscal priorities through 2034. House leaders say they aim to complete reconciliation bills by Memorial Day. In short, Congress is focused on big-picture budget cuts and efficiency reforms in procurement and appropriations, actions that could reshape funding for international development and domestic programs alike.
As March comes to an end, Republican leadership in Congress spent this month advancing an ambitious fiscal agenda through the budget reconciliation process. In mid-February, the House Budget Committee approved a FY2025 budget resolution on a party-line vote, launching this effort. The resolution instructs House committees to draft legislation achieving up to $2 trillion in spending cuts as offsets for roughly $4.5 trillion in tax cuts over the next decade. This framework would permit increasing the deficit by about $3.3 trillion while using reconciliation to sidestep Senate filibusters. Major savings targets include $880 billion from programs under the Energy & Commerce Committee (e.g., Medicaid), a point of contention as hospitals and advocates warn against deep Medicaid cuts. Republican leaders aim to unite their caucus around this plan despite concerns from Democrats (and some moderates) about its impact on social programs. Notably, any final budget will also need to address the debt ceiling by this summer – the debt limit reset in January and is projected to become binding as early as August 2025 if not suspended or raised.
As February comes to an end, Republican leadership in the House and Senate continue to move forward with their plans to pursue their tax and spending priorities using the budget reconciliation process. The first step in that process is for Congress to pass a budget resolution with instructions for Congressional committees to approve policy changes that achieve the spending and revenue targets in the budget.
On February 13, the House Budget Committee voted to approve a budget resolution in a party line vote (21-16). The resolution directs the House Ways & Means Committee to produce tax legislation that increases the deficit by no more than $4.5 trillion. However, that number may be reduced if the other authorizing committees cannot generate savings of at least $2 trillion. Overall, the plan allows for an increase of up to $3.3 trillion in the deficit over a decade.