Week 13 in Congress: Major shift

Signs of life from Dems, and some Republicans break with party

Congress was very active last week, despite the House only being in session for Monday and Tuesday. During those two days, the House passed several tax-related bills, and experienced a rare failed vote (more below).

Most of the action occurred in the Senate, though. Perhaps most notable was the speech given by Cory Booker, which lasted for more than 25 hours. As a result, Senate convened at 3 p.m. on Monday and didn’t adjourn until 9:19 p.m. Tuesday night.

Booker’s speech was not technically a filibuster because it was not intended to delay any particular bill or confirmation, but it did have the effect of preventing business on Tuesday. It also broke the record for longest speech, which was previously held by Strom Thurmand who filibustered the Civil Rights Act for over 24 hours.

The Senate also shockingly voted to pass a bill that would return emergency tariff powers back to Congress. It is unlikely to be taken up in the House, but it did not go unnoticed. It is the first Democrat-led bill to pass in the Senate. It passed with the support of four Republicans: Susan Collins, Mitch McConnell, Lisa Murkowski and Rand Paul.

Jimmy Patronis (HD1) and Randy Fine (HD6) were sworn in last week. With Elise Stefanik staying in her role, that means the whole number of the House is 433 (the split is now 220 R, 213 D). There are two vacancies left by Sylvester Turner (D-TX) and Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) who both passed away last month. Their elections are scheduled for November and September, respectively,

The Senate passed the continuing resolution budget blueprint that was sent over from the House last month. This was the blueprint that famously directs the committee overseeing Medicaid to cut $880 billion. This resolution passed narrowly along partisan lines, and with very little changes. Dozens of amendments were proposed—mostly by Democrats—but all of them failed except for one.

Democrats proposed a series of amendments that would offer a variety of protections for government services like Social Security, Medicare, veterans services, the military, contracts with farmers, collective bargaining agreements, disaster relief, Meals on Wheels, and many other things. There was even an amendment to make sure the phones stay on at Social Security offices.

The only amendment that passed was an amendment that, in theory, protects Medicare in some way. Senator Wyden offered other amendments related to Medicare and argued that Sullivan’s amendment has no teeth because it doesn’t define “vulnerable.” It’s a way of saying you’ll protect Medicare without protecting it in any practical way. The list of amendments are included below.

SENATE

Budget Resolution

Senate agreed to H. Con. Res. 14, establishing the congressional budget for the United States Government for fiscal year 2025 and setting forth the appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years 2026 through 2034. (51-48)

Amendments to budget resolution

Merkley Amendment: to create a point of order against legislation that would create more debt over a 30-year period than has accumulated over the past 249 years. (46-53)

Reed Amendment: to establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to preventing reduction in enrollment or benefits for individuals enrolled in Medicaid, including seniors, children, families, individuals with disabilities, veterans, and military families. (48-51)

Luján/Klobuchar Amendment: to strike the provision relating to instructions to the Committee on Agriculture. (47-51)

Warner Amendment: to establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to strengthening protections for members of the Armed Forces by prohibiting the use of any commercial messaging application to transmit information revealing the timing, sequencing, or weapons to be used during impending United States military operations in foreign countries that may endanger the lives of members of the Armed Forces. (46-53)

Alsobrooks Amendment: to establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to prohibiting attacks on Federal employees by protecting legally binding collective bargaining agreements and the right to organize. (48-51)

Kelly Amendment: to establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to legislation that does not increase tax breaks for the wealthy.

Murphy Amendment: to establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to legislation that does not increase tax breaks for the wealthy.

King Amendment: to establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to legislation that does not increase tax breaks for the wealthy.

Warren Amendment: to establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to legislation that does not increase tax breaks for wealthy corporations.

Schumer Amendment: to establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to preventing Trump's tariffs from increasing the cost of groceries and everyday goods for families. (46-53)

Padilla Amendment: reiterating the importance of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and its continued role in providing nonpartisan and long-term disaster relief to disaster survivors. (48-51)

Bennet Amendment: to prevent any disruption in security assistance to Ukraine. (48-51)

Paul Amendment: to modify the debt limit instruction for the House of Representatives and the Senate. (5-94)

Ossoff Amendment: to establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to reversing cuts to the Social Security Administration, which may include cuts ordered by the Department of Government Efficiency or any other cuts to seniors' services. (49-50)

Hickenlooper Amendment: to establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to preventing the use of proceeds from public land sales to reduce the Federal deficit. (48-51)

Booker Amendment: to establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to stopping the Department of Agriculture from not honoring contracts made with farmers and farm-serving organizations.

Hirono Amendment: to prevent DOGE from closing Social Security offices, preserving access to benefits for seniors and people with disabilities. (48-51)

Kim Amendment: to establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund to prevent increased barriers to American caregivers, including individuals caring for seniors, children, home care workers, and individuals engaged in the care economy. (49-50)

Sanders Amendment: to make sure the Senate can increase the Federal minimum wage to $17 an hour by a simple majority vote. (47-52)

Baldwin/Wyden Amendment: to establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to preventing a reduction in Medicaid funding that could lead to rural hospital closures, cost increases for individuals with other kinds of insurance, or higher rates of uncompensated care. (49-50)

Welch Amendment: to create a point of order against legislation that defunds essential services for children, families, and seniors, including programs that feed hungry seniors like Meals on Wheels, Head Start and other child care assistance that allows parents to work and pay their bills, and programs that keep children safe from abuse and neglect, to give massive tax cuts to billionaires.

Markey Amendment: to preserve access to Social Security's phone service. (48-51)

Warnock Amendment: to establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to access to health care, which may include legislation preventing reductions in funding for Medicaid that could lead to benefit cuts, coverage loss, or slashed provider payments. (48-51)

Shaheen/Murkowski: to establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to extending vital enhanced advance premium tax credits.

Wyden/Hawley Amendment: to strike section 2001(b)(4) relating to reconciliation instructions to the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives to cut $880,000,000,000 from Medicaid. (49-50)

Rosen Amendment: to provide tax relief for the middle class. (47-52)

Other Bills Passed

National Emergency Related to Imported Articles from Canada: S.J. Res. 37, terminating the national emergency declared to impose duties on articles imported from Canada, after the Committee on Finance was discharged from consideration. (51-48)

Energy Conservation Program (disapproval): H.J. Res. 24, providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Department of Energy relating to “Energy Conservation Program: Energy Conservation Standards for Walk-In Coolers and Walk-In Freezers''. (53-42)

Nominations confirmed

Matthew Whitaker to be United States Permanent Representative on the Council of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, with the rank and status of Ambassador. (52-45)

Dean Sauer to be Solicitor General of the United States. (52-45)

Mehmet Oz to be Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. (53-45)

HOUSE

Anna Luna proposed to amend the rules to allow new parents in Congress to vote by proxy, joined by Brittany Peterson in Colorado.

Bills Passed

Directing the Librarian of Congress: H.R. 1234 directs the Librarian of Congress to promote the more cost-effective, efficient, and expanded availability of the Annotated Constitution and pocket-part supplements by replacing the hardbound versions with digital versions. Passed by voice vote.

Filing Relief for Natural Disasters Act: H.R. 517 amends the IRS tax code relating to disasters. Passed by roll call vote, 388-0.

Internal Revenue Service Math and Taxpayer Help Act: H.R. 998 amends the IRS tax code to require additional information on math and clerical error notices. Passed by voice vote.

National Taxpayer Advocate Enhancement Act of 2025: H.R. 997, amends the IRS tax code so that the National Taxpayer Advocate may be able to hire and consult counsel as appropriate. Passed by roll call vote, 385-0.

Recovery of Stolen Checks Act: H.R. 1155 amends the IRS tax code to allow taxpayers to elect to receive certain replacement refunds electronically. Passed by voice vote.

Electronic Filing and Payment Fairness Act: H.R. 1152 amends the IRS tax code to provide for the application of the mailbox rule to documents and payments electronically submitted to the Internal Revenue Service. Passed by voice vote.

FAILED MOTION

Disapproving the rules submitted by the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection: The House failed to agree to H. Res. 282, providing for consideration of the following motions:

S.J. Res. 18: disapproving the rule submitted by the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection relating to “Overdraft Lending: Very Large Financial Institutions'';

S.J. Res. 28 disapproving the rule submitted by the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection relating to “Defining Larger Participants of a Market for General-Use Digital Consumer Payment Applications'';

H.R. 1526 to limit the authority of district courts to provide injunctive relief

H.R. 22 to amend the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to require proof of United States citizenship to register an individual to vote in elections for Federal office,

This motion failed by roll call vote, 206-222.