Federal Policy Update

FY2025 Appropriations

(House and Senate appropriators have yet to reach an agreement on an overall top level of funding for FY’25. (As a reminder, the current continuing resolution (CR) that is keeping the government running will expire on March 14. By that date, to avert a government shut-down, Congress would either need to pass all 12 appropriations bills or pass another CR.)

But even if an agreement on top-line funding can be reached, another short-term CR would likely be needed to allow time to finalize the full slate of bills. There are still two main sticking points to an agreement on a top-line number: Democrats want assurances that the administration will respect Congress’ power of the purse (the ability to appropriate funding in certain ways) and House Republicans want to strip some Senate earmarks from the final bill. Senate Appropriations Chair Collins stated that Republicans won’t agree to the language Democrats are looking for. But Murray and her House counterpart, Appropriations Ranking Member DeLauro are unified against the White House’s desire to challenge Congress over appropriations authority. And certain Republican leaders have indicated a CR for the rest of FY’25 is still the likely outcome.

Budget Resolution

Senate: In the wee hours of this morning, the Senate, by a vote of 52-48, adopted their FY’25 budget resolution after an lengthy “vote-a-rama” on amendments. This budget resolution process is the first step in a many-step process to passing a budget reconciliation bill, a bill that can move forward President Trump’s agenda with only 50 votes in the Senate, as opposed to the usual 60 for other bills. The Senate has decided to move forward with a “two-bill” strategy for budget reconciliation—this first bill focused on border security, the Pentagon and other agencies, a later second will would wait until later in the year.

House: House Republican leaders plan to bring their resolution to the floor next week, with a Rules Committee meeting Monday afternoon. But there is still fighting within the GOP party on the content of the resolution with Freedom Caucus members insisting on deeper spending cuts to make room for the tax package which party centrists say that they can’t support. The House is currently adopting a “one big bill” strategy, which is supported by President Trump.

So, differences abound. We’ll see what the coming weeks bring.

HHS Revises Sex-Based Definitions

This week, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued new definitions of terms like ‘sex,’ ‘man’ and ‘woman’ that critics say ignore science. In one of RFK Jr’s first moves as Secretary of HHS, the agency released guidance for the US government, external partners and the public that offers a narrower definition of sex than the ones used by many scientists and that aligns with an Executive Order.