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Senate EPW Advances WRDA Bill Expanding State Authority to Use SRF Funds For PFAS Projects  The Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee unanimously approved the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2026 (S. 4949), which includes provisions to reauthorize the Clean Water State Revolving...

Senate Workload and Procedural Hurdles Cloud the Outlook For TSCA And Permitting Reform Congressional efforts to advance several major environmental policy initiatives, including reauthorization of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) user fee program and permitting reform, are increasingly at risk as Republican leaders contend...

Trump Delays Bipartisan Housing Bill Over Demands for Election Legislation President Donald Trump on June 24 unexpectedly canceled the signing ceremony for the bipartisan 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act (H.R. 6644), stating that he would not move forward with the legislation until Congress passes...

Congress Faces Delays and Uncertainty in the Federal Appropriations Process  Congress is widely expected to miss the Oct. 1 deadline for completing fiscal year 2027 appropriations, continuing a long-running pattern of delayed spending bills and raising the possibility that the next Congress could inherit unfinished...

From the Beach Boys’ “Pet Sounds” in 1966 to Taylor Swift’s “Life of a Showgirl” today, vinyl records are a mainstay in music and art culture. Their combination of nostalgia and utility have turned a whole new generation into collectors. The music medium endures in...

Rail Merger Faces Heightened Scrutiny as STB Orders Additional Information and Broad Opposition Challenges The Merger The Surface Transportation Board (STB) issued a May 28 decision accepting the revised merger application between Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern for review, but placed the proceedings and environmental...

Senators Show Broad Bipartisan Support for Preserving SRFs Despite Administration’s Efforts To Cut Funding On May 13, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin testified before the Senate Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee in a hearing on EPA’s FY2027 budget request.  The hearing highlighted a familiar but increasingly sharpened divide...

House Key Procedural Hurdle to Move Forward with Reconcilation, the Farm Bill, and Seek End to the Partial Government Shutdown House Republican leaders narrowly advanced (216-210) a procedural rule to move forward with three must-pass legislative priorities–Farm Bill, FISA reauthorization, and a Budget resolution–overcoming internal...