Legislative Update: Congress Finishing Up Year-End Agenda

Congress Finishing Up Year-End Agenda

The House and Senate rush to pass the remaining bills in their year-end agenda as they prepare to recess on Friday, December 19, returning the week of January 5 to start the second session of the 119th Congress and try to avoid another partial government shutdown.   Below is an overview of the bills Congress is seeking to resolve before recess.

House and Senate Pass NDAA – The Senate on Wednesday, December 17, overwhelmingly cleared the fiscal 2026 defense authorization (S. 1071), readying the $900.6 billion measure for a presidential signature. The final vote on the House-Senate compromise was 77-20. The almost 3,100-page bill calls for spending $8 billion more than the $892.6 billion requested by President Donald Trump and an earlier House-passed bill (H.R. 3838). The House passed the compromise measure on Dec.10. Trump is planning to sign the bill on December 18, making the NDAA become law for the 65th consecutive year. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker (R-MS) framed the bill as essential to aligning U.S. military priorities with current global threats, particularly those posed by the People’s Republic of China and its partners. It also includes language aimed at restricting U.S. exports of critical technologies to China and limiting the Defense Department’s use of end products, supplies, and components sourced from China.

Appropriators prepare for accelerated January push on spending bills – Heading into the new year, House Republican appropriators are planning an accelerated strategy to complete the remaining fiscal year 2026 spending bills when Congress returns in January, driven by a Jan. 30 funding deadline and the risk of another partial government shutdown. With only three of the 12 annual appropriations bills enacted so far, House Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK) is advocating for a rapid floor schedule that would advance three negotiated, bicameral compromise bills per week over three weeks. Initial packages are expected to include the Commerce-Justice-Science, Energy-Water, and Interior-Environment bills, with sequencing still under discussion. Cole has emphasized a preference for smaller legislative bundles rather than large omnibus-style packages, arguing that more limited groupings are more manageable for House passage.

Earmarks are shaping how bills may be paired, particularly across Labor-HHS-Education, Defense, and Transportation-HUD. While the House Labor-HHS-Education bill contains no earmarks, the Senate version includes roughly $1.4 billion, and the House Transportation-HUD bill includes significantly more earmarked funding than its Senate counterpart. These disparities have prompted discussions about combining certain measures to balance negotiations. Overall, House Republican bills propose nearly $8 billion in community project funding, underscoring ongoing internal and bicameral tensions over earmarks even as leadership seeks to finalize compromises.

In the Senate, progress has been slower, with leaders attempting to advance a five-bill “minibus” package before the holiday recess, a move that requires unanimous consent. While Republican holds have largely been resolved following commitments on amendment votes, Democrats are still canvassing their caucus and weighing timing, with January action increasingly likely. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) acknowledged that time is short, and concerns from conservative senators about the scale of earmarks remain a key obstacle. As both chambers head into recess, appropriators broadly expect decisive action on most remaining funding bills in January, under compressed timelines and heightened procedural pressure.

House Takes Action on Permitting Reform – In the past couple of weeks, the House passed several bills aimed at streamlining energy and environmental permitting processes. On December 18, is debating and expected to vote on legislation that would significantly revise the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development Act (SPEED) Act (H.R. 4776), sponsored by House Natural Resources Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-AR), seeks to narrow the scope of environmental reviews and limit who may challenge projects and on what timeline, with the stated goal of accelerating approvals across energy technologies. Westerman has emphasized the bill’s “technology-agnostic” approach, arguing that renewable energy projects would benefit alongside fossil fuel development, but that framing has generated resistance from both parties. Some conservatives, including members of the House Freedom Caucus, argue the bill does too much to aid wind and solar, while many Democrats remain skeptical of its environmental protections, even as a small number have expressed openness to targeted NEPA reforms. Although the bill appears capable of passing the House, it faces procedural hurdles on the floor and is unlikely to clear the Senate’s 60-vote threshold.

In addition to the NEPA overhaul, the House passed other permitting actions, including H.R. 3668 to accelerate permitting for natural gas pipelines by expanding the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) authority over Clean Water Act compliance determinations. The bill, introduced by Representative Richard Hudson (R-NC), is intended to streamline environmental reviews for interstate natural gas pipelines and liquefied natural gas import and export facilities. After rejecting a motion to recommit, the House approved the measure by a 213–184 vote.

The House also passed the Promoting Efficient Review for Modern Infrastructure Today (PERMIT) Act (H.R. 3898) to narrow the scope of the Clean Water Act, a move Republicans argue will accelerate permitting for federally regulated projects, particularly in the energy and infrastructure sectors. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA), cleared the chamber by a 221–205 vote and incorporates elements of 15 other Republican measures. It would redefine navigable waters to exclude certain water treatment system components and ephemeral features, align Section 401 and Section 404 permitting with recent Supreme Court and EPA actions, limit states’ and tribes’ ability to block projects through water quality certifications, and restrict judicial review timelines. The measure also curtails the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s authority to preemptively veto dredge-and-fill permits and makes targeted changes to discharge permitting under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, drawing bipartisan defections but underscoring a broader partisan divide over environmental regulation and permitting reform.

In the House Energy and Commerce Environment Subcommittee, the panel approved seven Republican-led bills along party lines during a December 10 markup that would ease permitting requirements under the Clean Air Act, with Republicans arguing the measures are necessary to address what they describe as permitting delays driven by Biden administration regulations. Energy and Commerce Chairman Brett Guthrie (R-KY) said the legislation is intended to balance environmental protection with economic growth and to prevent communities from being penalized for air quality problems caused by factors beyond their control, such as emissions from Canadian wildfires.

Health Care – A Democratic discharge petition to extend enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credits for three years reached the 218-signature threshold on December 17, with support from four Republicans, setting up a floor vote early next year even as the House passed a separate Republican alternative. Because House rules require an additional seven legislative days before action can proceed, consideration is expected in January, after the credits expire on December 31. The Republican signatories said they backed the petition to force leadership engagement after Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) declined to allow votes on bipartisan compromise proposals, emphasizing that their support was procedural rather than substantive.  Speaker Johnson said a vote would occur in early January and signaled that Republicans would offer additional health care proposals.

Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee Examine WRDA 

The House Transportation and  Infrastructure Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment convened the hearing on December 17 as the opening step in developing the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2026, with bipartisan leaders underscoring the importance of preserving the longstanding two-year authorization cycle for Army Corps of Engineers civil works programs. Members emphasized that WRDA remains one of Congress’s most consequential vehicles for water infrastructure, directing federal investments in flood control, navigation, port maintenance, ecosystem restoration, and water supply resilience. Chairman Mike Collins (R-GA) and Democratic leaders alike stressed that the bill has historically advanced with overwhelming bipartisan support and expressed a shared intent to continue that tradition in 2026, particularly as communities face growing infrastructure, climate, and supply-chain pressures.

A dominant focus of the hearing was the Trump administration’s policy requiring Department of Defense approval before Army Corps officials may communicate with members of Congress, their staffs, or state officials. Democratic members are concerned that the policy is already delaying the flow of basic project information and could significantly hinder congressional oversight and the development of WRDA 2026. Witnesses echoed these concerns, noting that timely, direct communication among Congress, the Corps, and nonfederal sponsors is essential to identifying priorities, resolving technical issues, and advancing projects through the authorization process.

The hearing also highlighted broader challenges related to project delivery, cost escalation, and administrative delays within the Corps. Nonfederal sponsors and industry witnesses described lengthy feasibility studies, inconsistent implementation of previously enacted reforms, and staff turnover as factors driving uncertainty and rising costs. Several Republican members focused their questions on improving efficiency, reducing internal delays, and ensuring that WRDA 2026 not only authorizes new projects but also sustains momentum for those already approved. Financing and delivery tools, such as incremental funding, alternative delivery models, and public-private partnerships, were discussed as mechanisms to help manage cost growth and accelerate timelines within the Corps’ civil works framework.

Finally, members and witnesses emphasized the need for certainty in federal navigation projects.  Lawmakers stressed that abrupt policy shifts, coupled with restricted communication, undermine confidence for ports, levee districts, and other nonfederal sponsors that share project costs and long-term responsibilities. The hearing concluded with broad agreement that WRDA 2026 must reinforce transparent communication, reliable funding, and efficient Corps operations to safeguard flood protection, maintain navigable waterways, and support national economic and security priorities, while avoiding procedural obstacles that could derail bipartisan cooperation on water infrastructure legislation.

House Financial Services Advances Bipartisan Housing Supply and Affordability Package

The House Financial Services Committee on December 17 approved a comprehensive housing package by a 50–1 vote, advancing a sweeping bill to expand housing supply and lower costs amid persistent affordability pressures. The legislation, sponsored by Chairman French Hill (R-AR) and co-sponsored by Ranking Member Maxine Waters (D-CA) and subcommittee leaders from both parties, draws heavily from bipartisan proposals and mirrors similar Senate efforts. Hill described the bill as modernizing federal housing programs, reducing regulatory barriers, and increasing local control, while its near-unanimous support echoed the Senate Banking Committee’s earlier bipartisan vote. The markup represented the committee’s most significant housing action to date and followed Hill’s decision to block inclusion of the Senate’s housing bill in the fiscal year 2026 NDAA, citing insufficient support among House Republicans.

Despite broad bipartisan backing, debate during the markup highlighted lingering differences over the appropriate balance between deregulation and federal investment. Waters supported the bill but argued that private-sector reforms alone are insufficient to address the housing crisis, calling for a larger federal funding role and offering a comprehensive amendment to expand public investment, which she later withdrew after changes were made to the substitute. Hill and other Republicans emphasized provisions to mobilize private capital, expand eligibility under HUD housing programs, ease environmental and construction requirements, and reduce costs for manufactured housing, while underscoring the bill’s lack of new federal spending. Members from both parties characterized the measure as a pragmatic compromise and a foundation for further action, even as they acknowledged that additional steps would be needed to fully address housing affordability.

Senate Confirms EPA Enforcement and Chemicals Chiefs on Party-Line Vote  

The Senate confirmed two Trump administration nominees to lead the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention and Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance in a 52–47 party-line vote on December 11, filling the agency’s last two major program leadership positions. Doug Troutman, a former general counsel and interim chief executive of the American Cleaning Institute, was approved to head the chemicals office, while Jeff Hall, a former Justice Department attorney, was confirmed to lead EPA’s enforcement arm. Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) did not vote.

Senate Advances Bipartisan Recycling and Reuse Legislation  

The Senate approved two bipartisan measures aimed at strengthening recycling, reuse, and sustainable waste management practices nationwide, advancing legislation that has previously stalled in the House. The Strategies To Eliminate Waste and Accelerate Recycling Development (STEWARD) Act (S. 351), led by Senate EPW Chair Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) and Ranking Member Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), passed by unanimous consent and would direct funding toward recycling infrastructure, particularly in rural communities, while improving data collection on recycling and composting systems. The bill consolidates two earlier Senate-passed measures and drew support from both environmental organizations and plastics industry groups, reflecting broad agreement on the need to modernize recycling systems.

The Senate also approved the Research for Environmental Uses and Sustainable Economies (REUSE) Act (S. 2110) sponsored by Capito and Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), which would require the Environmental Protection Agency to study the feasibility of federal refill and reuse programs to reduce reliance on single-use plastics. While the REUSE Act received less public attention, supporters emphasized its role in advancing long-term waste reduction strategies. In related action, the Senate also cleared several other environmental measures by unanimous consent, including legislation on abandoned mine cleanup, Great Lakes fishery research, and marine debris programs, underscoring continued bipartisan interest in targeted environmental and conservation initiatives.