Legislative Update: Trump Delays Bipartisan Housing Bill Over Demands for Election Legislation

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 the “full version’ of his proposed SAVE America Act, which he described as a “national emergency.”  The SAVE America Act is a voter ID bill, which would require proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote, photo ID at the polls and restrictions on mail voting, among other things. The housing package, which passed both chambers with overwhelming bipartisan support, is the product of nearly a year of negotiations and is designed to address housing affordability by increasing housing supply, promoting homeownership, and streamlining permitting for building and development.

Trump’s decision reportedly caught congressional Republicans off guard, as many had expected the bill to be signed into law immediately. The move leaves Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) in a quandary since Trump won’t agree to move forward on any legislation until the Senate passes the SAVE America Act, but the Senate doesn’t have the votes to pass the bill.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) expressed confidence that Trump will ultimately sign the measure within the statutory 10-day window.  However, House leadership has not yet formally transmitted the legislation to the White House, meaning the clock for presidential action has not begun. Republican leaders are also exploring ways to incorporate elements of the SAVE America Act into a budget reconciliation package, although many acknowledge that the broader election bill lacks sufficient support to pass Congress.

Rail Merger Opponents Challenge Union Pacific’s Interpretation of STB Timeline

The Stop the Rail Merger Coalition, of which the Vinyl Institute is a member, sharply criticized comments by Union Pacific Chief Executive Officer Jim Vena suggesting that the Surface Transportation Board (STB) should adhere to its statutory merger review timeline despite the board’s decision to pause proceedings and seek additional information on the proposed Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger. In a July 17 statement, the coalition accused Union Pacific of attempting to accelerate the review process before providing the information necessary for the STB to determine whether the transaction is in the public interest.

The coalition’s response came after Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern announced plans to provide the requested information in two phases, with initial submissions expected in early July and additional materials delivered by the STB’s July 27 deadline. The board has requested further information on nine areas of the merger application, including competitive impacts, service reliability, market share projections, and the potential implications of future rail industry consolidation, while placing both the merger proceeding and environmental review in abeyance pending receipt of the additional data.

At an investor conference, Vena argued that the statutory review clock began when the STB accepted the revised merger application in late May and should continue running despite the current pause in proceedings. He contended that the board must complete its information-gathering process within 12 months and issue a decision within 15 months of accepting the application, warning that any deviation from the timetable could raise broader questions about its adherence to the legal framework governing merger reviews. Vena also dismissed opposition from other Class I railroads, arguing that their objections are driven primarily by competitive concerns and maintaining that competition would remain robust in both eastern and western U.S. rail markets.

In response, the Stop the Rail Merger Coalition said Vena was seeking to “short circuit” the STB process and rush to a decision based on incomplete information. The coalition argued that Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern have been “less than forthcoming” in their submissions to date and maintained that the proposed merger would not enhance competition for rail shippers and would ultimately harm consumers and the broader public interest.

Appropriations Delays and Policy Disputes Slow the Capitol Hill Agenda

Congress is facing mounting legislative gridlock on several major priorities, including defense spending, reauthorization of a key surveillance authority, a stalled long-term surface transportation bill, a farm bill, and, most notably, the FY2027 appropriations process ahead of the October 1 funding deadline. While the House has made some progress, approving nine of its twelve annual appropriations bills in committee, only Agriculture and Military Construction-VA spending bills have cleared the full chamber.

The House is preparing to advance the $58.5 billion Energy-Water and State-Foreign Operations appropriations bills for floor consideration.  Lawmakers have submitted more than 120 amendments to the Energy-Water bill, many of which focus on energy policy and regulatory issues.  On June 24, the House postponed a vote on the rule and adjourned early after President Donald Trump announced he would withhold his signature from bipartisan housing legislation until Congress passes the SAVE America Act. The move surprised lawmakers in both parties while also emboldening several conservative House Republicans to intensify their push for the election legislation and complicating Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-LA) efforts to manage his narrow Republican majority to get appropriations through the rules committee with only a few votes to spare.

Senate appropriators have once again delayed the start of fiscal year 2027 spending bill markups, marking the fourth postponement of the appropriations process this year. The latest delay is due to the continued absence of Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Mitch McConnell, who remains hospitalized and will not return for votes this week. Because Republicans hold only a narrow 15-14 majority on the Senate Appropriations Committee, McConnell’s absence leaves the panel evenly divided at 14-14, preventing Republicans from advancing bills out of committee despite rules allowing proxy voting on amendments. The repeated delays are increasing the likelihood that Senate Republicans may bypass the traditional committee process altogether and publicly release their spending bills without formal markups.

With both chambers facing upcoming recesses and limited legislative time, the prospects for resolving these major issues before the fall remain uncertain.  There are only four legislative weeks remaining before the chamber’s August recess, while September is expected to be dominated by negotiations over a continuing resolution to avoid a government shutdown and by lawmakers returning to the campaign trail.

House Republican leaders are also still considering unveiling an FY2027 budget resolution to pave the way for another budget reconciliation package before the August recess. Speaker Johnson, on June 24, vowed to include the SAVE Act in the third reconciliation in an effort to bypass a Senate filibuster. The primary driver behind the effort is the inclusion of up to $350 billion in additional defense spending, though Republicans are also exploring measures aimed at reducing waste, fraud, and abuse in federal programs, potentially including changes to Medicaid, Supplemental Security Income, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, and child nutrition programs, along with affordability initiatives.

Senate prospects appear even more uncertain, with many senators skeptical about advancing a third reconciliation package this Congress. Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) is pressing Senate Republicans to shift their approach to government funding by calling for daily votes on a continuing resolution that would extend current spending levels at least through the November elections. In a letter to colleagues, Scott also urged consideration of legislation sponsored by Senators Ron Johnson (R-SD) and James Lankford (R-OK) that would establish automatic continuing resolutions to prevent government shutdowns, as well as Senator Johnson’s proposal to ensure federal employees continue to receive pay during shutdown periods.

Senate and House Prepare Chemical Safety Bills Amid Looming TSCA Deadline

Congressional efforts to reform the Toxic Substances Control Act are gaining momentum, with both the Senate and House expected to advance legislation in the coming weeks. Inside EPA reports that sources indicate that the United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works is working on a bipartisan bill featuring a limited number of targeted changes and is aiming for a markup around July 15. At the same time, Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee are reportedly preparing to introduce their own legislation within the next two weeks and are seeking Democratic support, though it remains unclear whether they will secure bipartisan backing.

The legislative push is being driven largely by the impending expiration of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) authority to collect industry user fees under TSCA on September 30. Those fees fund critical agency activities, including chemical risk evaluations and implementation of the toxics law. Republican lawmakers have used the approaching deadline as an opportunity to pursue broader reforms to TSCA, particularly changes to the law’s new-chemicals review program. Senate Republicans’ earlier discussion draft proposed a narrower set of revisions than House proposals, but still faced strong opposition from Democrats and environmental groups.

Despite signs of progress, the prospects for enacting comprehensive TSCA reforms remain delicate. A narrowly divided Senate makes it difficult for Republicans to pass a partisan overhaul, and disagreements persist over whether Congress should simply extend EPA’s fee authority without making substantive policy changes. Democrats, including Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), have advocated for a “clean” extension of the fee authority, while the Vinyl Institute and other industry groups have generally opposed that approach, arguing that broader concerns about TSCA implementation need to be addressed. The VI has been advocating changes that concentrate reviews on intended and “reasonably foreseeable” uses, allowing the agency to develop more robust exposure and use information for real-world applications, rather than dispersing limited resources across highly hypothetical scenarios that would not occur in real-world manufacturing, handling, and use practices.  This approach helps ensure that EPA’s decisions are responsive, grounded in sound science, and targeted toward meaningful risk management outcomes for workers and communities.  This provides manufacturers and downstream users with greater regulatory clarity, supports more predictable review timelines, sets clearer expectations for data submissions, and enables improved planning that is critical for capital investments and supply chain decisions.

Senate Republicans Unveil Farm Bill  

Senate Republicans on June 23 released their draft of a new five-year farm bill, seeking to advance priorities such as higher farm loan limits and increased support for rural broadband, water infrastructure, and economic development while sidestepping several of the contentious policy disputes that complicated the House debate. However, the proposal retains provisions requiring states to assume a greater share of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) costs beginning October 1, setting up a major partisan fight with Democrats and potentially jeopardizing the bill’s prospects in the Senate.

Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman (R-AR) acknowledged that the discussion draft is not necessarily the final product and indicated that private negotiations over SNAP provisions remain ongoing. His comments suggest that Republican and Democratic negotiators are continuing to search for a compromise that could allow the long-delayed farm bill to advance.

The legislation released Tuesday, like the House proposal, is being characterized as a “skinny” farm bill or “farm bill 2.0” because much of the major agriculture and nutrition policy work was already completed in last year’s budget reconciliation package. That measure enacted significant changes to farm safety net programs and the SNAP, including new state cost-sharing requirements and other reductions to food stamp benefits, leaving the current legislation to address a narrower set of remaining priorities.