Blogs

The Senate is in session.

• The Senate returns today to consider the CR.
• The House will return on August 31, 2026. 

FY27 Appropriations: Today, the Senate will hold a cloture vote on the motion to proceed on the legislative vehicle for a continuing resolution (CR). On Sunday, the Senate Appropriations Committee released CR text that would fund federal agencies through December 11, 2026. The Senate’s CR includes language that would delay the implementation of the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) proposed rule through December 11, 2026, and provides a clean extension of surface transportation reauthorization through the same date. If the Senate passes the package this week, the House will need to consider it when it returns after the August recess.

Reconciliation 3.0: Though House Republicans met with the White House last week to discuss a path forward for a third budget reconciliation package, it remains unlikely that Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) will bring the measure to a floor vote before the August recess. Both Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) and Senate Budget Committee Chair Ron Johnson (R-WI) have previously indicated that the measure lacks the votes to win approval in the Senate.

Farm Bill: On Friday, July 31, the Senate Agriculture Committee released updated farm bill text that includes a one-year delay in requiring states to pay for some Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits and language to permanently allow year-round sales of E15 fuel. Under H.R.1, states are currently scheduled to bear increased SNAP administrative costs beginning October 1, 2026. The draft Farm Bill text does not change the cost shift in administering the program.

SNAP Error Rates: Separately, the shift in the cost of SNAP benefits is set to take place on October 1, 2027, with each state's share set by its FY 2025 or FY 2026 error rate for SNAP. Some states can push the shift to FY 2029 or FY 2030. The proposed legislation moves the general start back one year to October 1, 2028, and extends the delayed start for the highest-error states to FY 2030 at the earliest. Even with this extension, however, states eventual share of the benefit cost shift is still tied to its FY 2025 or FY 2026 payment error rate. Further, beginning in FY 2031, any state with an error rate still at or above 10% would pay 20% of benefit costs, up from the 15% top tier in current law. The Senate Agriculture Committee will hold a markup on the updated farm bill legislation on Thursday, August 6.

21st Century ROAD to Housing Implementation: On August 10, 2026, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will issue notice in the Federal Register with Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) formula allocation methodologies.

Permitting: Senate Energy and Natural Resources Ranking Member Martin Heinrich (D-NM) indicated that negotiations on a bipartisan energy permitting package will continue throughout the August recess if lawmakers are unable to reach an agreement this week. Lawmakers have reportedly been discussing modest reforms to the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) as part of a comprehensive deal to ease approvals for energy projects of all types. NHPA negotiations come as the Trump administration has issued a proposed rule that would allow federal agencies to approve certain construction projects by private developers without public input. While some Democrats have raised concerns that the proposal could limit tribal consultation, there is reportedly bipartisan interest in pursuing broader NHPA reforms aimed at reducing project delays. 

Head Start: The Trump administration is expected to formally propose rolling back several federal Head Start requirements this week. The changes would reportedly remove most of Head Start’s requirements for math and literacy curriculums, class sizes, medical screenings, home visits, and a requirement that children brush their teeth after meals.

CISA Issues Alert Regarding Cyber Attacks on Water and Wastewater Systems: The Cybersecurity Infrastructure Security Administration (CISA) issued an alert noting a "significant increase" in cyber threats against programmable logic controllers (PLC) in the water and wastewater systems sector. CISA is specifically urging critical infrastructure owners, operators, and integrators to remove publicly exposed PLCs and other operational technology from the internet as soon as possible.

Nominees: Senate Republicans are working to clear an “en bloc” package of 74 nominees, which include, Hal Duncan for Deputy Director of OMB, Cameron Hamilton for Administrator of FEMA, and David Cummins for Administrator of TSA.

Trump Administration:

• Deputy FAA Administrator to Leave Agency: Deputy Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Administrator Chris Rocheleau announced Thursday, July 30 that he is leaving the agency. FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said he believes Chief Counsel Liam McKenna will step in as acting deputy administrator. 
• Interior Department Releases Final Colorado River Plan: On Friday, July 31, the Interior Department released its final plan for managing the Colorado River over the next decade. The plan, issued as a final environmental impact statement, states the Interior Department will issue smaller plans every two years for how the river will be operated. The Interior Department is also expected to release its first two-year operating plan for the river soon ahead of its mid-August deadline for setting next year’s river operations. State negotiators reportedly believe it will largely reflect the cuts in water use proposed by Arizona, California, and Nevada in May.
• EPA Issues Permitting Guidance on Data Centers: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued guidance clarifying that the Clean Air Act (CAA) Acid Rain Program (ARP) does not apply to power generation facilities that are not connected to a public electricity grid. The guidance gives developers greater flexibility in where and how quickly they can build new power generation facilities that are not connected to a public electricity grid for data centers.

Hearings and Markups:

DOJ: The Senate Judiciary Committee will consider the nomination of Todd Blanche to be Attorney General on Tuesday.

Government Operations: The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee will hold a markup of 18 measures, including the Promoting Resilient Buildings Act (S.388), which amends the Stafford Act to increase pre-disaster mitigation assistance for building code activities, prohibits using certain loan funds for building code activities, and establishes a pilot program to fund residential resilience retrofits, and S.4504, which requires the U.S. Postal Service to designate zip code changes if there has been a denial of boundary changes or realignment requests, on Wednesday.

Farm Bill: The Senate Agriculture Committee will hold a markup on its version of the Farm Bill on Thursday.

Grants

DOE Issues RFP on Industrial Water Reuse: The National Alliance for Water Innovation (NAWI), a public-private partnership led by the U.S. Department of Energy, issued a Request for Proposals to accelerate the development and demonstration of onsite water-reuse systems that can reduce industrial water demands. Applications are due by September 15, 2026.

Top Stories

• Blanche pledges to rescind order that created the “anti-weaponization fund” (NYT)
• Some Republican senators argue for delaying the August recess if the Senate is unable to pass key priorities (The Hill)
• Sen. Kennedy discusses Iran peace talks (POLITICO)
• FCC Chair Brendan Carr discusses free speech (POLITICO)
• Senate advances bill to impose harsher sanctions on Russia (The Hill)
• Sen. John Curtis (R-UT) argues why he won’t change the filibuster (WSJ)