Daily Digests: M 9/15 • T 9/16 • W 9/17 • Th 9/18 • F 9/19
Senate — Votes — Legislation: New: 168 (D, R), Action: 24, Voted: 5, Passed: 18 — News
M 9/15/2025 — Prayer, Digest, Record All–SLR, PDF • Summary
- Thune: We will be putting forward a clean resolution to ensure there is no reason for Democrats to oppose this bill and delay passage. During a funding debate in 2023, the Democrat leader had this to say: “If we are going to keep the lights on beyond this Friday, our Republican colleagues will have to work with Democrats in a bipartisan way to pass a clean extension.” • Schumer on his 'old quotes': I heard my friend the Republican leader come to the floor and cherry-pick some of my old quotes about keeping the government open with a CR. He zeroed in on the phrase “clean extension.” Well, the Republican leader glossed over the key point. I said in the past that Republican colleagues have to “work with the Democrats in a bipartisan way” to extend government funding. I said they actually have to work with us, and it has to be bipartisan. That is not happening right now. It was happening then in 2023. That is the difference, and the majority leader conveniently forgets that extremely important point. — Editor's Note: Thune could have picked any one of dozens of quotes from Schumer about a “clean” funding resolution. To then-Majority Leader Schumer, as long as Republicans were willing to go along with the status quo, then they were being “bipartisan” to his satisfaction. Today, “clean” still represents the status quo, but the Democrats are no longer willing to support that because the status quo today has changed since it was then. Before 7/4/2025, government funding included funding to abortion providers. After 7/4/2025 (P.L. 119-21, Sec. 71113), abortion providers don't get government Medicaid funding for a year, long enough to cause them to close entirely. It's no accident that Democrats are now rejecting their long-time support of the status quo in the name of “healthcare, most of all.” Sure, Schumer can tout the big target of "Rural hospitals are already closing,” but peal back a layer, and abortion is one unmistakable difference from then to now. — The text of their bill specifically targets the text of the law which defunds abortion providers. S. 2882, Division B (Extensions and other matters), Title I (Health), Subtitle E (Other Health Provisions), Sec. 2141 (Repeal of Health Subtitle Changes) specifically repeals “Subtitle B of title VII” of P.L. 119-21 which includes Sec. 71113 that defunds abortion providers.
- Trump Fed pick Stephen Miran confirmed by Senate before FOMC meeting
T 9/16/2025 — Prayer, Digest, Record All–SLR, PDF • Summary
- Thune on government funding: The goal here should be to fund the government the way it was intended to be funded—through the normal appropriations process. Now, I realize that is a little out of the ordinary, given the past few years under the Democrat leadership or the Democrat leader's leadership here in the Senate, where these issues, a lot of times, got decided behind closed doors in his office. That seems to be what he wants to have happen again.
W 9/17/2025 — Prayer, Digest, Record All–SLR, PDF • Summary
Th 9/18/2025 — Prayer, Digest, Record All–SLR, PDF • Summary
- Thune on Democratic government funding proposal For years, the Democrat leader talked about the importance of passing clean continuing resolutions. In fact, we did 13 of them while the Democrats had the majority the past 4 years with a Democrat in the White House. The Democrats' CR proposal this time (S. 2882) is the exact opposite. It is not clean; it is filthy. It is packed full of partisan policies and measures designed to appeal to Democrats' leftist base: funding healthcare for able-bodied adults who refuse to work; ensuring that noncitizens go back on the Medicaid rolls; removing Republican-passed measures to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse in Medicaid and free up resources for the people who need Medicaid the most.
- Schumer on shutdowns I was majority leader for 4 years—no shutdowns. Why? Because we sat down with the other side and negotiated. — Editor's Note: That's exactly what Majority Leader Thune is trying to do: give the committees more time to finish sitting down together and negotiate the spending legislation.
- Charlie Kirk’s Birthday Officially Recognized By Senate As ‘National Day Of Remembrance’ • Senate unanimously passes resolution designating Oct 14 'day of remembrance' for Charlie Kirk: Florida Sen. Rick Scott introduced the resolution on Tuesday (S.Res. 391), alongside Florida Rep. Jimmy Patronis in the House (H.Res. 727), which honors Kirk's legacy and influence in conservative politics.
- Senate confirms 48 nominees, In One Vote, under new rules
- Senate leaders set up dueling votes on stopgap funding bills (H.R. 5371, S. 2882, Unanimous Consent Agreement) • Schumer had proposed the arrangement earlier in the day, with an eye toward getting the initial votes over with in time for senators to attend conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s funeral in Arizona on Sunday.
F 9/19/2025 — Digest, Record All–SLR, PDF • Summary
House — Votes — Legislation: New: 210 (R, D), Scheduled, Action: 31, Voted: 13, Passed: 27 — News
M 9/15/2025 — Prayer, Digest, Record All, PDF, Extensions PDF • Activity, Votes
HONORING THE ECUMENICAL PATRIARCH, H.H. BARTHOLOMEW I
T 9/16/2025 — Prayer, Digest, Record All, PDF, Extensions PDF • Activity, Votes
WE ARE BORROWING $72,000 A SECOND
REMEMBERING CHARLIE KIRK
W 9/17/2025 — Prayer, Digest, Record All, PDF, Extensions PDF • Activity, Votes
IN MEMORY OF THE HONORABLE JIM EDGAR
HONORING THE LIFE OF CHARLIE KIRK
BREAKDOWN OF TRADITIONAL FAMILIES
Th 9/18/2025 — Prayer, Digest, Record All, PDF, Extensions PDF • Activity, Votes
HIGHLIGHTING FLAWED POLICIES
F 9/19/2025 — Prayer, Digest, Record All, PDF, Extensions PDF • Activity, Votes
The prayer was offered by the Guest Chaplain, Reverend Elliott J. Powell, Westminster Presbyterian Church, Lubbock, Texas.
WELCOMING REV. ELLIOTT J. POWELL
MOMENT OF SILENCE HONORING THREE FALLEN POLICE OFFICERS IN PENNSYLVANIA
CONTINUING RESOLUTION COMPROMISE
House Majority Leader Recap: Week of September 15, 2025
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National Security — Committees: Senate, House
Cruz seeks to bar sanctioned Iranian officials from US ahead of UN assembly
Foreign Policy — Committees: Senate, House
Battle brewing over Syria sanctions repeal in Congress Legislation to repeal (H.R. 3941, S. 2133) the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2019 (Title LXXIV of P.L. 116-92, originally S. 52, H.R. 31) is included in the Senate version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for 2026 (S. 2296). But an amendment to the House version of the NDAA (H.R. 3838) to repeal Caesar, amendment 535, was not included.
Pence group urges sanctions on Russia (S. 1241, H.R. 2548) • “There’s no question that the threat of shutting down the Russian economy overnight would immediately bring [Russian President] Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table and thoroughly strengthen President Trump in his fight to bring peace to Eastern Europe”
Senate Democrats urge US to recognize Palestinian state (S.Res. 410)
Graham calls for Trump to sanction China after moves by Europe to sanction energy companies in China doing business with Russia.
Constitution
Honoring Constitution Day, 9/17 (H.Res. 729)
First Amendment
Cruz: 'You cannot be prosecuted for speech', but it can still have consequences
Budget — Committees: House, Senate
CBO: The Estimated Effects of Enacting Selected Health Coverage Policies on the Federal Budget and on the Number of People With Health Insurance: CBO estimates that permanently extending the expanded premium tax credit, nullifying a marketplace final rule, and repealing policies in the 2025 reconciliation act would increase deficits and the number of people with health insurance.
Federal Spending — Committees: House, Senate — FY 2026 bills, table
Trump pushes Republicans to pass 'clean' government funding extension • Trump administration seeks $58 million security boost after Charlie Kirk assassination • Republicans propose $30 million in stopgap for lawmaker security
CBO: Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2026: (H.R. 5371) • As Posted on the Website of the House Committee on Rules, September 16, 2025
Spending debate intensifies ahead of deadline
Democrats offer to increase Federal spending by $1 trillion: The cost of the Democrats’ alternative continuing resolution, which would fund the government through Oct. 31, would easily exceed $1 trillion. • GOP leaders try to quell stopgap concerns as House vote nears “Schumer did offer an exit strategy of sorts on Wednesday night, offering a chance to look at a future commitment to deal with the expiring exchange subsidies once the CR passes rather than insist on changes to the bill now before the Sept. 30 deadline. ‘We don’t have a red line’” • Strategy emerges in shutdown fight: 'Let Schumer be Schumer': Republicans are more than willing to let Schumer’s words carry the day — both his recent floor speeches and press conferences, and his past comments hammering Republicans for not supporting “clean” CRs and arguing that it is irresponsible not to keep the government’s lights on. • Democrats say shutdown necessary to send ‘message’ to Trump A Democratic senator said a brief shutdown would give Democrats a “win,” even if it doesn’t result in any concrete policy concessions from Republicans.
Democrats see health care as the reason they’ll avoid shutdown blame Democrats want to turn the debate over funding government into a fight over the Big Beautiful Bill, the Working Families Tax Cut Act (P.L. 119-21) • CBO Estimates Billions Lost To Obamacare Exchange Fraud CBO explained it could calculate improper enrollment “because it appears in enrollment data as an unusual concentration of enrollees reporting income just above the poverty level. • Under current regulations, if a person attests to having an income above the federal poverty level but administrative data sources suggest that the person has an income too low to qualify for Marketplace subsidies (that is, below the federal poverty level), then the person is not required to provide further information to verify income before being allowed to enroll in subsidized coverage • Before 2026, immigrants who are deemed by regulation to be lawfully present, but whose income is below that threshold, may claim the credit if they do not have access to Medicaid because of their immigration status, as long as they also meet other eligibility criteria. • Permanent health tax credit extension would cost $349.8 billion over 10 years • Thune: Expiring ACA subsidies will be ‘addressed’ but not on stopgap funding Thune said there is growing support among Republicans in both the Senate and House to prevent the expanded health insurance subsidies from expiring at the end of this year. • CBO has estimated a 10-year extension of ACA subsidies would cost $250 billion. • Background from House committees on the budget and taxes.
House Democrats have supported 12 “clean” continuing resolutions
Fetterman warns of inconsistent Democratic message, says he doesn’t see a difference between now and March, when Schumer warned that a government shutdown would give Trump and Vought “the keys to the city, the state and the country.” • (March 2025 CR: H.R. 1968: Cloture invoked 62-38, Passed 54-46)
Oz offers recourse if Congress can’t quickly resolve subsidies ACA “created tax credits for individuals at or below 400 percent of the federal poverty level. Democrats lifted that cap during the pandemic to make subsidies more generous for all income levels. It’s these expanded subsidies that will expire Dec. 31 without action from Congress.” “Insurers say it will be extremely difficult for them to adjust premiums for the 2026 plan year if Congress doesn’t act to extend them before the end of the month” with "the Nov. 1 start of open enrollment."
DC leaders push for return of $1.1B amid funding battle Chair James Comer (R-Ky.), who has worked closely with Bowser in organizing the return of the Washington Commanders to the district, said he backed the funding. “That $1 billion is restored in the continuing resolution that we’re going to vote on tomorrow,” he said.
Lawmakers seek details of air traffic revamp before giving more funding The 7/4/2025 reconciliation law (P.L. 119-21) provided an initial $12.5 billion for the project. House Transportation Aviation Subcommittee Chairman Troy Nehls added that the FAA’s handling of the $12.5 billion provided in reconciliation will also inform future appropriations for the project. • May 2025 USDOT ATC Framework
Congress Urged To End One Of D.C.’s ‘Swampiest’ Practices: earmarks, aka 'Member-directed spending' • $2 Million Housing Earmark for 67-Person Village Tops Senate Pork Projects
National Debt
We are borrowing $72,000 a second, about $6.5 billion a day. In 9 years, we are upwards of $10.5 billion a day. In the next 7 years, Medicare goes from $1 trillion of annual cost to $2 trillion. • Regarding the current debate on expiring ACA subsidies, there are parts of the country where a person can make up to $600,000 a year and get $4,000-plus in subsidies paid to the insurance company. • Interest rates for government borrowing are 50 basis points lower in France and 70 basis points lower in Greece. 18 States have a better credit rating than the Federal Government.
Executive — Committees: House, Senate
Johnson weighs in on Bondi’s ‘hate speech’ comments: ‘We do not censor and silence disfavored viewpoints’ • Swalwell hits back at Bondi on hate speech, says she's failed 'to prosecute MULTIPLE direct death threats against me'
Justice — Punishing Evil, Praising Good (Romans 13:3-4; 1 Peter 2:14)
Momentum grows to force DOJ to release Epstein files Massie and Khanna are only one vote short of getting 218 signatures to force a vote on their bill. Once Arizona holds a special election Sept. 23 to fill the vacant seat of Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.), who died earlier this year, they’re likely to reach the threshold.
Commerce Policy — Committees: Senate, House
Problem Solvers Caucus proposes bipartisan energy deal The proposal seeks to speed up approvals for energy projects in general by restricting who can sue to prevent them and setting a statute of limitations for suing over a project to as little as 150 days, and bolsters power lines, nuclear energy, pipelines and geothermal energy.
Science/Technology Policy — Committee: House, Senate
Senators request documents from Meta on safety research
Key Republican raises concerns about reported spinoff reliance on Chinese algorithm “Based on initial reports, I am concerned the reported licensing deal may involve ongoing reliance … on a ByteDance algorithm and application that could allow continued CCP control or influence”
Congress — Committees: House, Senate
Longtime Democrat Joe Manchin Blasts Obama, Biden, and Schumer for Working To 'Weaken the Very Guardrails' of Democracy • Manchin in new book: Schumer wanted 'spectacle' with push to end filibuster
House Republicans Codify President Trump’s Crackdown on D.C. Crime
Senators worry political violence ‘baked in’ after Kirk assassination Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) on the political violence issue: “I don’t have an answer for all this. Nobody has an answer.” — Editor's Note: The answer is the People humble and humbled before God (2 Chronicles 7:14), and until then, “the sound of a shaken leaf shall cause them to flee” (Leviticus 26:36)
Congressman Burgess Owens says Charlie Kirk had a 'humble spirit': Kirk was one of the most influential voices on the right in recent years, notably founding Turning Point USA, with chapters at universities across the country and hosting speakers' summits for young conservatives • Lawmakers, Trump administration officials remember Kirk at Kennedy Center vigil • Speaker Johnson remarks on Charlie Kirk • Scalise Honors Charlie Kirk
Capitol Hill staffers find ways to work across the aisle: In private, there is an understanding and a willingness to work with the other party. If they didn’t, nothing could get done. • Lawmakers tout bipartisan spirit of staff work Four members of Congress called attention to the bipartisan work their staffers put in on Thursday. The lawmakers, Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) and Reps. James Comer (D-Ky.), Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.) and Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), honored the work of their staff at The Hill’s third annual Notable Staffers event.
Retiring: McCaul
Mary Rose Oakar, the first Arab American woman in Congress, dies at 85 (Remembered on the House floor on Tuesday)
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Draft Committee WeekCommittee Activity — Meetings: 57 • Reports: 2 • Legislative action this week:
All committee legislative action • Senate (Subcommittees) • House (Subcommittees)
Patel: The original Epstein case involved a very limited search warrant or set of search warrants, and didn’t take as much investigatory material as it should have seized (Meeting, Congress.gov) • Patel acknowledges to Congress others could have been involved in Charlie Kirk assassination: • Patel lashes out at Schiff • Patel slams Schiff as 'biggest fraud' in US Senate during fiery confrontation: I'm not surprised that you continue to lie from your perch and put on a show • 5 takeaways
Paul gets into exchange over COVID injections with fired CDC director (Meeting, Congress.gov) • takeaways
Cassidy invites RFK Jr. to testify on CDC firings
Democrat calls out Trump’s nominee to Belgium (Meeting, Congress.gov)
House panel backs sweeping State Department overhaul package Lammakers worked through the night on hundreds of amendment proposals (H.R. 5244, H.R. 5245, H.R. 5246, H.R. 5247, H.R. 5248, H.R. 5250, H.R. 5251, H.R. 5300, H.R. 5299 — Meeting, Docs, Congress.gov)
Cost, service questions loom over revamped broadband push (Meeting, Docs, Congress.gov)
Congressional lawmakers are hoping to overhaul the federal permitting process: If the SPEED Act becomes law, the National Environmental Policy Act would be easier for businesses and industries to work around. (H.R. 4776, Meeting, Docs, Congress.gov)
House Judiciary GOP shoots down Democrat efforts to subpoena more Epstein files (Meeting, Docs, Congress.gov)
House releases transcript of former Attorney General Bill Barr’s deposition last month • House Oversight panel drops transcript of William Barr deposition in Epstein probe: The new documents included Barr's testimony and letters from two other former attorneys general, who deny knowledge of information relevant to the committee’s investigation into the federal government's Epstein probe. • Bill Barr recounted telling Trump about Epstein death • Trump has publicly acknowledged his past relationship with Epstein but said in 2019 they hadn’t spoken in 15 years.
House panel grills FBI Director Kash Patel over Epstein materials (Meeting, Docs, Congress.gov)
Lawmakers interview Acosta amid accusations he mishandled Epstein case
Republicans block Democratic effort to subpoena of FCC’s Brendan Carr over Jimmy Kimmel (24-21 vote, Meeting, Docs, Congress.gov)
‘Never felt safer’: Republicans grill DC officials on crime (Meeting, Docs, Congress.gov)
Loudermilk requests missing information from previous J6 Select Committee investigation: Loudermilk claimed in the letters that the Democratic-led January 6 select committee, which investigated the 2021 riot shortly after it occurred, failed to archive over one terabyte of digital data, including video footage and documents.
House Judiciary Committee to hold field hearing in Charlotte over death of Ukrainian refugee: Republican New Jersey Rep. Jeff Van Drew confirmed the hearing, which will take place Sept. 29, claiming the killing was preventable and Americans deserve accountability.
Comer invites online forum operators to testify after Charlie Kirk assassination
Committee news this week: Senate • House (Google News)
Floor Outlook
Senate
Senate Democrats attempt to limit Trump’s power after Venezuela boat strikes (S.J.Res. 83) • The resolution is privileged, which means it is guaranteed a vote on the floor • The resolution will be referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which must discharge it to the Senate floor for a vote within 60 days of the president’s announcement of the use of force.
House of Representatives — Rules Committee: Legislation
Mike Johnson floats standalone security package for lawmakers: Johnson forecast the bill for October in a meeting with lawmakers
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Senate meets in pro forma sessions next week:
- Monday, September 22, at 8:30 a.m.
- Thursday, September 25, at 12 noon
Next meeting:
- 3 p.m. on Monday, September 29 — S. 2296, National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026 — Pending Amendments
- 5:30 p.m. — vote on the cloture motion with respect to the nomination of Michael G. Waltz, of Florida, to be Representative of the United States of America to the Sessions of the General Assembly of the United Nations
Friday, 9/19/2025, Senate began consideration of the motion to proceed to consideration of S. 2806, Eliminate Shutdowns Act, to provide for automatic continuing appropriations. A vote on cloture will, Lord willing, occur on Monday, September 29, 2025.
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The House meets in Pro Forma sessions during its district work period from Friday, September 19, 2025, through Sunday, September 28, 2025.
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