🗓️ What’s Up Next
Congress
The House is in session from September 8th to 11th this week, and the Senate is in session from September 8th to 12th this week.
The PA General Assembly
The Senate is in session from September 8th to 10th this week, and the House is conveneing for non-voting sessions on the 9th and 10th.
Want a deeper dive?
If there’s a topic you’re interested in our analysis of, feel free to drop us a line. We’ll be doing deeper dives on the big stuff as it happens, but we’re always happy to hear what you want to know.
The Sector Breakdown
Congress is back in the swing of things, but whether or not they’re off to a rolling start depends on who you’re talking to. Both chambers are still facing down a September 30th shutdown deadline, and no 2026 spending bills are being considered this week. The president reportedly asked Congress to punt the shutdown to January 31, after laying out a group of special exceptions to lawmakers to include any stopgap to keep agencies open past the current September 30th deadline.
Instead, here’s what they’ve been focused on:
Security and Defense: The House and Senate are gearing up to pass their versions of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), H.R. 3838, for Fiscal Year 2026. As of this writing, the Senate is in debate, and the final version of the bill will likely be voted on before the week is out. The bill, among other things, increases pay for all military personnel, codifies changes made by DOGE, and provides a total of $831.5 billion in discretionary allocation. Congress managed to pack nearly 300 amendments into the bill that Democrats argue “lean into culture wars” and prohibit funding DEI programs, sex-change surgeries, or the use of foreign social media on government devices.
How It Impacts Pennsylvania: Any type of government spending bill impacts us in the long run, but the good news is that this one passed with bipartisan support. Pennsylvania’s members of the Armed Forces, nearly 3,000 residents, can expect 3.5% raises to happen starting on January 1.
Just in case you missed it: President Trump signed an executive order last week to rename The Department of Defense to The Department of War. Reactions have been mixed, to say the least.
Immigration: The House has very few bills on the floor this week for potential consideration, including H.R. 3486, the “Stop Illegal Entry Act of 2025”, which establishes or increases “criminal penalties for certain non-U.S. nationals who illegally enter the United States and then commit a felony or illegally reenter the United States”. The bill establishes a mandatory minimum prison term of 5 years and allows a life sentence for an individual who (1) improperly enters, or attempts to improperly enter, the United States; and (2) is subsequently convicted of a felony.
How It Impacts Pennsylvania: If passed, this bill would increase the likelihood of deportation for individuals convicted of felonies after crossing the border. As the current administration targets states’ immigration and federal law enforcement cooperation, this spells uncertainty and fear for our immigrant communities. Right now, we don’t know the tangible impact that this bill might have if or when it passes the House. We’ll keep you updated on changes.
Worth Noting
While there’s no telling how congressional approvals have yet to impact the state, it’s worth reporting that Congress is still backlogged on confirmations, and that the Senate is working on changing the chamber’s rules to authorize en block consideration for certain nominations. This means that presidential nominees in subcommittees could all be considered in one vote. The Senate would have to take another 600 votes before the end of the year to clear the current backlog of nominees on the calendar and at committee, Senate Majority Leader John Thune said.
Another topic worth covering is that President Trump’s takeover of the Washington D.C. law enforcement ends today, and congressional Republicans have made no indication that they’ll extend the authorization.
🔥 What We’re Watching
A duo of laws from 1991 green-lit operations in Iraq in the Gulf War and the 2003 invasion that deposed the regime of Saddam Hussein. Critics are arguing these laws are allowing the president to use U.S. troops in “inappropriate ways”.
The August jobs report just came out, and we’re still watching to see the adjustment numbers as they come. The US added 911,000 fewer jobs than first estimated for the year to March 2025, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) announced on Tuesday.
French Prime Minister François Bayrou called for a vote of no confidence on himself Monday, and submitted his resignation to the president. He had a warning for those outsing him: “You have the power to bring down the government, but you do not have the power to erase reality.”
Did You Know? This one is for our music lovers (of which we are many, here at Bellevue). The first commercially built and sold piano was made in Philadelphia in 1775, by German immigrant Johan Berent (or Behrent, depending on the document he wrote his name on).
Till next time,