The Bellevue Compass

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.

There’s some good news in the midst of a lot of bad: Congress is on track to avoid another shutdown. They’ll have to pass a total of twelve funding bills before the January 30th deadline in order to totally fund the government, and unsurprisingly, there will be some challenges to overcome before they get there. We’re breaking down below what’s nearing the finish line. 

What’s Going on in Congress

The House is teeing up to attempt passage of four major spending bills on Thursday: funding the departments of Defense, HHS, Labor, HUD, Transportation, Education, and Homeland Security. Most on Capitol Hill are anticipating that the Homeland Security bill will be a tough one to pass, with the GOP narrow in their majority and their recent track record of breaking from Speaker Johnson’s agenda. 

The Homeland bill is over-shadowed by the current situation in Minnesota, and lawmakers are aware of its divisiveness—House GOP plans to allow a passage vote for the bill that’s separate from the other funding bills. It doesn’t include much of the changes that Democratic lawmakers asked for, such as preventing DHS from detaining and deporting U.S. citizens or from deploying personnel from other agencies to conduct immigration enforcement (via Politico). 

Earmarks are another potential roadblock for the funding bills, with hardline members of the GOP working to identify any funding projects that don’t align, presumably with their priorities. In the early 2000s, Congress all but banned earmarks from the appropriations process due to corruption, putting new rules in place for the reporting and transparency of projects included in appropriations bills that were designated as earmarks. In 2021, Congress passed a bill that reinstated them. (It’s important to note that in the “ban”, earmarks never really went away—projects and their funding were transferred into the legislative branch or ideally, were subject to a legitimate appropriation process.)

Earmarks: Earmarks in federal funding bills are specific provisions directing funds directly to projects or recipients, usually bypassing the typical—and extremely competitive—allocation process. In the early 2000s, this saw projects unvetted for national necessity or fiscal soundness funded by Congress, and resulted in a number of high-profile legal cases. 

Even with their reinstitution, Congress has hard and fast rules for projects, aware that controversial earmarks have the potential to sink an entire bill. Members are required to put in a formal request for earmark funding. “Requests for Community Project Funding”, as they’re called, have guidelines: they can’t go toward for-profit entities, memorials, museums, or commemoratives, and there is a 15-request limit per member, as well as an overall funding cap. Both parties do their due-diligence on the other’s proposed earmarked projects. 

Back to our regularly rescheduled programming. The weather is turning into a factor in the time crunch that Congress is facing, as the Senate is out this week and plans to return to vote on the House bills. But, more snow is expected across the region, so we’ll cross our fingers that nothing delays the passage of the bills further. 

Now, what we’ve all been waiting for: healthcare. Congress has agreed on a bipartisan bill, but it’s not President Trump’s plan that they decided on in the end. The bill reportedly outlines a proposed crackdown on pharmacy benefit managers, and would extend several public health programs, including major telehealth flexibilities. It would also fund through the end of 2030, a program run through the “Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that reimburses facilities for offering hospital-level care in the home”. Notably absent? Any extension of Obamacare subsidies, and no money going directly into health savings accounts, as Trump proposed. 

Once the full bill language is out, we’ll break it down for you. In the meantime, here’s what’s worth watching in each sector. 

The Sector Breakdown

Most of the departments gaining funding, like HUD, Education, and Labor, appear to be in direct conflict with President Trump’s agenda and the major talking points that he brought into his second term. 

The Pennsylvania Impact

Since none of the funding bills have officially passed through the House and Senate yet, we can’t speak on their impacts quite yet, but we’re gearing up for a full analysis once the bill language is released and passed. But—we can say that the healthcare bill is likely going to positively impact PA in some ways, especially for residents in rural areas that rely heavily on telehealth. And, home care hospital reimbursement programs also benefit Pennsylvania’s aging populations. The $7.2 billion HUD boost could mean more resources for housing in Pennsylvania, especially in areas that are experiencing an affordability crisis, like Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. 

This week in Pennsylvania, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is headlining a rally in Harrisburg at the Capitol Rotunda to talk about the administration’s health changes. If you remember last week, we reported on RFK’s food pyramid change and the new guidance on health as we move into 2026. It remains to be seen how the rally will go. 

We also talked last week about AI data centers popping up in Pennsylvania. Now, consumer advocates and a PA public utility commissioner are looking to target data centers and other large energy users to help lower skyrocketing energy costs in PA—a problem that’s plaguing the northeast in general. As of now, Pennsylvania has no statewide regulations overseeing facilities like data centers. 

In education, Pennsylvania student-loan borrowers are likely feeling a little bit of relief over the Education Department’s announcement that it won’t seek to garnish wages—at the moment. When the plan was announced in the spring, however, there was no timeline. There’s no telling if the department will seek a different route. 

🔥 What We’re Watching

Did You Know? PA has its own Grand Canyon! Pine Creek Gorge received national acclaim in 1968 when the National Park Service designated a 12-mile section as a National Natural Landmark. 

Till next time,