🗓️ What’s Up Next
Congress
The House and Senate are in this week, with only a handful of sessions left before recess.
The PA General Assembly
The House and Senate are out, and will reconvene on September 9th and September 28th, respectively.
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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.
A lot is going on in Washington this week, with the passing of long-time Senator Lindsey Graham and the continued absence of Senator Mitch McConnell. Meanwhile, the House floor has finally thawed with the passage of a State Department appropriations bill. We break it all down below.
The Congressional Breakdown
The House chamber’s floor has been icy cold for weeks as hardliners try to insert Trump’s “No. 1 Priority” legislation, the SAVE America Act, into every piece of legislation that the House touches, to no avail. Border security is what some GOP members hope will prompt the floor to reopen, while other GOP leaders are pitching a third reconciliation bill that includes pieces of the SAVE America Act.
On Tuesday afternoon, Speaker Johnson managed to unstick the House floor by advancing the State Department appropriations bill, which included a plan to merge the SAVE America Act. The process, known as MIRVing, is a procedural rule that directs separately passed legislation to be packaged together and sent to the Senate. It’s now up to the Senate, and Majority Leader John Thune, either to strip out or move forward with the pieces of the SAVE America Act included inside.
There’s also a reconciliation bill that Johnson is pushing the House Budget Committee to vote on a resolution for by Thursday, but it’s still not too late for it to fall apart. The details are sparse at the moment, but the plan would include $67 billion for defense and $20 billion for farm aid and agriculture funding. It would also include some key provisions of the SAVE America Act, including authorizing grant programs and other incentives to “encourage states to implement voter ID and citizenship requirements to cast ballots”. There’s no official date yet for the Senate to cast a vote or do any markups on the appropriations bill and by extension, the SAVE America Act.
The House on Tuesday passed the Sunshine Protection Act with broad bipartisan support. The Act would make daylight saving time the permanent standard time, and the legislation now heads to the Senate for final passage. We’ll discuss what this means more in the Pennsylvania Impact section.
In the Senate, the annual defense policy bill that passed through the House before its holiday break was blocked by Democrats. On July 10, President Trump notified Congress that the United States is once more at war with Iran, effectively restarting the 60-day clock for the president to use military force without congressional approval. Democratic senators blocked the National Defense Authorization Act—more on this in the next section.
The Iran Update
As Trump heads to Carlisle, Pennsylvania, for the Pennsylvania Defense and Innovation Summit, the U.S. military has launched a new round of daytime strikes against Iran, seeking to disable further its capabilities to attack ships in the Strait of Hormuz. On Tuesday, the U.S. reimposed a blockade of the waterway, though President Trump walked back his proposed 20% toll on all cargo passing through the waterway.
In response to the renewed conflict, oil prices have once again jumped. U.S. benchmark WTI crude was up to $79/barrel Tuesday morning, and international benchmark Brent crude was up to $85/barrel.
Other Congressional News
Senator Lindsey Graham passed late Saturday evening, and his sister, Darline Graham Nordone, will serve the remainder of the senator’s term in Washington. Nordone has not yet indicated if she’ll be making her own bid for the seat.
Jay Clayton and Todd Blanche are facing their nomination hearings today for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and Attorney General, respectively.
The Sector Breakdown
AI: Senate Commerce Chair Ted Cruz is eyeing July 29 to hold a highly anticipated markup of kids’ online safety and artificial intelligence bills.
Trade: President Trump announced on Tuesday that he would scrap his proposal for a 20 percent tolling fee on cargo transiting the Strait of Hormuz, and would instead pursue trade and investment deals with Gulf states, according to The Hill.
Health:
Supreme Court: Supreme Court Justices Elena Kagan and Amy Coney Barrett shared differing views on Tuesday regarding a potential independent enforcement mechanism to ensure they and their colleagues are upholding the court’s ethics code. They also testified about the need for additional funds from Congress to increase security for the Supreme Court justices.
The Pennsylvania Impact
The Pennsylvania Defense and Innovation Summit is happening today in Carlisle, and the president will be speaking at the event, organized by Senator Dave McCormick. The summit intends to “bring together America’s leading defense and technology leaders…to accelerate innovation and strengthen America’s defense industrial base”.
The state has a strong history in defense industrialization and is a key component of the defense supply chain. The two-day event, held at the Army War College, is particularly relevant with President Trump’s renewal of the conflict in Iran.
As tensions escalate between the two countries, Pennsylvania is feeling the impact of rising oil prices once more after a few weeks of declines. The average price of gas in the state went up by 2 cents, but it’s even more in areas like Philadelphia. Residents have expressed major frustration with the fluctuating prices and the continued conflict with Iran, and in some cases, “politics in general”.
Though Congress broke its stalemate and is sending bills to the Senate—namely, the SAVE America Act—there’s little to say until any of those bills actually become law. The Sunshine Protection Act (not to be confused with Pennsylvania’s own “Sunshine Act”) will have implications for residents here in the Commonwealth. The state has its own legislation that seeks to create a permanent standard time, potentially creating a conflict between state and federal proposals. The main concern with permanent daylight saving time is winter morning darkness and later sunrises, which can affect children and commuters who would be commuting in darkness. Interestingly, agriculture and farming are greatly affected by daylight saving time, as some farm animals, particularly cows, are sensitive to changes in their routines.
Finally, this week the Pennsylvania General Assembly passed the FY26-27 Budget to the tune of $50.8 billion, two weeks after the state’s budget deadline. If you’re not yet, sign up for The Bellevue Bulletin to get a full budget breakdown in your inbox on Friday.
What We’re Watching
Did you know? Before it was the birthplace of American independence, Pennsylvania was home to a doomsday cult that believed the world would end in 1694. The "Society of the Woman in the Wilderness" was founded by a German immigrant, Johannes Kelpius, and his followers settled in the area outside of Philadelphia in the late 1600s.
Till next time,