🗓️ What’s Up Next
Congress
The House is in session today, and both chambers will be in session until Friday, November 21, before recessing for Thanksgiving break.
The PA General Assembly
The Senate and House are in session today, before a currently planned recess through December 8th and 15th, respectively.
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 Congressional Breakdown
The shutdown is officially over, and it’s back to business as usual—or is it? Today, we’re breaking down what’s happened since the House and Senate returned to session post-shutdown, what might be coming down the pipeline, and what the party dynamics are as the holiday season slows down legislative sessions.
The Senate Breakdown
The White House has big dreams—but the shutdown has proven that the GOP conference isn’t as united as President Trump hopes. Republicans remain divided on how to address rising healthcare costs in the wake of the November 1 market opening, which saw premiums nearly 26% higher than in previous years. Affordable Care Act subsidies—a key issue in the recent shutdown—expire at the end of the year. In Politico’s words, “vulnerable moderates” are looking to GOP leadership to extend the tax credits, while the White House and other members of the party call for an entire overhaul and new restrictions on health savings accounts.
While a top political aide to Trump has offered the possibility of another “megabill” like the “One Big Beautiful Bill” that would allow Republicans to bypass the filibuster, it would require complete unity among the congressional GOP—something that’s looking increasingly less likely. The party remains divided, and members have shown that they’re finally willing to break from Trump, while Speaker Johnson attempts to maintain the spirit of unity within the party—even if it means defying Trump.
With the end of the shutdown, the onus is on both parties to seriously consider funding bills before the continuing resolution expires in January. Cross-aisle negotiations might become necessary as Republicans explore policy options related to healthcare and tariffs, given that they’ve spurned the president’s demands for the elimination of the filibuster. This leaves the reconciliation process—what was used to pass the “One Big Beautiful Bill”—as their only real option.
The House Returns
Both chambers are busy, with the House in committee meetings and catching up on a slew of legislation that was paused or newly introduced since the shutdown. Here are the major bills that have moved and are teed up that we’re watching:
The Epstein Files: A long-awaited measure, the House passed a bill on Tuesday that would force the Justice Department to release more information about the case built against the late Jeffrey Epstein. The measure passed almost unanimously, with only 1 no vote. The Senate signed off by unanimous consent and sent the legislation to Trump’s desk later in the evening. Amendments to the House resolution that the President and Speaker requested in the Senate were not considered.
Rep. Chuy Garcia Resolution: In a symbolic resolution, the House voted to rebuke Representative Chuy Garcia of Illinois for announcing his retirement after the filing deadline—the maneuver has positioned his chief of staff to be elected his successor. 23 members of the Democratic party voted along with Republicans, despite the party’s leaders urging no votes.
The National Defense Authorization Act: House and Senate lawmakers are working on a compromise on the defense legislation, in order to have a deal to vote on in early December.
Electronic Records Provision: The shutdown-ending legislation passed by the House and Senate contained a later-added provision that would allow senators to collect compensation for having their electronic records seized. There’s reportedly bipartisan support in both chambers to roll back the provision.
The Pennsylvania Impact
A healthcare crisis still looms—the expiration of enhanced ACA subsidies threatens nearly 500,000 Pennsylvanians who purchase insurance through Pennie, Pennsylvania’s ACA marketplace. Even before subsidies expire in January, insurance regulators approve average premium increases of 21% for 2026, with some hikes as high as 38%. When the subsidies do expire, nationally, buyers on the ACA marketplace will pay double for their insurance.
An estimated 270,000 Pennsylvanians are expected to lose their ACA marketplace coverage due to subsidy expiration and new federal restrictions; two-thirds of current Pennie enrollees have only ever had coverage with enhanced subsidies, meaning they’ve never experienced the higher costs that exist without them. The loss of coverage is expected to disproportionately affect individuals in rural areas, older residents not yet eligible for Medicare, and working middle-class earners—some of the GOP’s key voter base.
In the wake of the shutdown, the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services moved to issue full November SNAP benefits to all recipients. On Thursday, November 13, DHS issued more than $276 million in food assistance to families and individuals. Full SNAP benefits have been restored to more than 2 million Pennsylvanians.
Phil Glover, a national vice president of the American Federation of Government Employees who represents Pennsylvania, announced that backpay checks should arrive for federal workers who worked without pay during the shutdown by today, Wednesday, November 19.
As we mentioned last week, LIHEAP is still delayed, despite the government shutdown ending. The heat bill assistance program is set to open on December 3, as the Department of Human Services sees its federal allocation for the 2025-26 season delayed. Backfilling for LIHEAP is not always an option—states like Pennsylvania can’t use its own money for the program, and the federal funds will take a while to be disbursed.
🔥 What We’re Watching
A federal court has blocked Texas from using its newly drawn congressional map, ordering the state to revert to its previously designed maps. The next step for Texas is the Supreme Court. Meanwhile, the Justice Department has sued California for its new maps.
In addition to urging the Justice Department to make the details of its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein public, the House measure also demands that Epstein’s financial records from JP Morgan Chase, Deutsche Bank, and US Virgin Islands institutions be made available to the House oversight committee.
According to research released on Monday by the Institute of International Education, the rate of new international student enrollment at US universities dropped by 17% this autumn, compared to previous years.
The Commerce Department’s report reveals that the US trade deficit fell by almost 24% as a result of Trump’s sweeping tariffs, as imports are pushed lower.
Did You Know? While bubble gum has ancient roots—back to the ancient Greeks, in fact—its modern iteration as we know it today was invented by Walter E. Diemer in Philadelphia. An accountant at Fleer, he stumbled upon a recipe to make the chewy, pink gum he then called “Double Bubble”, even teaching shopkeepers how to blow bubbles with it to make more sales.
Till next time,