As the end of the 119^th Congress approaches, several legislative priorities will be competing for valuable floor time. McGuireWoods Consulting government affairs professionals will be watching critical annual reauthorizations and expiring provisions, as well as bipartisan priorities.

Continuing Resolution (CR) and Fiscal Year 2027 Funding

The current levels of government funding are set to expire on Dec. 11, 2026. House appropriators have passed all 12 funding bills out of the Appropriations Committee, with the Agriculture, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Committee and the National Security and State subcommittee bills passed through the full House. The Senate has not considered any appropriations bills in committee or on the floor. However, committee leaders in both chambers and on both sides of the aisle have indicated that it is important to them to pass all spending bills, and Chairman Cole has been clear he would prefer to avoid extraneous matters, like healthcare extenders or other noncontroversial member priorities, in an omnibus funding package.

Should members be unable to reach agreement on fiscal year 2027 appropriations before Dec. 11, they may choose to enact a continuing resolution. Some observers have suggested a CR as long as two years.

National Defense Authorization Act and FISA Sec. 702

The House has passed its version of the National Defense Authorization Act, H.R. 8800, while the Senate has yet to consider its iteration, S. 4784. The two bills would each authorize approximately $1.1 trillion for national defense.

Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which allows intelligence agencies to conduct warrantless searches of non U.S. citizens located abroad, expired in 2025.

Health Extenders

Several healthcare provisions and funding sources are expiring at the end of the year, including:

• Medicare-Dependent Hospitals (MDH) Program
• Medicare Low-Volume Hospital Adjustment
• 2.5% Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Increase
• Federally Qualified Health Centers/Rural Health Centers Telehealth Billing Flexibility
• Telemedicine Controlled Substance Prescribing Flexibility
• Community Health Center Fund
• Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act Authorities

These upcoming expirations mean that Congress will either reauthorize or review these programs, providing a legislative vehicle on which other healthcare provisions may be included.

Permitting Reform

On Sept. 30, bipartisan Senate negotiators released the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act, which would reform the permitting process. This bill would give the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission more authority on the following:

• Approve interstate power lines
• Allow transmission applications to be processed simultaneously with state reviews
• Require data centers to pay for their transmission costs,
• Set deadlines for environmental reviews,
• Enforce deadlines for legal challenges under federal environmental and historic preservation laws
• Allow states to handle endangered species consultations. 
  

Tax Administration and Digital Assets

The Senate passed S. 3931, the Taxpayer Assistance and Service Act, a bipartisan bill to address tax compliance, appeal rights, IRS operations modernization and tax simplification for Americans living abroad.

Separately, the House Ways and Means Committee passed H.R. 10357, the Digital Asset Tax Certainty Act, through the committee and Chairman Jason Smith, R-MO, has made clear that he will prioritize moving a digital asset tax bill and believes that it can be accomplished before the end of the year.

Reconciliation

White House Office of Management and Budget director Russ Vought has said that another reconciliation package with $350 billion in military funding is not optional. This package may include $12 billion in aid for farmers and a debt limit increase, as the federal government moves progressively closer to hittting the debt limit.  

Conclusion

Bills that may be discussed, but are not finalized, include surface transportation, a complete Farm Bill, as well as college sports regulation. These efforts may have the support of one chamber or one party, but additional work remains to bring policymakers on board.

Once both chambers return after the elections, there will only be about a month of remaining legislative time in the 119^th Congress, and stakeholders can expect policymakers to move quickly in November and December.