PSW Weekly Round-Up - 12/1

Legislative Update

House. In addition to bills considered under suspension of the rules, the House this week is set to vote on four education bills and two small business measures. The education bills include a proposal establishing federal rules to govern student-athletes’ ability to profit off of their name, image, and likeness (NIL).

Senate. The Senate will continue to consider nominations. Before the Thanksgiving break, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) had hoped to take up a package of FY 2026 appropriations bills. However, negotiations are continuing as Thune is looking to include five bills in the minibus – Defense, Labor-HHS-Education, Commerce-Justice-Science, Interior-Environment, and Transportation-HUD.

NDAA. Leaders of the House and Senate Armed Services committees could release a compromise version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) this week, with a House vote possible next week.

Committee Action of Note

Tuesday, December 2

• House Financial Services Committee hearing: "Oversight of Prudential Regulators"
• House Oversight and Government Reform Committee markup to consider various measures, including:
  • H.R. 143, Unauthorized Spending Accountability Act
• House Education and Workforce Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions hearing: "Pension Predators: Stopping Class Action Abuse Against Workers' Retirement"
• House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy hearing: "Securing America's Energy Infrastructure: Addressing Cyber and Physical Threats to the Grid"
• Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asia, The Pacific, and International Cybersecurity Policy hearing: "Countering China’s Challenge To American AI Leadership"
• Senate Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining hearing to receive testimony on pending legislation, including:
  • S. 91, to improve Federal activities relating to wildfires, and for other purposes (Cortez Masto);
  • S. 902, to require the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior to establish a standard for the response time to wildfire incidents, and for other purposes (Sheehy);
  • S. 2033, to direct the Comptroller General of the United States to conduct a study on existing programs, rules, and authorities that enable or inhibit wildfire mitigation across land ownership boundaries on Federal and non-Federal land (Gallego)

Wednesday, December 3

• House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Tax hearing: "Promoting Global Competitiveness for American Workers and Businesses"
• House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and Limited Government hearing: "Balancing the Federal Budget: Examining Proposals for a Balanced Budget Amendment"
• House Budget Committee hearing: Member Day
• Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing: "Making Health Care Affordable Again: Healing a Broken System"

Thursday, December 4

• House Veterans' Affairs Committee hearing: "119th Congress Member Day"

Tariff Update

Pharmaceuticals. The U.S. and United Kingdom announced today that they have reached an agreement in which there will be no U.S. tariffs imposed for at least three years on pharmaceuticals, pharmaceutical ingredients, and medical technology imported from the U.K., in return for the U.K.’s National Health System increasing the net price it pays for new medicines by 25%.

Recent Executive Action of Note

On Nov. 20, President Trump signed an Executive Order removing the 40% tariffs he imposed in July on Brazilian food products, including beef, coffee, cocoa, and fruits. This and other executive actions include:

• Modifying the Scope of Tariffs on the Government of Brazil – Nov. 20, 2025
• Launching the Genesis Mission - Nov. 24, 2025
• Designation of Certain Muslim Brotherhood Chapters as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists - Nov. 24, 2025​​

Political Update

Tennessee Special Election. Voters in Tennessee’s 7^th Congressional District will elect a replacement on Tuesday for Rep. Mark Green (R-Tenn.), who resigned his House seat in July. The candidates are Republican Matt Van Epps, a former commissioner of the Tennessee Department of General Services, and Democrat Aftyn Behn, a state representative. In 2024, Trump carried the district by 22 points.

Texas Redistricting. The Supreme Court could rule this week on Texas’ redistricting plan that Republicans hoped would add up to five GOP seats to their ranks. The new map, which the Texas Legislature approved in August, was blocked Nov. 18 by a district court in 2-1 decision that found the map was “racially gerrymandered.” On Nov. 21, Justice Samuel Alito temporarily reinstated the map, pending review by the full Supreme Court. The filing deadline for the state’s March 3 primaries is Dec. 8.

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