PSW Weekly Round-Up - 6/2

Legislative Update

House. Among the bills to be considered by the House this week are three measures dealing with small businesses. They would restrict Small Business Administration loans based on immigration status, close SBA offices in sanctuary cities, and limit the number of certified small business lending companies.

Senate. The Senate will continue to consider nominations and is expected to resume consideration of legislation to regulate stablecoins. It is unclear whether Senator Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) will force a vote on his credit card swipe-fee amendment to the stablecoin bill. The amendment is designed to limit how much credit card companies can charge a business by requiring banks to offer multiple credit card networks, which would increase competition between credit cards. The amendment is controversial, and some Senators believe its addition to the stablecoin bill would lead to defeat of the stablecoin measure.

Reconciliation. Following House passage May 22 of reconciliation legislation on a vote of 215-214, attention now shifts to the Senate. Senate Majority Leader John Thune will have to find a way to balance competing interests without losing the votes of more than three of his Senators, given the Republicans’ narrow 53-47 majority.

Some Republican Senators maintain that the House bill doesn’t cut enough spending while others oppose the level of spending cuts, particularly to the Medicaid program. Thune will also have to work with those Senators who feel the House bill is too draconian in its approach to clean energy tax credits and those who believe it is too generous in increasing the limit for the state and local tax deduction.

While Thune has not announced how the Senate plans to proceed, there continues to be speculation that key committees, including the Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over the tax and Medicaid provisions, will not meet to mark up the reconciliation measure. This is not without precedent. In 2017, the Republican Senate took up the House-passed bill to “repeal and replace” Obamacare without any committee markups. (The Senate substitute, drafted by a working group, failed.)

In 2021, Senate Democrats bypassed committee consideration of the American Rescue Plan Act, and in 2022, then-Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer took up the House-passed Build Back Better Act and substituted the text of the Inflation Reduction Act, which was basically negotiated with Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), not marked up by Senate Finance and other committees.

While Congressional Republicans want to send the legislation to the President’s desk by July 4^th, that remains an ambitious timeline. Congress is scheduled to recess on June 27 for the Independence Day recess.

Rescissions. The Trump administration plans to send a rescission package to Congress this week, possibly on Tuesday. The rescissions would block spending for over $9 billion in funds that Congress has approved for various programs, including the Agency for International Development and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which would hit National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service. Under the 1974 Impoundment Control Act, the House and Senate will have 45 legislative days to approve the rescissions or else they will not be implemented. Only a simple majority, rather than 60 votes, is needed to clear a rescissions measure in the Senate.

Tariff Update. In recent tariff news:

• President Trump said May 30 he would double his tariffs on steel and aluminum from 25% to 50%. The 25% tariffs, which into effect in March, were levied under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, which gives the president authority to restrict imports he deems a national security threat after an investigation by the Commerce Department. The new 50% tariffs are slated to take effect on June 4.

• On May 28, the Court of International Trade ruled that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) does not give the President the authority to impose his April 2 “Liberation Day” tariffs. The court’s ruling applies to the broad-based duties of 10% globally; 25% on certain fentanyl-producing countries, including Canada and Mexico; “reciprocal” tariffs on most trading partners based on their trade surplus with the United States; and 30% on China (later raised to 145 percent). However, the administration immediately filed an appeal, and on May 29, an appeals court issued a temporary stay that allows the U.S. to continue to collect tariffs while the court considers the merits of the appeal. This case does not affect tariffs that Trump has imposed using other laws, including the Section 301 tariffs on China, Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum, and Section 232 tariffs on automobiles and auto parts.

• In a separate case, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled on May 29 that IEEPA does not authorize the President to impose import duties of any kind. The judge, however, stayed his decision for 14 days to allow parties to appeal.

• On May 23, Trump said he would impose 50% tariffs on goods from the European Union, effective June 1, but on May 25, he pushed the effective date until July 9 to allow more time for negotiations.

• Also on May 23, Trump threatened to impose a 25% tariff on smartphones unless they are made in the U.S. He said the tariffs could start by “the end of June.”

Committee Action of Note

Tuesday, June 3

• Senate Appropriations Committee FY 2026 Budget Hearings:
  • Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government: Request for the Securities and Exchange Commission with Paul Atkins, SEC Chairman
  • Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies: Request for the Department of Education with Linda McMahon, Secretary of Education
• Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee Hearing: “Beyond the Trailhead: Supporting Outdoor Recreation in an Uncertain Economy”
• Senate Finance Committee Hearing to consider pending nominations, including:
  • Joseph Barloon to be a Deputy U.S. Trade Representative
  • Janet Dhillon to be Director for the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation
• Senate Judiciary Subcommittees on The Constitution and Federal Courts, Oversight, Agency Action, and Federal Rights Joint Hearing: “The Supposedly ‘Least Dangerous Branch:’ District Judges v. Trump”

Wednesday, June 4

• Senate Appropriations Committee FY 2026 Budget Hearings:
  • Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies: Request for the Department of Commerce with Howard Lutnick, Secretary of Commerce
  • Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development: Request for the National Nuclear Security Administration
• Senate Foreign Relations Committee Hearing: “Dismantling Transnational Criminal Organizations in the Americas”
• Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Hearing: “Reauthorization of the Over-the-Counter Monograph Drug User Program”
• Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health Policy Hearing: “China’s Malign Influence in Africa”
• House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Europe Hearing: “Assessing the Challenges Facing NATO”
• House Transportation Subcommittee on Aviation Hearing: “FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024: Stakeholder Perspectives on Implementation One Year Later”
• House Agriculture Committee Hearing: “American Innovation and the Future of Digital Assets: From Blueprint to a Functional Framework”
• House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Government Operations Hearing: “Safeguarding Procurement: Examining Fraud Risk Management in the Department of Defense”
• House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Budget Hearing: Federal Aviation Administration with Chris Rocheleau, Acting FAA Administrator
• House Financial Services Committee Hearing: “American Innovation and the Future of Digital Assets: From Blueprint to a Functional Framework”
• House Small Business Committee Hearing: “Budgeting for Growth: Testimony from SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler”
• House Armed Services Committee Hearing: Department of the Army FY 2026 Posture
• House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency Hearing: “Public Funds, Private Agendas: NGOs Gone Wild”

Thursday, June 5

• Senate Armed Services Committee Hearing to receive testimony on the posture of the Department of the Army in review of the Defense Authorization Request for Fiscal Year 2026 and the Future Years Defense Program
• House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance Hearing: “Foreign Influence on American’s Data Through the CLOUD Act”
• House Oversight and Government Reform Hearing: “The Federal in the Age of Artificial Intelligence”
• House Agriculture Subcommittee on Conversation, Research, and Biotechnology Hearing: “Supporting Farmers, Strengthening Conservation, Sustaining Working Lands”
• House Small Business Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Tax, and Capital Access Hearing: “Investing in America: How Private Equity Empowers Main Street”
• House Financial Services Subcommittee on Financial Institutions Hearing: “Framework for the Future: Reviewing Data Privacy in Today’s Financial System”
• House Armed Services Committee Hearing: “Department of the Air Force Fiscal Year 2026 Posture”
• House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies: FY 2026 Budget Request for the Department of Commerce with Howard Lutnick, Secretary of Commerce

Recent Executive Actions of Note

• Sequestration Order For Fiscal Year 2026 Pursuant To Section 251a Of The Balanced Budget And Emergency Deficit Control Act, As Amended - May 30, 2025

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