The 119th Congress

The 119th Congress began last Friday, with Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) securing the speakership on the first ballot in a 218-215-1 vote. Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) and Rep. Keith Self (R-TX) originally voted for other candidates before speaking with President-Elect Trump by phone and then changing their votes to Johnson. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) voted for Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN).

The current House margin is 219 Republicans, 215 Democrats, though the Republican margin is expected to narrow as Trump has nominated two current House members, Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) and Rep. Michael Waltz (R-FL), for positions in his Administration.

The House adopted a rules package (section-by-section here) which changes the threshold to trigger a motion to vacate the speakership from one member to nine members of the House Republican conference. The rules package also renames the House Committee on Education and the Workforce to, simply, the House “Committee on Education and Workforce”.

Shortly after the speaker vote, eleven members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus released a letter stating that they voted for Johnson, despite their sincere reservations, in order to support Trump and ensure the certification of his electors.

In his first remarks on the floor as Senate Majority Leader, John Thune (R-SD) stated that, “one of my priorities as leader will be to ensure that the Senate stays the Senate. That means preserving the legislative filibuster – the Senate rule that today has perhaps the greatest impact in preserving the Founders’ vision of the Senate.”

Thune has also said that he does not support overruling the Senate parliamentarian on reconciliation bills. Thune said doing so would be, “totally akin to killing the filibuster. We can’t go there. People need to understand that.”

President-Elect Trump’s second inauguration is Monday, January 20.

New America Webinar on Building Federal Capacity for Workforce Development Aligned to Industrial Policy

New America is holding a webinar on Building Federal Capacity for Workforce Development Aligned to Industrial Policy on Wednesday, January 15 from noon to 1:30pm Eastern. More details including a link to register are available here.

Reconciliation

Republicans have yet to decide on a strategy of whether to pursue one or two bills via budget reconciliation, the process which bypasses the filibuster and needs only 51 votes for passage. President-Elect Trump prefers one bill (covering primarily immigration/border security, defense, energy, and tax), but said he is open to two bills (one covering immigration/border security, defense, and energy, and a second bill for extending tax cuts). House Speaker Mike Johnson and Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA), like Trump, support one bill, while Senate Majority Leader John Thune and many of his fellow Republican Senators prefer two bills. The House Freedom Caucus has also pushed for two bills.

Speaker Johnson has said the debt limit should be addressed via reconciliation. House Republicans have previously discussed $2.5 trillion in 10 year cuts for a $1.5 trillion debt limit increase. A list of spending reform options Republicans are considering is here. Speaker Johnson wants the House to pass a reconciliation bill as soon as April 3 so the Senate could pass it by May, though he said the timeline could run into May.

Former House Education and Workforce Chair Virginia Foxx (R-NC) said last month, “for the next term, we’ve laid the groundwork for reconciliation. I expect to see a large portion of the CCRA [the College Cost Reduction Act] in the reconciliation language that we will be dealing with in the next session now that we have the Senate and the House and the presidency—and definitely President Trump is very interested in this. He wants to get the federal government out of education, if at all possible. And he is interested in what happens in postsecondary education. So the pieces of the CCRA that can go into reconciliation will go there, and then we’ll be working on separate legislation [for the rest].”

FY 25

On December 21, President Biden signed H.R. 10545, the American Relief Act, 2024, which funds the government through March 14.

House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole (R-OK) said yesterday that a topline FY 25 funding number has not been agreed to, and that appropriators were waiting on direction from leadership. Cole said leadership should not try to attach too many unrelated bills to any eventual FY 25 package. Any final spending bill will need bipartisan support, given 60 votes are needed in the Senate to avoid a filibuster.

Committees

The Senate HELP Committee is chaired by Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), and includes the following Republican Senators: Rand Paul (R-KY), Susan Collins (R-ME), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-KS), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), Tim Scott (R-SC), Josh Hawley (R-MO), Jim Banks (R-IN), Mike Crapo (R-ID), and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN). Senators Scott, Hawley, Banks, Crapo, and Blackburn are all new to the Committee.

The Senate HELP Committee’s Ranking Member is Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and includes the following Democratic Members: Patty Murray (D-WA), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Tim Kain (D-VA), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Ed Markey (D-MA), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Angela Alsobrooks. Senators Kim, Blunt Rochester, and Alsobrooks are all new to the Committee.

Today, House Education and Workforce Chair Tim Walberg (R-MI) announced the Republican Steering Committee’s recommendations for his committee. The list is here and new members are Rep. Bob Onder (R-MO), Rep. Ryan Mackenzie (R-PA), Rep. Michael Baumgartner (R-WA), Rep. Mark Harris (R-NC), and Rep. Mark Messmer (R-IN). Walberg also announced the Committee’s senior staff.

We are still awaiting further relevant committee and subcommittee information.

Cabinet Confirmation Hearings

While the Senate plans to hold several confirmation hearings next week, confirmation hearings for Education Secretary nominee Linda McMahon and Labor Secretary nominee Lori Chavez-DeRemer have not yet been scheduled. Regarding a hearing for McMahon, Senate HELP Committee Chair Bill Cassidy said he is waiting to receive paperwork, such as financial disclosures and conflict of interest forms.

NTIA Digital Equity Competitive Grant Program Award Recommendations

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has recommended for award more than $250 million to 24 organizations to support digital skills and inclusion projects in communities across the country.

Older Americans Act Updates

We continue to pursue our engagement strategy with key lawmakers and mobilize our network in support of the Older Americans Act and SCSEP. Please keep an eye on your email for periodic updates from Gary A. Officer with details on these activities.

We also look forward to discussing these critical activities at our next meeting, which will be planned soon.