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DC Download - March 10, 2025

Congress is racing to avoid a shutdown, but Republicans’ proposal to keep the government open has its own pitfalls. Meanwhile, the Trump administration continues to sow chaos around both trade and education, throwing economies and students, teachers, and scientists into uncertainty. We’ve got the breakdown for you below.

Table of Contents:

Despite Trump’s relentless attacks on government and essential services, progressives have delivered real victories that make a difference in people’s lives. Across the country, states have passed bold, visionary policies that expand access to healthcare, protect our environment, and build a more just economy. Our Progressive Playbook is a roadmap for advocates, legislators, and the public to learn from these hard-fought wins and bring them to their own communities. From Minnesota’s Cumulative Impacts Law tackling environmental justice to Massachusetts’ Universal School Meals ensuring no child goes hungry, this guide highlights the policies that are working—and how we can replicate them nationwide. Progress is possible when we organize, legislate, and fight for it. Let’s get to work.

House Floor

The House will vote on nine suspension bills from Committees on Ways and Means, Oversight and Reform, and Transportation and Infrastructure. Suspension bills require a ⅔ majority to pass. For a list of all suspension bills being considered, click here.

This week the House will also consider the following bills, subject to a rule:

H.R. 1156 – Pandemic Unemployment Fraud Enforcement Act (Sponsored by Rep. Smith (MO) / Ways and Means Committee) – This legislation increases the statute of limitations for federal fraud and money laundering cases involving pandemic-era programs from five to ten years.

H.J. Res. 25 – This legislation uses the Congressional Review Act to repeal an IRS rule requiring decentralized crypto exchanges to report tax information. (Sponsored by Rep. Carey / Ways and Means Committee)

H.R. __ Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025 (Sponsored by Rep. Cole / Appropriations Committee) – This legislation funds the government through September 30, 2025 under a full-year continuing resolution. Read more on this in “Issues to Watch.”

House Committee Highlights

A full list of this week’s hearings and markups can be found here. Notable hearings and markups include:

Tuesday Hearings

Regulatory Harm or Harmonization? Examining the Opportunity to Improve the Cyber Regulatory Regime (Committee on Homeland Security)

Restoring the SBA: Putting Main Street America First (Committee on Small Business)

Water Infrastructure Financing: WIFIA and the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure)

Navigating the Digital Payments Ecosystem: Examining a Federal Framework for Payment Stablecoins and Consequences of a U.S. Central Bank Digital Currency (Committee on Financial Services)

Education Without Limits: Exploring the Benefits of School Choice (Committee on Education and Workforce)

Arms Control, International Security, and U.S. Assistance to Europe: Review and Reforms for the State Department (Committee on Foreign Affairs)

Enhancing Federal, State, and Local Coordination in the Fight Against Criminal Illegal Aliens (Committee on Oversight and Government Reform)

Wednesday Hearings

Conflict and Persecution in Nigeria: The Case for a CPC Designation (Committee on Foreign Affairs)

Nominations

The Senate this week has teed up votes on the following nominees:

Lori Chavez-DeRemer, to be Secretary of Labor
Elise Stefanik, to be U.S. Ambassador to the UN
Steven Bradbury, to be Deputy Secretary of Transportation
Abigail Slater, to be Assistant Attorney General
William Pulte, to be Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency
Stephen Miran, to be Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers
Jeffrey Kessler, to be Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security
Jonathan McKernan, to be Director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection
Keith Sonderling, to be Deputy Secretary of Labor

Senate Committee Highlights

Tuesday Hearings

To receive testimony on stabilizing the Military Health System to prepare for large-scale combat operations (Armed Services)

Ending the Scourge: The Need for the STOP CSAM Act (Judiciary)

Perspectives From the Field: Risk Management, Credit, and Rural Business Views on the Agricultural Economy Part 3 (Agriculture, Nutrition, & Forestry)

Wednesday Hearings

To receive testimony on the current readiness of the Joint Force (Armed Services)

Business Meeting to Consider the Nomination of Paul Lawrence, to be Deputy Secretary of Veterans’ Affairs and Other Pending Business (Veterans’ Affairs)

Executive Session to Consider Legislation (Commerce, Science, & Transportation)

Full Committee Hearing to Receive Testimony on Pending Bills (Energy & Natural Resources)

Housing Roadblocks: Paving a New Way to Address Affordability (Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs)

Nominations of William Briggs to be Deputy Administrator of the Small Business Administration and Dr. Casey Mulligan to be Chief Counsel for Advocacy at the Small Business Administration (Small Business Administration & Entrepreneurship)

Breaking the Cycle of Senior Loneliness: Strengthening Family and Community Support (Aging)

Business Meeting to Consider the Nomination of Dan Bishop to be Deputy Director OMB (Budget)

Thursday Hearings

Business Meeting to Consider the Nominations of Dean Sauer, Harmeet Dhillon, and Aaron Reitz, to be Solicitor General and Assistant Attorneys General of the Department of Justice (Judiciary)

Hearing to Consider the Nominations of Peter Hoekstra, George Edward Glass, and Ronald Johnson, to be U.S. Ambassador to Canada, U.S. Ambassador to Japan, and U.S. Ambassador to Mexico (Foreign Relations)

Business Meeting to Consider Nominations of Jayanta Bhattacharya Bhattacharya and Martin Makary, to be Director of the National Institutes of Health and Commissioner of Food and Drugs (Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions)

Hearing to Consider the Nomination of David Weldon, to be Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions)

Friday Hearings

Hearing to Consider the Nomination of Mehmet Oz, to be Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (Finance)

Stopgap Funding to Prevent a Government Shutdown

House Republicans have introduced a full-year continuing resolution (CR) to fund the government through September 30, ahead of a Friday deadline to avert a shutdown. This proposal maintains most FY2024 funding levels, with some notable changes. Mainly, allocations for defense are set to rise by $6 billion, while non-defense funding would fall by about $13 billion. The measure would provide additional resources for agencies like Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to help carry out deportations. The stopgap also maintains a freeze on more than $20 billion in IRS funding that would allow the agency to pursue wealthy tax cheats. Congressional Democrats panned the proposal, calling for a short-term patch to let bipartisan talks continue.

More on this:

GOP funding patch boosts defense and deportations, cuts other programs (Politico)
DeLauro Releases Fact Sheet on Republican Funding Bill that Accelerates the Stealing of Taxpayer Funds from American Families and Businesses (Democrats Appropriations Committee)

The Trump Administration’s War on Education, Science, and Student Borrowers

In recent weeks we have seen the Trump Administration escalate attacks on education, science, and student borrowers through a series of illegal executive actions designed to dismantle public education, defund scientific research, and punish those pursuing higher learning. Last month, the Administration directed the Department of Education to funnel federal funds into school voucher programs, which would drain resources from public schools that serve most U.S. students. This month, reports suggest the administration is preparing to dismantle the Department of Education entirely. Meanwhile, Elon Musk’s DOGE has halted funding for various education projects and teacher training grants that help improve instruction for struggling students.

The administration has also ordered deep cuts at the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), gutting research funding for universities and forcing institutions to freeze hiring, halt graduate admissions, and terminate entire research programs. These unprecedented attacks could dismantle the foundation of American scientific progress—making research less collaborative, less competitive, and less innovative, while stripping professors and teachers of the tools they need to meet students’ needs.

Student borrowers are being hit hard, too. The administration illegally removed income-driven repayment (IDR) plans from the Department of Education website, leaving borrowers with no way to enroll. On Friday, the President also signed an executive order seeking to limit eligibility for Public Student Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) to exclude employees working on a broad list of activities the administration considers “illegal.” Meanwhile, Republicans are attempting to eliminate IDR altogether, forcing all borrowers onto a rigid 10-year plan that would substantially spike student loan payments each month.

More on this:

As Trump Goes After Universities, Students Are Now on the Chopping Block (NYT)

Trump Backs Down on Tariffs Fight

After initially announcing 25% tariffs on most imports from Canada and Mexico, President Trump has revised his stance. The administration now plans to impose these tariffs only on goods not covered by the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). In response, Canada’s newly appointed Prime Minister, Mark Carney, announced that Canada will maintain its retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods until the United States demonstrates genuine respect towards its northern neighbors. At a time when some countries are hesitating to challenge Trump, Canada has made it clear that it won’t be pressured into concessions without standing up for its own interests.

More on this:
What to Know About the On-Again, Off-Again Trump Tariffs (NYT)