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DC Download - June 6, 2025

Congress is back in session after a week-long Memorial Day break. With the House having passed its version of the “One Big Beautiful bill,” the spotlight now shifts to the Senate.

This week, House lawmakers will consider bills to restrict Small Business Administration (SBA) loans based on immigration status and cut SBA offices in “sanctuary cities,” while budget hearings continue in both chambers.

The Senate will now determine its next steps for the GOP reconciliation effort, balancing pressure from the White House and House conservatives and skepticism over the bill’s cost and cuts to basic needs.

Read on for what’s ahead this week.

Table of Contents:

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House Floor

The House will vote on nine suspension bills from the Committees on Oversight and Government Reform and Small Business. 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. 2483– SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Reauthorization Act of 2025 (Sponsored by Rep. Guthrie / Energy and Commerce Committee) This bill renews funding for drug prevention and treatment programs and mental health initiatives from fiscal year 2026 to 2030.

H.R. 2931– Save SBA from Sanctuary Cities Act of 2025 (Sponsored by Rep. Finstad / Small Business Committee) This bill requires the Small Business Administration to relocate or close any offices in states or cities that have policies that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

H.R. 2987– CEASE Act of 2025 (Sponsored by Rep. Bresnahan / Small Business Committee) This bill would cap the maximum number of certified small business lending companies eligible to make 7(a) loans to 16. The 7(a) loan program is the SBA’s largest loan program that grants awards for small businesses.

H.R. 2966– American Entrepreneurs First Act of 2025 (Sponsored by Rep. Van Duyne / Small Business Committee) This bill prohibits individuals who aren’t US citizens or lawful permanent residents from receiving Small Business Administration loans. An applicant wouldn’t be eligible for a loan if any direct or indirect owners are unauthorized immigrants, asylum seekers, refugees, visa holders, foreign diplomats, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients.

House Committee Highlights

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

Wednesday Hearings

The Elite Universities Cartel: A History of Anticompetitive Collusion Inflating the Cost of Higher Education (Committee on the Judiciary)

Examining the Policies and Priorities of the Department of Education (Committee on Education and Workforce)

Secretary of Education, Linda McMahon, is testifying

Public Funds, Private Agendas: NGOs Gone Wild (Committee on Oversight and Government Reform)

Assessing the Challenges Facing NATO (Committee on Foreign Affairs)

AI in the Everyday: Current Applications and Future Frontiers in Communications and Technology (Committee on Energy and Commerce)

Budgeting for Growth: Testimony from SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler (Committee on Small Business)

Small Business Administration Administrator, Kelly Loeffler is testifying

Budget Hearing – Federal Aviation Administration (Committee on Appropriations)

Federal Aviation Administration Acting Administrator, Chris Rocheleau, is testifying

Budget Hearing – Office of Management and Budget (Committee on Appropriations)

OMB Director, Russell Vought, is testifying

Thursday Hearings

Supporting Farmers, Strengthening Conservation, Sustaining Working Lands (Committee on Agriculture)

Foreign Influence on American’s Data Through the CLOUD Act (Committee on the Judiciary)

Investing in America: How Private Equity Empowers Main Street (Committee on Small Business)

The Federal Government in the Age of Artificial Intelligence (Committee on Oversight and Government Reform)

Examining the Policies and Priorities of the Department of Labor (Committee on Education and Workforce)

U.S. Department of Labor Secretary, Lori Chavez-DeRemer, is testifying

After Assad: The Future of Syria (Committee on Foreign Affairs)

Budget Hearing – Fiscal Year 2026 Request for the Department of Commerce (Committee on Appropriations)

Department of Commerce Secretary, Howard Lutnick, is testifying

Nominations

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

Michael Duffey, to be Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment
Allison Hooker, to be an Under Secretary of State (Political Affairs)
Dale Marks, to be an Assistant Secretary of Defense

Senate Committee Highlights

Tuesday Hearings

Business meeting to consider the nomination of William Long, to be Commissioner of Internal Revenue, Department of the Treasury (Finance)

Hearing to consider various nominations (Finance)

A Review of the President’s Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Request for the Department of Education (Appropriations)

Secretary of U.S. Department of Education, Linda McMahon, is testifying

A Review of the President’s Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Request for the Securities and Exchange Commission (Appropriations)

Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Paul S. Atkins, is testifying

The Supposedly “Least Dangerous Branch”: District Judges v. Trump (Judiciary)

Hearing to consider the nomination of Michael Boren, to be Under Secretary of Agriculture for Natural Resources and Environment (Agriculture, Nutrition, & Forestry)

Business meeting to consider S. 222, Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2025 (Agriculture, Nutrition, & Forestry)

Wednesday Hearings

A Review of the President’s Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Request for the Department of Commerce (Appropriations)

Secretary of the Department of Commerce, Howard Lutnick, is testifying

A Review of the President’s Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Request for the National Nuclear Security Administration (Appropriations)

Acting Administrators for the National Nuclear Security Administration are testifying

Dismantling Transnational Criminal Organizations in the Americas (Foreign Relations)

China’s Malign Influence in Africa (Foreign Relations)

Reauthorization of the Over-the-Counter Monograph Drug User Fee Program (Health, Education, Labor & Pensions)

The Aging Farm Workforce: America’s Vanishing Family Farms (Special Committee on Aging)

Thursday Hearings

Hearing to consider various nominations (Homeland Security & Governmental Operations)

To receive testimony on the posture of the Department of the Army in review of the Defense Authorization (Armed Services)

Secretary of the Army, Daniel Driscoll, is testifying
Chief of Staff of the Army, Randy George, is testifying

Barriers to Supply Chain Modernization and Factor Productivity Enhancements (Joint Economic Committee)

Hearing to consider various nominations (Health, Education, Labor & Pensions)

Nomination of David Charles Waterman, to be United States Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa (Judiciary)

Business meeting to consider nominations and legislation (Foreign Relations)

All Eyes on the Senate: Reconciliation Round Two

With the House’s sweeping “One Big Beautiful bill” now passed, it’s the Senate’s turn to take the reins on reconciliation. Senate Majority Leader

Thune faces the same balancing act that Speaker Mike Johnson did in the House—juggling demands from both moderates and hardliners while navigating a narrow path to passage.

Republicans can afford to lose no more than three votes in the Senate. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) has come out forcefully against the bill’s $4 trillion debt ceiling increase, while moderates like Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) are raising concerns over deep cuts to programs that Americans rely on, like Medicaid.

Similarly, Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) remains opposed to deep Medicaid cuts and has also been pushing to use reconciliation to expand the Child Tax Credit. After speaking with Trump over the weekend, Hawley hinted that any final deal might include closing the carried interest tax loophole, though Republicans are divided on this issue.

Complicating things further, key House provisions are likely to get struck down under the Senate’s Byrd rule, which limits what can be included in a budget reconciliation bill. Senate Democrats, led by Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, have already pledged to leverage the rule to weed out noncompliant measures.

Another looming fight is the cap concerns state and local tax (SALT) deductions. While Senate Republicans show little appetite for raising the cap, since most don’t represent states that benefit from the tax break, House Republicans from states like New York and California have made clear that any rollback could cost their votes.

GOP leadership still hopes to send a final reconciliation bill to the President to sign into law by Independence Day—a highly ambitious deadline given current intraparty divisions and unresolved policy battles ahead.

More on this:

‘Donors’ vs ‘takers’: SALT battle stirs debate between blue and red states (The Hill)

Senate committees to start rolling out megabill text as soon as this week (Politico)