Washington Watch
Welcome to the First Session of the 119th Congress.
It is summit week in the U.S. Senate as the upper chamber moves to clear the budget reconciliation bill—H.R. 1. Updated text of the bill was released late Friday night and Senators will begin debate this morning in a process known as vote-a-rama. Today will feature a marathon session in which an unlimited number of amendments will be offered for consideration. Two Republican Senators who voted against the motion to proceed-Senators Rand Paul (R-KY) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) are likely “no” votes on final passage absent major changes. Republicans can lose no more than one additional vote, assuming all Senators vote and all Democrats vote “no.”
The updated text released Friday restores and makes permanent the research and development tax credit, 100 percent bonus depreciation and the Section 199A deduction for S-Corporations and other pass throughs. The Federation signed onto a letter over the weekend supporting these provisions as well as embracing the bill’s approach to continue allowing pass throughs to deduct state and local taxes as an ordinary and necessary cost of doing business.
Assuming the Senate passes the measure on Monday or Tuesday morning, the House is prepared to return to D.C. on Wednesday to take it up.
U.S. House of Representatives - Schedule for the week of June 30, 2025
U.S. Senate - Schedule for the week of June 30, 2025
- The Senate is in session through Wednesday.
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Cheat Sheet
June 26, 2025
Tax Package Running Up to July 4 Deadline: The Federation team participated in several Senate meetings with staff this week, and the general consensus was that the budget reconciliation bill would pass the Senate either this weekend or by mid-week next week. That said, media reports out this morning suggested that there is considerable push back among GOP Senators on Medicaid cuts in the legislation. On the tax front, staff was in unanimous agreement that the trifecta of business tax benefits—R&D tax credit, 100 percent bonus depreciation and the Section 199A deduction—will all be made permanent in whatever product is ultimately passed in the upper chamber. We should see an updated version of the measure either today or tomorrow.
USDA Rescinds Roadless Rule on U.S. Federal Forests: On June 23, USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins announced that the department was rescinding the 2001 Roadless Rule that prohibited road construction, reconstruction, and timber harvest on approximately 60 million acres of the National Forest System. Among the benefits of rescinding the rule, the Secretary cited facilitation for fire prevention and responsible timber harvest. US Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz commented “The forests we see today are not the same as the forests of 2001. They are dangerously overstocked and increasingly threatened by drought, insect-born disease, and wildfire. Currently, nearly half of our roadless acres – over 28 million – are at high or very high risk of catastrophic wildfire and are in desperate need of treatment. I applaud Secretary Rollins for taking decisive action to provide us with the tools and decision space we need to truly care for our forests and, in turn, protect the people and communities we serve.”
Northern Long Eared Bat (NLEB) Legislation May Be Back: Through connections on the Hill, the Federation team learned up this week that Rep. Pete Stauber (R-MN) is planning on introducing legislation next month to down list the NLEB from its current “endangered” designation to “threatened.” The NLEB species management plans that regions around the country are now implementing are reportedly workable for the forest products sector. However, there is some concern that the status quo will not hold in perpetuity, so Rep. Stauber is looking to lock in a more reasonable threatened designation which would necessitate a 4(d) rule. Recall, that when the NLEB was first proposed as endangered in 2013 the habitat management plans accompanying that announcement would have curtailed logging and forest management in the entire NLEB’s range—38 states. The Federation was key to securing the 4(d) rule in 20213 and has continued to raise awareness that timber harvests do NOT have significant impact on bat populations. The Federation will likely be asked to support this measure and will do so.
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