Budget & Taxes

HR 2033, the Military Spouse Hiring Act, expands the Work Opportunity Tax Credit to include spouses of active-duty military personnel. It adds "qualified military spouse" as an eligible category for the tax credit, meaning employers who hire such spouses can claim the credit. A "qualified military spouse" is defined as someone certified by a local agency as married to an active-duty service member at the time of hire. The credit applies to hires occurring after the bill's enactment date. This directly affects military spouses seeking employment and employers hiring them, providing a tax incentive to encourage their hiring.

HR 2017, the Pay Our Military Act, ensures military personnel and supporting staff receive pay during fiscal year 2025 if Congress fails to pass regular appropriations. It appropriates funds from the Treasury to cover pay and allowances for active-duty service members, reservists, Department of Defense civilians, and qualifying contractors when funding gaps occur. The bill’s funding lasts until either a new appropriations bill is passed or January 1, 2026, whichever comes first. This is a temporary funding mechanism, not a policy change, directly affecting military members and their support staff during budget delays.

Stop Secret Spending Act of 2025 This bill expands a requirement for federal agencies to report expenditures on the USAspending.gov website to include other transaction agreement expenditures. (Other transaction agreements, or OTAs, are contractual instruments other than standard procurement contracts, grants, or cooperative agreements; they are exempt from many federal procurement laws and regulations). Under current law, federal agencies must report expenditures on federal awards to USAspending.gov with the term federal award defined as federal grants, loans, cooperative agreements, contracts, and certain other types of expenditures. This bill expands the definition of federal award to include expenditures under OTAs, and therefore such expenditures must be included on the USAspending.gov website. The Department of the Treasury must ensure that data relating to OTAs are automatically transmitted to the website and a centralized view of this data is available on the website. Treasury must also annually post on the USAspending.gov website a report that includes (1) the total amount of federal spending on federal awards for which data has not been posted on the website, and (2) the reason why such spending data was not posted. For 10 years after enactment, the Office of Inspector General of specified federal agencies must periodically submit to Congress and make publicly available a report assessing the agency's spending data and use of data standards.

HR 1494, the Sporting Goods Excise Tax Modernization Act, requires online marketplaces (like Amazon or eBay) to collect the federal excise tax on sporting goods sold through their platforms, rather than leaving this responsibility to individual sellers. It specifically targets platforms that host third-party seller listings and facilitate transactions for goods imported from outside the U.S. The bill treats these marketplaces as the "importer" for tax purposes, making them liable for the tax on qualifying sporting goods sales. This change applies to sales after a 60-day grace period following the bill's enactment, with no impact on taxes already owed by other parties.

The FISC Act establishes a new monthly payment program for pregnant women after 20 weeks of pregnancy and caregivers of eligible children under 18. Payments are $800 per month for pregnancy, $400 for children under 6, and $250 for children 6 and older, with a 20% increase if married. Payments phase out for higher earners (starting at $125,000 individual income or $250,000 for joint filers) and are capped at 1/12 of the previous year's adjusted gross income. The bill repeals the existing child tax credit and requires the Social Security Administration to track program data through a new Bureau of Family Statistics, submitting annual reports to Congress.

HR 1356, the Mudslide Recovery Act, creates a federal grant program to help communities repair damage from mudslides that occur after wildland fires. The program provides competitive grants to eligible recipients - including states, tribes, local governments, fire departments, and community non-profits in fire-risk areas - to fund innovative repair solutions. It authorizes $5 million annually from fiscal years 2026 through 2032 for the Secretaries of the Interior and Homeland Security (via FEMA) to administer the program. This bill directly affects communities impacted by post-wildfire mudslides by providing targeted funding for recovery efforts.

HR 2187 amends U.S. tax law to disallow key federal tax credits for offshore wind facilities located in inland navigable waters or coastal waters of the United States. Specifically, it removes eligibility for the investment tax credit (Section 48), production tax credit (Section 45), and clean electricity production tax credit (Section 45Y) for projects in these water areas. The bill defines "disqualified offshore wind facilities" as those situated in the specified waters, preventing them from qualifying for these financial incentives. This change applies to energy produced and property placed in service after December 31, 2025, directly affecting developers planning offshore wind projects in U.S. coastal or inland waterways.

The State Strategic Stockpile Act of 2025 reauthorizes a federal program that provides funding to states for maintaining emergency medical supply stockpiles. It extends the funding period through fiscal year 2030 and adds requirements for states to coordinate with health officials and share best practices through state consortia. The bill mandates that states receiving funds must collaborate with healthcare and emergency management entities within their jurisdiction. This directly affects state health departments and emergency management agencies that administer medical stockpiles under the program.

The Feed Our Families Act of 2025 ensures SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits continue for 90 days during the first government funding lapse in a fiscal year. It appropriates emergency funds from the Treasury to cover SNAP operations for the initial 90 days of a lapse in discretionary appropriations for the program. These funds are held in reserve and can only be used to maintain SNAP program services during that period. The bill directly affects millions of low-income households relying on SNAP benefits by preventing immediate disruptions during early government shutdowns.

This bill reinstates a deduction for unreimbursed work-related expenses that were eliminated under the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. It allows employees to deduct 85% of unreimbursed expenses for food, lodging, travel, or transportation incurred while performing job duties, instead of the previous 100%. The deduction is now calculated using a 1% floor of adjusted gross income (down from 2%), making it more accessible for lower-income workers. This change directly affects employees who pay for these costs out-of-pocket without reimbursement from their employers. The bill takes effect as if it were part of the 2017 tax law, with a one-year window for claiming refunds.