Was Routine

by Amy West, GovTrack.us, July 18, 2025

On Monday, we titled our preview post "Looks Routine" with the possibility that a few bills might make for a non-routine week in the House. But, in fact, it was indeed routine. What little controversy there was, was mostly in soundbites to reporters. When it came time to vote? Everyone ultimately voted as expected.

Rescissions Bill

The rescissions bill, which cut $1 billion from the Corporation from Public Broadcasting and $8 billion from a range of foreign aid, passed 216-213 Thursday night via an occasionally used move called "deem and pass".

Specifically, as part of a Rules Committee vote setting the parameters for debate on other bills, there was a provision that said, effectively, if this rule is passed, then the rescissions bill is deemed as passed. It's a way to avoid a direct vote on a bill and a way to save time. Roll Call wrote about its regular use over the last century in 2021.

The rescissions will become law and those already appropriated funds will not be spent.

Could Congress add those appropriations back into a future appropriations bill? Sure. It could. But as long as the Republicans have the majority, it seems extremely unlikely that they would challenge the President by doing so. Considering that foreign aid and funding for public broadcasting are unpopular with Republicans in general, there's no reason to expect a Republican majority Congress to try and get those funds back. If Democrats take back one or both chambers in 2026, then maybe they'd try for it. But Trump will still be president and would certainly veto any bills. Given how hard vetoes are to override, one should assume that for the foreseeable future, those funds are gone and not coming back.

GENIUS Act

There was a brief delay in passing this bill, but on Thursday, the first attempt to regulate cryptocurrency passed 308-122. Along with it, two other cypto related bills, H.R. 1919: Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act (prohibits the Federal Reserve from issuing cryptocurrencies) and H.R. 3633: Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025 (specifies when Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulates cryptocurrencies versus the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)) passed, respectively, 219-210 and 294-134.

Epstein Resolution

All week the controversy over the Justice Department's announcement that Jeffrey Epstein killed himself and there's no client list to release stayed hot. On Thursday evening, the Wall Street Journal (gift link) reported on a birthday card from Trump to Epstein with conspiracy theory friendly content including references to having "certain things in common" and wishing that "every day be another wonderful secret".

Speaker Johnson is attempting to defuse some of the controversy with a non-binding Rules Committee resolution recommending that Trump release all the files. Rep. Massie (R-KY4) has sponsored a stronger resolution, but it's unclear if it will go anywhere. Massie has said that if the resolution isn't considered within a certain time frame, he will begin gathering the needed signatures to make it a discharge petition. Discharge Petitions are a tool that legislators can use to force bills onto the floor even if the Speaker doesn't want them on the schedule.

Department of Defense Appropriations

The Fiscal Year 2026 appropriations for the Department of Defense passed the House this week 221-209. This is only the first step in a long process. Given that the current fiscal year ends on September 30, it's unlikely that this or any other appropriations bill will get through the full legislative process in time. Expect another continuing resolution (a resolution that says "keep spending at current levels until X date) in September.

Does Congress Even Matter?

Russell Vought, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget doesn't think so. Even though the Constitution clearly states

No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law; and a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time.

Vought stated explicitly that the Administration need not treat appropriations as law to be followed, but suggestions to be ignored as he sees fit. Vought also said he thought the appropriations process should be more partisan.

These statements together lead to the obvious question: what's the point of passing any appropriations at all, let alone ones that can garner support from any Democrats if there's no reason to expect that those appropriations will be spent by the Executive Branch? And the answer is "we don't know".

August Recess

The House has now begun its 5 week August Recess. They will return after Labor Day. The exception to this are some committee meetings next week. The Senate is in next week, but then is off until after Labor Day.

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