Congress has two weeks to go before the planned holiday break and an agenda between now and then that includes an extension of government funding beyond the current December 20 expiration, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), and, potentially, further disaster relief. The approach to government funding is likely a continuing resolution (CR) to carry government funding through sometime in March, but an agreement for a path forward, including what other priorities may be attached, hasn't been reached. There remains an intense focus on how Republicans plan to act on their top priorities in 2025.

The House is back today with plans to consider this week the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025, an 1,800-page bill that was released over the weekend (with no tax or trade provisions). There are also several Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and Homeland Security Committee bills on the suspension calendar. The Senate reconvenes at 3 p.m. today (December 9) and resumes consideration of the nomination of Tiffany Johnson to be US District Judge for the Northern District of Georgia, with a confirmation vote at 5:30 p.m. There are no hearings currently scheduled in the tax-writing committees.

Tax - In an interview for NBC News' Meet the Press December 8, President-elect Trump said he will work to extend the tax cuts passed in his first term. With a Republican trifecta of control in Washington next year, that is most likely to happen with the budget reconciliation process that allows a GOP-only bill rather than a compromise with Democrats. There are two reconciliation packages available to Republicans using the FY2025 budget resolution, because the current Congress did not process one, then another for FY2026.

Conflicting plans among Senate and House Republican leaders spilled out into the open last week after incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) told his members he wants a quick-hit reconciliation bill early next year on spending related to border, defense, and energy, and to save extensions of expiring Tax Cuts & Jobs Act (TCJA) provisions for a second reconciliation bill later in the year. Other senators bolstered that argument with comments suggesting border was an election focus and tax could, and maybe should, take longer to deliberate.

Ways & Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO) and other House Republicans expressed opposition to that approach, arguing the priorities should go as one and tax should be part of the process early on. Chairman Smith has said Congress typically doesn't move two reconciliation bills in a single year, raising doubts about whether that is possible next year with a 220-215 ratio in the House (likely to drop to 217-215 early in the year with Trump nomination-related vacancies).

A CNN story over the weekend reported on anxiety among Republicans over how to move their priorities with thin margins of control. "This is a once in a generational opportunity to do a lot of things," said Sen. John Cornyn, a senior Texas Republican who served as the whip in Trump's first term. "And I am not sure everyone is on the same page." The report said, "many senators argue that jumpstarting Trump's term with a border bill — packed with widely popular GOP ideas — is a better move politically than risking a dragged-out tax battle. 'On tax, we always knew it was going to be very complicated. We want to do it right,' said Sen. Mike Rounds, a South Dakota Republican up for reelection in 2026. 'I have no objections to doing that secondary as long as we are working on it at the same time. It is going to take longer to get it done, but we want to do it correctly.' Sen. Thom Tillis, a Republican from North Carolina who is also up for reelection in two years, added: 'We won saying we want to solve the border so I think it's good policy and good politics to say he wants to lead with it. When we do the tax reconciliation, it's [going] to be big and complex.'"

Some senators see the wisdom in acting big and fast in the new year. On Fox News Sunday, Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) said, "there are aspects of it that would all benefit from a reconciliation package. Whether we bring it together in one large one, which I would be fine doing, or if there's a path — and, again, I'm just not clear on how we can get this done, but it needs to be done as quickly as possible, whether it's one or two. Again, my preference would be to do it all at one time as quickly as we possibly can."

Tariffs — President-elect Donald Trump said on MTP he does not believe that American consumers will ultimately pay the price of his proposed tariffs but couldn't guarantee that. "I'm a big believer in tariffs. I think tariffs are the most beautiful word. I think they're beautiful. It's going to make us rich. We're subsidizing Canada to the tune over $100 billion a year. We're subsidizing Mexico for almost $300 billion. We shouldn't be — why are we subsidizing these countries?" he said. "If we're going to subsidize them, let them become a state. We're subsidizing Mexico and we're subsidizing Canada and we're subsidizing many countries all over the world. And all I want to do is I want to have a level, fast, but fair playing field."

Health — Asked during the MTP interview about health care, President-elect Trump said, "Obamacare is lousy health care. It's very expensive health care for the people. It's also expensive for the country, but for the people. It's lousy health care … And I had a decision to make with health and human services. I had a big decision to make. Do I make it as good as we can make it, or do I let it rot? … Right now, we have something that I made the best of. I could've made the worst of it, and it would've fallen by the wayside. I did the right thing from a human standpoint … If we come up with a better answer, I would present that answer to Democrats and to everybody else and I'd do something about it. But until we have that or until they can approve it — but we're not going to go through the big deal."

Congressional leadership is still determining whether and how to address expiring Medicare telehealth flexibilities, other health care extenders, including funding for community health centers, and mitigation for looming Medicare physician pay cuts.

A story in the December 7 Washington Post said, "Congressional Democrats have privately proposed a deal to Republicans that would extend expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies by one year … The move accompanied a broader package of health-care proposals submitted to Republicans on Thursday night ahead of year-end spending negotiations." The story said, "Lawmakers are fiercely hammering out a bill to fund the government, and health-care leaders are pushing to add priorities to one of the final pieces of legislation this Congress. Negotiations are also occurring on other measures, such as more funding for community health centers, proposals to address bipartisan frustrations about pharmacy benefit managers and other extensions of ongoing health-care programs … "

Congress — Bill introductions of interest from last week include:

December 3

• S. 5412, Senator John Kennedy (R-LA), to increase the amount excludable for dependent care assistance programs
• S. 5422, Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), to provide a contribution limit and increased minimum distributions for certain retirement plans with large account balances
• H.R. 10288, Rep. Jahana Hayes (D-CT), to amend ERISA to prohibit health care providers and facilities from imposing certain facility fees for telehealth
• H.R. 10296, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), to make expiring ABLE provisions permanent, improve accessibility and education for families

December 5

• S. 5441, by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), to provide for offshore wind energy development
• S. 5442, by Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), to remove the differentiation between mead and low alcohol by volume wine for purposes of the tax imposed on wines
• S.J. Res. 119, by Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR), providing for congressional disapproval of the rule submitted by the IRS relating to Advanced Manufacturing Production Credit