The Senate is back in session today (Monday, April 20), with a vote on a judicial nomination at 5:30 p.m. Republicans are expected to bring to the floor this week a budget resolution allowing consideration of a narrow reconciliation bill to provide multi-year funding for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agencies of the Department of Homeland Security. Progress toward such a package may encourage the House to vote on a Senate-passed bill to provide the remainder of DHS funding. President Trump has called for completion of a reconciliation bill by June 1.

Punchbowl News reported this morning that the Senate Budget Committee may release a budget resolution by Tuesday; the "vote-a-rama" process of unlimited amendment votes on the Senate floor could begin as soon as Wednesday night; and that the White House says the House needs to clear the Senate-passed bill on the remainder of DHS funding by the end of April.

On Fox Sunday Morning Futures, Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO) said the President's call for the reconciliation bill to get done is "the genesis of the slim package, the reconciliation bill, because I think we need to fulfill the promise made to the American people on deportations." He additionally said, "We also have the ability to have an additional reconciliation package later in the year, which I think we should. There's probably the two-step we will probably use here."

Republican leaders have indicated that the near-term reconciliation bill would be kept narrow and other priorities, perhaps including the SAVE America Act voter ID bill, would be pushed to a third reconciliation bill. Keeping the next bill limited with the promise to do more in a third reconciliation bill will be difficult to navigate for Republican leaders, and some senators have suggested that the uncertainty of a follow-on bill may put pressure on broadening the near-term measure. And House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO), who previously asserted that tax must be part of any reconciliation effort, was cited last week as saying funds for ICE and Border Patrol may not be popular enough to sustain a reconciliation bill on their own without addressing affordability issues that are top-of-mind to the American public.

The Senate Finance Committee is holding two hearings with Administration officials this week:

• "The President's Fiscal Year 2027 Department of Health and Human Services Budget," with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., on Wednesday, April 22 at 10 a.m.
• "The President's 2026 Trade Policy Agenda," with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, on Thursday, April 23 at 10 a.m.

On Tuesday, April 21, the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs is planning to hold a hearing on the nomination of Kevin Warsh to be Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

On Wednesday, April 22 at 10 a.m., the Senate Appropriations Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee is planning to hold a hearing, "A Review of the President's Fiscal Year 2027 Budget Request for the Department of the Treasury," with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

The House is also back in session today (April 20) with votes beginning at 6:30 p.m. on a series of bills under the jurisdiction of the Energy and Commerce Committee, addressing issues such as first responders, disaster alerts, and broadband. On Tuesday, the House is holding suspension votes on additional Energy and Commerce bills addressing rural healthcare and telehealth.

The House Ways and Means Committee is also holding two hearings this week:

• "Protecting Patients and Taxpayers: Cracking Down on Medicare Fraud," on Tuesday, April 21 at 10 a.m.
• "The Trump Administration's 2026 Trade Policy Agenda," with Ambassador Greer, on Wednesday, April 22 at 10 a.m.

Tax — Press stories continue to assess the series of income-based tax bills rolled out by congressional Democrats over the past six weeks or more, in terms of how they both reflect and depart from past proposals. The latest is an April 19 New York Times story — focused on Senator Chris Van Hollen's (D-MD) Working Americans' Tax Cut Act (S. 4083) to exempt those earning under $46,000 from income taxes and reduce taxes for those with income up to $80,500, paid for with a surtax on millionaires — that asked, "Are Democrats Becoming a Party of Tax Cuts?" The story said the Van Hollen proposal has been subject to some criticism from within the party for offering a tax cut, rather than other approaches to address affordability like expanding access to healthcare.

It also highlights other dynamics in Washington like Democrats trying to match the popular branding of the Trump administration's "no tax on tips" proposal and concerns about how they would treat the current Administration's policies should Democrats fully control Washington in 2029.

Separate from the story, the Treasury Department reported April 15 on uptake of the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" (OBBBA) "No Tax" provisions - over 53 million filers claimed at least one of the new tax cuts, over 6 million filers have claimed No Tax on Tips, over 25 million filers have claimed No Tax on Overtime, over 30 million seniors have claimed the Enhanced Deduction for Seniors, and over 1 million filers have deducted No Tax on Car Loan Interest.

In addition to Senator Van Hollen's bill:

• Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) March 9 introduced the Keep Your Pay Act (S. 4042), under which the first $75,000 in income would be tax-free for households filing jointly through a higher standard deduction, with proportional tax relief for single-filers and heads of household.
• Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) March 2 introduced the Make Billionaires Pay Their Fair Share Act (S. 3956) to establish a 5% annual wealth tax on billionaires to fund direct payments and policies beneficial to the middle class.
• Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) March 26 introduced the Ultra-Millionaire Tax Act (S. 4246) to establish a 2% annual tax on the net worth of households and trusts valued at over $50 million and an additional 1% annual surtax (3% total annual tax) on the net worth of households and trusts above $1 billion.

A March 25 Tax Notes story, "What's Different About the Latest Democratic Tax Plans?," said the bills reflect "a new focus on ending federal income taxes for millions of middle-income people." The story said, "The tax plans have no chance of passing a Republican-led Congress but could signal where the Democratic party may focus its policy platforms in the 2026 and 2028 elections in response to the Republicans' 2025 tax law and a push from lawmakers on both sides to make American life more affordable." It also noted that "the Van Hollen and Booker plans would cut taxes in different ways," with the Van Hollen bill establishing an alternative maximum tax for individuals below income thresholds, and the Booker bill increasing the standard deduction.

Elections — April 21 is the Virginia Special Election to decide the issue of whether the state's Constitution will be amended to allow the General Assembly to temporarily adopt new congressional districts. On Fox News Sunday, Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) said, "we're giving Virginians a chance to vote, which Republican states have not done, about whether they want to have a congressional delegation that will stand up" to the President's actions.