After struggling in recent weeks to move bills to the floor because of the insistence of some members to pass the SAVE America Act voter ID bill, Republicans took a significant step toward passing several measures in the last week the House is scheduled to be in session prior to the August recess, with a 214-211 vote in favor of the Rule providing for consideration of the:

• Main Street Capital Access Act (H.R. 6955)
• Continuing Appropriations Act (H.R. 9770), to patch government funding through December 4
• National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027 (H.R. 8800)
• FY2027 budget resolution (H. Con. Res. 113), with reconciliation instructions (but not for tax)
• Stop Insider Trading Act (H.R. 7008) stock-trading ban for members
• Removing Barriers to Work for Disabled Americans Act (H.R. 8884)

The continuing resolution (CR) through December 4 subsequently passed 220-205 largely along party lines. A July 21 Politico story, "House passes stopgap funding bill, months before shutdown deadline," said: "Top House Republicans hope moving the funding measure so early in the process will put Democrats on defense in the impending government spending fight, before voters head to the polls this fall. Republicans plan to highlight Democrats' votes against federal funding in the midterm campaigns."

The Main Street Capital Access Act (H.R. 6955) was also approved, 270-155.

The House may vote today on the FY2027 budget resolution, which was passed by the Budget Committee last week and provides for a $95 billion GOP-only bill focused on defense funding and with some voter ID and farm aid provisions, with reconciliation instructions provided only to the Agriculture, Armed Services, Intelligence, and House Administration committees. Some House Republicans have concerns about the lack of spending cuts.

During a July 21 news conference, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said: "On reconciliation, this week, of course, we're going to move the ball forward on Reconciliation 3.0 … As a reminder, this legislative vehicle is our best shot at accomplishing two key objectives of the people of this country. Now, these are very popular and important and necessary objectives:

• Secure American elections by passing the SAVE America Act into law, as much of that as possible. That's the objective.
• Protect and strengthen our homeland."

There has been some reporting about the promise of another reconciliation bill during the lame-duck session that could include savings in social safety net programs that were dropped from the current effort. "We're working with them to give them more tools to go after that kind of fraud," Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) said of Federal agencies in a BGOV story, "Scalise previews fourth reconciliation bill aimed at fraud."

The CR and budget resolution became entwined after a major announcement by Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) July 21 that he would seek a Senate vote on the CR prior to the August recess — the chamber is scheduled to be in beyond this week — and hold the budget resolution in case reconciliation is needed to avoid a government shutdown. "I will say that if they give us a budget resolution as a vehicle, we will hold that, subject to obviously being able to move a continuing resolution to fund the government," he said following the Tuesday party luncheon. "It's a possibility that, if necessary, we could pull that budget resolution passed by the House and use it to fund government, and I hope that's not necessary."

There is often a continuing resolution (CR) from September 30 until later in the year during a midterm election year, and this year's regular appropriations process has been bogged down by the President's call for increased defense funding without a commensurate increase in non-defense spending. Unlike House appropriators, members of the Senate Appropriations Committee from both parties have typically, in recent years, at least, worked on a bipartisan basis to provide government funding. That cooperation has been absent thus far this year, raising concerns about another shutdown.

"The country has already seen too much disruption in the past year, with two record-breaking shutdowns," Senator Thune said in a social media post about pre-recess plans. "I believe it is in everyone's best interests to pass a clean continuing resolution as quickly as possible so the American people can have confidence that the government will be open and government employees will receive paychecks."

How the CR and budget resolution tie-in will play out is far from clear, but the reconciliation process, which has been viewed tepidly by Senate Republicans, may be slowed by reserving it for government funding. The House and Senate aren't totally on the same page, either, as Leader Thune reportedly wants a different set of budget anomalies than those in the House CR and a shot at bipartisan negotiation with Democrats. (Anomalies are exceptions to the duration, amount, or purposes for which CR funds may be used for certain appropriations accounts or activities.)

Tax — The House Ways and Means Committee has scheduled a markup for today (Wednesday, July 22, at 10 a.m.) of the following nonprofit bills:

• Rep. Lloyd Smucker's (R-PA) Fiscal Sponsorship Transparency Act of 2026 (H.R. 9721), to require reporting by certain charitable organizations relating to fiscal sponsorship arrangements
• Rep. Blake Moore's (R-UT) Fair Treatment of Religious Organizations Act of 2026 (H.R. 9722), to ensure fair treatment of certain charitable organizations
• Rep. Nicole Malliotakis' (R-NY) Stopping Foreign Influence in Elections Act (H.R. 9771), to impose penalties on political committees that accept foreign contributions
• Rep. Dave Schweikert's (R-AZ) Foreign Funding Transparency Act (H.R. 9772), to require disclosure by certain tax-exempt organizations of information relating to foreign contributions

The staff of the Joint Committee has prepared descriptions and estimates of the budgetary effects of these proposals:

- H.R. 9772, Foreign Funding Transparency Act

- H.R. 9771, Stopping Foreign Influence in Elections Act

- H.R. 9721, Fiscal Sponsorship Transparency Act

- H.R. 9722, Fair Treatment of Religious Orgs. Act

Some recent Committee markups on tax administration bills have been largely bipartisan. In a July 19 story previewing the markup, Punchbowl News reported: "Ways and Means has spent a lot of time investigating tax-exempt organizations and crafting legislation in response under Chair Jason Smith (R-Mo.). Smith advanced a number of bills addressing the sector a couple of years ago, some with notable bipartisan support. We'll see how things shake out this time."

Treasury - Deputy Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy Kevin Salinger is set to replace Ken Kies as Acting Treasury Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy, according to the Daily Tax Report (DTR), which said he would also take on the IRS Chief Counsel role. President Trump on June 23 sent to the Senate the nomination of James Gadwood, a tax controversy lawyer, to be IRS Chief Counsel. Press reports said the related paperwork hasn't been completed, so there is no timetable for a nomination hearing.

The Senate Finance Committee will vote on four Treasury nominations on Thursday, July 23:

• Francis Brooke to be Deputy Secretary of the Treasury
• Erin Browne to be Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs
• Sriprakash Kothari to be Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy
• George McMaster to be Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Financial Markets

International tax — The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs within the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) posted that it had received for review on July 20 Treasury/IRS proposed rules on Foreign Derived Deduction Eligible Income and Net CFC Tested Income Under Section 250.

Trade - On July 20, President Trump signed three proclamations imposing additional duties on a range of Canadian goods imported into the US under Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930. The proclamations impose 50% tariffs on a broad range of Canadian goods across numerous sectors to "offset Canadian discrimination" against US alcohol, motor vehicles, and dairy products. The new tariffs take effect at 12:01 a.m. EDT on August 19, 2026. A WCEY Alert is available here.

The announcement came as the US and Mexico were scheduled to begin a third round of bilateral negotiations related to the joint review of the USMCA in Mexico City. (The US and Canada have not yet begun formal negotiations.) Some Republicans have concerns about the development. Senate Majority Leader Thune said July 21 that while he was just learning of the news, "I'm not a huge fan of tariffs." A July 21 Semafor report, "Trump's Canada tariffs complicate trade talks," quoted Rep. Adrian Smith (R-NE), chair of the Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee, as saying, "I'm not a fan of tariffs. I'm a fan of engagement. Canada, I worry they're not engaging."

The development is sure to be a topic of inquiry as U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer is scheduled to testify before the Senate Finance Committee today (July 22) at 10 a.m. for the annual hearing on the 2026 Trade Policy Agenda. The hearing was previously scheduled for April 23 but was postponed after a late-night Senate budget vote-a-rama.