Congress is close to having all appropriations matters handled.
Congress has 11 of 12 annual appropriations bills passed. The sticking point, as it has been for weeks, is Homeland Security. Kansas Congressman Derek Schmidt says members of Congress had a tentative plan to fund that department — at least until Democrats changed their minds.
Democrats, meanwhile, have said Immigration and Customs Enforcement needs significant changes in its operations. Schmidt doesn’t argue that point.
Schmidt says the hangup has been unfair to other Homeland Security agencies like Transportation Security, Secret Service, FEMA and the Coast Guard.
Saying he would rather have a bipartisan agreement, Schmidt says Republicans will work on their own to pass funding for ICE and Customs.
in unrelated financial news, Schmidt continues to tout changes in the federal tax code as part of last year’s One Big Beautiful reconciliation bill, especially as costs continue climbing.
Schmidt also says he is getting positive feedback from businesses with a lot of workers getting overtime pay. Those workers are also getting bigger refunds than they have seen previously.
Besides getting the Homeland Security situation handled, Schmidt says work will start on next year’s appropriations. Federal lawmakers are starting work on the National Defense Authorization Act for floor action by early fall and there is still conversations about updating the Farm Bill.
