Insights
What’s happening on the Hill now
Short reads on something that just changed in Congress or an agency, and what it means for the issues you track.
AI Safety, Recess Edition
Panic over AI reaches a fever pitch; Speaker Johnson responds by starting recess early. The House returns after Election Day as the Senate bides its time.
SNAP out of it: the traditional Farm Bill coalition isn’t coming back together
All Senate Agriculture Committee Democrats held together in August to demand a two-year SNAP delay, presaging a difficult negotiation to renew the Farm Bill.
September Outlook
The September 1 CR carried government funding and highway authority to December 11. It left out the farm bill, which kept its own September 30 deadline.
Northern Exposure: the looming Canada Tariff Standoff
Wyden's Congressional Trade Powers Reform Act would eliminate Section 338 — the 1930 law Trump used to impose 50% duties on August 22.
How the process actually works
Standing pieces on the machinery clients meet first — an oversight letter, a hearing invitation, a comment deadline, an earmark request. Written to stay true, and revised when the rules change.
Responding to a congressional oversight letter: the first 72 hours
A committee letter is a request, not a court order — and the first three days are about reading the letterhead, preserving everything, and getting on the record before a deadline you cannot meet runs out.
You have been invited to testify: what happens between the letter and the gavel
An invitation is a letter, not an order — but declining invites a subpoena and an empty chair, and nearly all of the outcome is decided in the written statement and the disclosure form filed days before you sit down.
Commenting on a federal rule: what actually gets read
Rulemaking is not a vote. What gives a comment force is the agency’s duty to respond to significant comments, the logical-outgrowth rule, and the fact that an argument not raised is generally lost on judicial review.
When CMS changes what Medicare pays: the calendar, and where the decisions get made
The comment window on a Medicare payment rule closes roughly 60 days after the proposed rule publishes — and that calendar is fixed, published years ahead, and almost entirely knowable.
Community project funding for FY2028: the calendar and what a request needs
The request window opens in late winter and closes inside a few weeks — and member offices stop taking requests weeks before the Appropriations Committees do. No FY2028 guidance exists yet; the FY2027 rules are the only responsible template.
LDA registration and the 20 percent test, in plain English
The 20 percent test does not measure time spent talking to Congress. It measures lobbying activities — which the statute defines to include the preparation, research and coordination behind a contact.
Keep in touch with us
A note most weeks Congress is in session, on the floor schedule, important committee activities, and what it means for the issues you track, straight to your inbox.
No spam, unsubscribe any time.