Washington, D.C.,
November 13, 2025 – Yesterday, 43 days
into a government shutdown, the House passed a
bill negotiated by the bipartisan Senate, to end
the government shutdown by extending current
funding until January 30th, halting the
Administration's "reduction-in-force" layoffs,
and ensuring back pay for furloughed employees.
Late Wednesday, the House voted 222-209 to
advance to President Trump’s desk a continuing
resolution that also includes full-year
appropriations bills for Agriculture, Veterans
Affairs, and the Legislative Branch
appropriations, and a one-year extension of the
Farm Bill. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program (SNAP) would be fully funded under the
agriculture appropriations measure and the
package restores the full borrowing cap of $30
billion for the Commodity Credit Corporation.
Government funding outside of these three
appropriations bills is funded through January
30, including the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services (HHS), which oversees the
Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program
(LIHEAP). Six House Democrats joined Republicans
to end the government shutdown. Two Republicans,
Reps. Massie (R-KY) and Steube (R-KY), voted no.
Unfortunatley, the bill to end the
government shutdown effectively bans
intoxicating hemp products, although the ban
doesn't go into effect until one year after the
date of enactment. Specifically, the bill was
designed to close the “hemp loophole” thereby
changing the definition of hemp from previous
farm bill language to preclude all but naturally
occurring derivatives of hemp products with
lower than 0.3 percent THC content by dry
weight.
While Republicans agreed to hold
a December vote on a Democrat ACA subsidy
extension, the overall agreement did not
incorporate key Democrat demands, such as
extending ACA subsidies, stopping rescissions
and impoundments, or restoring OBBB Medicaid
funding. Consequently, the deal is deeply
unpopular with progressives who had hoped for
greater GOP concessions. Furthermore, the
prospect for the ACA subsidy vote is low because
it will require a 60-vote threshold, rather than
the 50-vote threshold Democrats had sought, and
even if it passes the Senate, it is not
guaranteed to pass a vote in the House. The
agreement took place against a critical context
where air traffic control capacity reached
critical levels, leading to ordered flight
reductions and more than 50 percent of flights
being delayed or canceled, and the Supreme Court
delayed the restoration of SNAP benefits pending
appeal.
Despite the shutdown, EMA
remained busy on Capitol Hill and with the
Administration. On October 29th, Senator Roger
Wicker (R-MS), along with Senators Marsha
Blackburn (R-TN), Katie Britt (R-AL), Bill
Cassidy (R-LA), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Tom
Cotton (R-AR) and Tim Scott (R-SC) sent a letter
to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
(FMCSA) Derek Barrs and Chief Counsel Jesse
Ellison urging FMCSA to implement a preemptive
and proactive policy for hours-of-service (HOS)
exemptions to ensure the seamless delivery of
essential motor fuels during major disasters,
hurricanes, and regional emergencies. EMA has
been working closely with these Senate offices
and FMCSA to advance this priority on behalf of
our members. |
