Washington Report – March 3, 2025

The federal government is operating under a continuing resolution (CR) that will expire March 14;
The House and the Senate have passed their own budget resolutions, which sets the framework for federal government spending for the remainder of FY25, which began Oct. 1;
The next steps are for the two chambers to reconcile the differences within their respective resolutions, have each chamber pass an agreed-upon reconciled resolution, and have it signed into law before the current CR expires;
Another short-term CR, however, is likely needed to allow additional negotiating time and prevent a partial government shutdown;
Work has also started on a stopgap spending bill to fund the government through the rest of the FY, which ends Sept. 30;
President Trump will deliver a joint address to Congress, March 4, and he will speak to his priorities for his second term.

The following is an update on Senate confirmations for nominees put forward by President Trump;
Confirmed:
- Dept. Of Transportation — Sean Duffy
- Dept. Of Homeland Security — Kristi Noem
- Dept. Of Agriculture — Brooke Rollins
- Dept. Of Interior — Doug Burgum
- Dept. Of Commerce — Howard Lutnick
- Dept. Of Health and Human Services — Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
- Dept. Of Energy — Chris Wright
- Dept. Of Housing and Urban Development — Scott Turner
- Dept. Of State — Marco Rubio
- EPA — Lee Zeldin
- Dept. Of Treasury — Scott Bessent
- Small Business Administration — Kelly Loeffler
- Dept. Of Defense — Pete Hegseth
- Office of Management and Budget — Russ Vought
- Attorney General — Pam Bondi
- U.S. Trade Representative – Jamieson Greer
Still to be confirmed:
- Dept. Of Education — Linda McMahon
- Dept. Of Labor — Lori Chavez-DeRemer

Former U.S. Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer received a 14-9 vote in the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), thus advancing her nomination to the full Senate for final confirmation;
Possessing significant oversight of workforce-related matters, the U.S. Department of Labor remains a key agency, and one with which the APWA Government Affairs team regularly interacts.

Left to right: Marty Williams, Rep. Dina Titus (D-Nevada), Titus Chief of Staff Mitch Moonier, Andrea Eales

At the invitation of the U.S. House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee’s Subcommittee on Highways and Transit, APWA Government Affairs last week attended a “meet the members” open house;
Director of Government and Public Affairs Andrea Eales and Government Affairs Manager Marty Williams represented APWA for the event;
They shared resources with new members, reminded others what APWA is about, and had a good conversation with Rep. Dina Titus, a Public Works and Infrastructure Caucus co-chair;
The T&I Committee holds these receptions at the start of a new Congress and it’s a great opportunity to engage on the upcoming IIJA reauthorization;
Its next reception is March 10.

The next chapter of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) may unfold this week during a hearing by the House Committee on Homeland Security Subcommittee on Emergency Management and Technology;
The Trump administration has called for either the elimination of the agency or significant reform;
The hearing, Future of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) – Perspectives from the Emergency Management Community, will be held at 10 a.m. ET, March 4;
Cameron Hamilton is FEMA’s acting administrator as the president has yet to announce a nominee for the role;
Testimony is expected to come from emergency management experts from the private sector and state levels of government.

If you’ve been impacted by the federal government’s changes in how it disburses assistance, Tell Your Story;
Your input is invaluable and allows us to further share your first-hand experiences with Congress and federal agencies;
We are hearing from some of you on how your organizations are responding to changes in Department of Homeland Security (DHS), FEMA, and the Cybersecurity Infrastructure and Security Agency (CISA) funding disbursements;
Share how you are addressing these challenges to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, reductions in federal agency staff – most recently within CISA and the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and National Weather Service (NWS), as well as the impact tariffs may have on your ability to address the needs of customers;
Are you halting projects entirely and/or modifying how you are going about these projects? Do you have contingency plans? Tell Your Story.

(All times ET)

March 4 at 10:15 a.m., the House Natural Resources Committee’s Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations will hold a hearing on the Endangered Species Act;
March 4 at 11 a.m., FEMA will host a Continuous Improvement Technical Assistance Program (CITAP) National Continuous Improvement Guidance webinar;
March 4 at 2 p.m., the House Committee on Energy and Commerce will hold a hearing to mark-up several bills, including legislation that may impact cybersecurity and infrastructure related to public works;
March 5 at 10 a.m., the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will hold a hearing on EPA nominations, to include the Deputy Admin;
March 5 at 10:15 a.m., the House Committee on Education and Workforce holds a hearing, Strengthening WIOA, Improving Outcomes for America’s Workforce;
March 6 at 11 a.m., the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Conservation, Forestry, Natural Resources, and Biotechnology Subcommittee will hold a hearing to examine Options to Reduce Catastrophic Wildfire.