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How Townships can access clean energy tax credits in the form of direct pay/transferability
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NATaT December 2024 Annual Meeting
Jerry B. Crabtree, Heidi Fought (Ohio ED), Past President Neil Sheradin (Michigan Ed), and NATaT President Dave Sanko (PA ED)
NATaT Weekly Legislative Report
April 14, 2026
Congressional Outlook
The House and Senate are in session this week. Following a two-week recess, Congress returns with several legislative items at the top of their agenda. Complicating matters for lawmakers and their path to completing the variety of legislative items needed to complete by this end of the 119th
session are the significant chunks of time both chambers will miss by being out of session for the month-long August recess and most of October to allow lawmakers to campaign ahead of the midterm elections.
As the partial government shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) continues, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-La.) plan to meet Tuesday to hash out a plan for funding DHS through a mix of appropriations and reconciliation. Regarding plans to fund DHS through reconciliation, Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) met with President Donald Trump to set the guardrails of the reconciliation process and agreed to pass the legislation by no later than June 1 that will include funds for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Prior to leaving for the recent two-week recess, the Senate passed legislation for all agencies within DHS except ICE and CBP. It remains to be seen if the House will take up, and pass the Senate’s version. Republican leaders are hoping to keep the reconciliation process narrow. The Senate will begin the process with the Budget Committee setting parameters for the bill and pulling in the Judiciary and Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committees. There could be challenges with the process as Democrats will push for a two-track approach funding ICE and CBP through reconciliation and the remaining DHS agencies, including FEMA, TSA and the Coast Guard through regular appropriations.
One item that could get action this week is a vote on an 18-month extension of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). H.R.8035 is currently in the House Rules Committee, with a meeting slated for tomorrow would renew Title VII of the FISA until Oct. 20, 2027. That section of the law authorizes US intelligence agencies to collect and search phone calls, emails, text messages, and other electronic communications involving foreign agents and suspected terrorists based outside the country. Congress last renewed these powers in 2024, and they are scheduled to lapse on April 20. Members of both parties have publicly criticized Section 702 within FISA, which they believe could allow the government to search private conversations of Americans without a warrant.
Another topic that has garnered the attention of lawmakers is surface transportation reauthorization, set to expire on September 30, 2026. Outgoing House Transportation and Infrastructure Chair Sam Graves (R-Mo.) shared plans to markup the yet unreleased surface transportation bill the week of April 13 with the goal of having the bill on the House floor for a vote in May. Reports say that the markup will not take place until later in the month. The legislation will focus on improving transportation systems and could take action on many Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) related measures including highway and transit priorities. Various industry leaders believe that despite Congress’ best efforts to pass a surface transportation reauthorization, Congress will opt to pass a short-term extension of several authorities and take the process up next spring.
House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole is aiming to markup all 12 FY 2027 House appropriations bills by June 24. The Committee Chair posted the schedule online and will begin with the Military Construction – Veterans Affairs and the Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee markups on Friday, April 17.
The House returns on Tuesday and is scheduled to advance 16 bills under suspension of the rules, including the Emergency Conservation Program Improvement Act of 2025 (H.R.1011), which revises the Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) and the Emergency Forest Restoration Program (EFRP) to expand eligibility for payments to agricultural producers and owners of forest land impacted by natural disasters; the Airspace Location and Enhanced Risk Transparency Act of 2026 (H.R.7613), which addresses aviation safety by increasing requirements for aircraft tracking and communication using Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) technology and expanding oversight; and 14 bills renaming post offices. The House will also consider five bills pursuant to a rule, including the Reducing and Eliminating Duplicative Environmental Regulations Act (H.R.6398), which removes the requirement under the Clean Air Act that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) review and comment on newly authorized federal construction projects and other major federal agency actions that already require review under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and proposed federal regulations; the FIRE Act (H.R.6387), which amends the Clean Air Act to require revisions to regulations governing the review and handling of air quality monitoring data; and H.R.8035, which would extend the authorities of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978. The chamber may also consider H. Con. Res. 40 to direct the President to remove U.S. armed forces from conflict with Iran.
The House will hold numerous committee hearings and markups over the course of the week, including a Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health hearing on Modernized Health Care in Practice: Empowering Americans to Live Healthier Lives; an Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Government Operations hearing on Fraud Prevention: Understanding Fraud in Federally Funded Programs Run by the States; a Budget Committee hearing on the President's Fiscal Year 2027 Budget Request; an Education and Workforce Subcommittee on Workforce Protections hearing on Building an AI-Ready America: Understanding AI’s Economic Impact on Workers and Employers; an Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health meeting to consider legislation on Healthier America: Legislative Proposals to Improve Public Health; a Ways and Means Committee hearing with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.; an Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies hearing on the FY27 budget for the Army Corps of Engineers and Bureau of Reclamation; an Appropriations Subcommittee on Department of Homeland Security hearing on the FY27 budget for the Department of Homeland Security: CBP, ICE, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services; and a Judiciary Subcommittee on Oversight hearing on The Human Toll of Sanctuary Policies: Stories from Victims and Families.
The Senate returns on Monday and is scheduled to vote on a motion to invoke cloture on the nomination of John Thomas Shepherd to be a United States District Judge for the Western District of Arkansas. The chamber will hold numerous committee hearings and markups throughout the week, including a Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee meeting to examine the Second Amendment; a Finance Committee hearing to examine the IRS 2026 filing season and IRS operations; an Energy and Natural Resources Committee meeting to consider six bills related to the electric grid and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission; a Veterans’ Affairs Committee hearing to examine programs for justice-involved veterans; a Budget Committee hearing to examine the President's fiscal year 2027 budget proposal; and a Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing to examine making medicines more affordable, focusing on how competition can lower drug prices.
Week in Review
Congress returns to battles over DHS, expelling lawmakers and the Iran war
Trump endorses ‘focused’ immigration enforcement funding bill
No deal: Vance and Iranians fail to reach agreement after marathon session
Trump’s blockade on Strait of Hormuz begins: What to know
Trump budget seeks $1.5 trillion in defense spending alongside domestic program cuts
Eric Swalwell drops bid for California governor after sexual misconduct allegations
ICE detained fewer non-criminals since Minnesota crackdown, driving a decline in detention population, data shows
Melania Trump to head to Capitol Hill to talk foster care improvements
The U.S. faces an air traffic controller shortage. It's turning to gamers for help.
RFK Jr.’s new vaccine panel rules may help sidestep court order, experts say
USPS suspends contributions to employee pensions after warning of "cash crisis"