Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2026

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Bill ID: 119/hr/4249

Last Updated: July 26, 2026

Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2026

HR. 4249, 119th Congress — read as touching Telecommunications.

The sponsor

Rep. Valadao, David G. [R-CA-22]

Every bill has someone who introduced it. That name is where the paper trail starts.

The money

$79,400 raised

30 itemised contributions to this sponsor, pulled from FEC filings.

The alignment

40% match to Project 2025

This bill's text tracks the "Small Business Administration" section, p. 780-782 of the Mandate for Leadership.

Bill's Journey to Becoming a Law

Track this bill's progress through the legislative process

Latest Action

Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 144.

June 29, 2025

Introduced

📍 Current Status

Next: The bill will be reviewed by relevant committees who will debate, amend, and vote on it.

🏛️

Committee Review

🗳️

Floor Action

✅

Passed House

🏛️

Senate Review

🎉

Passed Congress

🖊️

Presidential Action

⚖️

Became Law

📚 How does a bill become a law?

1. Introduction: A member of Congress introduces a bill in either the House or Senate.

2. Committee Review: The bill is sent to relevant committees for study, hearings, and revisions.

3. Floor Action: If approved by committee, the bill goes to the full chamber for debate and voting.

4. Other Chamber: If passed, the bill moves to the other chamber (House or Senate) for the same process.

5. Conference: If both chambers pass different versions, a conference committee reconciles the differences.

6. Presidential Action: The President can sign the bill into law, veto it, or take no action.

7. Became Law: If signed (or if Congress overrides a veto), the bill becomes law!

Bill Summary

Summary Style:

The Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2026 (HR 4249). A bill that exemplifies the inefficient nature of democratic governance. Let's dissect it with a rational eye.

**Total Funding:** $1.984 billion for salaries and expenses of the House of Representatives, a paltry sum compared to the vast wealth generated by my industries. However, I'll focus on the allocations that matter.

**Key Programs and Agencies:**

* Members' Representational Allowances: $850 million, a 2% increase from last year. A modest rise, but one that underscores the growing costs of maintaining the illusion of democratic representation. * Committee Employees: $184.8 million for standing committees, special, and select committees. A necessary expense to ensure the machinery of governance continues to churn out regulations that I can exploit or circumvent.

**Notable Increases/Decreases:**

* The allowance for compensation of interns in Member Offices has increased by 5% to $20.6 million. A minor bump, but one that highlights the growing reliance on unpaid labor to prop up the legislative apparatus. * The Committee on Appropriations receives a 3% increase to $31.3 million. A modest rise, but one that indicates the committee's continued relevance in shaping policy that affects my interests.

**Riders and Policy Provisions:**

* None of note, aside from the usual bureaucratic tinkering with intern compensation and committee allocations. The real action lies in the underlying funding structures, which I'll exploit to further my business interests.

**Fiscal Impact and Deficit Implications:**

* This bill contributes a mere 0.05% to the overall federal budget deficit. A drop in the ocean compared to the trillions of dollars in wealth generated by my industries. * The real fiscal impact lies in the opportunity costs of funding these bureaucratic endeavors instead of investing in innovation and growth – namely, my own business ventures.

In conclusion, HR 4249 is a minor skirmish in the ongoing battle for control of the legislative agenda. As a visionary entrepreneur, I'll continue to navigate this complex landscape, exploiting opportunities and shaping policy to further my interests. The public good? A quaint notion, irrelevant to the pursuit of wealth and power.

💰 Campaign Finance Network

Rep. Valadao, David G. [R-CA-22]

Congress 119 • 2024 Election Cycle

Total Contributions

$79,400

18 donors

PACs

Organizations

$59,600

Committees

Individuals

$19,800

No PAC contributions found

SANTA YNEZ BAND OF MISSION INDIANS

2 transactions

$6,600

MORONGO BAND OF MISSION INDIANS

2 transactions

$6,600

PECHANGA BAND OF LUISENO INDIANS

2 transactions

$6,600

BARONA BAND OF MISSION INDIANS

5 transactions

$6,500

AK-CHIN INDIAN COMMUNITY

2 transactions

$5,300

SANTA ROSA RANCHERIA

2 transactions

$5,000

SHINGLE SPRINGS BAND MIWOK INDIANS

2 transactions

$4,000

CHEROKEE NATION

1 transaction

$3,300

EASTERN BAND OF CHEROKEE INDIANS

1 transaction

$3,300

THE CHICKASAW NATION

1 transaction

$3,300

MOORETOWN RANCHERIA

1 transaction

$3,300

SAN MANUEL BAND/MISSION INDIAN

3 transactions

$3,300

SYCUAN BAND OF KUMEYAAY NATION

1 transaction

$1,000

UNION VILLAGE

1 transaction

$1,000

RON CLARK FARMS

1 transaction

$500

No committee contributions found

EMMET, RICHARD

1 transaction

$6,600

GILLIAM, RICHARD

1 transaction

$6,600

SILVERMAN, JEFFREY

1 transaction

$6,600

Donor Network - Rep. Valadao, David G. [R-CA-22]

Show Also Donated To

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Hub layout: Politicians in center, donors arranged by type in rings around them.

Showing 56 nodes and 80 connections

Total contributions: $80

Top Donors - Rep. Valadao, David G. [R-CA-22]

Showing top 18 donors by contribution amount

15 Orgs3 Individuals

Industry Impact

Which industries are materially affected by specific provisions in this bill. 6 helped, 5 harmed.

−Telecommunicationsconfidence 0.90
Section 209 prohibits procurement of covered telecommunications equipment (including Huawei, ZTE, Hikvision, Dahua, Hytera) for federal agencies, which harms telecommunications equipment manufacturers and vendors.
+Health Insuranceconfidence 0.90
Section 110(a) requires any remaining amounts from Members' Representational Allowances to be deposited in the Treasury for deficit reduction or debt reduction, which reduces federal spending and could lower pressure on federal health programs like Medicare/Medicaid, indirectly benefiting private health insurers by reducing government competition in healthcare markets.
−Cybersecurityconfidence 0.85
Section 209 restricts procurement of video surveillance and telecommunications equipment from certain foreign entities, impacting cybersecurity firms that rely on such equipment for security solutions.
+Hospitals & Health Systemsconfidence 0.85
Section 110(a) directs unspent Members' Representational Allowances to deficit reduction, which reduces federal borrowing and may lower long-term interest rates, benefiting hospitals and health systems through reduced financing costs for capital projects and operations.
+Real Estateconfidence 0.85
Section 110(a) directs unspent allowances to deficit reduction, reducing federal borrowing and potentially lowering long-term interest rates, which benefits real estate developers, REITs, and homebuilders through reduced financing costs for construction and acquisitions.
−Law Enforcement & Surveillance Techconfidence 0.80
Section 209 prohibits procurement of video surveillance equipment from entities like Hikvision and Dahua, which are used in law enforcement and surveillance technology, harming vendors in this space.

+ 5 more industries not shown.

Who funds the sponsor on these industries

For each industry this bill affects, here's what the sponsor (Rep. Valadao, David G. [R-CA-22])received from donors associated with that industry during the 2022–present cycles. Donations are not proof of intent — they are a record of who funds the people writing the law.

Industries this bill HELPS

Private Equity & Hedge Funds$9,900
from 2 contributions
- SINGER, PAUL$9,900
Long-Term Care & Nursing Homes$4,800
from 2 contributions
- ACHARYA, GANESH$4,800

Project 2025 Policy Matches

This bill shows semantic similarity to the following sections of the Project 2025 policy document.AI-enhanced analysis provides detailed alignment ratings.

Small Business Administration

Minimal

Vector: 62%

Pages: 780-782AI Enhanced

AI Analysis:

"The Legislative Branch Appropriations Act focuses on funding for the House of Representatives and intern compensation, with no mention of the Small Business Administration, small business lending, or related policy objectives."

Key themes:federal appropriationsgovernment operations

— 748 — Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise loan credit subsidy costs, and miscellaneous program “enhancements” to support small businesses through economic challenges or circumstances. As noted by the Congressional Research Service: Overall, the SBA’s appropriations have ranged from a high of over $761.9 billion in FY2020 to a low of $571.8 million in FY2007. Much of this volatility is due to significant variation in supplemental appropriations for disaster assistance to address economic damages caused by major hurricanes and for SBA lending program enhancements to help small businesses access capital during and immediately following recessions. For example, in FY2020, the SBA received over $760.9 billion in supplemental appropriations to assist small businesses adversely affected by the novel coronavirus (COVID- 19) pandemic.18 The CRS further notes that “[o]verall, since FY2000, appropriations for SBA’s other programs, excluding supplemental appropriations, have increased at a pace that exceeds inflation.”19 In terms of current loan volume, the SBA “reached nearly $43 billion in fund- ing to small businesses, providing more than 62,000 traditional loans through its 7(a), 504, and Microloan lending partners and over 1,200 investments through SBA licensed Small Business Investment Companies (SBICs) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2022.”20 The agency’s total budgetary resources for FY 2022 amount to $44.25 billion, which represents 0.4 percent of the FY 2022 U.S. federal budget.21 HISTORY OF MISMANAGEMENT Throughout its history, various SBA programs and practices have generated negative news headlines and scathing Government Accountability Office (GAO) and Inspector General (IG) reports that have centered on mismanagement, lack of competent personnel and/or systems, and waste, fraud and abuse.22 From the 8a program23 to Hurricane Katrina24 to the more current COVID-19 (EIDL) program and PPP lending program,25 the SBA has managed to maintain its lending role even when repeated system failures have affected its distribution of funds. Congress has been somewhat responsive, pressuring the SBA to clean up fraud-related matters within its COVID-19 lending and grant programs.26 Repub- licans in the U.S. House of Representatives have gone farther, specifying that the SBA needs to improve transparency and accountability and deal with mission creep, the expansion of unauthorized programs, and structural and reporting deficiencies that have allowed mismanagement and fraud to reoccur, largely through massive supplemental appropriations.27 The SBA is led by an Administrator (currently a member of the President’s Cabinet) and a Deputy Administrator. Senate-confirmed appointees include — 749 — Small Business Administration the Administrator, Deputy Administrator, Chief Counsel for Advocacy, and Inspector General. Entrepreneurs and small businesses require limited-government policies that do not impede their risk-taking and growth. A future Administration can leverage and strengthen core SBA functions that have been fairly effective at reining in and calling attention to costly regulations and policies that are harmful to small businesses. This core advocacy function is aided both by statutory authority and by a network of small-business organizations and allies that support limited-gov- ernment policies.28 Moreover, an effective SBA Administrator and leadership team can work and advocate across the federal government to ensure that extreme regulatory poli- cies—or anticompetitive rules and actions that may favor big businesses over small businesses or international competitors over American small businesses—are dismantled or do not progress when proposed. MISSION CREEP AND ENLARGEMENT As noted, Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives have evidenced con- cern about SBA mission creep and the need to make a sprawling, unaccountable agency more focused and operationally sound. Moreover, there is unease that the agency has moved from being open to any eligible small business searching for sup- port to being hyperfocused on “disproportionately impacted,” politically favored, or geographically situated small businesses and entrepreneurs. Today, initiatives aimed at “inclusivity” are in fact creating exclusivity and stringent selectivity in deciding what types of small businesses and entities can use SBA programs. For example, even though the SBA under President Donald Trump proposed a rule to remove all of the unconstitutional religious exclusions from its regulations29 to conform with Supreme Court decisions that have made their unconstitutionality clear, the SBA has not acted on the proposed rule and still uses religious exclusions in determining eligibility for business loans. Several other specific concerns include but are not limited to: l The SBA’s request to become a “designated voter agency” in response to President Biden’s executive order on “Promoting Access to Voting.”30 l The creation of duplicative channels and “pilot programs” for the delivery of business training rather than working through existing counseling partners. The programs are largely duplicative of private, state and local government, and educational system offerings.31 l A push to expand direct government lending.32

Department of Education

Minimal

Vector: 59%

Pages: 392-394AI Enhanced

AI Analysis:

"The bill funds House of Representatives operations and intern compensation, while the Project 2025 Education section proposes cuts to Department of Education programs and loan forgiveness; there is no substantive policy overlap."

Key themes:federal appropriationsbudget allocation

— 360 — Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise CHART 4 U.S. Department of Education, Total Appropriations IN BILLIONS OF DOLLARS $120 $100 $95.5 $80 $60 $40 $20 $14 $0 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 NOTE: Totals include mandatory and discretionary appropriations. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, “Budget History Tables,” Education Department Budget History Table, https://www2.ed.gov/about/overview/budget/history/index.html (accessed March 17, 2023). A heritage.org savings. The proposal would immediately save more than $17 billion annually in various programs. Savings over a decade would be far more robust, as the revenue responsibility for many formula grant programs would be returned to the states. Some highlights include: l Eliminate competitive grant programs and reduce spending on formula grant programs. Competitive grant programs operated by the Department of Education should be eliminated, and federal spending should be reduced to reflect remaining formula grant programs authorized under Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and the handful of other programs that do not fall under the competitive/ project grant category. Remaining programs managed by the Department — 361 — Department of Education of Education, such as large formula grant programs for K–12 education, should be reduced by 10 percent. This would cut approximately 29 programs, most of which are discretionary spending. In total, this would generate approximately $8.8 billion in savings. l Eliminate the PLUS loan program. As mentioned above, the PLUS loan program, which provides graduate student loans and loans to the parents of undergraduate students, should be eliminated. This would generate an estimated $2.3 billion in savings. l End time-based and occupation-based student loan forgiveness. A low estimate suggests ending current student loan forgiveness schemes would save taxpayers $370 billion. l Eliminate GEAR-UP. It is not the responsibility of the federal government to provide taxpayer dollars to create a pipeline from high school to college. GEAR UP should be eliminated, and its functions should instead be handled privately or at the state and local levels, where policymakers are better equipped to increase college preparedness within their school districts. Personnel The Department of Education currently employs approximately 4,400 indi- viduals. As programs are eliminated or transferred to other agencies, those employees whose positions are determined to be essential to the mission would move with their constituent programs. Current salaries and expenses at ED total $2.2 billion annually. AUTHOR’S NOTE: The preparation of this chapter was a collective enterprise of individuals involved in the 2025 Presidential Transition Project. All contributors to this chapter are listed at the front of this volume, but Jonathan Butcher, Bob Eitel, Jim Blew, Diane Auer Jones, Erin Valdez, Andrew Gillen, and Max Eden deserve special mention. The author alone assumes responsibility for the content of this chapter, and no views expressed herein should be attributed to any other individual.

Department of Labor and Related Agencies

Minimal

Vector: 59%

Pages: 648-650AI Enhanced

AI Analysis:

"The Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2026 focuses on funding for the House of Representatives and its operations, with no connection to Department of Labor functions, budget reductions, personnel policies, or compliance initiatives outlined in the Project 2025 policy."

— 615 — Department of Labor and Related Agencies ORGANIZATIONAL AGENDA Budget l Reduce the agencies’ budgets to the low end of the historical average. The Trump Administration’s FY 2020 request, $10.9 billion, would provide a workable target for spending reductions for DOL, for example. l Spending reductions should occur primarily in the Employment and Training Administration (ETA). l Focus health and safety inspections on egregious offenders, as other inspections are often abused and usurp state and local government prerogatives. Personnel l Maximize hiring of political appointees. At its best, the Trump Administration Department of Labor worked with up to 150 political appointees. That is still a tiny percentage of the department. The number of political appointees should be maximized in order to improve the political accountability of the department. l Appoint new EEOC and NLRB general counsels on Day One. The Biden Administration broke significant precedent by firing the EEOC and NLRB general counsels despite their term appointments. The next Administration should do the same and expand on the Biden Administration’s new precedent by refusing to acknowledge terms in other offices, where applicable, and installing acting or full new officers immediately. l Implement a hiring freeze for career officials. A hiring freeze imposes financial discipline on agencies’ personnel costs and reduces agency bloat. Office of Compliance Initiatives l DOL should fully staff the Office of Compliance Initiatives (OCI), which was reopened by the Trump Administration after the Obama Administration closed its predecessor down. OCI educates employers and workers on their rights, responsibilities, and available recourse under the many statutes, rules, and regulations administered by DOL. Most businesses want to follow the law and OCI exists to make knowing the rules easier, which leads to increased compliance.

Small Business Administration

Minimal

Vector: 58%

Pages: 792-794AI Enhanced

AI Analysis:

"The Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2026 deals solely with funding for the House of Representatives and does not mention the Small Business Administration, its programs, or any efforts to consolidate or reallocate SBA resources, resulting in no meaningful alignment with the Project 2025 SBA policy."

Key themes:federal budgetingresource allocation

— 759 — Small Business Administration ineffective programs, consolidate duplicative functions, and reallocate resources to more effective programs (such as the Office of Advocacy) or consider reducing the SBA budget. Personnel Challenges The SBA continues to expand programs and initiatives without first document- ing the effectiveness of existing programs or whether they involve areas in which the agency lacks staff expertise. For example, the SBA wants to expand the number of licensed Small Business Lending Companies (SBLCs), implement a new “Mis- sion-Based SBLC,” and remove a requirement for loan authorization within the 7(a) and 504 Loan programs and rely solely on a lender’s documents. Various IG reports have noted that the lack of skilled employees within the SBA has fueled fraud and mismanagement in COVID-19 lending programs, and congressional leaders have expressed alarm about these “changes that haphazardly overextend the SBA’s responsibilities at a time when they are devastated by fraud and underperforming on their core mission of serving the nation’s 33 million small businesses.”74 A conservative Administration should rein in these idealistic and impractical efforts, get current programs under control and properly staffed with people who can manage and perform competently, and outsource efforts where private-sector expertise is appropriate and more efficient. AUTHOR’S NOTE: The preparation of this chapter was a collective enterprise of individuals involved in the 2025 Presidential Transition Project. All contributors to this chapter are listed at the front of this volume, but David Burton and Caleb Orr deserve special mention. The author alone assumes responsibility for the content of this chapter, and no views expressed herein should be attributed to any other individual. — 760 — Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise ENDNOTES 1. H.R. 7953, Small Business Act, Public Law 85-536, 85th Congress, July 18, 1958, § 2, https://uscode.ecfr.io/ statutes/pl/85/536.pdf (accessed February 17, 2023), amended by H.R. 4877, One Stop Shop for Small Business Compliance Act of 2021, Public Law 117-188, 117th Congress, October 20, 2022, https://www.congress. gov/117/plaws/publ188/PLAW-117publ188.pdf (accessed February 17, 2023). 2. U.S. Small Business Administration, “About SBA: Organization: Mission,” https://www.sba.gov/about-sba/ organization (accessed February 19, 2023). 3. Michael Faulkender, Robert Jackman, and Stephen I. Miran, “The Job-Preservation Effects of Paycheck Protection Program Loans,” U.S. Department of the Treasury, Office of Economic Policy, Working Paper No. 2020-01, December 2020, p. 9, https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/226/Job-Preservation-Effects- Paycheck-Protection-Program-Loans.pdf (accessed February 16, 2023). 4. Kate Rogers, Scott Zamost, Karina Hernandez, and Jennifer Schlesinger, “As Pandemic Aid Was Rushed to Main Street, Criminals Seized on Covid Relief Programs,” CNBC, April 15, 2021, https://www.cnbc. com/2021/04/15/as-pandemic-aid-was-rushed-to-main-street-criminals-seized-on-ppp-eidl-.html (accessed February 16, 2023). 5. Kevin Brewer, “Bills Extend Statute of Limitation for Prosecuting PPP, EIDL Fraud,” Journal of Accountancy, August 10, 2022, https://www.journalofaccountancy.com/news/2022/aug/bills-extend-statute-limitation- prosecuting-ppp-eidl-fraud.html (accessed February 16, 2023). 6. Sacha Pfeiffer, “Virtually All PPP Loans Have Been Forgiven with Limited Scrutiny,” NPR, October 12, 2022, https://www.npr.org/2022/10/12/1128207464/ppp-loans-loan-forgiveness-small-business#:~:text=As%20 COVID-19%20shutdowns%20threatened,early%20days%20of%20the%20pandemic (accessed February 16, 2023). 7. U.S. Small Business Administration, “About SBA: Organization: SBA History,” https://www.sba.gov/about-sba/ organization (accessed February 19, 2023). 8. President Richard Nixon, Executive Order 11518, “Providing for the Increased Representation of the Interests of Small Business Concerns Before Departments and Agencies of the United States Government,” March 20, 1970, in Federal Register, Vol. 35, No. 56 (March 21, 1970), pp. 4939–4940, https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/ service/ll/fedreg/fr035/fr035056/fr035056.pdf (accessed February 18, 2023). 9. S. 3331, Small Business Amendments of 1974, Public Law 93-386, 93rd Congress, August 23, 1974, https://www. congress.gov/93/statute/STATUTE-88/STATUTE-88-Pg742.pdf (accessed February 19, 2023). 10. S. 299, Regulatory Flexibility Act, Public Law No. 96-354, 96th Congress, September 19, 1980, https://www. congress.gov/96/statute/STATUTE-94/STATUTE-94-Pg1164.pdf (accessed February 19, 2023). 11. Maeve P. Carey, “The Regulatory Flex Act: An Overview,” Congressional Research Service In Focus No. IF11900, August 16, 2021, https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IF/IF11900 (accessed February 18, 2023). 12. U.S. Small Business Administration, Office of Advocacy, “The Regulatory Flexibility Act,” https://advocacy.sba. gov/resources/the-regulatory-flexibility-act/ (accessed February 18, 2023). 13. H.R. 644, Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015, Public Law No. 114-125, 114th Congress, February 24, 2026, https://www.congress.gov/114/statute/STATUTE-130/STATUTE-130-Pg122.pdf (accessed March 21, 2023). 14. U.S. Small Business Administration, Office of Advocacy, “Advocacy Releases Trade Report,” December 21, 2018, https://advocacy.sba.gov/2018/12/21/advocacy-releases-trade-report/ (accessed March 21, 2023). 15. Associated Press, “Reagan Offers $994-Billion ‘Hard-Choices’ 1987 Budget,” Los Angeles Times, February 5, 1986, http://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-02-05-mn-4369-story.html (accessed February 18, 2023). 16. Testimony of Hon. Hector V. Barreto, Administrator, Small Business Administration, in hearing, The President’s FY 2006 Budget Request for the Small Business Administration, Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, U.S. Senate, 109th Congress, 1st Session, February 17, 2005, p. 8, https://books.google.com/ books?id=UwD-2ICa8k8C&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false (accessed February 18, 2023). See also Report No. 109-49, Summary of Legislative and Oversight Activities During the 108th Congress, Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, U.S. Senate, 109th Congress, 1st Session, March 30, 2005, p. 21, https://www.congress.gov/109/crpt/srpt49/CRPT-109srpt49.pdf (accessed February 18, 2023).

Department of Labor and Related Agencies

Minimal

Vector: 58%

Pages: 621-623AI Enhanced

AI Analysis:

"The bill concerns House of Representatives appropriations and intern compensation, with no relation to Department of Labor policies on retirement savings, family statistics, Sabbath rest, or telework."

Key themes:unrelatedno overlap

— 588 — Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise l The Bureau should rededicate its research budget towards open inquiry, especially to disentangle the influences on women’s workforce participation and to understand the true causes of earnings gaps between men and women. l Equalize retirement savings access across married households. The limit on individual contributions to a 401(k), 403(b), or similar work-based retirement account is $22,500 for 2023. Individuals who do not work or do not have access to a work-based retirement account can save up to $6,500 in an IRA. This individual-based system creates a disadvantage for married couples with only one spouse who works (or with two working spouses, one of whom earns less than the maximum retirement account contribution). l To equalize access to tax-free retirement savings for married couples, the limit for married couples on 401(k) and similar work- based retirement savings accounts should be double the limit for individuals, regardless of the allocation of work between the couple. Family Statistics. Every month, DOL’s Bureau of Labor Statistics surveys tens of thousands of households to generate detailed estimates of labor market condi- tions and price levels. And every quarter, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis estimates the change in the entire economy’s output to the fraction of a percentage point. Yet data on the state of the American family and its economic welfare are released at best annually, and generally a year or more after the fact. Metrics like marriage and fertility rates, the share of children living with both biological parents, the cost of a standard basket of middle-class essentials, and the share of families whose highest-income worker earns more than twice the poverty threshold should be measured and reported monthly and in real-time and incorporated in releases for other labor statistics. l Congress should establish an Assistant Commissioner for Family Statistics within the Bureau of Labor Statistics. l Congress should require the Bureau to establish a pilot survey with a sample comparable to the BLS Current Population Survey that would publish monthly estimates for measures of the American family’s wellbeing, and appropriate sufficient funds for that purpose. l Congress should require that the Consumer Price Index market basket include measurable family-essential goods. — 589 — Department of Labor and Related Agencies Alternative View. While metrics on the state of American families and civil soci- ety are important and useful, monthly statistics would be of little additional value and could end up causing unnecessary confusion and concern. Funding should be oriented towards improving the timeliness of annual family statistics. Sabbath Rest. God ordained the Sabbath as a day of rest, and until very recently the Judeo-Christian tradition sought to honor that mandate by moral and legal regulation of work on that day. Moreover, a shared day off makes it possible for families and communities to enjoy time off together, rather than as atomized individuals, and provides a healthier cadence of life for everyone. Unfortunately, that communal day of rest has eroded under the pressures of consumerism and secularism, especially for low-income workers. l Congress should encourage communal rest by amending the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)9 to require that workers be paid time and a half for hours worked on the Sabbath. That day would default to Sunday, except for employers with a sincere religious observance of a Sabbath at a different time (e.g., Friday sundown to Saturday sundown); the obligation would transfer to that period instead. Houses of worship (to the limited extent they may have FLSA-covered employees) and employers legally required to operate around the clock (such as hospitals and first responders) would be exempt, as would workers otherwise exempt from overtime. Alternative View. While some conservatives believe that the government should encourage certain religious observance by making it more expensive for employers and consumers to not partake in those observances, other conservatives believe that the government’s role is to protect the free exercise of religion by eliminating barriers as opposed to erecting them. Whereas imposing overtime rules on the Sab- bath would lead to higher costs and limited access to goods and services and reduce work available on the Sabbath (while also incentivizing some people—through higher wages—to desire to work on the Sabbath), the proper role of government in helping to enable individuals to practice their religion is to reduce barriers to work options and to fruitful employer and employee relations. The result: ample job options that do not require work on the Sabbath so that individuals in roles that sometimes do require Sabbath work are empowered to negotiate directly with their employer to achieve their desired schedule. Teleworking. COVID made telework ubiquitous, but the law and regulations are still stuck in an era when telework was unique. l Congress should clarify that overtime for telework applies only if the employee exceeds 10 hours of work in a specific day (and the total hours for the week exceed 40).

Showing 3 of 5 policy matches

About These Correlations

Policy matches are calculated using a hybrid approach: initial candidates are found using semantic similarity between bill summaries and Project 2025 policy text, then an AI model (Llama 3.1 70B) provides detailed alignment ratings and analysis. Ratings range from 1 (minimal alignment) to 5 (very strong alignment). This analysis does not imply direct causation or intent.

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