An executive resolution authorizing the en bloc consideration in Executive Session of certain nominations on the Executive Calendar.

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Bill ID: 119/sres/520
Last Updated: December 5, 2025

Sponsored by

Sen. Thune, John [R-SD]

ID: T000250

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The bill

An executive resolution authorizing the en bloc consideration in Executive Session of certain nominations on the Executive Calendar.

SRES. 520, 119th Congress — read as touching Defense Contractors.

The sponsor

Sen. Thune, John [R-SD]

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

The money

$102,900 raised

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

The alignment

70% match to Project 2025

This bill's text tracks the "Environmental Protection Agency" section, p. 455-457 of the Mandate for Leadership.

Bill's Journey to Becoming a Law

Track this bill's progress through the legislative process

Latest Action

Cloture, not having achieved 60 votes in the affirmative, was not invoked in Senate by Yea-Nay Vote. 43 - 37. Record Vote Number: 633. (CR S8501)

December 3, 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 Senate

🏛️

House 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

Another masterpiece of legislative theater, courtesy of the esteemed Senator Thune. Let's dissect this abomination, shall we?

SRES 520 is an executive resolution that authorizes the en bloc consideration of a whopping 46 nominations to various government positions. Because, you know, the Senate has nothing better to do than rubber-stamp a bunch of cronies and donors.

But what's really going on here? Well, my friends, it's quite simple: this is a classic case of " Regulatory Capture-itis," where industries and special interest groups have infected the legislative process with their money and influence. And Senator Thune is just the doctor to prescribe more of the same.

Let's take a look at some of the nominees:

* Henry Mack III, nominated for Assistant Secretary of Labor, has ties to the National Restaurant Association, which has been lobbying against minimum wage increases. * James Percival, nominated for General Counsel of the Department of Homeland Security, has worked for the law firm Kirkland & Ellis, which has represented clients like ExxonMobil and Koch Industries. * Pedro Allende, nominated for Under Secretary for Science and Technology at DHS, has connections to the defense industry giant Northrop Grumman.

You see a pattern here? These nominees are not exactly champions of the people. They're more like Trojan horses, carrying the interests of their corporate benefactors into the heart of government.

Now, let's talk about compliance requirements and timelines. Ha! Don't make me laugh. This bill is all about streamlining the nomination process, which means less scrutiny and oversight for these nominees. It's like giving a blank check to the Senate to approve whoever they want, whenever they want.

Enforcement mechanisms? Penalties? Oh please, those are just fig leaves to cover up the real agenda: to install more corporate-friendly stooges in key government positions.

The economic and operational impacts of this bill will be devastating. More deregulation, more crony capitalism, and more opportunities for industries to exploit loopholes and write their own rules. It's a recipe for disaster, folks.

In conclusion, SRES 520 is not just a regulatory bill; it's a symptom of a deeper disease: the corruption of our democratic system by special interests and corporate money. And Senator Thune is just one of many enablers who are happy to play along.

Diagnosis: Terminal Regulatory Capture-itis, with complications from Corporate Cronyism and Legislative Malpractice.

Treatment: Radical surgery to remove the cancer of corruption from our government, followed by a healthy dose of transparency, accountability, and genuine public interest legislation. But don't hold your breath; that's just a fantasy.

Related Topics

Federal Budget & Appropriations
Generated using Llama 3.1 70B (Dr. Haus personality)

💰 Campaign Finance Network

Sen. Thune, John [R-SD]

Congress 119 • 2024 Election Cycle

Total Contributions
$102,900
15 donors
PACs
$0
Organizations
$0
Committees
$0
Individuals
$102,900

No PAC contributions found

No organization contributions found

No committee contributions found

1
BELL, RICHARD R
2 transactions
$16,800
2
NESS, LARRY F
2 transactions
$11,700
3
HARMS, DUANE D
2 transactions
$9,700
4
EVANS, MICHAEL
2 transactions
$8,400
5
POWELL, JESSE
1 transaction
$6,600
6
DUHAMEL, KATHARINE B
1 transaction
$6,600
7
DUHAMEL, WILLIAM F JR.
1 transaction
$6,600
8
BARATTA, JOSEPH
2 transactions
$6,600
9
MCINERNEY, PAULA G
1 transaction
$5,000
10
MILKEN, LOWELL J
1 transaction
$5,000
11
WHITE, ALAN B
1 transaction
$5,000
12
HARMS, JEFFREY D
1 transaction
$5,000
13
MARQUIS, BENJAMIN L
1 transaction
$3,300
14
MARQUIS, DARRELL L
1 transaction
$3,300
15
MARQUIS, DUSTIN L
1 transaction
$3,300

Donor Network - Sen. Thune, John [R-SD]

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Organizations
Individuals
Politicians

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

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Showing 30 nodes and 20 connections (36 secondary connections hidden)

Total contributions: $102,900

Top Donors - Sen. Thune, John [R-SD]

Showing top 15 donors by contribution amount

15 Individuals

Industry Impact

Which industries are materially affected by specific provisions in this bill. 1 helped.

  • +Defense Contractorsconfidence 0.80

    Multiple nominations for Department of Defense positions (e.g., Deputy Under Secretary of Defense, Assistant Secretary of Defense) suggest a clear benefit to the defense industry, as these roles would influence procurement and policy decisions.

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.

Environmental Protection Agency

Moderate
Vector: 62%
Pages: 455-457AI Enhanced

AI Analysis:

"SRES 520 streamlines the confirmation of multiple nominees, including EPA positions, thereby supporting Project 2025's personnel objective of assembling a political appointee team before Day One. However, the bill does not address the substantive EPA regulatory reforms outlined in the policy."

Key themes:personnel appointmentsEPA staffingprocedural efficiencypolitical appointee readiness

— 423 — Environmental Protection Agency regulatory review (before options are selected); causality of health effects; low-dose risk estimation (linear no-threshold analysis); and employment loss analysis. Personnel The majority of the political appointee team must be assembled, vetted, and ready to deploy before Day One. To the extent provided by the Federal Vacan- cies Reform Act,15 appointees in consideration for Senate-confirmed positions (excluding the Administrator) should be prepared to serve as a Deputy or Principal Deputy to get into the agency on Day One while their nomination and affiliated confirmation processes proceeds. In addition to a deputy slated for the Assistant Administrator role, each office will need a political chief of staff, senior advisers designated to run suboffices, and energized assistants. Teams should be balanced with technical knowledge, legal expertise, and political exposure. Ideally, they should also be geographically diverse. Appointee positions should also extend to all the regional offices and specialty labs. OFFICE OF AIR AND RADIATION (OAR) OAR develops national programs, policies, and regulations to control air pollution and radiation exposure. In recent decades, OAR and its statutory respon- sibilities under the Clean Air Act have been reimagined in an attempt to expand the reach of the federal government. The U.S. Supreme Court has stopped and stricken several actions from OAR under liberal Administrations, citing a lack of requisite legal support. A reformed OAR should focus on EPA’s mission of limiting and minimizing criteria and hazardous air pollutants in partnership with the states. Cross-Cutting Reforms. OAR consists of four suboffices with two located in Washington, D.C.; one in Ann Arbor, Michigan; and one at Research Triangle Park in Raleigh, North Carolina. The following reforms should be implemented across all OAR offices: l Issue a rule to ensure consistent and transparent consideration of costs. l When doing cost-benefit analysis, use appropriate discount rates, focus on the benefits of reducing the pollutant targeted by Congress, identify “co-benefits” separately, and acknowledge the uncertainties involved in quantifying benefits. l Review and revise Reasonably Available Control Technology (RACT) cost guidance to ensure that calculations are accurate and reflect the actual regulatory burden, including costs of air rules implementation and compliance. — 424 — Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise l Obey Congress’s direction in CAA § 32116 to “conduct continuing evaluations” of the employment and plant-closure effects of air regulations. l Ensure that all provisions of CAA § 307(d)17 are observed. Congress placed special constraints on air rules, and that intent should be respected. l To the extent that the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)18 remains in place, ensure to the maximum extent possible that grants and funding are provided to state regulatory entities and not to nonprofits. l Remove any regulations or requirements that confer on third parties any authorities that have been provided to EPA, such as the oil and gas supplemental, which created a Super-Emitter Response Program that allows third parties to act as EPA enforcers. Policy-Specific Actions National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) l EPA adopted by regulation a goal of restoring natural visibility by 2064. The statute does not require this, and EPA should consider whether a longer timeline is less disruptive or more realistic. Regional haze rules should be revised to prevent subsequent “planning periods” from being abused to compel the shutdown of disfavored facilities. l Under the Good Neighbor Program/Interstate pollutant transport program, review Biden-era regulations to ensure that they do not “overcontrol” upwind states in violation of the statute as construed by the U.S. Supreme Court. Reverse the program’s 2022 expansion beyond power plants. l Putting guardrails on downwind states is an abuse of the CAA § 126(b)19 petition process. EPA must ensure, in keeping with statutory text, that petitions identify a reasonably discrete “group” of upwind sources alleged to violate the good neighbor provision. l Ensure that the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) considers all of the statutorily charged factors (for example, social and economic effects resulting from NAAQS attainment and maintenance strategies). l Ensure that the requirements EPA puts on a state that has achieved attainment status from nonattainment status are limited to those that

Environmental Protection Agency

Weak
Vector: 62%
Pages: 470-472AI Enhanced

AI Analysis:

"SRES 520 is a procedural resolution to consider multiple nominations, including some for the EPA, but it does not directly address or implement the specific EPA reforms outlined in Project 2025 such as suspending advisory bodies, retracting science delegations, or eliminating Title 42 hiring authority."

Key themes:EPA nominationsprocedural processagency leadershipscience policyadvisory bodies

— 437 — Environmental Protection Agency l Suspend and review the activities of EPA advisory bodies, many of which have not been authorized by Congress or lack independence, balance, and geographic and viewpoint diversity. l Retract delegations for key science and risk-assessment decisions from Assistant Administrators, regional offices, and career officials. l Eliminate the use of Title 42 hiring authority that allows ORD to spend millions in taxpayer dollars for salaries of certain employees above the civil service scale. l Announce plans to streamline and reform EPA’s poorly coordinated and managed laboratory structure. Budget: Back-to-Basics Rejection of Unauthorized or Expired Science Activities A top priority should be the immediate and consistent rejection of all EPA ORD and science activities that have not been authorized by Congress. In FY 2022, according to EPA’s opaque budgeting efforts, science and technology activ- ities totaled nearly $730 million. EPA’s FY 2023 budget request for the Office of Research and Development seeks funds for more than 1,850 employees—a dramatic increase for what is already the largest EPA office with well above 10 percent of the agency’s workforce.44 ORD conducts a wide-ranging series of science and peer review activities, some in support of regulatory programs established by our envi- ronmental laws, but often lacks authority for these specific endeavors. Several ORD offices and programs, many of which constitute unaccountable efforts to use scientific determinations to drive regulatory, enforcement, and legal decisions, should be eliminated. The Integrated Risk Information System, for example, was ostensibly designed by EPA to evaluate hazard and dose-response for certain chemicals. Despite operating since the 1980s, the program has never been authorized by Congress and often sets “safe levels” based on questionable science and below background levels, resulting in billions in economic costs. The program has been criticized by a wide variety of stakeholders: states; Congress; the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM); and the U.S. Govern- ment Accountability Office (GAO), among others. EPA has failed to implement meaningful reforms, and this unaccountable program threatens key regulatory processes as well as the integrity of Clean Air Act and TSCA implementation. Needed EPA Advisory Body Reforms EPA currently operates 21 federal advisory committees.45 These committees often play an outsized role in determining agency scientific and regulatory policy, — 438 — Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise and their membership has too often been handpicked to achieve certain politi- cal positions. In the Biden Administration, key EPA advisory committees were purged of balanced perspectives, geographic diversity, important regulatory and private-sector experience, and state, local, and tribal expertise. Contrary to con- gressional directives and recommendations from the GAO and intergovernmental associations, these moves eviscerated historic levels of participation on key com- mittees by state, local, and tribal members from 2017 to 2020. As a result, a variety of EPA regulations lack relevant scientific perspectives, increasing the risks of economic fallout and a failure of cooperative federalism. EPA also has repeatedly disregarded legal requirements regarding the role of these advisory committees and the scope of scientific advice on key regulations.46 Needed Science Policy Reforms Instead of allowing these efforts to be misused for scaremongering risk com- munications and enforcement activities, EPA should embrace so-called citizen science and deputize the public to subject the agency’s science to greater scrutiny, especially in areas of data analysis, identification of scientific flaws, and research misconduct. In addition, EPA should: l Shift responsibility for evaluating misconduct away from its Office of Scientific Integrity, which has been overseen by environmental activists, and toward an independent body. l Work (including with Congress) to provide incentives similar to those under the False Claims Act47 for the public to identify scientific flaws and research misconduct, thereby saving taxpayers from having to bear the costs involved in expending unnecessary resources. l Avoid proprietary, black box models for key regulations. Nearly all major EPA regulations are based on nontransparent models for which the public lacks access or for which significant costs prevent the public from understanding agency analysis. l Reject precautionary default models and uncertainty factors. In the face of uncertainty around associations between certain pollutants and health or welfare endpoints, EPA’s heavy reliance on default assumptions like its low-dose, linear non-threshold model bake orders of magnitude of risk into key regulatory inputs and drive flawed and opaque decisions. Given the disproportionate economic impacts of top-down solutions, EPA should implement an approach that defaults to less restrictive regulatory outcomes.

Environmental Protection Agency

Weak
Vector: 62%
Pages: 470-472AI Enhanced

AI Analysis:

"SRES 520 is a purely procedural resolution for en bloc consideration of nominations and does not address EPA advisory bodies, science activities, hiring authority, or laboratory reforms outlined in the Project 2025 EPA policy."

Key themes:nominationsexecutive appointmentsagency leadership

— 437 — Environmental Protection Agency l Suspend and review the activities of EPA advisory bodies, many of which have not been authorized by Congress or lack independence, balance, and geographic and viewpoint diversity. l Retract delegations for key science and risk-assessment decisions from Assistant Administrators, regional offices, and career officials. l Eliminate the use of Title 42 hiring authority that allows ORD to spend millions in taxpayer dollars for salaries of certain employees above the civil service scale. l Announce plans to streamline and reform EPA’s poorly coordinated and managed laboratory structure. Budget: Back-to-Basics Rejection of Unauthorized or Expired Science Activities A top priority should be the immediate and consistent rejection of all EPA ORD and science activities that have not been authorized by Congress. In FY 2022, according to EPA’s opaque budgeting efforts, science and technology activ- ities totaled nearly $730 million. EPA’s FY 2023 budget request for the Office of Research and Development seeks funds for more than 1,850 employees—a dramatic increase for what is already the largest EPA office with well above 10 percent of the agency’s workforce.44 ORD conducts a wide-ranging series of science and peer review activities, some in support of regulatory programs established by our envi- ronmental laws, but often lacks authority for these specific endeavors. Several ORD offices and programs, many of which constitute unaccountable efforts to use scientific determinations to drive regulatory, enforcement, and legal decisions, should be eliminated. The Integrated Risk Information System, for example, was ostensibly designed by EPA to evaluate hazard and dose-response for certain chemicals. Despite operating since the 1980s, the program has never been authorized by Congress and often sets “safe levels” based on questionable science and below background levels, resulting in billions in economic costs. The program has been criticized by a wide variety of stakeholders: states; Congress; the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM); and the U.S. Govern- ment Accountability Office (GAO), among others. EPA has failed to implement meaningful reforms, and this unaccountable program threatens key regulatory processes as well as the integrity of Clean Air Act and TSCA implementation. Needed EPA Advisory Body Reforms EPA currently operates 21 federal advisory committees.45 These committees often play an outsized role in determining agency scientific and regulatory policy,

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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