On September 1, the House of Representatives approved the Senate-passed continuing resolution (CR) that will fund the federal government’s discretionary spending through December 11. The CR includes extension of authorization and funding for the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), also through December 11. The vote was 370 to 48. President Trump signed the measure into law on September 2, thus averting a government shutdown and stoppage of the NFIP prior to the November elections.

This Congress’s familiar difficulty in reaching consensus on key issues means most important issue resolutions will be deferred to the 119^th Congress’s five-to-six-week lame duck session that will be convened after the November elections. Among the issues that NAIFA supports and has proactively asked Congress to enact but are unlikely to be addressed prior to the late September/early October pre-election recess are:

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on September 8 that President Trump will try to get Congress to do deficit reduction during the 119^th Congress’ lame duck session (November-December of this year) if Democrats gain control of the House, Senate or both in the midterm elections. He said he was in discussions with Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russ Vought to craft a "fiscal consolidation" plan that "could potentially" reduce the federal deficit.

On September 3, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed a rule (RIN 3235-AN65) that would rescind the 16-year-old “pay-to-play” rule (Rule 206(4)-5) that prevents state and local entities, including public pension funds, from doing business with investment advisors who, within two years, made political contributions of $150 to $350 or more to state and local elected officials.

On August 14, the Treasury Department released a final rule that exempts U.S. companies and individuals from having to report beneficial ownership information (BOI) required by the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA).

On August 21, the Treasury Department issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM)—RIN 1545-BS 14—that proposes rules to govern eligible investments of Trump Account funds. In its NPRM Treasury said only investments that comply with the rules in the regulation (when it is finalized) will be allowed to accept Trump Account funds. “The proposed regulations would provide guidance regarding eligible investments, which are the only assets in which Trump Account funds may be invested before the first day of the calendar year in which the account beneficiary attains age 18,” Treasury said. This proposed regulation builds on Notice 2025-68, on which comments were received and from which modifications were made.

On August 12, the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Notice 2026-49, which includes sample forms for retirement savings plan rollovers to be used by both distributing and receiving retirement plans; and sample forms, including the procedures and protocols, to be used in trustee-to-trustee transfers, again for both transferring and receiving plans.

On September 2, the House Education & the Workforce Committee’s Subcommittee on Workforce Protections held a hearing on how to relieve burdensome and unnecessary regulations. Subcommittee Chair Rep. Ryan Mackenzie (R-PA) described the purpose of the hearing as identification of ways to cut red tape and establish a “reasonable regulatory environment that supports growth and prosperity.”

In Fact Sheet 2026-13, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) updated its rules for the new overtime (OT) pay tax deduction. The updates are particularly focused on employer obligations regarding the deduction. The updated guidance is in the form of frequently-asked questions (FAQs). Generally, the updates include:

In Notice 2026-28, the IRS and Treasury provide guidance on the employer tax credit for providing paid family and medical leave. The guidance modifies Notice 2018-71, focusing on the premium method for calculating the tax credit. It uses a question-and-answer format.

H.R. 2978, known as the GUARD Act (Guarding Unprotected Aging Retirees from Deception Act), is a bipartisan bill introduced in the 119th Congress by Representatives Zach Nunn (R-IA) and Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) to combat elder financial fraud, scams, and cryptocurrency-based confidence schemes.

At the end of July the House recessed until August 31; the Senate followed suit on August 8, until after Labor Day. Congress left for five weeks with many unresolved, pressing issues, including government funding and a budget bill that could pull in NAIFA issues in September.

In an effort to prevent a potential government shutdown on October 1 (the start of the federal government’s new fiscal year), Congressional Republicans are prepping legislation to keep the government fully funded until at least mid-December. The House and Senate approaches differ, but both would generally continue current funding levels until after the November mid-term elections.

Congressional Republicans are working on another all-GOP budget reconciliation bill that must first be authorized by a Congressional Budget Resolution (CBR). The House CBR (H.Con.Res.113) is narrow, providing funding only for Defense; Agriculture; and incentives for the States to enact stricter voter identification, proof of citizenship, and other voting rules. The CBR is controversial even among Republicans, and the issues it excludes have triggered promises from leadership to do yet another all-GOP reconciliation bill during lame duck, after the November elections.

The top Democrats on the tax-writing Senate Finance and House Ways & Means Committees have introduced legislation to scale back on multi-million dollar IRAs that they say are used primarily as tax shelters rather than as retirement savings vehicles. Introduced by ranking members Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR)/Finance and Rep. Richard Neal (D-MA)/Ways & Means, S. 5040 and H.R. 9813 would:

On July 30, Senate Finance Committee Democrats released a policy paper discussing ways to get to universal, affordable health care coverage. The committee is also asking for input on these and other ways to achieve universal coverage of health care.

The Senate Finance Committee said it will look at all options to shore up the Social Security program’s finances, including raising the payroll cap, adjusting benefits, establishing a commission to recommend changes for Congress to consider on a fast-track legislative basis, and establishing what amounts to private sector investment accounts for Social Security beneficiary contributions. The committee held a hearing on August 5 to explore these and other ideas.

In Notice 2026-48, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Treasury announced an “intent to propose regulations regarding the federal Saver’s Match program, which beings in 2027.” The Notice describes anticipated Saver’s Match rules, and requests comments as the agencies consider future proposed regulations.

The nomination of Keith Sonderling, President Trump’s pick to head the Department of Labor (DOL), has been approved by the committee of jurisdiction and now awaits a confirmation vote by the full Senate. Sonderling is currently Acting DOL Secretary.

On August 7 the Senate approved Cameron Hamilton as Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator. Hamilton returns to the agency after having been ousted early in 2025 as FEMA’s acting head for resisting calls to eliminate the agency.