Congress in August Recess: See You in September

Earlier this month, the U.S. Senate joined the U.S. House of Representatives in adjourning for the August recess. To avoid a government shutdown when lawmakers return to Washington in early September, the focus will be to pass a government spending package before the fiscal year ends on September 30. Just prior to the August recess, the Senate approved spending bills to fund military construction projects, veterans, agriculture programs, and legislative branch agencies. House Republicans may seek to pass a second reconciliation bill, however; many in the Senate GOP are less enthusiastic of debating a second reconciliation package following the passage of the Big, Beautiful Bill.

Save the Date for the 2026 Federal Legislative Fly-in! 

Registration will soon open for the 2026 NASBP and SFAA Joint Federal Legislative Fly-in held February 24-25, 2026.

The 2025 Federal Legislative Fly-in numbers far exceeded previous years, where 136 registrants attended 131 meetings, representing 33 states. If you have not had the opportunity to attend the Fly-in, please consider joining your surety colleagues to advocate for the surety product. If you are a veteran Fly-in attendee, you already know the reason why it’s important to attend. NASBP hopes you will encourage colleagues to increase our numbers in February.

Once again, there will be no registration fee, making it the perfect opportunity to join your colleagues in an effort to ensure federal policymakers understand the significant role surety bonds play to protect taxpayer funds and advance public works infrastructure projects.

The Legislative Fly-in will kick off on Tuesday, February 24, with an afternoon “Washington Program” and a welcome reception at the host hotel, the Hilton Washington DC Capitol Hill. Wednesday, February 25, will be dedicated to Capitol Hill appointments. Information about the Fly-in registration, hotel room block, and Capitol Hill appointments will be forthcoming.

Fly-in attendees will be armed with information prior to their Congressional visits that will include talking points on the industry’s priority legislation, H.R. 1285/S.570, the “Water Infrastructure Subcontractor and Taxpayer Protection Act,” a measure to require performance and payment guarantees for loans/grants and P3s utilized through the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA). Attendees will be encouraged to ask their members of Congress to consider co-sponsoring the legislation. To date, H.R. 1285 has 15 co-sponsors, while S.570 was introduced by Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and the lead co-sponsor is Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND). Throughout the summer, NASBP has met with a number of members of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee to encourage those Senators to consider co-sponsoring S.570.