First test as Congress returns: Avoid another federal government shutdown as Jan. 30 deadline looms

WASHINGTON — Lawmakers return to Washington after their holiday break faced with urgency to keep much of government running past January and a divisive House vote on the expiration of Affordable Care Act premium subsidies.

The top-line concern from the start of this new legislative year will be the risk of another government funding deadline on Jan. 30, when a stopgap bill expires. That deadline brings with it the possibility of another federal agency shutdown less than three months after last year’s record-long 43-day closure.

The first days back also will bring focus on the U.S.-led ouster and arrest of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro on Saturday, including plans by Senate Democrats to push for a floor vote on a War Powers Act bill that would block any further military action in that country.

Other high-profile congressional action before the November midterm elections ranges from health care and immigration reform; potential action related to stock trading by lawmakers; and a long-awaited crypto market structure bill. There is even a possibility Republicans could try to jam through their priorities with another "reconciliation" bill, much like the megabill they passed last year.

In the weeks and months ahead, Long Island’s four members of Congress are set also for more parochial legislative pursuits. Those will range from securing funding to make roads and highways safer to preserving Plum Island to improving Long Island drinking water.

"I think it is axiomatic that the midterm elections will make it an even more challenging year to accomplish major legislative achievements," William Hoagland, senior vice president at the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington, D.C., said. "But hope springs eternal."

The Senate reconvenes on Monday, the House on Tuesday.

Among those not returning will be Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, the controversial Georgia GOP congresswoman resigning her House seat as of Monday after a falling out with Republican President Donald Trump.

Her departure comes as nearly 50 other members of this two-year Congress have already said they will not be seeking reelection, including many who are running for other public offices.

Bipartisan chumminess will take a hit right from the start of the week.

House Democrats plan to reconvene a former Jan. 6 special committee for an unofficial hearing on Tuesday. The aim is to mark the fifth anniversary of the assault on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of the president and to criticize the Trump administration for trying to whitewash history.

Looming shutdown

Lawmakers have only passed three of the 12 required fiscal year spending bills. And unless the remaining nine bills are passed by month’s end to keep a majority of federal agencies funded — or another stopgap measure is enacted — a partial shutdown looms.

"Time waits for no one. With each passing day, we come closer to another lapse in government funding," Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, said in a statement.

A main distraction continues to be skirmishes over Affordable Care Act premium subsidies that expired at the close of 2025, raising costs for millions of Americans, including Long Islanders. Four House Republicans last month joined Democrats to force a floor vote this week over the objections of Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on a Democratic-written three-year subsidy extension.

If that bill passes, the Senate is expected to revise it.

This process could play out over weeks. And there is no guarantee the House would then approve the Senate version when it is sent back. There is also little clarity yet about the process of how already-expired benefits might be fully reinstituted for millions of Americans.

Priorities for Long Island

Long Island’s four House members also describe a variety of other legislative aims as they return to Washington for the second half of the session.

Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove) said in a statement that his efforts would include seeking to accelerate the remediation of two of the largest and most complicated groundwater plumes on Long Island: the Navy Grumman Plume and the Hicksville-New Cassel Industrial Plume.

"I will continue to bring money for the Long Island Sound and drinking water protection for local water departments," he said. "And this year I will push to get funding for the Merchant Marine Academy infrastructure rebuild and to develop a plan to encourage robotics on Long Island."

Rep. Nick LaLota (R-Amityville) ticked off pursuits that included fighting for permanent protection for Plum Island, such as ecological conservation and historical designation, and also the Long Island Sound Restoration and Stewardship Reauthorization.

LaLota said he will also continue working to keep funding for the Electron-Ion Collider at Brookhaven National Laboratory on track.

Traffic safety

Rep. Laura Gillen (D-Rockville Centre) provided a list of pursuits, including passage of her Traffic Safety Enhancement Act of 2025 to allow federal surface transportation grants to help replace dangerous intersections with roundabouts and other safer-driving changes.

Gillen’s list also includes "Gio’s Law," a bill she introduced to create a federal grant program for law enforcement agencies to purchase epinephrine and secure training for officers on how to use it. The bill is named for Giovanni Cornago, a 14-year-old from Lynbrook who died in 2014 from anaphylaxis.

And in an interview, Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-Bayport) mentioned ongoing efforts to protect health funding for 9/11 first responders and survivors and safeguarding the World Trade Center Health Program, as well as efforts tied to preserving and preventing lapses in flood insurance.

He also pointed to his continuing work on cybersecurity protections as the chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security.

But anything Congress accomplishes this year will have to play out against the partisan wrangling ahead of the 2026 campaigns.

"The stakes are stratospherically high. The flipping of one seat currently held by a Republican can result in a Democratic speaker and a House of Representatives drastically different from the current one," said Ross Baker, a Rutgers University political scientist. "Should that happen, any Trump legislative proposal will be stillborn."