Washington Waves: Waterway News From D.C.

House and Senate Republicans hit an impasse over a Senate-passed budget blueprint designed to end the months-long shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and trigger an expedited reconciliation process for funding contentious areas of the agency.

By a narrow vote of 50 to 48, the Senate sent the budget proposal to the House.

According to news reports, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) dismissed pressure to act quickly on the Senate proposal as passed by that chamber.

Instead, Johnson is considering amending the proposal and sending it back to the Senate.

That option did not seem to be gaining any traction with Senate Republicans. Senate Budget Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) called on the House to pass the bill as is to allow funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) through the reconciliation process by a simple majority vote.

Meanwhile, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin warned his agency is running out of emergency money he has been using to keep operations running.

Mullin said that discretionary funding will be exhausted in days.

“I have no place to move after the end of the month,” Mullin said on The Will Cain Show on Fox News. He added that the funding he has been spending covers only the agency’s payroll of roughly $1.7 billion every two weeks but not other expenses.

Shipbuilding Shortcomings Detailed

To reach its ambitious shipbuilding goals, the Coast Guard and Navy need a “disciplined, strategy-driven” approach, according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO). GAO’s Susan Oakley testified before congressional panels that the two services’ shipbuilding programs consistently have fallen short of expectation over two decades.

“Collectively, they are billions of dollars over cost and years behind schedule,” the watchdog agency’s recent report concluded. For decades, GAO said it has reported on persistent issues that plague the shipbuilding programs and has made more than 100 recommendations to address them.

Joined by leaders of the maritime industry, two key members of Congress held a press conference to promote the SHIPS for America Act to revitalize the industry.

Rep. John Garamendi (D-Calif.), ranking member of the House Armed Services Readiness Subcommittee, expressed optimism over the future of the SHIPS legislation.

Garamendi said he was encouraged by the joint hearing as an encouraging sign of growing bipartisan momentum in revitalizing the nation’s shipbuilding industry.

Rep. Trent Kelly (R-Miss.), chairman of the House Armed Services Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee, echoed that sentiment.

“Time is of the essence. We need to take decisive steps and get this done,” Kelly said.

They were joined by Matt Paxton, president of the Shipbuilders Council of America, and Brian Schoeneman, chairman of USA Maritime.

Open Fires Rule Revoked

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a rule finalizing the revocation of its Open Fires in Marine Terminals Standard of 1983 that the agency determined is no longer necessary to protect terminal workers from safety and health hazards.

Effective April 28, the final rule was described by OSHA as a deregulatory action per Executive Order 14192, ‘‘Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation’’ (90 FR 9065 February 6, 2025).

Docket No. OSHA-2025- 0007 is available at https:// www.regulations.gov with more material available at the OSHA Docket Office, which can be contacted at 202-693-2500.

For additional information, contact Andrew Levinson at 202-693-1950 or osha.dsg@dol.gov