This report is current as of March 17, 2023

The 118th Congress convened in January with razor-thin majorities in both houses. Democrats hold a 51-49 majority in the Senate, while Republicans have a 222-213 advantage in the House of Representatives. The sharp divide between the two chambers means few major legislative accomplishments are expected in the current biennium.

In one of its final acts of 2022, Congress approved a massive year-end spending bill that includes the long-anticipated retirement savings package known as SECURE Act 2.0.  

The provisions of the new retirement package are included in the 4,155-page bill that will fund every federal agency and government program through September 30, 2023. The bill was cleared by the House on December 23, one day after the Senate voted for it. President Biden signed the bill into law on December 29.

With the midterm elections in the rearview mirror, Congress returned to Washington for a busy lame-duck session to resolve some key issues. Meanwhile, regulators continued their breakneck pace, unveiling a daunting set of rule proposals that would create additional compliance burdens for advisor firms. Here's a roundup of what advisors need to know.

This report is current as of August 12, 2022

Congress continues to struggle with bitter partisan divisions that will likely only worsen as we head toward this fall's midterm elections. But rare moments of bipartisanship have cropped up in recent weeks.

Weeks of negotiations on Capitol Hill culminated with the early November release of a slimmed-down "Build Back Better Act," a $1.75 trillion economic package that focuses on climate change and social programs. The proposal, coupled with a bipartisan infrastructure spending package that was approved by Congress November 6, forms the heart of President Joe Biden's domestic agenda.