SAVE Act recess push, energy grant fight, rural health drive July 31

Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., issued two releases Friday amplifying Republican pressure on Senate Majority Leader John Thune to keep the chamber in session through the August recess until the SAVE America Act passes. Banks's office aggregated quotes from Newsmax, The Hill, Axios, and other outlets tracking the growing coalition.

Banks also addressed the filibuster directly in a Newsmax appearance Friday morning: "The 60-vote threshold in the Senate blocks us from doing anything that the voters want us to do. Count me in the category as one of the new young Senators in America who wants to get rid of the ridiculous filibuster rules… I say nuke the filibuster and pass this bill right away because our country is not going to last if we don't do it."

The compiled media round-up named seven senators publicly backing the recess cancellation: Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah; Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla.; Sen. Ashley Moody, R-Fla.; Banks; Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala.; Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn.; and Sen. Darlene Graham, R-S.C. The SAVE America Act has failed multiple Senate floor votes previously.

Senators Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla, both D-Calif., joined a 37-senator letter Friday demanding the Trump administration restore funding for 223 energy projects canceled in October 2025. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., issued a separate release on the same letter. The coordinated rollout drew signatures from across the Democratic caucus.

The letter, addressed to Energy Secretary Chris Wright and OMB Director Russell Vought, cited court documents confirming the administration's admission that grants were canceled because the projects were located in states that did not vote for President Trump. In California alone, the cancellations targeted 79 clean energy projects totaling over $2 billion, including $1.2 billion for the state's ARCHES hydrogen hub.

"This is not only an attack on jobs, affordable energy, and America's economic competitiveness. It is an attack on the rule of law and the basic democratic principle that the federal government serves the entire country — not merely those who support the President," the senators wrote. "For the good of our country, the rule of law, and the American people, we demand that you change course and restore the previously awarded funding."

Two overlapping bipartisan bills targeting rural hospital access were active Friday. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., and Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., each issued releases on the Rural Emergency Hospital Improvement Act — dubbed REH 2.0 — introduced with Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., and Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn. The bill would ease federal restrictions on the Rural Emergency Hospital Medicare designation program to allow more hospitals at risk of closure to convert and receive higher reimbursement rates.

"We're trying every option we can to give rural hospitals a better chance to stay open," said Hyde-Smith. Marshall drew on his medical background: "For 25 years, I delivered babies across western Kansas and was often the only OB-GYN serving nearly 60,000 people. I know firsthand what it means when a community struggles to access quality health care."

Separately, a six-senator bipartisan group — led by Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and including Sens. Peter Welch, D-Vt., and Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H. — introduced the Provider Reimbursement Stability Act to modernize Medicare's Physician Fee Schedule. The American Medical Association has documented a 33 percent inflation-adjusted decline in Medicare physician reimbursement since 2001. "Year after year, Medicare reimbursement cuts have made it harder for physicians to care for patients," Tillis said.

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, introduced the Protecting Our Kids from Harmful Research Act Friday, with six Republican cosponsors: Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas; Steve Daines, R-Mont.; James Lankford, R-Okla.; Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn.; Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo.; and Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala. The bill would prohibit federal funds from supporting any research or publication promoting gender transitions for minors.

"Why is the federal bureaucracy in the child mutilation business?" Lee said. "Americans don't want to pay millions for these disturbing studies where hundreds of kids are experimented on with puberty-blocking drugs. President Trump rightly halted this attack on America's kids. Our bill will codify his agenda to keep federal dollars out of gender transition research involving minors."

Cruz added: "The Protecting Our Kids from Harmful Research Act takes the long-overdue step of prohibiting federal dollars from supporting procedures that involve dangerous, life-altering, and irreversible gender transition research on minors. I am proud to join Senator Lee in this effort, and I urge my colleagues to pass this commonsense legislation." The bill is endorsed by Students for Life Action and the American Principles Project.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., joined 12 members of Congress Friday in opening an investigation into whether the Department of Defense failed to provide adequate medical care to service members injured in a March drone strike on a U.S. military post at Port Shuaiba in Kuwait. The lawmakers sent a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Survivors reported being flown to Germany only to be told the hospital could not admit them and that they had to wait in barracks. Service members with traumatic brain injury symptoms reportedly went without proper care for nearly a month after the strike. The Army reportedly told some families their loved ones were not seriously injured despite extensive injuries.

"Secretary Hegseth's reckless behavior and poor judgment put U.S. service members in danger and jeopardized our national security," Gillibrand said. "His incompetent leadership left troops without the support and preparation they needed and hindered their access to care after they were injured. He must be held accountable for his blatant carelessness and callous approach to our service members' safety."

Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., joined Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., in two letters Friday raising conflict-of-interest concerns about Trump administration deals with critical mining companies linked to the Trump and Lutnick families. The senators identified 14 deals totaling at least $8.9 billion in taxpayer funds directed toward companies with those ties.

One letter targeted a $620 million loan to Vulcan Elements — a rare earth magnet company backed by Donald Trump Jr. — committed through the Pentagon's Office of Strategic Capital. The senators wrote: "These reports raise grave ethical and public safety concerns and the specter that the Pentagon is corruptly prioritizing funding for critical defense components based on ties to the Trump family. The use of funds from the so-called OBBBA to enrich a Trump family member is a further affront to taxpayers from a law that is estimated to add $5.1 trillion to the federal deficit."

A second letter went to five cabinet secretaries citing reporting that described a "modern-day gold rush in the critical minerals industry" under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which provides nearly $13 billion in direct Defense Production Act grants and approximately $350 billion in available financing.

Two Arizona Democrats and a Colorado Democrat each responded Friday to the Bureau of Reclamation's final environmental impact statement on post-2026 Colorado River operations — a plan that could reduce Arizona, California, and Nevada's allocation by as much as 40 percent.

Sens. Ruben Gallego and Mark Kelly, both D-Ariz., issued a joint statement: "The framework outlined in the Department of Interior's Final Environmental Impact Statement could place an unfair burden on Arizona, including the possibility of reducing the Lower Basin's Colorado River allocation by as much as 40 percent, without requiring comparable commitments from the Upper Basin."

Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., issued a separate statement with a different emphasis: "I am disappointed that the Interior Department could not develop a 7-state consensus agreement. While a 2-year operating plan is the bare minimum needed […] a long-term, consensus agreement that recognizes real hydrologic conditions is the only durable solution to bring certainty to the Colorado River."

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., issued a statement Friday after receiving a briefing on cyberattacks targeting Minnesota municipal water systems. Klobuchar said she spoke directly with National Cyber Director Sean Cairncross, who confirmed no effects on services as of the briefing.

"While the investigation is still ongoing, the FBI and EPA are warning utilities that hackers are trying to disrupt critical water infrastructure, and that the hackers targeted specific brands of control systems used by municipal water utilities," Klobuchar said. She also said she spoke with several mayors whose communities were affected.

"I will continue to advocate for strong federal, state, and local coordination to immediately investigate and stop cyberattacks as well as for updated technology to secure our critical infrastructure from cyber threats," Klobuchar said.

The Senate passed a resolution designating August 1, 2026, as Gold Star Children's Day, recognizing the children of fallen service members. The resolution was introduced by Sens. Roger Wicker, R-Miss.; Mark Kelly, D-Ariz.; and John Hoeven, R-N.D., with more than 20 cosponsors spanning both parties.

"Gold Star Children have endured an unimaginable loss, and their strength is a testament to the courage and sacrifice of the parents they lost in service to our country," said Hoeven. "The Senate's passage of this resolution ensures we recognize their resilience, honor the sacrifice of our fallen heroes, and express enduring gratitude to these families."

Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., also issued a release on the resolution: "When a servicemember makes the ultimate sacrifice, that sacrifice is never theirs alone. It is carried by their spouse, their parents, their brothers and sisters, and especially the children who grow up without a mom or dad because they gave everything for our nation." The resolution notes that nearly 625,000 Americans have died in service since World War I, leaving approximately 15,000 children without a parent.

Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, sent a letter Friday to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent requesting a formal national security review of SolarSpace Technology Co.'s plan to purchase or lease property approximately 13 miles from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Kettering, Ohio. SolarSpace is a Chinese photovoltaic cell manufacturer. The Dayton Development Coalition referred the transaction to CFIUS on June 22, 2026.

"At a time when the Chinese Communist Party has leveraged American commercial entities to advance its military and intelligence objectives, we cannot let this potential transaction proceed without investigation," Moreno wrote. "I urge you to investigate this transaction immediately. We cannot allow potential shell companies for the Chinese Communist Party to buy land or facilities near our most sensitive military and critical infrastructure sites, including Wright-Patterson Air Force Base."

Sens. John Curtis, R-Utah, and Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., introduced the MAP Roads Act — bipartisan legislation authorizing $20 million annually through FY2031 to help counties digitize paper road maps into standardized geospatial data. "Too many county road maps still exist only on paper or in outdated systems. That creates unnecessary challenges for first responders, businesses, and families who rely on accurate navigation every day," Curtis said.

Sens. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., and Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, introduced the Comprehensive Paid Leave for Federal Employees Act, which would extend 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave to federal workers. "California is home to 228,000 federal employees, the most of any state. They shouldn't have to choose between a paycheck and caring for themselves or their loved ones," Padilla said. Separately, Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., led reintroduction of the bipartisan Feeding Our Rural Kids (FORK) Act to fund vehicle purchases that bring summer meals to rural children. "Every child — everywhere — deserves delicious and nutritious meals all year long," Merkley said.

Sens. Ben Ray Luján and Martin Heinrich, both D-N.M., introduced the New Mexico Rural Veteran Health Care Access Act to realign VISN boundaries so veterans in Otero and Eddy Counties can access VA facilities in El Paso rather than traveling up to four hours to Albuquerque. Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., led a letter to President Trump supporting a major disaster declaration request for southern Missouri flooding that the National Weather Service classified as a 1-in-1,000-year event.

Signals

• volumeFriday release count of 31 runs 21.7% below the Friday rolling average of 40.9, consistent with pre-recess wind-down behavior 10 days ahead of the August state work period.
• coordinated37 Democratic senators issued or co-issued releases on the same energy grant letter to DOE and OMB, representing the largest single coordinated rollout in today's input set.
• coordinatedSix Republican senators cosponsored the Protecting Our Kids from Harmful Research Act in a single rollout, with individual quotes issued from Lee, Cruz, Daines, Lankford, Blackburn, Lummis, and Tuberville.
• recessAugust state work period begins in 10 days; at least seven Republican senators are publicly demanding the chamber remain in session to pass the SAVE America Act before adjournment.
• coordinatedThree senators — Hoeven, Marshall, and the Wicker-Kelly lead team — each issued separate releases on the same Gold Star Children's Day resolution the same day it passed the Senate.
• silent breaksSen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., has been quiet for 17 days — notable given his name appears in recess-cancellation coverage as a potential vote on the SAVE Act.

Quiet desks

Senators with no release in two weeks or more.

• Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-SC17d
• Sen. Alan Armstrong, R-OK15d