Tag: Government

The Senate introduced an amendment to raise the debt limit for Subchapter V bankruptcy filings from $3 million to $7.5 million. Subchapter V of Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code offers small businesses an alternative to filing for a traditional bankruptcy that is more expedited and cost-efficient but shifts some of these burdens onto credit managers. 

In a rare bankruptcy-focused hearing in the House on July 15th, Members of Congress demonstrated a surprising level of interest in the topic, discussing an array of six or seven potential changes to bankruptcy code, but not quite achieving consensus yet. One proposal that, on the surface, received wide bipartisan support was restoration of the COVID-era Subchapter V $7.5 million debt eligibility ceiling. Looking more deeply, however, it is a little too early to call it a done deal.

President Trump’s “One, Big, Beautiful Bill” signed into law on July 4th. Since then, Democrats have focused on its potential impact, warning that it could reduce access to health care and food assistance for many Americans—a message that has dominated the news cycle. Many of the cuts don’t start going into effect until the end of 2026, after the midterm election.

This past Friday, President Trump released his 2026 budget outline, proposing the largest cuts to non-defense spending in decades and zeroing out dozens of programs across the federal government. In line with much of what the President has already done in his first 100 days, the cuts are deep enough to alarm not just Democrats, but moderate Republicans as well, and time will tell if the proposal will get any real consideration by Congress.

President Trump’s trade war is officially on. However, in an extraordinary reversal just hours after they were set to go into effect, the President delayed the implementation of extremely harsh reciprocal tariffs on over 60 countries. That leaves in place the April 4th 10% across-the-board tariffs but gives the world time to breathe and react.

Regardless of the industry you work in, or whether you’ve been in the credit field for decades or only a matter of months, it is vital that you know and understand the federal laws that regulate a credit managers’ activity. Credit managers across industries are beholden to the regulations set by the Equal Opportunity Credit Act (ECOA), which prohibits discrimination in the extension of credit. ECOA forbids discrimination on the basis of sex, race, religion, color, creed, national origin, age or marital status in the extension of credit.  

Those working in construction credit know all too well how important lien rights are on any project. Regardless of what stage a project is in or whether you are serving as a contractor or subcontractor, it is essential that a credit manager understands their lien rights in that particular state to best protect themselves from risk.

Congress came back to Washington on Jan. 3 to officially swear-in Members for the 2025-26 cycle. This was also President Trump and Speaker Johnson’s first real test of their razor-thin majority–could Republicans avoid another debacle in their efforts to elect the next Speaker of the House? The answer was a tepid ‘yes’.

As the construction industry prepares for the effects of Present-elect Donald Trump’s economic policies—such as tariffs on imported materials, reduced tax rates and deregulation—credit managers face both opportunities and risks. While these measures could stimulate industry growth, they also have the potential to drive inflation, increase interest rates and escalate government debt.