Reporter’s Notebook: Congress debates college sports NIL bill amid Lane Kiffin LSU controversy

There is no easy solution in Congress to fix the rise health care Insurance premiums until the end of the year.

“Republicans are sleepwalking America straight into a health care crisis,” the Senate Minority Leader said. chuck schumer, lower.

The two sides lack consensus so far on draft bills to avoid a partial government shutdown in late January.

“We still have a lot of work to do on it,” Idaho Republican Rep. Mike Simpson said.

Congress is racing against a 3-week deadline to address the massive end-of-year legislative agenda

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries update reporters after meeting with President Donald Trump and Republican leaders in Washington, September 29, 2025. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP Newsroom)

There are so many pressing issues facing Congress over the next few weeks, and so little time.

“I’m literally thinking and watching the clock in front of me tick,” said Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Del.

So it’s no surprise that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., has questions about why the House planned to debate a bill last week about money in major college sports. Jeffries had pointed questions for House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., the House Minority Leader Steve ScaliseR-Los Angeles, are both Louisiana State University graduates and Tigers fans.

“Who exactly directed Mike Johnson and Steve Scalise to bring this bill to speakers this week? Were the big donors connected to LSU?” Jeffries asked. “Why Mike Johnson Does Steve Scalise think it’s a good idea to bring the Lane Kiffin Protection Act to the House floor?

Stop. “Kevin’s Lane Protection Act”?

Congress had a lot to do. A major bill on the House floor last week was in the works — wait for it — to regulate money in college sports. It came just as Lane Kiffin defected from Ole Miss to LSU for a $91 million contract. It came as Ole Miss was in the midst of an 11-1 season, ranked sixth in the country and with a chance to compete for the national title.

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Mississippi coach Lane Kiffin watches his team play against Oklahoma in Norman, Oklahoma, October 25, 2025. (Alonzo Adams/AP Newsroom)

The House was scheduled to take up a bill last week that would establish a national standard for NIL, or name, image and likeness, in college sports. Major conferences like the Big 10 and the SEC love this law. Small schools, not so much. But several lawmakers told Fox News they thought it was a bad matter for the House to consider Draft law on university sports – Just as Kevin headed to LSU.

“LSU is the best job in football,” Kiffin declared at a press conference.

I pressed Jefferies on Kiffin’s charge involving Johnson and Scalise after his press conference.

“We know that Johnson and Scalise are both LSU supporters, but do you know something here? You’re suggesting that there’s something going on between LSU and them to put legislation on the floor?” I inquired.

“No,” Jeffries replied. “It’s just a reasonable question that a lot of people in the House are asking. Like, ‘Why now?'” “And what kind of judgment does it take to put this bill on the floor this week in the wake of the whole Lane Kiffin saga?”

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Florida wide receiver Dallas Wilson (6) is hit by LSU linebacker Whit Weeks (40), who was penalized for targeting on the play, and safety Tamarcus Cooley (0), Sept. 13, 2025, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Gerald Herbert/AP Photo)

House Republicans struggled to get past a procedural hurdle to get the bill to the floor. Then Republican leaders snatched up the bill. Scalise said the bipartisan coalition that supported the bill “was fragile.” But Scalise denied the coincidence about Kevin and abruptly dropped the legislation from the House agenda.

“To be 100% clear, Lane Kevin“The situation at LSU has nothing to do with withdrawing this bill?” Scalise asked, matter-of-factly.

“This has nothing to do with Lane Kiffin or any particular school,” Scalise replied.

Some lawmakers said Kiffin’s brazen departure from Ole Miss highlights what’s wrong with college sports.

“I think the Kiffin case is a symbolic case,” said Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, who had problems with the NIL bill. “It certainly shows how broken this whole system is. It’s ridiculous.”

Roy wondered why Congress didn’t stop the amazing coaching cycle that goes on this time of year in college football.

“Why the hell do we allow coaches to go out and get paid to not coach for years?” Roy asked. “What we just saw with Lane Kiffin is just an absolute abomination.”

Roy argued that there are “huge issues” in college sports and broadcast rights, making them a subject of “interstate commerce.” Therefore, Congress has the right to participate.

“We’ll have to respond,” Roy said. “What I don’t want to do is continue to perpetuate the craziness of UC Berkeley, being in the Atlantic Coast Conference and forcing athletes from all sports to travel across the frozen continent so rich people can play sports in different time zones, under contracts, on television. It’s ridiculous.”

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House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, left, and House Speaker Mike Johnson during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, November 5, 2025. (Daniel Hoyer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The bill regulates the amount student-athletes can earn from NILs. Rep. Morgan Griffith, Republican of Virginia, acknowledged that the procedure was far from perfect. But Griffith says it “asserts the right of student-athletes to the benefit of their name, image and likeness, or nothing.”

The bill would set a single standard for NILs and prevent universities and athletes from navigating “30 state laws and athletes jumping from one team to another,” Griffith said.

But critics say it tilts the playing field toward athleticism. They placed the responsibility on the Republican majority in the House of Representatives.

“Of course, they have a bill to help the NCAA take advantage of student athletes. Because, you know, what this Congress desperately needs is another billionaire organization that is empowered to pressure young people,” said Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., the top Democrat on the House Rules Committee.

Griffith responded by saying that the legislation “was a first step. But it is not the last step in trying to solve the problems we face in our lives.” College athletics“.

Although the bill is off the calendar now, Scalise believes the legislation will return later this month.

“If Congress doesn’t take action, college athletes and especially student-athletes will ultimately pay the price,” Scalise said.

The legislation mandates that schools share revenues and prevents institutions from using student fees to distribute down-to-earth money.

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So we’ll see if the bill comes back before the end of the year. But at the moment, there is no agreement to do so. Lawmakers have yet to reach an agreement on health care or spending bills, either.

And they can’t blame Lane Kiffin for that.