Last Week in Congress (1/12–1/16/26)
An update will be shared every week that Congress is in session. This will include a short summary of the past week in Congress, as well as a listing of all education-related bills introduced in the House and Senate, relevant Committee and Floor activity, and education-related hearings.
Last week’s big education highlight was the enactment of the “Whole Milk for Healthy Kids” Act, which will allow school cafeterias to expand their milk offerings. This week has already started off with a bang, with the Senate Appropriations Committee’s introduction of conferenced bills for Defense, Homeland Security, Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies, and Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies. The Committee also posted a joint explanatory statement, bill summary, and list of Congressionally-directed spending. Related to the Department of Education, the bill would provide:
· $18.4 billion for Title I Grants to LEAs; up to $500 million for Charter Schools, and $225 million for the Rural Education Achievement Program;
· $15.2 billion of IDEA State Grants;
· $1.4 billion for CTE State Grants, and $12.4 million for CTE National Activities;
· $3.3 billion for Higher Education programs, including $1.2 billion for TRIO and $388 million for GEAR UP; and
· $1.2 billion for Federal Work Study, $910 million for Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants, and a maximum Pell award maintained at $7,395.
The bill also includes language limiting the Department’s authority to transfer funds outside of the Department, with the explanatory statement expressing concern that the Department’s interagency agreements and program transfers of programs, projects, and activities specifically authorized for the Department to carry out are unprecedented and improper, and move critical program responsibilities to agencies that do not have the experience, expertise, capacity, and developed relationships necessary to successfully and efficiently implement the law.
· H.R. 7019 (Leger Fernandez, D-NM), to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to prevent certain alcohol and substance misuse (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 7025 (Yakym, R-IN), to require the implementation of evidence-based practices with respect to certain Federal grants (Oversight and Government Reform).
· H.R. 7032 (García, D-IL), to ensure that paraprofessionals and education support staff are paid a living wage (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 7060 (Crow, D-CO), to stop the Government from attacking individuals and organizations for their political speech or participation (Judiciary; Oversight and Government Reform; Ways and Means).
· H.R. 7063 (Gill, R-TX), to improve student and exchange visitor visa programs (Judiciary; Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 7077 (Scholten, D-MI), to amend the Research and Development, Competition, and Innovation Act to require a plan for data collection and analytical capability relating to the skilled technical workforce (Science, Space, and Technology).
· H.R. 7082 (Mackenzie, R-PA), the Fostering Learning and Excellence in Charter Schools, or FLEX Act, to amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 in order to provide for greater flexibility in the Federal programs supporting the planning and implementation of charter schools (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 7086 (Ciscomani, R-AZ), the Equitable Access to School Facilities Act, to support the creation and implementation of State policies, as well as the expansion of existing State policies, for improving the quality and affordability of charter school facilities and to authorize the provision of technical assistance to support the growth and expansion of high-quality charter schools (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 7092 (Carter, D-LA), to amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to require local educational agencies to include mental health and suicide prevention information on student identification cards (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 7093 (Davids, D-KS), to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide a charitable deduction for the contribution of the use of certain property by community learning centers (Ways and Means).
· H.R. 7099 (Goodlander, D-NH), to increase access to higher education and center-based Head Start programs by providing public transit grants (Transportation and Infrastructure).
· H.R. 7177 (Olszewski, D-MD), to increase rates of college completion and reduce college costs by accelerating time to degree, aligning secondary and postsecondary education, and improving postsecondary credit transfer (Education and Workforce).
· S. 3627 (Moody, Ashley), the Pregnant Students’ Rights Act, to require institutions of higher education to disseminate information on the rights of, and accommodations and resources for, pregnant students (Placed on the Senate Legislative Calendar; cloture motion on the motion to proceed in Senate on 1/15).
· S. 3646 (Murphy, D-CT), to stop the Government from attacking individuals and organizations for their political speech or participation (Judiciary).
· S. 3661 (Blunt Rochester, D-DE), to increase access to higher education and center-based Head Start programs by providing public transit grants (Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs).
· S. 3669 (Schiff, D-CA), to amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to establish a pilot program to award grants to school food authorities to provide 100 percent plant-based food and milk options (Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry).
· On January 13, the House Committee on Education and Workforce, Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education, held a hearing entitled “Who’s Watching the Kids? How Employers, Innovators, and Parents are Solving America’s Child Care Crunch.”
· On January 13, the House Committee on Homeland Security, Subcommittee on Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection, held a hearing entitled “Defense through Offense: Examining U.S. Cyber Capabilities to Deter and Disrupt Malign Foreign Activity Targeting the Homeland.”
· On January 13, the House Committee on the Judiciary held a markup on a number of bills, including H.R. 1028, the “Protection of Women in Olympic and Amateur Sports Act.”
· On January 13, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Subcommittee on Government Operations, held a hearing entitled “Curbing Federal Fraud: Examining Innovative Tools to Detect and Prevent Fraud in Federal Programs.”
· On January 14, the House Committee on Education and Workforce held a hearing entitled “Building an AI-ready America.”
· On January 14, the House Committee on Financial Services, Subcommittee on National Security, Illicit Finance, and International Financial Institutions, held a hearing entitled “Evaluating the Operations of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CIFUS).”
· On January 15, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation held a hearing to examine the impact of technology on America’s youth.
· On January 16, the House Rules Committee held a hearing that included discussion of H.R. 6945, the “Supporting Pregnant and Parenting Women and Families Act” and H.R. 6359, the “Pregnant Students' Rights Act.”
· On January 14, the President signed S. 222, Public Law No. 119-69, the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2025, to amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to allow schools that participate in the school lunch program to serve whole milk.