Last Week in Congress (2/9–2/13/26)
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.
With appropriations (mostly) settled, Congressional resumed its focus on education, youth, and workforce issues, with a wide range of bills introduced in both chambers. Lawmakers introduced proposals on K–12 school safety and student well-being, including school bus seat belts, mental health supports in schools, and reimbursement for school meal debt. Higher education affordability and school finance were also priorities, with measures addressing student loan interest deductions, public school bonding, and education benefits for foster youth.
Support for children and young adults who have experienced foster care featured prominently, with multiple House and Senate bills aimed at improving housing coordination, emergency relief, legal services, and postsecondary assistance. Congress also introduced several bills to update provisions of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.
Committee hearings complemented this activity, examining literacy instruction, education-related civil rights issues, fraud in child care assistance programs, and foreign influence in U.S. nonprofits, underscoring continued congressional attention to education policy and program oversight.
· H.R. 7428 (Gottheimer, D-NJ), to require the Secretary of Transportation to publish a notice of proposed rulemaking concerning seat belts on school buses (Transportation and Infrastructure).
· H.R. 7432 (LaHood, R-IL), the Foster Youth Housing Opportunity Act, to amend section 477 of the Social Security Act to improve coordination with Federal housing assistance programs for youth who have experienced foster care (Ways and Means; Financial Services).
· H.R. 7433 (Luna, R-FL), to prohibit users who are under age 13 from accessing social media platforms, to prohibit the use of personalized recommendation systems on individuals under age 17, and limit the use of social media in schools (Energy and Commerce).
· H.R. 7434 (Lieu, D-CA), to authorize the Director of the National Science Foundation to identify grand challenges and award competitive prizes for artificial intelligence research and development (Science, Space, and Technology).
· H.R. 7463 (Chu, D-CA), to amend section 477 of the Social Security Act to increase the maximum education and training voucher amount and provide greater support for foster youth pursuing postsecondary education (Ways and Means).
· H.R. 7468 (Mann, R-KS), to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1968 to allow certain distributions from long-term qualified tuition programs for first home purchases (Ways and Means).
· H.R. 7497 (Hayes, D-CT), to amend the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act to improve trauma support services and mental health care for children and youth in educational settings (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 7529 (Davis, D-IL), to require States to consider legal issues affecting youth as part of case planning and to provide States with the option to use funds from the John H. Chafee Foster Care Program for Successful Transition to Adulthood to support accessing legal services and counseling (Ways and Means).
· H.R. 7536 (Goldman, D-NY), to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to expand the deduction for student loan interest to include payments toward principal, and to increase the value of the deduction (Ways and Means).
· H.R. 7542 (Krishnamoorthi, D-IL), to amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to make lunches free for all children and to reimburse school meal delinquent debt (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 7570 (Bell, D-MO), to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow certain advance refunding bonds for public school districts to be tax-exempt (Ways and Means).
· S. 3802 (Fischer, R-NE), to amend title IV of the Social Security Act to establish a demonstration grant program to provide emergency relief to foster youth and improve pre-placement services offered by foster care stabilization agencies (Finance).
· S. 3806 (Booker, D-NJ), to require the Secretary of Transportation to publish a notice of proposed rulemaking concerning seat belts on school buses (Commerce, Science, and Transportation).
· S. 3809 (Booker, D-NJ), to authorize the Director of the National Science Foundation to identify grand challenges and award competitive prizes for artificial intelligence research and development (Commerce, Science, and Transportation).
· S. 3825 (Budd, R-NC), to amend the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act to expand the types of one-stop centers used to provide services (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions).
· S. 3846 (Budd, R-NC), to amend the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act regarding employer-directed skills development (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions).
· S. 3870 (Peters, D-MI), to amend the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act to permit greater flexibility in carrying out incumbent worker training programs (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions).
· S. 3887 (Cornyn, R-TX), to amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to improve prohibitions on discrimination by public accommodations (Judiciary).
· On February 10, the House Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies, held a hearing entitled “The Science of Reading.”
· On February 10, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education, held a hearing entitled “Defending Faith and Families Against Government Overreach: Mahmoud v. Taylor.”
· On February 10, the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Border Security and Immigration, concluded a hearing to examine fraud in Minnesota.
· On February 10, the House Committee on Ways and Means held a hearing entitled “Foreign Influence in American Non-profits: Unmasking Threats from Beijing and Beyond.”
· On February 12, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, held a hearing to examine preventing fraud in child care assistance programs.