Last Week in Congress (1/26–1/30/26)
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.
Groundhog Day, D.C. edition. 🐿️
Once again, much of the federal government is shut down.
Amid ongoing uproar in Congress and nationwide over ICE, the Senate stripped long-term DHS funding from the consolidated spending bill (which includes funding for the Department of Education), opting instead for a two-week continuing resolution for DHS. The amended bill now heads back to the House.
The House Rules Committee will take it up this afternoon, with a full House vote expected tomorrow. While the White House has signaled support, the bill faces a tough reception in the House.
Lather, rinse, repeat
· H.R. 7242 (Bynum, D-OR), to amend the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act to train individuals in construction trades (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 7259 (Levin, D-CA), to amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to exclude certain military housing allowances from the calculation of household income (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 7262 (Mannion, D-NY), to authorize the Secretary of Education to make payments to State educational agencies to provide immediate services or assistance to local educational agencies and non-public schools that serve an area in which a major disaster or emergency has been declared (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 7279 (Bonamici, D-OR), to provide for a wage differential program to support new nursing school faculty members (Energy and Commerce).
· H.R. 7286 (Hageman, R-WY), to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to revoke the tax-exempt status of organizations that provide, or provide funding for, abortion (Ways and Means).
· S. 3707 (Durbin, D-IL), to provide for a wage differential program to support new nursing school faculty members (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions).
· S. 3747 (Moody, R-FL), to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to recognize students who have completed secondary school education in a home school setting as high school graduates (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions).
· On January 28, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions held a hearing to examine educational choice in America.
· On January 27, the Senate reported S. 836, to amend the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 to strengthen protections relating to the online collection, use, and disclosure of personal information of children and teens, with amendments.
· On January 27, the Senate began consideration of H.R. 7148, making further consolidated appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2026. Consideration of the motion to proceed for consideration continued through January 30, when the Senate passed the bill, by a vote of 71 yeas to 29 nays, with significant amendments around funding for the Department of Homeland Security.