Last Week in Congress (2/16–2/20/26)
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.
Congress was on recess last week, and did not meet outside of pro forma sessions. On February 19, Senators Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders (Ranking Member, Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions), Patty Murray (Vice Chair, Committee on Appropriations), and Tammy Baldwin (Ranking Member, Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies), sent a letter to Acting Comptroller General Orice Brown, calling on GAO to open investigation into the Department of Education’s use of Interagency Agreement to transfer grant programs to other federal agencies as part of the administration’s efforts to dismantle and abolish the Department without Congressional action. The Senators wrote: “We are deeply concerned that the administration’s efforts to [transfer] grant programs in this manner delayed crucial funding that millions of students and schools rely on, created administrative inefficiencies, increased the cost of program administration, and compromised the quality of technical assistance provided to states and grantees.”
· H.R. 7590 (DeSaulnier, D-CA), to promote minimum State requirements for the prevention and treatment of concussions caused by participation in school sports (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 7591 (Goldman, D-NY), to amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to require certain local educational agencies to distribute guidance to students, parents, and other local community members regarding firearm safety (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 7594 (LaHood, R-IL), to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to exclude certain post-graduation scholarship grants from gross income in the same manner as qualified scholarships to promote economic growth (Ways and Means).
· H.R. 7637 (Tlaib, D-MI), to amend the Head Start Act to improve the Act (Education and Workforce).