Last Week in Congress (4/13–4/17/26)
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.
Budget season has begun on the Hill. Last week, Budget and Appropriations committees in the House and Senate began to hear testimony from agency officials on the President’s FY2027 budget request; hearings continue this week. A budget hearing for the Department of Education has not been publicly announced, but the House will markup its own version of a funding bill for Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and related agencies on June 5 and June 9.
· H.R. 8250 (Gottheimer, D-NJ), the Parents Decide Act, to require operating system providers to verify the age of any user of an operating system (Energy and Commerce).
· H.R. 8263 (Hayes, D-CT), to establish an Educational Equity Challenge Grant program administered by the Department of Education (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 8264 (Hill, R-AR), to establish the Federal Clearinghouse on Grant Opportunities for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 8268 (McBride, D-DE), to support biotechnology education for secondary school students (Science, Space, and Technology)
· H.R. 8279 (Suozzi, D-NY), to expand the definition of institutions of higher education in the Higher Education Act of 1965 with respect to certain graduate medical schools located outside of the United States (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 8303 (Lee, D-PA), to authorize the Secretary of Education to award grants to revitalize schoolyards (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 8333 (Hayes, D-CT), to reauthorize the YouthBuild program (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 8351 (Ross, D-NC), to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to remove from a borrower’s credit history the record of default on a defaulted loan made, insured, or guaranteed under title IV of such Act upon repayment of the full amount due on such loan (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 8356 (Stevens, D-MI), to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require the removal of the record of default from credit history upon obtaining a Federal Direct Consolidation Loan that discharges the defaulted loan (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 8360 (Watson Coleman, D-NJ), to authorize the Secretary of Education, in collaboration with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, to establish an interagency advisory Commission on Advancing Restorative Justice in Elementary and Secondary Education (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 8361 (Williams, D-GA), to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to remove all adverse credit history related to a loan from the credit history of a borrower who has rehabilitated the loan (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 8362 (Wilson, D-FL), to amend sections 5314 and 5339 of title 49, United States Code, to allow for the use of a portion of grants available for buses and bus-related equipment and facilities to be used for workforce development and training (Transportation and Infrastructure).
· S. 4283 (Baldwin, D-WI), to amend the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize a public health and bio-preparedness workforce loan repayment program (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions).
· S. 4288 (Warren, D-MA), to establish an Educational Equity Challenge Grant program administered by the Department of Education (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions).
· S. 4297 (Kelly, D-AZ), to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to repeal the tax credit for contributions of individuals to scholarship granting organizations (Finance).
· S. 4314 (Daines, R-MT), to amend the John H. Chaffee Foster Care Program for Successful Transition to Adulthood to increase the maximum education and training voucher amount, provide greater support for foster youth pursuing postsecondary education, and expand education and workforce training opportunities for youth who have experienced foster care (Finance).
· S. 4321 (Markey, D-MA), to reauthorize the YouthBuild program (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions).
· S. 4328 (Moody, R-FL), 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 (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions).
· S. 4336 (Lee, R-UT), to amend the Pension Funding Equity Act of 2004 to repeal the antitrust exemption applicable to graduate medical resident matching programs (Judiciary).
· On April 15, the House Committee on the Budget held a full committee hearing entitled “The President’s Fiscal Year 2027 Budget Request.”
· On April 15, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform held a hearing entitled “Fraud Prevention: Understanding Fraud in Federally Funded Programs Run by the States.”
· On April 16, the House Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies, held a budget hearing on the Department of Health and Human Services.
· On April 16, the House Committee on Ways and Means held a hearing entitled “Hearing with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.”
· On April 16, the House Select Committee on Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party held a hearing entitled “China’s Campaign to Steal America’s AI Edge.”
· On April 16, the Senate Committee on the Budget held a hearing to examine the President’s fiscal year 2027 budget proposal.
· On April 16, the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies, held a budget hearing on the Department of Health and Human Services.
· On April 17, the House Committee on Education and Workforce held a hearing entitled “Examining the Policies and Priorities of the Department of Health and Human Services.”