Last Week in Congress (4/27–5/1/26)
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 in Washington was a wild one. While Congress was audience to King Charles’ diplomatic disappointed dad speech, the Senate Appropriations Committee hosted Secretary McMahon to discuss the President’s FY2027 Budget Proposal. Secretary McMahon, facing bipartisan skepticism, defended her vision of educational renewal and returning education to the states. Senators pressed her on the lack of analysis conducted before cutting half of the Department’s staff, the backlog of cases in OCR, and proposals to move the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services out of the Department. She also faced questions about the elimination and overhaul of major student programs, including TRIO and GEAR UP. The House Appropriations Committee is scheduled to hold a markup of their FY2027 budget for Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies on June 5 (Subcommittee) and June 9 (Full Committee); the Chair and Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Committee released General Guidance on appropriations requests, and aims to complete markup of all 12 spending bills by the end of June.
· H.R. 8498 (Chu, D-CA), the Increasing Access to Foster Care Through Age 21 Act, to provide an incentive for States to extend child welfare and support and services for youth through 21 years of age, and to allow youth to re-enter foster care after attaining 18 years of age, both without regard to the AFDC eligibility of their parents or legal guardians (Ways and Means).
· H.R. 8499 (De La Cruz, R-TX), to require that opioid overdose rescue kits be located at public institutions of higher education (Education and Workforce; Energy and Commerce).
· H.R. 8501 (Evans, D-PA), to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow rehabilitation expenditures for public school buildings to qualify for rehabilitation credit (Ways and Means).
· H.R. 8506 (Fleischmann, R-TN), to establish a grant program to improve school security, including by training and hiring veterans and former law enforcement officers and former law enforcement officers as school safety officers (Education and Workforce; Judiciary).
· H.R. 8517 (Magaziner, D-RI), to develop career and technical education programs of study and facilities in the areas of renewable energy (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 8518 (Magaziner, D-RI), to provide for the discharge of a parent borrower liability if a student on whose behalf a parent has received student loans becomes disabled (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 8559 (Stefanik, R-NY), to amend the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 to prohibit certain institutions of higher education from receiving research and development awards (Science, Space, and Technology).
· H.R. 8566 (Bacon, R-NE), to encourage the development of specialized foster care programs designed specifically for larger sibling groups, sibling groups with a wide age range, and sibling groups with complex needs (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 8573 (Harshbarger, R-TN), to prohibit gender transition procedures on minors, to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to impose civil penalties on persons who perform gender transition procedures on minors (Energy and Commerce; Judiciary).
· H.R. 8577 (Krishnamoorthi, D-IL), to provide for a procedure for Congress to carry out a reversal of a decision by the President not to declare a major disaster request by the Governor of a State under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (Transportation and Infrastructure; Rules).
· H.R. 8590 (Strickland, D-WA), to clarify the eligibility of certain student populations for child care assistance under the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 8606 (DeLauro, D-CT), to amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to ensure no funds made available under such Acts may be awarded to a charter school or charter management organization that enters into a contract with a for-profit entity for operating, overseeing, or managing the charter school (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 8614 (James, R-MI), the Safe Water in Schools Act of 2026, to amend the Safe Drinking Water Act with respect to lead contamination in school drinking water (Energy and Commerce).
· H.R. 8618 (Menefee, D-TX), the College Affordability and Accessibility Act, to increase the total maximum Federal Pell Grant and extend flexibility for eligibility (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 8620 (Menendez, D-NJ), to amend the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000 to establish a hotline for caregivers of individuals with developmental disabilities (Energy and Commerce).
· H.R. 8623 (Moore, R-UT), to require artificial intelligence chatbots to implement age verification measures and make certain disclosures (Judiciary; Energy and Commerce).
· H.R. 8624 (Moran, R-TX), to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide a credit against employer payroll taxes for wages and other expenses paid or incurred for apprenticeship programs (Ways and Means).
· H.R. 8636 (Sorensen, D-IL), to strengthen Federal data collection regarding the teacher and principal workforce (Education and Workforce).
· S. 4386 (Cassidy, R-LA), to establish an advisory committee regarding data standardization and integration for apprenticeships (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions).
· S. 4407 (Cruz, R-TX), to require the creation of family accounts for children to be able to use artificial intelligence chatbots, and to require verifiable parental consent for teens using artificial intelligence chatbots (Commerce, Science, and Transportation).
· S. 4409 (Banks, R-IN), to clarify the program standards registration process for registered apprenticeship programs (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions).
· S. 4414 (Schiff, D-CA), to improve educational efforts related to artificial intelligence literacy at the elementary school and secondary school level (Commerce, Science, and Transportation).
· S. 4415 (Grassley, R-IA), to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 regarding the use of TEACH grants (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions).
· S. 4423 (Scott, R-FL), to amend the Research and Development, Competition, and Innovation Act to require each institution of higher education to certify as part of an application for a research and development award that such institution does not operate certain branch campuses (Commerce, Science, and Transportation).
· S. 4424 (Scott, R-FL), to amend the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 to prohibit certain institutions of higher education from receiving research and development awards (Commerce, Science, and Transportation).
· S. 4426 (Marshall, R-KS), to prohibit gender transition procedures on minors, to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to impose civil penalties on persons who perform gender transition procedures on minors (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions).
· S. 4428 (Moody, R-FL), to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require the use of an identity fraud detection system in reviewing Free Applications for Federal Student Aid (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions).
· S. 4431 (Barrasso, R-WY), to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide for comprehensive student achievement information (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions).
· S. 4433 (Bennet, D-CO), to provide for a procedure for Congress to carry out a reversal of a decision by the President not to declare a major disaster requested by the Governor of a State under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs).
· S. 4435 (Cassidy, R-LA), to establish requirements for financial aid offers made by institutions of higher education (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions).
· S. 4449 (Durbin, D-IL), to strengthen Federal data collection regarding the teacher and principal workforce (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions).
· S. 4463 (Young, R-IN), to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide a credit against employer payroll taxes for wages and other expenses paid or incurred for apprenticeship programs (Finance).
· S. 4468 (Kaine, D-VA), to address behavioral health and well-being among education professionals and other school staff (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions).
· On April 27, the House Rules Committee held a hearing on, among other things, H.R. 2616, the “Stopping Indoctrination and Protecting Kids Act,” to require public elementary and middle schools, as a condition of receiving certain federal funds for elementary and secondary education, to obtain parental consent before changing a student’s gender on school forms or changing a student’s sex-based accommodations. The Committee granted, by a vote of 9-4, a rule providing that an amendment in the nature of a substitute consisting of the text of Rules Committee Print 119-26 shall be considered as adopted.
· On April 28, the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies, held hearings to examine the proposed budget estimates and justification for fiscal year 2027 for the Department of Education, and received testimony from Secretary McMahon.
· On April 28, Senator Sanders, Ranking Member of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, released a Minority Staff Report entitled “Justice Denied: How Trump’s Office for Civil Rights Reached a 12-Year Low in Protecting Students from Discrimination.”
· On April 28, the House Committee on Education and Workforce, Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education, held a hearing entitled “Leveling Down: How Equity Policies Undermine Excellence and Harm Students.”
· On April 29, the House Committee on Education and Workforce, Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development, held a hearing entitled “Speech or Silence? The Future of the First Amendment in Higher Education.”
· On April 29, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform held a hearing on a number of bills, including: H.R. 8428, the “Federal Fraud Prevention Workforce Training Act”; H.R. 8340, the “Taxpayer Funds Oversight and Accountability Act”; H.R. 8467, the “Zeroing Out Monetary Benefits Improperly Expended Act”; H.R. 8107, the “Government Audit and Accountability of Federally Funded State-Administered Programs Act”; H.R. 8312, the “Fraud Prevention and Accountability Act”; H.R. 8464, the “Stopping Fraudulent Payments Act”; and H.R. 8463, the “Pre-Payment Fraud Prevention and Treasury Data Access Act.”
· On April 29, the House Committee on Ways and Means held a markup on H.R. 7432, the “Foster Youth Housing Opportunity Act”; H.R. 7463, the “Foster Youth Postsecondary Education Access and Success Act”; H.R. 7343, the “Foster Youth Workforce Opportunity Act”; H.R. 7529, the “Fresh Starts for Foster Youth Act”; H.R. 7655, the “Support for Expectant and Parenting Foster Youth Act”; and H.R. 7995, the “Chafee Opportunities for New Networks and Existing Connection Trust Act.”
· On April 30, the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs held a hearing to examine a number of bills, including S. 3993, to amend title 38, United States Code, and title 10, United States Code, to eliminate those provisions relating to veterans educational assistance that disadvantage eligible individuals who choose to pursue programs of apprenticeship or other on-job training instead of a four-year college degree