Last Week in Congress (6/22–6/26/26)
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.
On June 25, Representative Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), along with 16 cosponsors, introduced H.Res. 1391, to Impeach Linda M. McMahon, Secretary of Education, for high crimes and misdemeanors. Specifically, the resolution finds that Secretary McMahon: (1) violated federal law by illegally transferring the operations of six offices under the Department of Education to other Federal agencies, fundamentally obstructing the ability of the Department to conduct statutory oversight and disperse Congressionally-appropriated funds; (2) knowingly and willfully made materially false statements during testimony before the United States Senate during hearings on February 13, 2025; (3) has breached the public trust by terminating approximately 2,000 employees at the Department, resulting in delayed disbursement of federal education funds.
· H.R. 9399 (Casten, D-IL), the Juvenile Firearms Safety Act of 2026, to amend title 18, United States Code, to provide for criminal penalties for a person who provides fire arms to juveniles if such firearms are used for the commission of a criminal offense (Judiciary).
· H.R. 9401 (Cohen, D-TN), to prohibit discrimination against individuals with disabilities who need long-term services and supports (Energy and Commerce; Judiciary).
· H.R. 9410 (Mackenzie, R-PA), the VA Education Oversight Improvement Act, to amend title 38, United States Code, to provide additional authorities to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and State Approving Agencies with respect to third-party contractors of educational institutions (Veterans’ Affairs).
· H.R. 9414 (Pocan, D-WI), the Pell Grant Preservation and Expansion Act of 2026, to improve the structure of the Federal Pell Grant Program (Education and Workforce; Budget).
· H.R. 9420 (Bera, D-CA), to provide for the establishment of an education program to expand abortion care training and access (Energy and Commerce).
· H.R. 9426 (Figures, D-AL), the Affordable Youth Enrichment Opportunities Act, to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to establish a deduction for qualified youth program expenditures (Ways and Means).
· H.R. 9438 (Liccardo, D-CA), the Supporting Knowledge through Industry-Led Learning (SKILL) Act, to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide a credit for businesses that contribute to educational and workforce training consortia programs (Ways and Means).
· H.R. 9463 (Foster, D-IL), to establish the National Fab Lab Network, a nonprofit organization consisting of a national network of local digital fabrication facilities providing universal access to advanced manufacturing tools for workforce development, STEM education, developing inventions, creating businesses, producing personalized products, and mitigating risks (Energy and Commerce; Science, Space, and Technology).
· H.R. 9467 (Hayes, D-CT), to strengthen and expand the Green Ribbon Schools Program at the Department of Education by boosting the capacity of participating States to expand the number of schools, applicants, and nominees engaged around environmental, environmental literacy, and environmental health goals (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 9469 (Houchin, R-IN), to provide a consumer protection framework necessary to support the growth of outcomes-based student financing tools to support workforce training postsecondary education and economic development (Financial Services; Ways and Means; Education and Workforce; Judiciary).
· H.R. 9474 (McDonald Rivet, D-MI), to amend the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to establish the Local Foods for Healthy Schools Program (Agriculture).
· H.R. 9475 (McGarvey, D-KY), to establish the National Task Force on Caregiving Youth (Veterans’ Affairs; Armed Services).
· H.R. 9485 (Suozzi, D-NY), to support modernization of the John H. Chafee Foster Care Program for Successful Transition to Adulthood to better meet the needs of older youth who experienced foster care (Ways and Means).
· S. 4847 (Murphy, D-CT), the Summer for All Act, to establish a Summer for All program through summer enrichment expansion grants and summer programming State grants (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions).
· S. 4854 (Grassley, R-IA), 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 (Finance).
· S. 4855 (Curtis, R-UT), the Safeguarding AI Features to Ensure Kids’ Informed Digital Safety (SAFE KIDS) Act, to require providers of certain artificial intelligence systems to implement child safety by design, parental settings, and independent audits, to prohibit child targeted advertising and the sale or sharing of children’s personal information (Commerce, Science, and Transportation).
· S. 4859 (Hirono, D-HI), the Pell Grant Preservation and Expansion Act of 2026, to improve the structure of the Federal Pell Grant program (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions).
· S. 4864 (Markey, D-MA), the Providing Understanding of Paraprofessionals in Learning (PUPIL) Act, to direct a study on paraprofessionals and education support staff (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions).
· S. 4865 (Bennet, D-CO), to prohibit discrimination against individuals with disabilities who need long-term services and supports (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions).
· S. 4869 (Heinrich, D-NM), to improve the Indian School Equalization Formula of the Bureau of Indian Education (Indian Affairs).
· S. 4872 (Bennet, D-CO), to help local educational agencies reduce chronic absenteeism and create safe learning environments in public elementary schools and secondary schools (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions).
· S. 4878 (Baldwin, D-WI), to provide for the establishment of an education program to expand abortion care training and access (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions).
· S. 4896 (Klobuchar, D-MN), to amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to establish the child care innovation nutrition pilot program (Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry).
· S. 4897 (Klobuchar, D-MN), to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to include in the calculation of cost of attendance an allowance for costs for prior learning assessments (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions).
· S. 4907 (Moody, R-FL), to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to increase the excise tax on investment income of private colleges and universities to provide greater funding to career and technical education (Finance).
· S. 4914 (Booker, D-NJ), to strengthen and expand the Green Ribbon Schools Program at the Department of Education by boosting the capacity of participating States to expand the number of schools, applicants, and nominees engaged around environmental, environmental literacy, and environmental health goals (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions).
· S. 4918 (Shaheen, D-NH), to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide incentives for students to earn child care-related degrees and to work in child care facilities (Finance).
· S. 4925 (Banks, R-IN), to amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Ac of 1965 to prohibit the use of funds provided under such Act to develop, implement, facilitate, host, or promote any program or activity for, or to provide or promote literature or other materials to, children under the age of 18 that includes sexually oriented material (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions).
· S. 4943 (Young, R-IN), to provide a consumer protection framework necessary to support the growth of outcomes-based student financing tools to support workforce training, postsecondary education, and economic development (Finance).
· On June 24, the House Committee on Education and Workforce, Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development, held a hearing entitled “Workforce Rewired: Modern Apprenticeships for a Modern Economy.”
· On June 24, the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight, held a hearing entitled “Safeguarding Federal Research Funds: The False Claims Act’s Role in Combating Grant Fraud.”
· On June 25, the House Committee on Education and Workforce held a markup on H.R. 8476, the “No Antisemitism in Education Act of 2026”; H.R. 4795, the “Protect Economic and Academic Freedom Act of 2025”; H.R. 9203, the “Student Protection and University Accountability Act”; H.R. 2555, the “Freedom of Association in Higher Education Act of 2025”; H.R. 5505, the “Equal Campus Access Act of 2025”; H.R. 9381, the “AI Workforce Assessment and Research Enhancement (AWARE) Act”, and others related to health care access. The bills were ordered reported, as amended.
· On June 24, the Senate reported a number of bills, including S. 4668, the Protect College Sports Act of 2026, to protect the name, image, and likeness rights of, and provide protections for, student athletes and to promote fair competition among intercollegiate athletics.
· On June 14, in legislative session, the Senate did not agree (45 yeas to 52 nays) to a motion to proceed to consideration of S.J. Res. 196 “Reimagining and Improving Student Education – Federal Student Loan Program Final Regulations.”