Last Week in Congress (7/6–7/10/26)
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, Republican members of the House Education and Workforce Committee introduced the "Less Bureaucracy, Better Education" legislative package, a series of bills that would codify — and even expand — the administration's efforts to reorganize the Department of Education by transferring statutory responsibilities to other federal agencies and reducing the Department's role in administering federal education programs. While these bills are unlikely to become law, they provide an important roadmap for where Republican members are signaling to take federal education policy moving into the midterms. For states, school districts, institutions of higher education, accrediting agencies, and other education stakeholders, the proposals raise significant questions about program administration, agency expertise, regulatory authority, continuity of services, and implementation.
· H.R. 9602 (Baumgartner, R-WA), the Less Bureaucracy, Better International Foreign Gift Transparency Act (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 9603 (Wilson, R-SC), the Less Bureaucracy, Better International Education Oversight Act (Education and Workforce; Foreign Affairs).
· H.R. 9604 (Owens, R-UT), the Less Bureaucracy, Better Tribal Education Act (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 9605(Grothman, R-WI), Less Bureaucracy, Better Foreign Medical Accreditation Act (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 9606(Onder, R-MO), the Less Bureaucracy, Better Child Care for Student Parents Act (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 9607 (Walberg, R-MI), the Less Bureaucracy , Better Workforce Development Act (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 9608 (Miller, R-IL), the Less Bureaucracy, Better Family Engagement Act (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 9609 (Walberg, R-MI), the Less Bureaucracy, Better Student Aid Act (Education and Workforce; Energy and Commerce).
· H.R. 9610 (Harris, R-NC), the Less Bureaucracy, Better K-12 Education Act (Education and Workforce; Financial Services; Natural Resources; Oversight and Government Reform).
· H.R. 9611 (Harris, R-NC), the Less Bureaucracy, Better Higher Education Act (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 9628 (Hinson, R-IA), to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 regarding the use of TEACH grants (Education and Workforce).