Last Week in Congress (7/20–7/24/26)
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 Congress introduced a number of bills directly responding to administrative actions.
· Department of Education reorganization: As signaled earlier this month, the House Education and Welfare Committee is responding to the latest round of interagency agreements. Chairman Cassidy (R-LA) introduced a bill that would prohibit the transfer of the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services from the Department of Education to the Department of Health and Human Services, while leaving the door open to a transfer to the Department of Labor. Senator Kaine (D-VA) introduced a bipartisan bill that would prohibit the transfer of a number of offices outside of the Department of Education.
· Accreditation reform: With a proposed regulatory overhaul expected to drop within the next week, Congress introduced a number of bills addressing institutions’ ability to change accreditors and broader reforms to accreditation standards.
· Immigration and education: Several bills respond to the impact of immigration enforcement on children and schools, including legislation to protect children in immigration custody, establish an Ombudsperson for Immigrant Children, and create grant programs to help schools support students, families, and staff affected by immigration enforcement actions.
The House also passed the massive National Defense Authorization Act, which contains numerous education-related provisions, including expanded tuition assistance for military academies, increased STEM investments, enhanced oversight of foreign influence in higher education, support for JROTC/ROTC partnerships, infrastructure improvements for military-connected schools, and a prohibition on participation by transgender girls on girls’ sports teams at military-connected schools. The bill, as passed, also incorporates the SAVE America Act, which would require individuals to provide documentary proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote, and to require photo identification to vote, in federal elections.
· H.R. 9796 (Bonamici, D-OR), the Supporting Grandfamilies Act of 2026, to amend the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 to reestablish the National Technical Assistance Center on Grandfamilies and Kinship Families (Education and Workforce; Financial Services; Judiciary; Energy and Commerce).
· H.R. 9805 (Kamlager-Dove, D-CA), to provide protections for children in immigration custody (Judiciary; Homeland Security).
· HHH.R. 9824 (Bonamici, D-OR), to provide supplemental appropriations for certain programs of the Administration for Children and Families (Appropriations; Judiciary; Homeland Security).
· H.R. 9837 (Brown, D-OH), the Grants for Eliminating the Toxic Hazard of Environmental Lead in Our Towns (GET THE LEAD OUT) Act of 2026, to eliminate lead-based pipe and tap hazards in housing (Energy and Commerce; Financial Services; Ways and Means).
· H.R. 9839 (Carey, R-OH), to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a grant program to, through subgrants to eligible entities, improve certain impacts of participation in programs related to physical activity or youth sports and increase access to youth sports (Education and Workforce; Energy and Commerce).
· H.R. 9853 (García, D-IL), to establish a grant program to support students, families, and school personnel impacted by immigration enforcement actions to ensure that schools remain safe, trauma-informed learning environments (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 9881 (Takano, D-CA), to modify the procedure for an institution of higher education to change the institution’s primary accrediting agency or association (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 9896 (Beatty, D-OH), to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to include certain licensure, certification, and aviation training costs in the determination of the cost of attendance of a student (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 9907 (Haridopolos, R-FL), to enable the Department of Labor to promote the necessity of artificial intelligence to safeguard the welfare and job security of apprentices (Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 9918 (Matsui, D-CA), to direct the Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to establish a School Cybersecurity Improvement Program (Homeland Security; Education and Workforce).
· H.R. 9930 (Pettersen, D-CO), to require the Secretary of Defense to report on the implementation of the redesign of the compensation model of the child development program of the Department of Defense (Armed Services).
· H.R. 9935 (Stansbury, D-NM), to improve the Indian School Equalization Formula of the Bureau of Indian Education (Education and Workforce).
· S. 5037 (Kim, D-NJ), to amend title XIX of the Social Security Act to make all children eligible for Medicaid from birth until age 26, and to require States to automatically enroll children and young adults under age 26 in the State Medicaid program (Finance).
· S. 5038 (Cassidy, R-LA), , the Special Education Administration Protection Act, to prohibit the transfer of the functions of the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services to the Department of Health and Human Services (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions).
· S. 5046 (Kaine, D-VA), to prohibit the transfer of certain offices and functions of the Department of Education to other Federal agencies (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions).
· S. 5050 (Blunt Rochester, D-DE), to support an interdisciplinary research community for the advancement of artificial intelligence and AI-powered innovation through partnerships and capacity building at certain institutions of higher education and other institutions (Commerce, Science, and Transportation).
· S. 5053 (Warren, D-MA), to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide for accreditation reform (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions).
· S. 5064 (Schiff, D-CA), to modify the procedure for an institution of higher education to change the institution’s primary accrediting agency or association (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions).
· S. 5071 (Merkley, D-OR), to provide protections for children in immigration custody (Judiciary).
· S. 5077 (Bennet, D-CO), to authorize workforce development innovation grants for the implementation, expansion, and evaluation of evidence-based workforce programs (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions).
· S. 5090 (Kim, D-NJ), to require operating system providers to require users to indicate their age and developers of applications, covered internet website operators, and browser providers to request a signal from operating system providers that indicates a user's age (Commerce, Science, and Transportation).
· S. 5093 (Gillibrand, D-NY), to establish the Office of the Ombudsperson for Immigrant Children in Immigration Custody (Judiciary).
· S. 5098 (Blackburn, R-TN), to direct the Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to establish a K-12 Cybersecurity Technology Improvement Program (Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs).
· S. 5110 (Cruz, R-TX), to add requirements for certain literacy activities carried out under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions).
· S. 5116 (Young, R-IN), to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require the standards for accreditation of an institution of higher education to assess the institution’s adoption of admissions practices that refrain from preferential treatment in admissions based on an applicant’s relationship to alumni of, or donors to, the institution, and to authorize a feasibility study on data collection (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions).
· S. 5128 (Lee, R-UT), to prohibit the award of Federal education funds to educational institutions and agencies that do not allow for religious exemptions to vaccination requirements (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions).
· On July 20, the House Committee on Rules held a full committee hearing on a number of bills, including H.R. 9770, the “Continuing Appropriations Act, 2027” which would, in the event that appropriations measures are not enacted by September 30, 2026, continue current levels of funding through December 4, 2026. The bill was reported to the full House.
· On July 21, the House Committee on Education and Workforce held a full committee markup on a number of bills, including H.R. 8781, the “Title IX Clarification Act of 2026”; H.R. 4986, the “Parents Opt-in Protection Act''; H.R. 8747, the “K–12 AI Literacy and Readiness Act of 2026”; H.R. 8183, the “Modernizing Access to Talents, Credentials, and Hiring (MATCH) Act of 2026”; H.R. 9723, the “Fit Future Act”; and H.R. 8775, the “Ending Predator Access to Union Power Act”.
· On July 21, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency, held a hearing entitled “Rewriting American History: Examining the Smithsonian’s Efforts to Reshape the Past.”
· On July 22, the Committee on House Administration held a full committee hearing entitled “Oversight of the Smithsonian: Radial Revisionism at the National Museum of American History.”
· On July 22, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Task Force on Defending Constitutional Rights and Exposing Institutional Abuses, held a hearing entitled “The Future of DEI in Law School Accreditation and the Legal Profession.”
· On July 22, the House Committee on Ways and Means held a full committee markup on a number of bills, including: H.R. 9772, the “Foreign Funding Transparency Act”; H.R. 9721, the “Fiscal Sponsorship Transparency Act of 2026”; and H.R. 9722, the “Fair Treatment of Religious Organizations Act of 2026.”
· On July 23, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee reported a number of bills, including S. 332, to require a study on Holocaust education efforts of States, local educational agencies, and public elementary and secondary schools; S. 2273, to amend the Act of July 10, 1890, to modify certain provisions relating to the disposal of public land in the State of Wyoming for educational purposes; and S. 3878, to establish the Grand Village of the Natchez Indians and Jefferson College as affiliated areas of the National Park System.
· On January 23, Ranking Member Scott (D-VA) of the House Education and Workforce Committee, hosted an event on changes to the student loan program as a result of P.L. 119-21, entitled “Education in the Crosshairs, Part III: What Dismantling the Department of Education Means for Students in terms of student loans.”
· On July 21, the House passed, by a vote of 220 Yeas to 205 Nays, H.R. 9770, the “Continuing Appropriations Act, 2027”. The bill was received in the Senate on July 22.
· On July 21-22, the House considered H.R. 8800, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2027 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year. Among the amendments adopted were: Mace amendment No. 20, prohibiting transgender female students from participating in female sports at Department of Defense Education Activity schools; Bergman amendment No. 61, allowing for tuition assistance to be used to pay for institution fees and allowing the Secretary of Defense to increase the per-semester-hour cap to $350; Boebert amendment No. 69, requiring the Department of Defense to report on institutions of higher education that have received Defense funding and hosted a Confucius Institute; Cammack amendment No. 86, requiring the Secretary of Defense to prioritize partnerships with institutions of higher education conducting research in hypersonics, biotechnology, and artificial intelligence when carrying out research, development, test, and evaluation activities, and to report to Congress on existing partnerships with institutions conducting research in these priority areas; Crane amendment No. 110, requiring the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Secretary of Education, to submit a report and briefing to Congress on opportunities to strengthen military recruitment, readiness, and end strength through educational partnerships, including JROTC and ROTC programs; Escobar amendment No. 128, requiring the Department of Defense to update and standardize pay scales, recruitment metrics, and retention evaluation processes for JROTC instructors as well as collect consistent service-wide data and assess whether the new standardized pay system is improving instructor recruitment and retention; Fine amendment No. 132, requiring the disclosure of foreign gifts over $50,000 made to military colleges and establishing enforcement mechanisms for non-compliance; Gottheimer amendment No. 149, to increase funding for the National Defense Education Program by $5 million for STEM education and workforce initiatives targeting military students; Gottheimer amendment No. 149, increasing funding for the Department of Defense SkillBridge program by $5 million; Moran amendment No. 207, prohibiting any FY27 Defense funds from going to any K-12 schools with a Confucius Institute or classroom; Pfluger amendment No. 237, requiring the Superintendent of the United States Air Force Academy to submit a report containing a strategy to improve academic outcomes at the Academy; Van Orden amendment No. 305, authorizing the Department of War to procure emergency response maps for Defense Dependent Schools to ensure compatibility with public safety systems in the event of an emergency; and Vasquez amendment No. 306, directing the Secretary of Defense to invite the first 90 schools on the 2018 Public Schools on Military Installations Priority List to be eligible to submit requests for competitive grants awarded under the program for renovations, repairs, or expansions of their facilities. Among the amendments not adopted were: Boebert amendment No. 2, striking section 521 and replacing it with a prohibition on foreign nationals attending the United States Military Academies; and McDowell amendment No. 26, that sought to authorize the Secretary of Defense to establish a school choice pilot program for members of the Armed Forces. Under the rule governing House consideration of the bill, the House automatically amended H.R. 880 to include the text of other bills), the House automatically amended H.R. 8800 to include the text of S. 1383, the "Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act" (or the "SAVE America Act"), as previously passed by the House, to require individuals to provide documentary proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote, and to require photo identification to vote, in federal elections. The House passed the bill on July 22 by a vote of 216 yeas to 212 nays.
· On July 23, the Senate began consideration of a motion to proceed to consideration of H.R. 5334, to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow early childhood educators to take the educator expense deduction.