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Jerry B. Crabtree, Heidi Fought (Ohio ED), Past President Neil Sheradin (Michigan Ed), and NATaT President Dave Sanko (PA ED)

NATaT Weekly Legislative Report

February 9, 2026

Congressional Outlook

The House and Senate are back in session this week, with just three days remaining to prevent a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) partial government shutdown; the current continuing resolution (CR) for DHS enacted on February 3 expires at 11:59pm ET on Friday, February 13. Even with the time crunch, lawmakers have made little progress toward funding the agency before Friday's deadline. Last Wednesday, House and Senate Democratic leadership introduced new proposed requirements to restrict Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) activities in return for their votes on a full-year Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 DHS spending bill, leaving Democrats more firmly entrenched in their positions. The ten DHS-related demands from Democrats focus on two main categories: restriction to operations & transparency and accountability. Due to the impasse, the heightened concern of a partial government shutdown is growing amongst Senators. Republicans are working with the Trump administration to solidify messaging and negotiation positions around the Democrats’ ten requests amid Democratic leadership feeling pressure from their rank-and-file members to deliver overhauls to ICE and CBP or force a shutdown of DHS until demands are met. A shutdown of DHS beginning Feb. 14 would also impact the workforce and activities of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency (CISA), Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and U.S. Coast Guard. Another short-term CR for DHS past Feb. 13 may be considered later this week if serious progress is made between the Trump administration and Democrats on a deal regarding reforms to ICE and CBP activities.

In addition to action on a final FY26 DHS spending bill, Congress is considering another controversial issue this week. The House will vote as early as Wednesday on the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act (House Amendment to S. 1383), a bill requiring individuals to provide documentary proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections. The legislation has garnered support from President Donald Trump, who is pushing for Congress to swiftly pass the bill. Voting rights groups have shared strong opposition to the SAVE Act, citing that its passage would disenfranchise as many as 21 million voters.

On Monday evening, the House passed, by a vote of 390-9, the Housing for the 21^st Century Act (H.R. 6644). The comprehensive package seeks to address the U.S. housing affordability crisis and expand access to homeownership. The legislation contains measures to update local development and rural housing initiatives, increase the availability of manufactured and affordable housing options, safeguard borrowers and participants in federal housing programs, and strengthen supervision of housing providers. The action is Congress’ second attempt to pass sweeping housing legislation, as lawmakers failed to get a bill across the finish line at the end of the first session of the 119^th Congress, through inclusion in the FY26 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) as a legislative vehicle. After the Senate passed its own housing legislation in October 2025, the ROAD to Housing Act, the two chambers will need to negotiate a final package later this year. House Financial Services Committee Chair French Hill (R-AR) told reporters on Monday that he expected the House and Senate to negotiate a final agreement on housing “over the spring.”

House Democrats are likely to force a vote as early as Wednesday on privileged resolutions to end the legal authority President Trump is using for tariffs on Canada (H.J. Res. 72) and Mexico (H.J. Res. 73), according to multiple sources familiar with the plans. The ban on House members from bringing tariff disapproval resolutions to the House floor (per an adopted House rule in 2025) expired on January 30. House Republican leadership is attempting to pass a new rule on Tuesday evening that includes language to extend the ban on bringing tariff disapproval resolutions from February 10 through July 31, 2026. At least three House Republicans, Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY), Kevin Kiley (R-CA), and Don Bacon (R-NE), have all publicly said they were likely to oppose the rule over the extension of the ban.

The House will be in session through Thursday and is scheduled to advance seven bills under suspension of the rules, including the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) Improvement Act of 2025 (H.R. 3682), which requires the FSOC, prior to determining that a U.S. nonbank financial company shall be supervised by the Federal Reserve Board, to first determine that certain alternative actions would not mitigate the threat the company may pose to U.S. financial stability; the PROTECT Taiwan Act (H.R. 1531), which requires certain federal entities to seek to exclude China from six international financial organizations if the President informs Congress that China's actions threaten Taiwan and pose a danger to U.S. interests; and the $2.50 for America’s 250^th Act (H.R. 5616), which requires the minting of $2.50 coins to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The House will also consider four bills pursuant to a rule, including the SAVE Act, which requires individuals to provide documentary proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections; the Undersea Cable Protection Act (H.R. 261), which prohibits the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) from requiring additional permits, including special use permits, for installing or maintaining previously approved undersea fiber optic cables in national marine sanctuaries and also repeals language barring activities approved under a special use permit from destroying or damaging national marine sanctuary resources; the Law-Enforcement Innovate to De-Escalate Act (H.R. 2189), which removes less-than-lethal projectile devices (e.g., certain TASERs) from regulation under the Gun Control Act; and the Securing America’s Critical Minerals Supply Act (H.R. 3617), which requires the Department of Energy (DOE) to conduct assessments of the U.S. supply of critical energy resources, including fuel materials.

The House will hold numerous committee hearings and markups over the course of the week, including a Homeland Security Committee hearing for Oversight of the Department of Homeland Security: ICE, CBP, and USCIS; a Financial Services Committee hearing titled Priced Out of the American Dream: Understanding the Policies Behind Rising Costs of Housing and Borrowing; a Natural Resources Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations hearing for All in for America250: Public-Private Partnerships Supporting America’s Semiquincentennial on our Public Lands; a House Administration Committee hearing on Make Elections Great Again: How to Restore Trust and Integrity in Federal Elections; an Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade markup of 12 bills, mainly geared toward driver safety; a Financial Services Committee hearing on Building a Solid Foundation: Restoring Trust and Transparency in Public Housing Agencies; an Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency hearing on Doing More with Less: Deleting Duplicative Programs; an Appropriations Subcommittee on Department of Homeland Security oversight hearing on Potential DHS Shutdown Impacts; an Education and the Workforce Subcommittee on Workforce Protections hearing on Building an AI-Ready America: Safer Workplaces Through Smarter Technology; an Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health hearing on Lowering Health Care Costs for All Americans: An Examination of the Prescription Drug Supply Chain; and an Education and Workforce Committee hearing on Work, Dignity, and Choice in Disability Employment.

The Senate is scheduled to be in session through Thursday, and will vote on the nomination of Daniel Burrows to be Assistant Attorney General for Legal Policy and a disapproval resolution (S.J. Res. 95) to nullify a July 2025 proposed rule from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) relating to “Interim Guidance Simplifying Application of the Corporate Alternative Minimum Tax to Partnerships.” Throughout the remainder of the week, the chamber may vote on additional executive nominations. The chamber will hold numerous committee hearings and markups Tuesday through Thursday, including an Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies hearing to review of broadband deployment funding at the Department of Commerce; a Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee hearing to examine media ownership in the digital age; a Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Disaster Management, District of Columbia, and Census hearing to examine fraud and foreign influence in state and federal programs; a Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee markup of 8 bills, including the MAP for Broadband Funding Act (S.2585) to improve the Broadband Funding Map in order to promote the most efficient use of Federal funds for broadband deployment; a Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing to examine preventing fraud in child care assistance programs; and a Finance Committee hearing to examine the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, focusing on evaluating North American competitiveness.