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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 2, 2026

Congressional Outlook

Congress is back in session this week after failing to avoid a partial federal government shutdown beginning Saturday morning. Today marks Day Three of the partial shutdown. Lawmakers in the House return to Washington, D.C. this week to consider legislation altered by the Senate, though attempts to quickly pass the Senate-passed proposal and end the partial government shutdown is taking longer than anticipated.

Last Friday, the Senate voted to remove the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spending bill from the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026 (H.R. 7148), a spending bill that had already passed in the House on January 22 and included the six remaining FY26 spending bills still yet to be enacted into law. This action followed the fatal shooting on Jan. 24 of a Minneapolis man by federal immigration agents. The Senate’s new plan included passage of the full-year FY26 Defense, Financial Services-General Government, Labor-HHS-Education, National Security-State, and Transportation-HUD spending bills (providing funding to covered departments and agencies through September 30, 2026) and a two-week continuing resolution (CR) of the DHS spending bill (temporarily funding DHS through Friday, February 13). Given the Senate-passed package is different from what the House originally passed last month, it requires a new and final vote in the House before being sent to the president to be signed into law. As a result, the current partial government shutdown began on Jan. 31 for the federal departments and agencies covered by the six FY26 spending bills previously mentioned

Action now turns to the lower chamber as Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-La.) hopes to quickly end the partial government shutdown as early as Tuesday. The prospect of a quick end seems in trouble as House Democrats are fractured on whether or not to support the legislation over the inclusion of the two-week CR for DHS. Added to the uncertainty, House Republicans currently have a slim majority to navigate passage of the package and the margin will only get tighter beginning Monday, following the special election win over the weekend of Texas Democrat Christian Menefee to replace the late Rep. Sylvester Turner of Texas’s 18^th Congressional District. Once Menefee is sworn-in, House Democrats will have 214 seats, while House Republicans will continue to have 218 seats.

The deal to include a two-week DHS CR in the larger FY26 spending package agreed to between Senate Democratic leadership and President Donald Trump was not one supported by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.). Today, Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), Ranking Member of the Committee on Homeland Security, shared a Dear Colleague letter calling for all House Democrats to oppose the CR extending DHS funding. In contrast, on a private House Democratic caucus call, former leaders and respected figures in the House, Reps. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) and Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), are advocating for passage of the funding package. Added to the timing and potential issue of passing the legislation is the push from Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) to include the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act (H.R. 22), a new voter ID bill, which requires individuals to provide documentary proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections. Without the inclusion of the SAVE Act, Luna and other conservatives could vote against the package. Ultimately, Speaker Johnson has an uphill battle to advance the bill from the Rules Committee Monday evening, ahead of a House floor vote on Tuesday.

The House will be in session through Thursday and is set to advance six bills under suspension of the rules, including the Medal of Sacrifice Act (H.R. 3497), which establishes a Presidential Medal of Sacrifice to be awarded to police officers and first responders killed in the line of duty; the Veterans Education and Technical Skills (VETS) Opportunity Act of 2025 (H.R. 1458), which modifies the administration and eligibility of Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA) educational benefits and programs; the Veterans Readiness and Employment Improvement Act of 2025 (H.R. 980), which removes the requirement that educational and vocational counseling services provided by the VA on campus at institutions of higher learning must be provided by VA counselors; and the Ernest Peltz Accrued Veterans Benefits Act (H.R. 3123), which establishes procedures for the VA to issue a pension that was due but unpaid at the time of a veteran’s death. The chamber is also set to consider four bills pursuant to a rule, including the Critical Mineral Dominance Act (H.R. 4090), which directs the Department of the Interior to address mineral supply chain vulnerabilities, including by accelerating and expanding mineral production on federal land; and two resolutions holding former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with subpoenas to testify about their connections with Jeffrey Epstein.

The House will also hold numerous committee hearings and markups through Wednesday, including Education and the Workforce Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions hearing on Building an AI-Ready America: Adopting AI at Work; an Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy hearing on Oversight of FERC: Advancing Affordable and Reliable Energy for All Americans; an Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations hearing on Examining Fraud in Medicare and Medicaid; an Oversight and Government Reform markup of 12 bills; an Education and the Workforce Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development hearing on Runaway College Spending Meets the Working Families Tax Cuts; a Natural Resources Subcommittee on Federal Lands hearing on Fix Our Forests: The Need for Urgent Action One Year After the L.A. Wildfires; and a Financial Services Committee hearing for The Annual Report of the Financial Stability Oversight Council.

The Senate will come into session Monday evening and is expected to vote on a cloture motion for the nomination of David Clay Fowlkes to be U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Arkansas. The Senate is also expected to vote on the nominations of Jon Ganjei to be a U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Texas and Aaron Christian Peterson to be a U.S. District Judge for the District of Alaska. The chamber will also hold numerous hearings and markups through Thursday, including a Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing to examine modernizing the National Institutes of Health, focusing on faster discoveries and more cures; a Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee business meeting to consider 8 bills—including S.3700, which would establish a panel to make recommendations for an agency-wide safety management system at the Federal Aviation Administration—and five nominations; an Environment and Public Works Committee hearing to examine identifying and addressing cybersecurity challenges to protect America's water infrastructure; a Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee hearing to examine the future of self-driving cars; a Judiciary Committee hearing to examine fighting fraud in Minnesota and beyond; and a Judiciary Committee business meeting to consider 3 bills—including the GUARD Act (S.2544), which permits State, local, and Tribal law enforcement agencies and grantees that receive eligible Federal grant funds to use such funds for investigating financial fraud and to clarify that Federal law enforcement agencies may assist State, local, and Tribal law enforcement agencies in the use of tracing tools for blockchain and related technology—and 3 U.S. Attorney nominations.