01.12.2026 - DC Download
It’s a busy week in Washington. The clock is ticking for lawmakers to pass nine remaining spending bills before the January 30 funding deadline. In the Senate, a vote to curb the President’s actions in Venezuela will be closely watched as lawmakers confront the scope of the President’s military authority.
Read on for more of what is happening this week.
Progressive Playbook
Join the Progressive Caucus Action Fund for Voting Rights on the Verge: What Weakened Federal Protections Mean for You, a briefing on the state of the Voting Rights Act on Wednesday, January 22 at 3PM. Register here!
This virtual briefing will bring together community advocates, legal experts, and policy leaders to discuss recent developments impacting voting rights, including the implications of the Louisiana v. Callais case before the Supreme Court. In the wake of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, we will reflect on the unfinished work of the Voting Rights Act and what recent attacks mean for the future of federal voting rights protections.
We hope you'll join us for this timely and important conversation. Please feel free to share this invitation with colleagues and partners who may be interested. Register here!
House
House Floor
The House will vote on nine suspension bills from the Committees on Foreign Affairs, Judiciary, and Ways and Means. Suspension bills require a ⅔ majority to pass. For a list of all suspension bills being considered, click here.
This week the House will also consider the following bills, subject to a rule:
H.R. 2262 – Flexibility for Workers Education Act (Sponsored by Rep. Hinson / Education and Workforce Committee) This bill allows employers to hold voluntary after-hours, job-related trainings without compensating employees for attendance or participation.
H.R. 2270 – Empowering Employer Child and Elder Care Solutions Act (Sponsored by Rep. Messmer / Education and Workforce Committee) This bill allows employers to exclude the value of child and dependent care benefits when paying overtime to their employees.
H.R. 2312 – Tipped Employee Protection Act (Sponsored by Rep. Womack / Education and Workforce Committee) This bill expands the definition of a tipped employee, who can be paid a reduced minimum wage, to include any tipped employee who earns at least the federal minimum wage.
H.R. 2988 – Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act (Sponsored by Rep. Allen / Education and Workforce Committee) This bill requires private pension plan fiduciaries to prioritize achieving maximum returns for beneficiaries over environmental, social, and governance factors.
H.R. 4366 – Save Local Business Act (Sponsored by Rep. Comer / Education and Workforce Committee) This bill changes the definition of “joint employer” to exclude businesses that don’t directly hire, fire, supervise, or pay workers (i.e., franchise owners, contractors, vendors, or staffing agencies) from the definition, thus exempting those businesses from worker protection standards and restricting workers’ ability to bargain collectively.
H.R. 4593 – SHOWER Act (Sponsored by Rep. Fry / Energy and Commerce Committee) This bill requires regulators to use the industry-developed definition for a showerhead when enforcing federal water pressure requirements.
The House may also consider a two-bill spending package that provides funding for Financial Services-General Government and National Security-State FY26 appropriations bills.
House Committee Highlights
A full list of this week’s hearings and markups can be found here. Notable hearings and markups include:
Tuesday Hearings
Protecting America’s Energy Infrastructure in Today’s Cyber and Physical Threat Landscape (Committee on Energy and Commerce)
Defense through Offense: Examining U.S. Cyber Capabilities to Deter and Disrupt Malign Foreign Activity Targeting the Homeland (Committee on Homeland Security)
Delivering for American Consumers: A Review of FinTech Innovations and Regulations (Committee on Financial Services)
Drugs, Thugs, and Fish: Examining Coast Guard Law Enforcement Efforts (Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure)
Who's Watching the Kids? How Employers, Innovators, and Parents are Solving America's Child Care Crunch (Committee on Education and Workforce)
Curbing Federal Fraud: Examining Innovative Tools to Detect and Prevent Fraud in Federal Programs (Committee on Oversight and Government Reform)
Wednesday Hearings
Assessing America's AI Action Plan (Committee on Science, Space, and Technology)
Building an AI-Ready America (Education and Workforce)
Oversight of the Federal Communications Commission (Committee on Energy and Commerce)
Examining the Investigation into the DNC and RNC Pipe Bombs (Select Committee to Investigate the Remaining Questions Surrounding January 6, 2021)
Senate
Floor Action
The Senate is expected to vote on H.R.6938, Minibus Appropriations (Sponsored by Rep. Tom Cole/Appropriations Committee).
This legislative package funds Commerce-Justice-Science, Energy and Water, and Interior-Environment appropriations bills.
The Senate may also vote on final passage for S.J.Res. 98, A joint resolution to direct the removal of United States Armed Forces from hostilities within or against Venezuela that have not been authorized by Congress (Sponsored by Sen. Tim Kaine/Foreign Relations Committee).
This resolution prohibits the use of the U.S. Armed Forces to engage in hostilities within or against Venezuela unless authorized by Congress.
Nominations
The Senate this week has teed up final votes on the following nominee:
Lieutenant General Thomas Carden, Jr., to be Vice Chief of the National Guard Bureau
Senate Committee Highlights
Wednesday Hearings
Protecting Women: Exposing the Dangers of Chemical Abortion Drugs (Health, Education, Labor & Pensions)
Biden’s Afghan Parolee Program – A Trojan Horse with Flawed Vetting and Deadly Consequences (Judiciary)
Growing the Small Business Agricultural Economy (Small Business & Entrepreneurship)
Made in China, Paid by Seniors: Stopping the Surge of International Scams (Special Committee on Aging)
Thursday Hearings
Business Meeting to Consider Various Nominations (Judiciary)
Nominations Hearing (Armed Services)
Business Meeting to Consider Legislation (Health, Education, Labor & Pensions)
Plugged Out: Examining the Impact of Technology on America’s Youth (Commerce, Science & Transportation)
ISSUES TO WATCH
The Clock is Ticking on Government Funding
The January 30 deadline—when the current Continuing Resolution (CR) expires—is fast approaching, and Congress still hasn’t fully funded the government. So far, lawmakers have only passed three of the 12 annual appropriations bills needed for full-year funding. Last week, the House passed a bipartisan “minibus” package of another three spending bills that the Senate is expected to vote on this week. Six appropriations bills remain unfinished:
Defense (Defense)
Homeland Security (DHS)
Transportation and Housing & Urban Development (T-HUD)
Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (LHHS)
Treasury and other government agencies (Financial Services-General Government, or FSGG)
State and National Security-Related Programs (SFOPS)
The House is expected to vote on FSGG and SFOPs later this week. But the process for funding the Department of Homeland Security has complicated discussions, following last week’s fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good by an ICE agent in Minneapolis. Some Democratic lawmakers are adamant that Congress place stronger limits on ICE.
At the same time, lawmakers’ opposition to military action in Venezuela and elsewhere could hinder talks to fund the Pentagon, while concerns over the President’s recommendations to slash health and education programs could complicate negotiations over the Labor-HHS-Education bill. These rifts could become flashpoints as the January 30 deadline nears.
More on this:
Congressional Delay of SNAP Cost Shift Urgently Needed to Protect Food Assistance for Low-Income Families (CBPP)
Holding DHS Accountable for Lawlessness: A Toolkit for Members of Congress (National Immigration Law Center)
Marrying for health insurance? The ACA cost crisis forces some drastic choices (NPR)
Escalating U.S. Military Intervention
President Trump has renewed a push to acquire Greenland, arguing that the U.S. “needs” to take control of the Danish territory for the United States’ national security. Meanwhile, European leaders are warning that any U.S. military takeover of Greenland would be disastrous for the North American Treaty Organization (NATO), the military alliance that binds the U.S., Canada, and most of Europe. Greenlandic prime minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen has affirmed that NATO must preserve the territory’s security. U.S. and Danish officials are scheduled to meet this week for further discussion.
This announcement comes in the wake of U.S. military action in Venezuela, where American forces seized President Nicolás Maduro, drawing global condemnation from world leaders and many U.S. lawmakers alike. Last week, five GOP lawmakers joined Democratic Senators in pushing back against President Trump’s unilateral military actions and voted to move forward with a War Powers Resolution to limit the administration’s military engagement in Venezuela. The President has continued to suggest that future military action in Mexico, Colombia, and Cuba are also on the table—reinforcing a long-standing pattern of U.S. interventionism to extract political and economic acquiescence abroad.
More on this:
Trump’s territorial ambition: new imperialism or a case of the emperor’s new clothes? (Guardian)
What We’re Reading
Worker Protections in Freefall: The Collapse of Federal Labor Enforcement under the Second Trump Administration (Good Jobs First)
Labor Isn’t a Special Interest. It Promotes the Common Good (Jacobin)
U.S. to exit 66 international organizations in further retreat from global cooperation (NPR)
President Trump’s $1.5 Trillion Budget Proposal Must Be Rejected (Taxpayers for Common Sense)
'I feel free': Australia's social media ban, one month on (BBC)
KEY DATES
January 19: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
January 30: Partial Government Funding Expires
January 19 – 23: Senate Recess
January 26 – 30: House Recess