06.01.2026 - DC Download

Jun 1

Congress left Washington before Memorial Day having kicked the can on a GOP reconciliation package amidst intra-party fights over the President’s slush fund for political allies. But Republicans’ legislative to-do list looks no easier now, with government surveillance fights about to resurface, more votes on ending the Iran war, and still no clear path to resolve the reconciliation quagmire.

Progressive Playbook

New reports offer new perspective on minimum wage

Raising workers’ wages is essential to tackling America’s affordability crisis. Congress last raised the federal minimum wage to $7.25 per hour in 2009. Nearly two decades of inaction at the federal level, coupled with skyrocketing costs, have made it impossible for minimum wage workers to achieve economic security.

New reports from the Economic Policy Institute and Roosevelt Institute lay out a path for Congress to work toward a living wage and prevent job losses. Check out their policy prescriptions:

Setting high standards for a federal minimum wage (Economic Policy Institute)
Federal Employment Standards as the Foundation of Economic Security: Revisiting Minimum Wage, Just Cause, and Tools to Combat Wage Theft (Roosevelt Institute)

House

House Floor

The House will vote on 15 suspension bills from the Committee on Natural Resources. 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. 7726 – Stop Child Care Scams Act of 2026 (Sponsored by Rep. Miller (IL) – Education and Workforce Committee) This bill would require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to impose penalties on states found to have violated the terms of the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG), up to and including disqualifying states from the program entirely. Under current law, such penalties may be imposed at the Secretary’s discretion. These types of broad penalties—even for technical errors, not just widespread fraud—could severely impede child care access.
More on this:
FFYF Briefing Room: Safeguarding Access to Affordable Child Care (First Five Years Fund)
H.R. 8872 – Preventing Waste, Fraud, and Abuse in TANF Act (Sponsored by Rep. Carey – Ways and Means Committee) This bill would require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to apply a new measure for improper payments within the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program and allow the Secretary to freeze states’ funds for alleged waste, fraud, or abuse—and, in turn, cut families off from needed supports. The bill would also restrict the TANF program to fewer families.
More on this:
Trump Administration’s Five-State Funding Freeze Is Unlawful, Harmful, and a Major Threat to People in Every State (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities)
H.R. 8646 – Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agency Appropriations Act, 2027 (Sponsored by Rep. Harris (MD) – Appropriations Committee) This bill would provide $26.3 billion for covered programs in Fiscal Year (FY) 2027, a $1.1 billion cut from FY 2026. Cuts target clean drinking water grants, the ReConnect Broadband program, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), and more.
More on this:
House Republicans are not interested in investing in rural communities, protecting farmers, or ensuring people do not go hungry (House Appropriations Committee Democrats)
House Agriculture Bill Underfunds WIC, Cuts Fruit and Vegetable Benefit, and Fails to Make Virtual Services Permanent (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities)
H.R. 7892 – No Aid for Ghost Students Act of 2026 (Sponsored by Rep. Owens – Education and Workforce Committee) This bill would require the Secretary of Education to use an identity fraud detection system to review each Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), codifying existing practice. The bill could impose new barriers to financial aid for students that do not have traditional forms of ID, lack reliable Internet access, or are experiencing homelessness and do not have a fixed address. These barriers would disproportionately affect eligible noncitizen students, homeless and foster youth, refugees, and people of color.
Complete Consideration of H.Con.Res. 86 – Directing the President, pursuant to section 5(c) of the War Powers Resolution, to remove United States Armed Forces from hostilities with Iran (Sponsored by Rep. Meeks – Foreign Affairs Committee) This resolution would block U.S. military action in Iran that Congress has not authorized.
Possible Consideration of H.Con.Res. 84 – Directing the President pursuant to section 5(c) of the War Powers Resolution to remove United States Armed Forces from Lebanon (Sponsored by Rep. Tlaib – Foreign Affairs Committee) This resolution would direct the President to remove U.S. Armed Forces from Lebanon no later than seven days after its adoption.
Possible Consideration of H.Res. 518 – Providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 2913) to authorize support for Ukraine, and for other purposes (Rep. Meeks' Discharge Petition) (Sponsored by Rep. Meeks – Rules Committee)This bill would impose new sanctions on Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine, provide further security assistance to Ukraine, and affirm Congress’s support for Ukraine and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

House Committee Highlights

A full list of this week’s hearings and markups can be found here. Notable hearings and markups include:

Tuesday Hearings

Budget Hearing – Department of State and Related Programs (Committee on Appropriations)

Secretary of State Marco Rubio testifying

Oversight Hearing – Department of Justice (Committee on Appropriations)

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche testifying

Wednesday Hearings

Restoring America’s Industrial Base: The Role of Small Businesses in National Security (Committee on Small Business)

Department of State FY 2027 Budget Request: A Commitment to America First Foreign Policy (Committee on Foreign Affairs)

Secretary of State Marco Rubio testifying

Examining Legislation to Establish a Federal Comprehensive Privacy and Data Security Law (Committee on Energy and Commerce)

Building an AI-Ready America: Higher Education in the Age of AI (Committee on Education and Workforce)

Thursday Hearings

Confronting the Totalitarian Ortega-Murillo Regime (Committee on Foreign Affairs)

For the Purpose of Receiving Testimony from the Honorable Brooke L. Rollins, Secretary, U.S. Department of Agriculture (Committee on Agriculture)

Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins testifying

Advancing Environmental Protection Through Science and Technology (Committee on Science, Space, and Technology)

Senate

Senate Committee Highlights

A full list of this week’s hearings and markups can be found here. Notable hearings and markups include:

Tuesday Hearings

A Review of the President’s Fiscal Year 2027 Budget Request for the Department of Homeland Security (Committee on Appropriations)

Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin testifying

Wednesday Hearings

A Review of the President’s Fiscal Year 2027 Budget Request for the Department of State (Committee on Appropriations)

Secretary of State Marco Rubio testifying

Protecting American Citizenship III: Denaturalization and its Constitutional Limits (Committee on the Judiciary)

Issues to Watch

Congress begins consideration of record-shattering Pentagon funding

Earlier this year, the White House requested $1.5 trillion for the Pentagon—a 40 percent increase from last year, adjusted for inflation. This would constitute the highest military spending level in the country’s history, exceeding the record set during World War II. Already, Americans spend more than $4,000 per taxpayer on war. A boost of this magnitude would dwarf that figure and surpass what the country spent last year on Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the Child Tax Credit, highways, the Department of Education, and other federal programs—combined.

On Thursday, the House Armed Services Committee is set to mark up the FY 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which authorizes the discretionary portion of the Pentagon budget. This markup presents Members’ first opportunity to amend the proposed Pentagon budget—including cutting the $1.5 trillion topline number. Should the bill pass in committee, it will go before the full House, giving additional Members a chance to go on-the-record regarding this record-breaking Pentagon budget.

More on this:

Trump wants $1.5 Trillion for War. Here are eleven necessary programs that cost $1.5 Trillion (National Priorities Project)

Faith Communities Urge Congress to Reject the $1.5 Trillion Pentagon Budget (Friends Committee On National Legislation)

Congress quietly moves to integrate US and Israeli militaries (Responsible Statecraft)

Trump slush fund for political allies puts reconciliation on the rocks

Congress had been on track to send President Trump more funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol by his June 1 deadline. However, Republican infighting over a $1.8 billion fund to compensate people who believe the government was “weaponized” against them derailed those plans before Memorial Day.

In a nutshell, the President’s political allies, including those with convictions for their roles in the January 6, 2021 insurrection, have made clear they’ll seek payouts from the fund. Senate Republicans want to prohibit this as part of their reconciliation package; the President has no interest in such restrictions. Even if Republicans don’t proactively address the fund in the reconciliation bill, Senate Democrats will use the amendment process to force votes on the matter—meaning, there’s no way to avoid this issue coming up if reconciliation proceeds.

Reporting today indicates a few potential paths forward: the administration adds restrictions to the fund or ditches it entirely; Senate Republicans add such restrictions to the reconciliation bill themselves; or they pull Department of Justice funding out of the bill to skirt the issue altogether. If Republicans can resolve their internal differences, we could see reconciliation votes in the Senate as early as this Wednesday.

But this snafu has implications beyond this reconciliation push. Some Republicans are still pitching a third party-line reconciliation bill before the November elections. The longer the current package takes, the less time they have for round three—possibly scuttling it altogether, or pushing contentious votes even closer to the fall.

More on this:

Despite Being Flush in Cash, DHS Wants $70 Billion More in Tax Payer Dollars (NILC)

President Trump’s New Slush Fund Flagrantly Disregards Law to Serve His Personal Ends at Taxpayer Expense (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities)