07.13.2026 - DC Download

Jul 13

Written By Progressive Caucus Action Fund

Congress is back with a long to-do list and an increasingly narrow path to getting it done. The sudden death of Senator Lindsey Graham has thrown new uncertainty into Senate Republicans' plans, including a major push on several high-priority Trump nominees, advancing the annual defense bill, and making progress on government funding. In the House, Speaker Johnson is teeing up votes on the State Department and foreign assistance funding bill, which GOP hardliners derailed before the July 4 recess over the SAVE America Act.

Here’s what to know this week.

Progressive Playbook

Last week, the Progressive Caucus Action Fund gathered community members in Racine, Wisconsin for the latest installment of the Progress for the People town hall series.

The gathering featured special guests Reps. Gwen Moore (WI-04), Mark Pocan (WI-02), Jim McGovern (MA-02), Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), and Delia C. Ramirez (IL-03), who discussed how President Trump and Republicans in Congress have cut essential services and driven up the cost of health care, groceries, utilities, and student loans—all while handing massive tax breaks to corporations and the ultra-wealthy. Audience questions highlighted these concerns, as well as health care cuts, funding for endless wars, ICE activity in Wisconsin, and ending gun violence. Throughout, speakers and local organizers underscored what's at stake for Wisconsin families and why gatherings like this matter to preserving democracy and building a future where everyone can thrive.

Ben Wikler, former Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair, moderated the conversation, which also featured remarks from Kristen Crowell, Executive Director of Families Over Billionaires, and Racine Mayor Cory Mason.

Learn more about the Racine town hall and our previous stops here!

House

House Floor

The House will vote on 22 suspension bills from the Committees on Oversight and Government Reform, Homeland Security, House Administration, Financial Services, and Veterans' Affairs. 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. 1181 – Protecting Privacy in Purchases Act(Sponsored by Rep. Moore — Financial Services Committee): This bill prohibits credit card companies from assigning a specific merchant category code to gun retailers, overriding state laws in California, Colorado, and New York that require such coding. Removing this code eliminates a tool that helps financial institutions flag suspicious patterns of firearms purchases and report potentially illegal activity to law enforcement. Americans for Financial Reform, Brady, Community Justice, Everytown for Gun Safety, GIFFORDS, Guns Down America, and Newtown Action Alliance strongly oppose this bill.

More on this:

H. Rept. 119-522 - Protecting Privacy in Purchases Act (Committee on Financial Services Minority)

H.R. 139 – Sunshine Protection Act of 2025 (Sponsored by Rep. Buchanan — Energy and Commerce Committee): This bill makes daylight saving time permanent and allows states that are currently exempt to either adopt it or keep standard time. While sleep and medical experts favor permanent standard time as better aligned with human circadian rhythms, supporters of daylight saving, such as those in the outdoor recreation industry, argue that later sunsets support businesses and boost economic activity.

More on this:

The reason House GOP leaders are holding a vote to stop the changing of the clocks (Politico)
Sunshine Protection Act Fact Sheet: Daylight Saving Time vs. Standard Time Article (American Academy of Sleep Medicine)

H.R. 8595 – National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2027 (Sponsored by Rep. Díaz-Balart — Appropriations Committee): This bill provides $47.3 billion in discretionary funding for the Department of State and related programs for Fiscal Year (FY) 2027—$2.7 billion less than the previous fiscal year and 20 percent below FY 2025 levels. The bill also cuts critical diplomatic and humanitarian funding, threatening global health and women’s health programs, including HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment, maternal and child health, infectious disease response, and family planning, while also limiting funding to address the climate crisis and weakening U.S. engagement with international institutions and agreements.

More on this:

Summary of House Republicans’ 2027 State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Bill (House Appropriations Committee Democrats)
State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Fiscal Year 2027 Fact Sheet (House Appropriations Committee Democrats)

H.R. 9237 – Take Care of America’s Veterans Act (Sponsored by Rep. Bost — Veterans’ Affairs Committee): This bill bundles more than 60 standalone veterans' bills into one package, including measures allowing combat-injured veterans to receive full military retirement pay and disability compensation simultaneously and expanding GI Bill eligibility to apprenticeship and online programs. However, the bill pays for those new benefits by cutting at least $57 billion from existing veterans' benefits. The bill also expands private, for-profit care at the VA while stripping collective bargaining rightsfrom roughly 5,000 VA psychologists.

More on this:

Ranking Member Takano Warns Against Republican Bid to Strip Veterans of Their Disability Benefits (House Committee on Veterans' Affairs Ranking Member Mark Takano)

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 - Supreme Court of the United States (Committee on Appropriations)

U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Elena Kagan testifying
U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett testifying

Oversight Hearing - U.S. Small Business Administration (Committee on Administration)

U.S. Small Business Administration Administrator Kelly Loeffler testifying

The Federal Reserve's Semi-Annual Monetary Policy Report(Committee on Financial Services)

Federal Reserve Board of Governors Chairman Kevin M. Warsh testifying

Training Activists, Not Physicians: The Impact of DEI on Medical Schools (Committee on Education and Workforce)

Full Committee Markup of Water Resources Development Act of 2026(Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure)

Wednesday Hearings

The Semi-Annual Report of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Committee on Financial Services)

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Acting Director Russell Vought testifying

Election Observation: Best Practices and Congress’s Role (Committee on Administration)

Friday Hearings

Field Hearing Entitled: Building the Future of Finance: How the CLARITY Act Unlocks Innovation (Committee on Financial Services)

ISSUES TO WATCH

Senate Floor

The Senate will vote on the following legislation:

S.47 84 - An original bill 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, and for other purposes (Sponsored by Sen. Roger Wicker — Appropriations Committee): This bill, more commonly known as the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), authorizes $1.15 trillion for defense and national security programs at the Pentagon, Energy Department, and other agencies. This would constitute a 40 percent increase from last year, adjusted for inflation, and the highest military spending level in the country’s history, exceeding the record set during World War II. Already, Americans spend more tha n $4,000 per taxpayer on war. A boost of this magnitude would dwarf that figure and surp as s 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.

More on this:

Nominations

The Senate this week has teed up final votes on the fo llowin g nomin ees:

Matthew A. Schwartz, to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Second Circuit
Arthur Roberts Jones, to be U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Texas

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 Rev iew of the Fiscal Year 2027 B udget Req ues t for the Supreme Cou rt of the United States (Committee on Approp riations )

U.S. Supreme Court Ass ociate Justice Elen a Kagan testi f ying
U.S. Su preme Court Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett testi fying

The National Security Strategy and the Western Hemispher e(Commit tee on Forei gn R e lations)

Wednesday

Hear in gs to examine the nomination of Todd Bl anche, of Florid a, to be Attorn ey Gene ral (Committee on the Judi ciary)

Acting U.S. Attorne y General Todd Blanche testifyin g

Hearings to exami ne the nomi nation of Walter Clay ton, of New York, to be Dir ector of N ational Intellig ence (Select Committee on Intelligence)

U.S. Att orney for the So uth ern Dis trict of Ne w York Walter "Jay" Clayt on III testif ying

The Sem iann ual Monetary Policy Report t o the Congress (C ommittee on Banking, Housing, and Urb an Affairs)

Federal Reserve Board of Gover nors Chairman Kevin M. War sh te stifying

Nominations of Sean Kaufm an to be A ssistant Secretar y for Preparedn ess and R esponse for t he Depart ment of Hea lth and Hum an S ervices and Erica Schwartz to be Director of t he Centers for Dise ase Control and Pre vention (Committee on Heal th, Educat i on, Labor, and Pension s)

ISSUES TO WATCH

Lindsey Graham’s death throws the Senate into even more chaos

The Senate was already heading into a packed and messy July. Now, the sudden death of Senator Lindsey Graham has made Republicans’ path even narrower. Graham chaired the Budget Committee, sat on Judiciary and Appropriations, and often served as a go-between for President Trump and Senate Republicans when the two sides were at odds. With Senator Mitch McConnell still hospitalized, Republicans are working with an even tighter margin for advancing President Trump's nominees, including Todd Blanche for Attorney General and Keith Sonderling for Labor Secretary, while also advancing the annual defense bill and laying the groundwork for a possible reconciliation package before August recess. Graham's absence leaves Republicans with little room for defections on those priorities. South Carolina’s governor is expected to name a temporary replacement today, but that will not immediately fill Graham’s committee roles or replace the relationships he used to help move legislation. More on this:Lindsey Graham's death narrows GOP Senate majority as key votes near (Washington Post)

The future of Temporary Protected Status grows increasingly uncertain

The Supreme Court's ruling in Mullin v. Doe gave the Trump administration broad authority to move forward with ending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haiti and Syria, but its impact reaches far beyond those two countries. The decision also makes it much harder for courts to review future TPS terminations, clearing the way for the administration to revoke protections for nearly 1.3 million people living and working legally in the United States, even as many of their home countries remain gripped by war, political instability, or humanitarian crises.
In April 2026, the House passed bipartisan legislation by a vote of 224-204 that would extend TPS for Haiti for three more years, providing immediate protection for the roughly 350,000 Haitian TPS holders in the U.S. However, absent any further Congressional action, such as establishing a permanent pathway to citizenship for longtime TPS holders—including people from Syria, Burma, Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan, Syria, and Yemen—will be up in the air, leaving them at great risk of arrest, detention, and deportation.
TPS holders from seven countries, including Haiti and Syria, were originally set to lose their ability to work on July 10, but that deadline has since been pushed to July 17 for six of those countries and July 24 for Haiti. That shrinking runway makes it more urgent that the Senate act on the House-passed Haiti TPS bill, and that Congress build toward a permanent solution for other TPS holders. More on this:How will the US supreme court’s ruling on TPS affect 1.3 million immigrants? (The Guardian)