September 14, 2026
Congress is back, and there’s a lot packed into the week. The House is taking up everything from Iran war powers and Russia sanctions to California emissions rules, fraud bills, and data centers. In the Senate, the big fight is over the CLARITY Act. Keep reading for what we’re watching this week.
Progressive Playbook
Combatting the CLARITY Act & Crypto Corruption
Last Wednesday, PCAF, Indivisible, Public Citizen, and Americans for Financial Reform held a virtual briefing with special guest Ben McKenzie about the crypto industry’s push to write its own rules, the corruption driving that effort, and what’s at stake if the CLARITY Act becomes law.
Watch the full briefing and check out highlights — including must-know facts about the bill, rebuttals to the Trump administration’s claims, and much more — HERE.
Call your Senator and tell them to reject crypto corruption by voting NO on the CLARITY Act!
House
House Floor
The House will vote on 71 suspension bills from the Committees on Armed Services; House Administration; Natural Resources; Financial Services; Energy and Commerce; Ways and Means;Transportation and Infrastructure; Homeland Security; Education and Workforce; Foreign Affairs; Oversight and Government Reform; and Judiciary. 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.J.Res. 210 – Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Environmental Protection Agency relating to ‘‘California State Nonroad Engine Pollution Control Standards; Ocean-Going Vessels At-Berth; Notice of Decision’’ (Rep. Fong – Energy and Commerce Committee): This resolution would use the Congressional Review Act to undo an Environmental Protection Agency waiver that lets California require docked vessels to cut emissions while at certain ports and marine terminals.
H.J.Res. 213 – Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule issued by the Environmental Protection Agency relating to the ‘‘California State Nonroad Engine Pollution Control Standards; Commercial Harbor Craft Regulations; Notice of Decision’’ (Sponsored by Rep. Gallagher – Energy and Commerce Committee): This resolution would use the Congressional Review Act to undo an Environmental Protection Agency waiver allowing California to set stricter emissions standards for commercial harbor craft.
Senate Amendments to H.R. 5334 – Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 (Sponsored by Rep. Panetta – Foreign Affairs Committee): This bill imposes sweeping new sanctions on Russian officials, banks, and other entities backing the war in Ukraine and gives the President broad tariff authority over countries, including China and India, that keep buying Russian oil and gas or help Moscow evade sanctions.
H.R. 9576 – National Fraud Enforcement Division Act of 2026 (Sponsored by Rep. Finstad – Judiciary Committee): This bill codifies the Justice Department's National Fraud Enforcement Division, a Trump administration creation that investigates fraud in government programs, including the administration's criminal referrals of Democratic officials.
H.R. 10326 – Preventing Rip-offs and Obtaining Oversight of Funds Act (Sponsored by Rep. Van Drew – Judiciary Committee): This bill, also known as the PROOF Act, requires states to turn over records to the Justice Department upon request for investigations into alleged fraud across a broad range of federal programs, including Medicaid, SNAP, unemployment insurance, disaster assistance, broadband funding, and pandemic relief programs.
Possible Consideration of H.Con.Res. 93 – 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. Moulton – Foreign Affairs Committee): This resolution would direct the president to remove U.S. armed forces from hostilities against Iran under the War Powers Resolution.
House Committee Highlights
A full list of this week’s hearings and markups can be found here. Notable hearings and markups include:
Tuesday Hearings
The Continuing Tragedy of Sanctuary Laws (Committee on the Judiciary)
Missing and Murdered Indigenous People: Strengthening Public Safety in Tribal Communities (Committee on the Judiciary)
Oversight Hearing – Federal Aviation Administration (Committee on Appropriations)
Federal Aviation Administration Administrator Bryan Bedford testifying
Out of Touch: When Union Politics Leave Workers Behind (Committee on Education and Workforce)
Main Street Meets Crypto: What Digital Assets Mean for Small Businesses (Committee on Small Business)
Fixing Fraud and Failure in Federally Funded Homelessness Services (Committee on Oversight and Government Reform)
Wednesday Hearings
Who Gets the Scholarship? How the Global Shift in College Sports Affects Americans (Committee on Education and Workforce)
Budget Hearing – Trade and Investment Agencies (Committee on Appropriations)
25 Years Later: Evolutions in Federal, State, and Local Counterterrorism Efforts Since 9/11 (Committee on Homeland Security)
Lives, not Leverage: the Long Arm of China and North Korea’s Repression (Committee on Foreign Affairs)
Senate
Senate Floor
The Senate will vote on the following legislation:
H.R.3633 – Digital Asset Market Clarity Act (Sponsored by Rep. French Hill - Financial Services Committee): This bill, commonly referred to as the CLARITY Act, rewrites the rules for crypto largely on the industry’s terms. It moves much of cryptocurrency oversight away from the Securities and Exchange Commission, weakens rules meant to protect investors, and creates new loopholes that could make it easier for crypto companies to avoid the same standards that apply to other financial products. The bill also fails to meaningfully address crypto fraud, illicit finance, or the conflicts of interest surrounding President Trump’s crypto businesses.
Deeply Flawed Crypto Bill Inches Forward in Senate (Americans for Financial Reform)
“Thin Air,” Real Money: Donald Trump’s Crypto Products Have Left Investors at Least $4.7 Billion Underwater (Public Citizen)
Nominations
The Senate this week has teed up final votes on the following nominees:
Matthew R. Byrne, to be United States District Judge for the Southern District of Ohio
Senate Committee Highlights
A full list of this week’s hearings and markups can be found here. Notable hearings and markups include:
Tuesday Hearings
Oversight of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (Committee on the Judiciary)
Hearing to Consider Nominees for Health and Human Services; Internal Revenue Service; U.S. Tax Court (Committee on Finance)
Wednesday Hearings
Half the Country, Zero Hearings: Meeting the Moment to End the Menopause Care Gap in America (Special Committee on Aging)
“Examining Housing Needs in Native Communities,” and Legislative Hearing to receive testimony on S. 5354, the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Modernization Act of 2026 (Committee on Indian Affairs)
Thursday
Hearing to Consider Nominees for Federal Communications Commission Health and Human Services; Department of Transportation (Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation)
ISSUES TO WATCH
Iran war powers fight returns to the House
House Democrats are likely to force a vote this week on another war powers resolution, a measure that would direct the President to end hostilities on Iran not authorized by Congress. What the administration once framed as a short war is now nearing 200 days, with no clear end in sight. The Pentagon's own data shows roughly 808 U.S. casualties, including 18 deaths, and a bill running anywhere from $37.5 billion to north of $100 billion. The war has also killed at least 7,300 people across Iran and Lebanon.
This latest vote is part of a strategy by House Democrats to continue putting Republicans on record for as long as the war drags on. If it comes up, this would be the sixth House vote on Iran war powers since the war began on February 28th. The first three votes failed by increasingly narrow margins before similar measures finally passed in June and July, with the June resolution also passing the Senate 50-48. These resolutions are non-binding and are not sent to the President’s desk for signature. However, both chambers have asserted their Article I authority and showcased they oppose the Trump Administration’s illegal war on Iran. Only 37 percent of Americans support the war.
In a related push to reassert Congress’s war powers, keep an eye on Cuba. The administration's oil embargo has fueled a humanitarian crisis, worsening fuel shortages and blackouts across the island. Hospitals are running out of fuel, which is taking the lives of babies in incubators. Last week, a coalition of 45 organizations called on House Democratic leaders to also force a vote on Rep. Nydia Velázquez’s Cuba War Powers Resolution (H.Con.Res. 106).
Trump’s ‘economic D-day’ against Iran risks driving the stakes even higher (The Guardian)
Iran May Have Little to Lose as U.S. Tries to Squeeze its Economy (The New York Times)
The Strait is Iran’s Diplomatic Ace (International Centre for Dialogue Initiatives)
US threatens severe sanctions against countries with economic ties to Iran (The Guardian)
‘American Dominance’: boat strikes, Cuba, and Latin American pushback (The Real News Network)
Cuba has plenty of doctors. So why is its healthcare system collapsing? (Vox)
Weighing Priorities: What U.S. Spending on the Iran War Could Fund Instead (Center for American Progress)
Republicans scramble to respond to the data center backlash
House Republicans are bringing the Ratepayer Protection Act to the floor under suspension this week—a sign of how quickly public anger over data centers’ breakneck expansion has become impossible to ignore. The bipartisan bill, which sailed out of committee by a unanimous vote, is being marketed by its Republican sponsor Rep. Gabe Evans (CO-08) as a way to make massive data centers foot the bill for costly grid upgrades needed to serve them rather than passing those costs on to households. But the reality is much narrower: states would only have to consider requiring large data centers to cover those costs. And the bill does little to address many of the other concerns driving opposition to new projects, such as water use, pollution, siting, or whether communities get a meaningful say in new projects.
Still, putting this bill on the floor at all shows how fast data centers have become a midterm liability. Seven in ten Americans don't want one built near them, and Republicans everywhere are scrambling to look responsive. The trouble is, that's a harder sell after nearly every Republican backed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which included tax incentives the GOP and White House touted as encouraging more data center construction.
What Last Year’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act Has To Do with Data Centers (We Build Progress)
Opposition to Local Data Centers Rises Sharply, Annenberg Survey Finds (Annenberg Public Policy Center)
Voters are fed up with data centers. Both parties are trying to cash in for midterms (NPR)
The “Ratepayer Protection” Act Won’t Protect Us from Data Centers (Food & Water Watch)
Inside Trump’s Aggressive Push to Build Data Centers on Public Lands (The Washington Sun)
What We’re Reading
As Inflation Eats Up Pay Gains, Workers Fall Behind (New York Times)
Ectopic Pregnancy Deaths Have Nearly Doubled. It’s Worse in States With Abortion Bans (ProPublica)
Deaths and Human Costs of U.S. Airstrikes on Civilian Populations in Yemen (Brown University)
The Impact of Immigration Enforcement and Anti-Immigrant Policies on K-12 Schools, Educators, and Immigrant Youth and Families (National Immigration Law Center)
For years, they warned AI could kill all humans. Now people are listening. (The Washington Post)
KEY DATES
September: National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month
September 14: Senate returns from August Recess
September 14–18: Disability Voting Rights Week
September 15: National Voter Registration Day
September 15–October 15: Hispanic Heritage Month
September 17: Constitution Day
September 18: International Equal Pay Day
September 21: International Day of Peace
September 30: Fiscal Year Ends
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