MIL USHOR-2b Engine

Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Suzanne Bonamici (1st District Oregon)

WASHINGTON, DC [12/12/25] – Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) introduced legislation to modernize the Federal Work Study Program.

The Opportunities for Success Act, HR 6606, would update and improve the Federal Work Study Program by expanding access to employment opportunities aligned with students’ career goals. It would also increase program funding and provide a long-overdue update to the Federal Work Study formula so funding goes to students with the greatest need. 

“For decades the Federal Work Study program has helped thousands of students afford higher education, but the program is overdue for updates to better reach those who need it most,” said Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici. “Additionally, this legislation will provide more students with work experience that is relevant to their interests and field of study. I benefited from Work Study when I was in college and know how it can help students throughout their careers. I’m pleased to introduce the Opportunities for Success Act to improve this program and open doors of opportunity for more students.”

The Opportunities for Success Act will:

• Invest in low-income students and increase the five-year budget for FWS to $2.5 billion.
• Reform the FWS anddistribution formula to allocate FWS funds based on the total Pell Grant funding an institution receives relative to other participating institutions, in addition to their share of total undergraduate and graduate student need across all institutions.
• Direct FWS to low-income students by rewarding institutions that enroll and graduate high numbers of students with Pell Grants.
• Promote career readiness by increasing funding for Job Location and Development programs and mandating that institutions prioritize placing low-income students and FWS students in work-based learning positions.
• Improve access to career-related work experience by allowing students to earn FWS wages during periods of non-enrollment and requiring institutions to use at least 7 percent of FWS funds for work-based learning opportunities.
• Create pathways from college to career by creating a $30 million work-based pilot program to help connect low-income students to high-quality internships.
• Enhance student success by directing the Department of Education to survey FWS and inform Congress on areas of further program improvements.

The full text of the legislation can be found here. A summary can be found here.

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Suzanne Bonamici (1st District Oregon)

Washington, D.C. – Today, Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and Mississippi’s U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, along with U.S. Representatives Jen Kiggans (R-VA-02) and Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR-01), led over 140 bipartisan lawmakers to sound the alarm over a proposed framework by the U.S. Department of Education to declassify nursing degrees as “professional” and undermining the entire future of the nursing workforce.

Their letter follows a recently released proposed framework from the Education Department’s Reimagining and Improving Student Education (RISE) Committee that omits post-baccalaureate nursing degrees from the regulatory definition of “professional degree,” meaning they would be classified as a “graduate degree.” If this framework is adopted during the upcoming rulemaking, the proposed definition threatens more debt for post-baccalaureate nursing students, as student loans are currently capped for new borrowers at $20,500 annually and $100,000 in the aggregate for “graduate” programs and $50,000 annually and $200,000 in the aggregate for “professional” programs.

“At a time when our nation is facing a health care shortage, especially in primary care, now is not the time to cut off the student pipeline to these programs,” the bipartisan group of over 140 lawmakers wrote to the Education Department. “According to the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), fifty-seven percent of Medicare beneficiaries received a primary care service from an NP or physician associate (PA), and sixty-six percent of rural Medicare patients received a primary care service from an NP or PA. Consequently, we believe that post-baccalaureate nursing degrees should be included in the department’s definition of a ‘professional degree.’”

“Nurses and nurse faculty make up the backbone of our health system, and post-baccalaureate nursing degrees lead to demonstrated outcomes, with a recent study from the Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity showing that nursing was one of the top three master’s degrees for return on investment. As such, post-baccalaureate nursing degrees should be treated equally to other accredited post-baccalaureate health profession degrees,” the lawmakers stressed.

As leaders of the Senate and House Nursing Caucuses, Merkley, Wicker, Kiggans, and Bonamici have long championed legislation to support the more than 5 million registered nurses across the United States and address the challenges facing the nursing workforce. Merkley is the husband of a nurse, and Kiggans is one of three nurses currently serving in Congress.

The bipartisan letter is supported by over 65 organizations including, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing; American Association of Nurse Practitioners; American Nurses Association; American College of Nurse-Midwives; Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses; National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners; National Council of State Boards of Nursing; and the National League of Nursing. A full list of supporting organizations can be found by clicking here.

                                                              

In addition to Merkley, Wicker, Kiggans, and Bonamici, the letter was signed by U.S. Senators Angela D. Alsobrooks (D-MD), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Susan Collins (R-ME), Christopher Coons (D-DE), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Patty Murray (D-WA), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Jack Reed (D-RI), Adam B. Schiff (D-CA), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Tina Smith (D-MN), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Peter Welch (D-VT), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Ron Wyden (D-OR) and U.S. Representatives Don Bacon (R-NE-02), Nanette Barragán (D-CA-44), Ami Bera (D-CA-06), Donald Beyer (D-VA-08), Brendan Boyle (D-PA-02), Robert Bresnahan (R-PA-08), Shontel Brown (D-OH-11), Julia Brownley (D-CA-26), Janelle Bynum (D-OR-05), Salud Carbajal (D-CA-24), André Carson (D-IN-07), Greg Casar (D-TX-35), Kathy Castor (D-FL-14), Joaquin Castro (D-TX-20), Judy Chu (D-CA-28), Gilbert Cisneros (D-CA-31), Yvette Clarke (D-NY-09), J. Luis Correa (D-CA-46), Joe Courtney (D-CT-02), Angie Craig (D-MN-02), Jason Crow (D-CO-06), Danny Davis (D-IL-07), Donald Davis (D-NC-01), Madeleine Dean (D-PA-04), Suzan DelBene (D-WA-01), Christopher Deluzio (D-PA-17), Maxine Dexter (D-OR-03), Lloyd Doggett (D-TX-37), Adriano Espaillat (D-NY-13), Dwight Evans (D-PA-03), Cleo Fields (D-LA-06), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA-01), Bill Foster (D-IL-11), Valerie Foushee (D-NC-04), Laura Friedman (D-CA-30), John Garamendi (D-CA-08), Daniel Goldman (D-NY-10), Maggie Goodlander (D-NH-02), Adelita Grijalva (D-AZ-07), Jahana Hayes (D-CT-05), Val Hoyle (D-OR-04), Jared Huffman (D-CA-02), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA-07), David Joyce (R-OH-14), Robin Kelly (D-IL-02), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL-08), Greg Landsman (D-OH-01), Rick Larsen (D-WA-02), George Latimer (D-NY-16), Michael Lawler (R-NY-17), Summer Lee (D-PA-12), Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-NM-03), Mike Levin (D-CA-49), Ted Lieu (D-CA-36), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA-18), Stephen Lynch (D-MA-08), Ryan Mackenzie (R-PA-07), Sarah McBride (D-DE-AL), Jennifer McClellan (D-VA-04), Kristen McDonald Rivet (D-MI-08), James McGovern (D-MA-02), Grace Meng (D-NY-06), Kweisi Mfume (D-MD-07), Dave Min (D-CA-47), Joseph Morelle (D-NY-25), Kelly Morrison (D-MN-03), James Moylan (R-GU-AL), Kevin Mullin (D-CA-15), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC-AL), Chris Pappas (D-NH-01), Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA-03), Scott Peters (D-CA-50), Brittany Pettersen (D-CO-07), Chellie Pingree (D-ME-01), Mark Pocan (D-WI-02), Nellie Pou (D-NJ-09), Ayanna Pressley (D-MA-07), Delia Ramirez (D-IL-03), Emily Randall (D-WA-06), Jamie Raskin (D-MD-08), Josh Riley (D-NY-19), Deborah Ross (D-NC-02), Raul Ruiz (D-CA-25), Andrea Salinas (D-OR-06), Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA-05), Janice Schakowsky (D-IL-09), Hillary Scholten (D-MI-03), Kim Schrier (D-WA-08), Terri Sewell (D-AL-07), Brad Sherman (D-CA-32), Lateefah Simon (D-CA-12), Adam Smith (D-WA-09), Eric Sorensen (D-IL-17), Melanie Stansbury (D-NM-01), Greg Stanton (D-AZ-04), Haley Stevens (D-MI-11), Marilyn Strickland (D-WA-10), Thomas Suozzi (D-NY-03), Eric Swalwell (D-CA-14), Mike Thompson (D-CA-04), Dina Titus (D-NV-01), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI-12), Jill Tokuda (D-HI-02), Paul Tonko (D-NY-20), Ritchie Torres (D-NY-15), Lori Trahan (D-MA-03), Derek Tran (D-CA-45), Lauren Underwood (D-IL-14), Jefferson Van Drew (R-NJ-02), Juan Vargas (D-CA-52), Gabe Vasquez (D-NM-02), Nydia Velázquez (D-NY-07), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ-12), George Whitesides (D-CA-27), and Frederica Wilson (D-FL-24).

Full text of their bipartisan letter can be found by clicking here and follows below:

Dear Under Secretary Kent:  

We write regarding the Department of Education’s Reimagining and Improving Student Education (RISE) Committee’s ongoing rulemaking to implement the student financial aid provisions under Public Law 119–21. As Members of Congress who have championed legislation to strengthen the nursing workforce, we write with concerns over the RISE Committee’s decision to omit post-baccalaureate nursing degrees from the regulatory definition of “professional degree” in its recently released proposed framework.  

Nurses are central to our health care system. They comprise the largest health care workforce in the United States, with more than 5 million registered nurses nationwide. Nurses provide high-quality care to patients in all communities, including rural and urban areas, yet we are in the midst of a nursing workforce crisis in this country. According to the 2024 National Nursing Workforce Study, more than 138,000 nurses have left the workforce since 2022 due to stress, burnout, and retirement. This study also outlined predictions that by 2029, almost 40 percent of nurses intend to leave the workforce. Given this trend, we have a strong interest in bolstering the nursing workforce and supporting legislation that will make it easier for nurses to enter the field. 

The RISE Committee’s proposed definition will make it more difficult for nurses to join the health care workforce because post-baccalaureate nursing degrees are excluded from the list of health care degrees in the definition of a “professional degree.” This list includes Pharmacy (PharmD), Dentistry (DDS or DMD), Medicine (MD), and Clinical Psychology (PsyD or PhD), but it omits post-baccalaureate nursing degrees such as a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN), Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP), and a PhD in nursing. However, the proposed definition describes a professional degree as a degree that “signifies both completion of the academic requirements for beginning practice in a given profession and a level of professional skill beyond that normally required for a bachelor’s degree.” The definition also states that a professional degree “generally requires professional licensure to begin practice.” Post-baccalaureate nursing degrees satisfy these criteria, as all registered nurses must pass the National Council Licensure Examination to enter the profession. Similarly, all Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) must have a graduate degree, such as an MSN or a DNP, and require national certification and state licensure to practice. 

Post-baccalaureate nursing students also have a demonstrated need to access the higher borrowing limits for professional degrees set in Public Law 119–21. The law states that students earning professional degrees may borrow up to $50,000 annually and $200,000 aggregate, in contrast to students earning graduate degrees, whose borrowing limits are capped at $20,500 annually and $100,000 aggregate. The current graduate level loan cap would not meet the need of most Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) programs, which can cost over $200,000, thereby restricting the pipeline of CRNAs and further limiting an anesthesia workforce that is suffering from shortages across all provider types. CRNA programs have shown to be a critical return on investment, with default rates near zero percent, and a workforce that overwhelmingly provides anesthesia to rural and underserved communities where higher cost physicians do not practice. 

In addition, many post-baccalaureate nursing programs hit the annual limit of $20,500, including some programs that may be under the aggregate limit. For instance, many nurse practitioner and other APRN academic programs operate year-round across three full-time semesters, as opposed to the traditional two-semester academic calendar, and thus cost more than $20,500 per year. Classifying these programs as graduate programs would result in these students having to take out additional student loans to cover the remainder of their tuition, which will limit the ability for students to complete their advanced degree. 

At a time when our nation is facing a health care shortage, especially in primary care, now is not the time to cut off the student pipeline to these programs. According to the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), fifty-seven percent of Medicare beneficiaries received a primary care service from an NP or physician associate (PA), and sixty-six percent of rural Medicare patients received a primary care service from an NP or PA. Consequently, we believe that post-baccalaureate nursing degrees should be included in the department’s definition of a “professional degree.”

Nurses and nurse faculty make up the backbone of our health system, and post-baccalaureate nursing degrees lead to demonstrated outcomes, with a recent study from the Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity showing that nursing was one of the top three master’s degrees for return on investment. As such, post-baccalaureate nursing degrees should be treated equally to other accredited post-baccalaureate health profession degrees. 

Thank you for your attention to this matter, and we hope to work with you to improve and expand the nursing workforce across the country. 

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Suzanne Bonamici (1st District Oregon)

WASHINGTON, DC [12/9/25] –Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) and Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) introduced bipartisan legislation to spur innovation in teaching and learning techniques.

The New Essential Education Discoveries (NEED) Act of 2025 would improve student learning by creating a National Center for Advanced Development in Education (NCADE) to promote informed-risk, high-reward education research. The new national center would focus on developing and disseminating effective practices and tools to improve students’ academic performance and close longstanding achievement gaps. The NCADE would be the fifth center under the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) and follow a successful model similar to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). 

“Strengthening education is the best way to improve lives and sustain the economy,” said Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici. “Technology is evolving rapidly and there are many ways it can help students learn and close opportunity gaps. The NEED Act will empower researchers to develop new educational strategies and technologies that are based in science.”

“To prepare every student to thrive in a rapidly changing world, we must pursue innovation with both ambition and accountability,” said Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick. “The NEED Act builds a smarter bridge between research and the classroom—accelerating evidence-based breakthroughs, strengthening data transparency, and empowering educators with tools that deliver real results. This bipartisan effort is about stronger outcomes for students, greater opportunity for families, and a more competitive workforce for America.”

“Everyone should have the information they need to make informed decisions about their own education and workforce pathways, support individuals navigating these pathways, and create policies that might help others navigate smoother pathways,” said Jennifer Bell-Ellwanger, president and CEO, Data Quality Campaign. “Data Quality Campaign applauds the efforts of Rep. Bonamici and Rep. Fitzpatrick to reimagine statewide longitudinal data systems as tools for providing better support, transparency, and high-quality data to individuals navigating their journeys through education and the workforce.”

“Teachers across the country are constantly looking for ways to innovate given the ever evolving demands they face in their classrooms,” said Kira Orange Jones, CEO of Teach Plus. “The NEED Act bolsters those efforts as it improves the Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems to gather accurate data that will inform the field of the challenges we see in classrooms and identify opportunities to advance innovative practices to better serve our students. We applaud the efforts of Rep. Bonamici and Rep. Fitzpatrick to bring forth meaningful investments that innovate and advance teaching and learning.”

The NEED Act would also modernize Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems (SLDS) and help states better track the progress and outcomes of students through K-12 and into the workforce.

The legislation is endorsed by:  AACTE (American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, Accelerate – The National Collaborative for Accelerated Learning, AERDF (Advanced Education Research and Development Fund), All4Ed, Alliance for Learning Innovation, America Forward, American Educational Research Association, American Psychological Association Services, Applied Learning Insights, Beyond100K, Buck Institute Education/PBLWorks, CAST, Committee for Children, Common Cents Education Consulting, Consortium for State Education Support, Dan Lips (Senior Fellow, Foundation for American Innovation), Data Quality Campaign, Digital Promise Global, EDGE Partners, The Education Trust, Education Knowledge Broker Network, Education Reform Now Advocacy, Education Reimagined, Educators for Excellence, EdVenture Lab, ExcelinEd in Action, Federation of American Scientists, Foundation for Deeper Learning, FullScale, High Tech High Graduate School of Education, InnovateEDU, Institute for Educational Leadership, jeffweldLLC, John Bailey (Former White House Domestic Policy Advisor), KB Stack Consulting LLC, Knowledge Alliance, Kumar Garg (Renaissance Philanthropy), Laura Holian (Research Director, AnLar) and Kristin Gagnier (Senior Research Scientist, AnLar), Learner-Centered Collaborative, LearnerStudio, The Learning Agency, Learning Disabilities Association of America, Learning Heroes, LearningForge LLC, Mark Schneider (Former Director of the Institute of Education Sciences), National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, National Center for Learning Disabilities, National Council on Teacher Quality, National Girls Collaborative, National Parents Union, New Classrooms, New Leaders, reDesign, Reinvention Lab at Teach For America, Results for America, SETDA, SRI, Teach For America, Teach Plus, Teacher Education Division of the Council for Exceptional Children, The Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD), The Study Group, Thomas B. Fordham Institute, TNTP, Transcend, the University of Oregon, and Zarek Drozda (Executive Director, Data Science 4 Everyone).

A summary of the legislation can be found here, and the full text of the legislation can be found here.

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Jason Crow (CO-06)

AURORA — Today, Congressman Jason Crow (D-CO-06) joined city officials and library leaders to celebrate the expansion of Martin Luther King Jr. Library, a project made possible thanks to federal resources secured by Crow.

The renovation, which fully doubles the library’s available space, was made possible through a $2.5 million investment secured by Congressman Crow. With this renovation, Martin Luther King Jr. Library is able to build out its physical footprint, adopt new technology, and expand youth programming, continuing to connect the Aurora community with public space and critical resources like computers and employment support.

“By bringing home federal investments for Colorado, we’re expanding opportunities for our community. This investment isn’t just about a building—it’s about ensuring every family in Aurora has public spaces to learn, stay connected, and access the critical resources they deserve,” said Congressman Crow.

“This expansion will revitalize the way the community can access free resources,” said Ginger White Brunetti, Director of Library and Cultural Services at Aurora Public Library. “The space is vibrant and encourages learning and creativity while providing a welcoming space for everyone. I’m excited to see what the community can create here and am grateful to Congressman Crow for fighting to make it happen.”

Throughout his time in Congress, Congressman Crow has fought to connect Coloradans with critical community resources. This year alone, he has successfully helped local residents reclaim more than $30 million from the federal government. Since his first term, Congressman Crow has brought more than $643 million back to his community. 

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Angie Craig (MN-02)

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Representative and Ranking Member of the House Committee on Agriculture Angie Craig pressed grocery delivery service and technology company Instacart following reporting that the company used customers’ sensitive personal data and artificial intelligence (AI) to inflate grocery bills and charge different prices for the same products based on their ability to pay.

In a letter to Instacart CEO Chris Rogers, Rep. Craig blasted the technology company for exploiting families’ financial data to charge higher prices in the midst of a nationwide affordability crisis and demanded transparency about the scope and implications of any pricing experiment the company has previously conducted.

“Americans are facing an affordability crisis, and your use of artificial intelligence to scam the average family of four out of $1,200 annually is alarming.” Rep. Craig wrote. “Food is not a privilege; it’s a basic need. Your services are a lifeline to individuals with mobility issues, families, caregivers and folks in rural communities or food deserts.”

Rep. Craig cites that at a Target in St. Paul, MN some shoppers saw their grocery bill total vary by more than $5 for the same items. Researchers found that Instacart repeatedly showed customers different original prices for the same discounted items – using an AI-driven algorithm to inflate savings for some shoppers and not others.

“Big Tech’s weaponization of our data to increase profits on essentials, like groceries, is at best, a horrific breach of trust and at worst, illegal,” Rep. Craig wrote. “The practice of charging my neighbors different prices for the same groceries at the same store is unacceptable, especially when families are being squeezed from all sides.”

You can read the full text of the letter here.

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Angie Craig (MN-02)

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Representative Angie Craig today announced legislation that would lower prescription drug prices for Americans and hold pharmaceutical companies accountable for price gouging consumers.

The Lowering Drug Costs for American Families Act would build on her work on the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) to lower prescription drug prices for America’s seniors by expanding price negotiations so that more Americans can afford their medication.

Specifically, the bill would:

• Extend the historic drug price negotiation program enacted through the IRA to all Americans with private insurance;
• Stop drug companies from raising prices faster than inflation by ensuring that the inflation rebates enacted under the IRA also apply to individuals covered by private health plans;
• Strengthen the drug price negotiation program to deliver more savings to the American people by increasing the annual number of prescription drugs selected for negotiation from 20 to 50.

The Lowering Drug Costs for American Families Act was originally introduced by Reps. Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06), Richard E. Neal (MA-01) and Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03).

“Since day one, lowering health care costs for Minnesotans has been one of my top priorities in Congress – and that starts with lowering the price of prescription drugs,” said Rep. Craig. “We made major strides in the Inflation Reduction Act to cap the price of prescription drugs for seniors, but we now must expand these cost savings to every American. I’m proud to support this legislation to build on the progress we made through IRA and hold Big Pharma accountable for price gouging hardworking Minnesotans.”

Since entering Congress, Rep. Craig has been a leader in the fight to lower prescription drug prices. Last month, Rep. Craig introduced her Affordable Insulin Now Act, which would build on her work to make insulin more affordable by capping the price of insulin for Americans with private insurance. In 2022, the provision of Rep. Craig’s bill that capped insulin copays at $35/month for Medicare recipients was signed into law as part of the IRA.

Last Congress, Rep. Craig also introduced the Emergency Access to Insulin Act to help Americans without health insurance afford insulin. This bill would expand emergency insulin access, lower costs for those without health insurance and take additional steps to hold drug companies accountable for price gouging Americans.

During IRA negotiations, Rep. Craig stood with House progressives, refusing to support the bill until it included provisions to allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices. Rep. Craig also cosponsored the Lowering Drug Costs for American Families Act last Congress.

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Angie Craig (MN-02)

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Representative Angie Craig released the following statement on her vote against the Republican-led National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

“While I appreciate my Democratic colleagues’ work over the past few months to strip the original House version of some of its most egregious Republican poison pills and implement important provisions, like a well-deserve pay raise for our troops, I am still deeply concerned that this bill abandons our country’s LGBTQ+ veterans and servicemembers, immigrants and civil servants. 

“By including language that would expand the Trump Administration’s authority to use the military to enforce immigration laws, Republicans have rubber stamped the President’s dangerous immigration agenda and disregard for due process. Not to mention, by failing to restore collective bargaining rights to the Department of Defense’s civilian workforce, they have doubled down on the President’s attacks on federal workers and turned their back on our nation’s civil servants.

“These provisions don’t make our country safer, nor do they implement necessary checks on the President’s executive power – power he has used to undermine our global standing and violate the civil rights of those who have dedicated their lives to defending our freedoms. I am not enabling this President’s anti LGBTQ+, anti-immigrant and anti-worker agenda, and I am certainly not signing off on a blank check to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to continue putting our national security and servicemembers at risk.”

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Ken Calvert (CA-42)

Today, Congressman Ken Calvert (CA-41) voted along with a majority (312 to 112) of the House of Representatives to pass the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2026. The NDAA includes critical national security program authorizations and policy provisions. Rep. Calvert serves as the Chairman of the Defense Appropriations Committee, which provides funding for our national security programs through the defense appropriations bill.

“The NDAA advances critical national security policies that are essential for achieving our defense goals,” said Rep. Calvert. “The bill takes care of our most precious national security assets, our servicemembers, by giving them a 3.8% pay raise as well as authorizing funding increases to build or make upgrades to barracks, family housing, healthcare, and childcare facilities. To ensure America has the defense manufacturing capabilities necessary to win a future conflict, the bill establishes a Civil Reserve Manufacturing Network. As China continues to outpace the US in manufacturing capacity, it is past time to address this glaring capability gap.”

The following provisions were supported by Rep. Calvert and included in the FY26 NDAA:

Industrial Base & Small Business

• Civil Reserve Manufacturing Network (CRMN): Establishes a model for a broader network of dual-use manufacturing firms capable of rapidly shifting from commercial to defense production when needed. Modeled after existing programs like the Air Force’s Civil Reserve Air Fleet and the Navy’s National Defense Reserve Fleet, the CRMN aims to establish “ready-to-scale defense production” to address the crisis of offshored defense manufacturing.
• Project Spectrum: Formally establishes Project Spectrum to help small and medium businesses meet cybersecurity and acquisition requirements and stay in the defense supply chain.
• Small-Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) industrial base: Creates a small-UAS industrial base working group to map capacity, fix fragile supply chains, and scale domestic drone production.

Homeland Missile Defense – Golden Dome 

• Golden Dome: Updates national missile defense policy to support a next-generation “Golden Dome” shield against ballistic, cruise, and hypersonic threats to the homeland.
• Enduring oversight: Requires recurring Golden Dome architecture reports to Congress until fully fielded.

Shipbuilding & Shipyard Modernization

• Maritime industrial base strategy: Requires the Navy to adopt a data and AI-driven strategy to fix cost and schedule problems in surface and submarine shipbuilding.
• Design & automation: Mandates standard design metrics and a pilot for automated shipbuilding technologies to shorten construction timelines.
• Authorizes $26 billion in shipbuilding funding for the construction and support of:
  • The third Columbia-class Ballistic Missile Submarine and advanced procurement for future submarines
  • One Virginia-class Submarine and advanced procurement for future submarines
  • Advanced procurement for future DDG-51 Arleigh Burke-class Destroyers

Supporting Allies

• Australia, United Kingdom, United States (AUKUS) Improvement Act: Embeds the AUKUS Improvement Act of 2025 in the NDAA, easing defense trade and co-development with Australia and the U.K.

 

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09)

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9), a senior member of the Judiciary Committee, today questioned expert witnesses before its Subcommittee on the Constitution and Limited Government at a hearing entitled “Partisan and Profitable: The SPLC’s Influence on Federal Civil Rights Policy.”

The Republican majority on the Subcommittee sought to characterize the longtime civil rights organization — founded in 1971 by civil rights giants Julian Bond and Morris Dees, and which historically sued the Ku Klux Klan and other white supremacist groups into bankruptcy — as an “anti-Christian” organization. It also suggested it had an outsized and illegitimate influence on the Biden Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice.

“They (SPLC) used to bring cases, and I still think they do bring cases, that are important,” Congressman Cohen said.

Congressman Cohen also noted that many leaders of the Church of God in Christ (COGIC), A.M.E, C.M.E., and Black Baptist congregations are supporters of the SPLC.

See Congressman Cohen’s exchange with the witnesses here.

Witnesses at the hearing were:

• Andrew Sypher, Executive Vice President of Field Operations, Turning Point USA
• Tony Perkins, President, Family Research Council
• Tyler O’Neil, Senior Editor, The Daily Signal
• Amanda Tyler, Executive Director, Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty 

 

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09)

Sought the release of Maryia Kalesnikava, Ales Bialiatski and others in letter to Rubio last month