Us Congress 2025-2026 Regular Session

House Education and Workforce Committee Bills & Legislation

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Us Congress 2025-2026 Regular Session

Us Congress House Bill HB114

Introduced
1/3/25  
Responsible Path to Full Obamacare Repeal ActThis bill repeals the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, effective at the beginning of FY2026. Provisions of law amended by those acts are restored.
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Us Congress 2025-2026 Regular Session

Us Congress House Bill HB122

Introduced
1/3/25  
Original Living American Wage Act or the Original LAW ActThis bill increases the federal minimum wage according to a formula specified in the bill.First, the bill increases the minimum hourly wage to $10.59 beginning on January 1, 2026, and increases the minimum hourly wage by $4 annually from January 1, 2027, through January 1, 2030.Next, beginning on January 1, 2031, the Department of Labor shall increase the minimum hourly wage every seven years according to a specified formula. The formula establishes the minimum hourly wage as the wage sufficient for a person working 1,799 hours per year (approximately 35 hours per week) to earn an annual income that is 40% higher than the federal supplemental poverty threshold for a renter family of four, with two children under the age of 18, as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the preceding year. However, if this formula results in a reduction, the minimum hourly wage may not be lowered. 
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Us Congress 2025-2026 Regular Session

Us Congress House Bill HB150

Introduced
1/3/25  
Refer
1/3/25  
Refer
1/4/25  
People-Centered Assistance Reform Effort Act or the People CARE ActThis bill establishes the People-Centered Assistance Reform Effort Commission within the legislative branch to review federal means-tested programs for potential reform.Under the bill, means-tested programs are those designed to provide assistance to low-income individuals, including, for example, Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. The commission is generally directed to review all federal means-tested programs with the exception of certain specified programs, including Social Security, Medicare, and certain veterans’ benefits programs.The commission is directed to identify and evaluate potential changes to federal means-tested programs, such as consolidation with other programs, delegation of certain functions to states, and the establishment of gradual benefit reductions tied to increases in beneficiaries’ income. The commission is also directed to consider changes that would allow caseworkers to identify all of the appropriate programs for individuals and families. The commission must establish a website through which members of the public may submit suggested reforms for consideration. The commission is to be comprised of eight members, with an equal number of members appointed by the majority and minority parties.  At the conclusion of its term, the commission must report to Congress with its findings and proposed legislation implementing any recommended changes. Congress must consider the legislation under expedited procedures.
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Us Congress 2025-2026 Regular Session

Us Congress House Bill HB185

Introduced
2/11/25  
Responsible Legislating ActThis bill establishes or modifies various federal programs and requirements, including those related to retirement accounts, penalties for certain sex offenses, foreign investment and ownership, and appropriations.The bill makes changes to retirement account contributions and distributions, including increasing the maximum amount that may be contributed to a Roth Individual Retirement Account (IRA) to include certain contributions to a Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees (SIMPLE IRA) or Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) plan, subject to limitations. The bill establishes an enhanced penalty—an additional prison term of up to five years—for certain interstate human trafficking offenses or coercion of sexual activity that occurs in a school zone or related area.The Department of Commerce must report on efforts to increase foreign direct investment in semiconductor-related manufacturing and production. The Federal Maritime Commission must evaluate the effect of foreign ownership of marine terminals at the 15 largest U.S. container ports on U.S. economic security.The bill provides additional appropriations for the Departments of Health and Human Services, Agriculture, State, Defense, Homeland Security, and Energy.The bill extends mandatory livestock market reporting requirements through FY2025.The bill revises the required frequency of meetings held by a credit union's board of directors by decreasing the frequency for existing credit unions with satisfactory soundness ratings. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA's) enhanced-use leasing authority is reauthorized through 2033.The bill requires hearings on the bill's implementation within one year of the date of enactment.
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Us Congress 2025-2026 Regular Session

Us Congress House Bill HB233

Introduced
1/7/25  
Higher Education Loses Payments for Painful Experiments, Tests and Studies Act or the HELP PETS ActThis bill prohibits an institution of higher education (IHE) from receiving federal funds if the IHE conducts or funds painful research on dogs or cats. Painful research refers to any research, biomedical training, experimentation, or biological testing classified in specified pain categories by the Department of Agriculture.
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Us Congress 2025-2026 Regular Session

Us Congress House Bill HB240

Introduced
1/7/25  
Protect Local Farms ActThis bill provides that the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) preempts any state law that establishes a maximum workweek (i.e., the maximum number of hours an employee is permitted to work without receiving overtime pay) of less than 60 hours for agricultural employees. Under the FLSA, agricultural employees are generally exempt from federal overtime requirements. However, federal overtime requirements currently do not preempt state laws that provide greater protections to employees.
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Us Congress 2025-2026 Regular Session

Us Congress House Bill HB251

Introduced
1/9/25  
Legal Workforce ActThis bill directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to create an electronic employment eligibility confirmation system modeled after and to replace the E-Verify system, which allows employers and recruiters to verify the immigration status of individuals. The bill also mandates the use of such a system, where currently only some employers, such as those with federal contracts, are required to use E-Verify.The bill specifies documents that can establish an individual's identity and employment authorization. During the period starting when a job offer is made until three business days after hiring, the individual must attest to his or her employment authorization, and the employer or recruiter must attest that it has examined the individual's required documents.Employers shall reverify certain types of employees who were not previously verified using E-Verify.The Social Security Administration shall notify employees if their Social Security number has been used multiple times in an unusual manner. DHS shall establish programs for blocking and suspending misused numbers.Employers that are required to use the verification system shall not be liable for any employment-related action based on a good-faith reliance on the system.The bill establishes a phased-in participation deadline for different sizes and categories of employers, including agricultural employers.The bill increases civil penalties related to hiring individuals without work authorization. It also preempts state laws relating to hiring and employment eligibility verification, but states may use their authority of business licensing to penalize employers for failing to comply with the bill's provisions.
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Us Congress 2025-2026 Regular Session

Us Congress House Bill HB266

Introduced
1/9/25  
Educational Opportunity and Success Act of 2025This bill reauthorizes through FY2030 and otherwise revises TRIO programs. (These outreach and student-services programs identify and provide services to students from disadvantaged backgrounds.)Among other revisions to the programs, the billprohibits the Department of Education (ED) from rejecting TRIO grant applications based on certain errors;requires ED to provide additional technical assistance to interested grant applicants;revises the outcome criteria for measuring the quality and effectiveness of the programs, including those programs specifically designed for veterans;allows program administrators to use a student's most recent Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to determine TRIO program eligibility; andincreases the maximum stipend for students participating in the Upward Bound Program or the Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program.
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Us Congress 2025-2026 Regular Session

Us Congress House Bill HB370

Introduced
1/13/25  
Voluntary School Prayer Protection Act of 2025This bill prohibits the Department of Education (ED) from providing funding for public schools that restrict voluntary school prayer.Specifically, the bill prohibits ED from providing funds to state or local educational agencies with policies that deny, or effectively prevent, individuals from voluntarily participating in public school prayer that is constitutionally protected.
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Us Congress 2025-2026 Regular Session

Us Congress House Bill HB369

Introduced
1/13/25  
States' Education Reclamation Act of 2025This bill abolishes the Department of Education (ED) and repeals any program for which it has administrative responsibility.The Department of the Treasury must provide grants to states, for FY2025-FY2033, for elementary, secondary, and postsecondary education purposes permitted by state law. The level of funding is set at the amount provided to states for federal elementary and secondary education programs and the amount provided for federal postsecondary education programs, respectively, for FY2025, minus the funding provided for education programs that the bill transfers to other federal agencies.States must contract for an annual audit of their expenditures or transfers of grant funds.Program administrative responsibility and delegation of authority are transferred as follows:ED's job training programs to the Department of Labor,each special education grant program under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS),ED's Indian education programs to the Department of the Interior,each Impact Aid program under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to the Department of Defense,the Federal Pell Grant program and each federal student loan program to Treasury, andprograms under the jurisdiction of the Institute of Education Sciences or the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program to HHS.The Government Accountability Office must report to Congress on (1) the feasibility of reducing the federal tax burden and eliminating federal involvement in providing grants for education programs, and (2) the feasibility of successor federal agencies maintaining transferred education programs.
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Us Congress 2025-2026 Regular Session

Us Congress House Bill HB379

Introduced
1/14/25  
Healthcare Freedom and Choice ActThis bill nullifies a rule regarding short-term, limited-duration health insurance plans. The rule was promulgated by the Internal Revenue Service, Employee Benefits Security Administration, and Department of Health and Human Services; is titled Short-Term, Limited-Duration Insurance and Independent, Noncoordinated Excepted Benefits Coverage; and was published April 3, 2024.Short-term, limited-duration health insurance plans are plans that may only offer coverage for a limited amount of time and are exempt from the market requirements of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (e.g., coverage of individuals with preexisting conditions).The rule limits the length of the initial contract period for such a plan to no more than three months and, taking into account any renewals or extensions, the maximum coverage period to no more than four months. The rule also includes within the maximum renewal period limitation a new plan sold by the same issuer, or any issuer that is a member of the same controlled group, to the same policyholder within a 12-month period.Regulations in effect prior to the rule this bill nullifies permitted short-term, limited-duration health insurance plans with an initial contract period of fewer than 12 months and a maximum coverage period of up to 36 months, including renewals and extensions.
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Us Congress 2025-2026 Regular Session

Us Congress House Bill HB406

Introduced
1/15/25  
Promote Restoring Order To End Campus Targeting of Jewish Students and Faculty Act or the PROTECT Jewish Student and Faculty ActThis bill requires institutions of higher education (IHEs) that participate in federal student aid programs to adopt a standard definition of anti-Semitism in their student and employee codes of conduct and prohibit such conduct on campus.Specifically, the IHE must include in its documents related to student and employee conduct a definition of anti-Semitism which states that (1) anti-Semitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews; and (2) rhetorical and physical manifestations of anti-Semitism may be directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals, including the property of such individuals, and Jewish community institutions and religious facilities. (This definition is the same as the working definition of anti-Semitism from the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance.)Additionally, the IHE must include in such documents a statement that anti-Semitic conduct is prohibited on campus and that such conduct may result in expulsion or termination of employment.
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Us Congress 2025-2026 Regular Session

Us Congress House Bill HB336

Introduced
1/13/25  
Head start Education And Development Workforce Advancement and Yield Act or the HEADWAY ActThis bill allows some teachers in Early Head Start programs to teach while in the process of earning their Child Development Associate (CDA) credential and completing training.Currently, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must ensure that all teachers providing direct services to children and families in Early Head Start centers (1) have a minimum of a CDA credential and have been trained in early childhood development, and (2) have been trained in early childhood development with a focus on infant and toddler development.The bill revises this requirement by requiring at least one teacher per classroom (instead of all teachers) to have a CDA credential and training. In particular, the bill requires HHS to ensure that (1) each additional teacher providing direct services to children and families is in the process of earning a CDA credential and completing training, and (2) the Early Head Start agency provides a mentor to oversee the progress and guide the work of a teacher who is in the process of earning a CDA credential and completing training.
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Us Congress 2025-2026 Regular Session

Us Congress House Bill HB422

Introduced
1/15/25  
No Subsidies for Wealthy Universities ActThis bill limits the indirect costs that are allowable under federal research awards to institutions of higher education (IHEs) with endowments above specified thresholds. (Generally, indirect costs represent expenses that are not specific to a research project but are needed to maintain the infrastructure and administrative support for federally funded research.)Specifically, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) must annually collect information regarding the endowments of each IHE that has entered into a program participation agreement with the Department of Education.With this collected information, NCES must identify and make lists of (1) each IHE with an endowment of more than $5 billion, and (2) each IHE with an endowment of more than $2 billion (but not more than $5 billion). NCES must submit these lists to the Office of Management and Budget, which must then distribute the lists to federal agencies, Congress, and the public.The bill establishes the following limits on the indirect costs allowable under federal research awards:for an IHE with an endowment of more than $5 billion, the IHE is prohibited from using these awards for indirect costs;for an IHE with an endowment of more than $2 billion (but not more than $5 billion), the IHE is limited to an indirect cost rate of 8%; andfor all other IHEs, an indirect cost rate of 15%.The Government Accountability Office must annually report to Congress on indirect cost reimbursement on federal research awards for IHEs.
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Us Congress 2025-2026 Regular Session

Us Congress House Bill HB433

Introduced
1/15/25  
Department of Education Protection ActThis bill prohibits the use of appropriated funds made available to the Department of Education (ED) to decentralize, reduce the staffing level of, or alter the responsibilities or functionality of ED compared to its organization or operation on January 1, 2025.