House and Senate Action
Lawmakers return this week under the shadow of a rapidly escalating conflict with Iran. This debate is likely to dominate floor activity and messaging throughout the week.
House
The House will consider a handful of measures on the suspension calendar (requires 2/3 majority), including legislation (H.R. 4386) that would require the Interior Secretary to issue guidance clarifying that a single "America the Beautiful" Annual Pass admits two motorcycles into national parks.
House GOP leaders also plan to bring the stalled FY 2026 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding bill back to the floor on Thursday. The renewed vote is designed to increase pressure on Democrats to fully fund TSA and other homeland security operations amid heightened domestic threat concerns.
Separately, Reps. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Thomas Massie (R-KY) intend to force a vote on a bipartisan War Powers Resolution requiring explicit congressional authorization before additional U.S. military action against Iran.
Senate
The Senate will take up the House-passed Housing for the 21st Century Act, a bipartisan housing package approved in February. Senate leaders are expected to use the bill as a legislative vehicle to incorporate elements of the previously negotiated ROAD to Housing Act led by Sens. Tim Scott (R-SC) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).
On the foreign policy front, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) has indicated that his bipartisan war powers resolution related to Iran could receive a vote Tuesday or Wednesday.
Senate to Vote on Bipartisan Housing Package
This week, the Senate is expected to vote on its bipartisan housing package, the ROAD to Housing Act (ROAD Act, S. 2651). The measure was previously approved as part of the Senate’s version of the National Defense Authorization Act but was ultimately removed from the final conference agreement.
The anticipated Senate vote follows the House’s recent approval of the Housing for the 21st Century Act (H.R. 6644), which passed overwhelmingly in February. Senate leaders are expected to use H.R. 6644 as the legislative vehicle for advancing the ROAD Act. While both bills are bipartisan and share several provisions aimed at increasing affordable housing supply, there are notable differences between the two.
For example, the House and Senate take different approaches to reauthorizing and modernizing the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME Investment Partnerships programs. The ROAD Act provides additional funding for those programs but would also establish new financial penalties under CDBG for localities that fail to meet certain housing growth metrics. The Senate package also includes provisions addressing federal homelessness programs and would create a $200 million per year innovation fund (for five years) to provide flexible, competitive grants to local governments working to increase housing supply. It should be noted that neither package includes language sought by the Trump Administration that would restrict large investors from purchasing single-family homes.
Senate leaders have not clarified whether they intend to make substantive revisions to the ROAD Act – including incorporating additional provisions from H.R. 6644 – prior to final passage. For her part, Senator Elizabeth Warren, the lead Senate Democrat on the bill, is opposed to further changes. Meanwhile, House Republicans have signaled concerns with certain provisions in the Senate bill. As a result, any final housing package will likely require further negotiations between the chambers and the White House.
House Panel to Consider Farm Bill Reauthorization
On Tuesday afternoon, the House Agriculture Committee will begin consideration of a new five-year Farm Bill. The Farm Bill shapes federal policy across agriculture, nutrition assistance (including SNAP/CalFresh), conservation, rural infrastructure, forestry, and energy programs.
The most recent authorization, the Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018, initially expired in 2023 and has been extended multiple times since. It is currently set to expire on September 30, 2026.
In the interim, Congress enacted portions of the traditional Farm Bill through last year’s reconciliation package (H.R. 1), including major updates to commodity programs and significant changes to SNAP. H.R. 1 shifted certain SNAP administrative and benefit costs to states and, by extension, counties.
The House proposal includes several provisions that would directly impact counties.
Farm Safety Net
In the Farm Safety Net title, the bill enhances disaster assistance for agricultural producers, including specialty crop producers, and expands support for beginning farmers and ranchers.
Rural Development
The bill prioritizes rural childcare projects within USDA programs, expands rural health access, reauthorizes key water, wastewater and solid waste infrastructure programs, enhances broadband deployment by increasing minimum eligible speeds to 50/25 Mbps, and directs USDA to provide technical assistance to help underserved and capacity-constrained counties better compete for federal funding.
Conservation
Conservation and watershed programs are also updated and strengthened, including reforms to agricultural easement programs and enhancements to working lands conservation tools.
Forestry
The Forestry title contains a range of provisions that empower counties to take a more active role in managing public lands, mitigating wildfire risk and restoring damaged landscapes. The bill directs the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) to develop and implement strategies to use livestock grazing as a wildfire prevention tool and permits electrical utilities to remove trees near transmission lines without initiating a new timber sale process. It expands the use of categorical exclusions (CEs) to accelerate forest management projects, including creating a CE for treatment of high-priority hazardous trees up to 6,000 acres, expanding the CE for firebreaks to 10,000 acres, and establishing a CE for forest thinning up to 3,000 acres within a 10,000-acre project area when developed with input from county leaders.
The bill also allows special districts to enter into Good Neighbor Authority agreements with USFS, reauthorizes Resource Advisory Committees (RACs) through FY 2031 and permits regional foresters to appoint RAC members for Secure Rural Schools Title II projects, and provides USFS with direct hire authority for Job Corps graduates.
Nutrition
In the Nutrition title, the bill focuses primarily on SNAP oversight and program integrity. It requires USDA to include all identified SNAP payment errors in a supplemental annual report, establishes new regulations to strengthen SNAP Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cybersecurity, and directs the Government Accountability Office to investigate states’ SNAP administrative costs. It should be noted that the proposal does not reverse or modify the SNAP cost shifts enacted under H.R. 1, meaning the additional fiscal burdens placed on states and counties remain in place. For California counties that administer CalFresh, this continues to be a significant concern.
Energy
The Energy title expands access to the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) while placing new restrictions on USDA funding for large-scale solar development on prime farmland, with limited exceptions.
While the bill reflects strong attention to rural infrastructure, conservation and wildfire resilience, it also includes provisions that would preempt state and local authority over pesticide regulation and restrict local standards related to livestock production, raising federalism concerns that could complicate negotiations.
For his part, Agriculture Committee Chairman Thompson has indicated an intent to move the bill through committee and to the House floor before the Easter recess. With narrow margins in both chambers and ongoing disagreements over nutrition policy and reconciliation-related provisions, significant negotiations remain ahead before a final 2026 Farm Bill can be enacted.
A short summary of the legislation can be accessed here and a more detailed section-by-section summary can be found here.
HUD Proposes Optional Work Requirements and Term Limits for Housing Assistance
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has just released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that would allow public housing authorities (PHAs) and landlords participating in federal rental assistance programs to establish work requirements and term limits for certain households. The proposal follows a recent HUD action related to eligibility standards for families with mixed immigration status.
Under current law, a limited number of PHAs participating in HUD’s Moving to Work (MTW) demonstration program have authority to test employment incentives and work-related policies. The new proposal would broaden that flexibility to most PHAs and landlords administering federal housing assistance, except those in receivership or otherwise not in good standing with HUD.
Specifically, the rule would permit PHAs and voucher-accepting landlords to:
- Establish work requirements of up to 40 hours per week for non-elderly, non-disabled households, with hardship exemptions; and/or
- Impose term limits of no less than two years for non-elderly, non-disabled households receiving Housing Choice Vouchers or residing in public housing.
Households subject to a term limit could reapply for assistance, but would need to return to the standard waitlist process if determined eligible. The proposal includes mandatory exemptions for both work requirements and term limits, though exemptions for term limits would be more limited. PHAs or landlords opting to implement these policies would be responsible for administering, verifying, and enforcing compliance.
The NPRM reflects concepts included in the Trump administration’s FY 2026 budget proposal, which suggested consolidating certain HUD housing assistance programs into a block grant structure with a two-year time limit for non-elderly, non-disabled adults. Congress did not adopt that proposal in the final FY 2026 appropriations legislation.
Comments on the NPRM are due by May 1, 2026.
Legislation Introduced to Modernize NOAA Weather Forecasting
Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA) recently introduced comprehensive legislation to strengthen the forecasting and public warning capabilities of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
The legislation would reauthorize key weather research programs, modernize NOAA’s aging radar network, and advance next-generation forecasting technologies. It also aims to improve prediction and communication of hurricanes, tornadoes, atmospheric rivers, extreme rainfall, drought, and wildfire, while enhancing subseasonal-to-seasonal outlooks that support farmers, ranchers, and water managers.
If enacted, the bill would reinforce NOAA’s core public-safety mission by improving forecast accuracy, closing radar coverage gaps, and ensuring weather warnings are clear, timely, and actionable.
Relevant Hearings and Markups
House Agriculture
Tuesday, March 3 | 5:00 p.m. ET | The full committee will begin consideration of a Farm Bill reauthorization package (H.R. 7567).
Markup Details
House Ways and Means
Wednesday, March 4 | 10:30 a.m. ET | The panel will conduct an oversight hearing of the IRS with CEO Frank J. Bisignano.
Hearing Details
House Energy and Commerce
Wednesday, March 4 | 10:15 a.m. ET | The Subcommittee on Energy will hold a hearing entitled, "America's Energy Infrastructure: Authorizing Pipeline Safety."
Wednesday, March 4 | 2:00 p.m. ET | The Subcommittee on Environment will meet to examine legislative proposals supporting the remediation and redevelopment of Brownfields Sites.
Hearing Details
House Judiciary
Wednesday, March 4 | 10:00 a.m. ET | The full committee will conduct oversight of the Department of Homeland Security with Secretary Kristi Noem.
Senate Judiciary
Tuesday, March 3 | 9:00 a.m. ET | The full committee will conduct oversight of the Department of Homeland Security with Secretary Kristi Noem.
Hearing Details
Senate Energy and Natural Resources
Wednesday, March 4 | 9:30 a.m. ET | The panel will meet to consider a number of nominations and bills that fall within the committee's jurisdiction. This includes the nomination of Stevan Pearce to be Director of the Bureau of Land Management. On the legislative front, lawmakers will consider a bill (S. 1981) to utilize targeted livestock grazing for wildfire risk reduction.
Markup Details
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