House on Recess, Senate Stays in Session
Washington Update
September 21, 2026
Appropriations
The House has adjourned from legislative business for the next seven weeks and is scheduled to reconvene November 9, after the midterm elections. Lawmakers will then have four weeks to address government funding ahead of the December 11 shutdown deadline. The Senate is scheduled to remain in session until October 2.
Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins (ME) said she would like the Senate to take up one or more FY27 appropriations bills this month, including the Military-Construction-VA bill, but said she was unsure what the legislative calendar would allow. While the Military Construction-VA bill would not provide many earmarks for lawmakers to highlight ahead of Election Day, lawmakers often highlight their support for veterans funding on the campaign trail.
Senate Appropriations Vice Chair Senator Patty Murray (WA) said it would be difficult for Senate Republicans to advance appropriations bills this month without a bipartisan agreement on overall funding levels for defense and nondefense programs. Murray said the parties do not yet have an agreement on topline figures and that Republicans need to resume negotiations following the months-long impasse.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (NY) has not indicated whether Representatives Jared Golden (ME) and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (WA) will face consequences after they twice helped Republicans advance key procedural votes this month. Jeffries said that Democratic leaders would have more to say “when we have more to say,” adding that voters want Democrats focused on taking back control of the House. Some Democrats have suggested removing Gluesenkamp Perez from the Appropriations Committee, while Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (MA) said this week that “team players get to sit on exclusive committees.”
Additionally, Senator Tim Kaine (VA) said that he expects to become the top Democrat on the Senate Budget Committee next year, as he is the most senior Democratic senator who does not currently chair a committee. Senator Jeff Merkley (OR), who currently serves as the committee’s top Democrat, is in line to become the party’s top Democrat on the Environment and Public Works Committee next year.
House Education and Workforce Committee
On Wednesday, September 16, Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (OR) said she is considering a challenge to Congressman Bobby Scott (VA) for the top Democratic position on the House Education and Workforce Committee. Bonamici, the ranking member of the Committee’s Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education Subcommittee, said she is having conversations about committee leadership. Congresswoman Jahana Hayes (CT) launched a formal bid for the position a couple weeks ago. Scott has said he intends to continue serving as the committee’s top Democrat.
Department of Labor Proposed Rule Public Comments
On Thursday, September 17, House Education and Workforce Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA), House Judiciary Ranking Member Jamie Raskin (MD), and Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee Ranking Member Bernie Sanders (VT) wrote a letter to U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Attorney General Todd Blanche and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel calling on them to open a criminal investigation into reported fake or unverifiable public comments submitted in support of a U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) proposed rule on 401(k) investments. Scott and Sanders also wrote letters to DOL Acting Secretary Keith Sondlering and DOL Inspector General Anthony P. D’Esposito calling on them to also investigate.
The request follows Bloomberg News reporting that nearly 12,000 comments supporting the rule showed signs of being manufactured, including comments submitted in the names of people who said they did not submit them and people who were deceased. The proposed rule would establish a legal safe harbor for 401(k) plans to invest in private equity, cryptocurrency and other alternative assets.
Click here to access the full letter to DOJ Attorney General Blache and FBI Director Patel.
Click here to access the full letter to DOL Acting Secretary Sonderling.
Click here to access the full letter to DOL Inspector General D’Esposito.
Department of Education Assistant Secretary
On Monday, September 14, Kirsten Baesler, the U.S. Department of Education’s Assistant Secretary of Elementary and Secondary Education, began serving as Acting Assistant Secretary for the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) following Kelly Rogers’ resignation. Rogers, who had led OSERS since May, announced her departure effective Friday, September 11. The leadership change comes as the Department of Education continues transferring OSERS staff and responsibilities to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). More than 100 OSERS staff were expected to move to HHS as part of the transition.
Department of Education Staffing Cuts
On Tuesday, September 15, former Education secretaries Arne Duncan, John B. King Jr., and Miguel Cardona and AFGE Local 252 President Rachel Gittleman sent a letter to the acting Inspector General Mark Priebe calling for an investigation into the financial impact of the departure of roughly 2,000 employees who left the department through layoffs, retirements and voluntary separation agreements in 2025. The letter asks the inspector general to examine costs associated with litigation, grievances, firings, reductions in force and reinstating employees. The request follows a June inspector general report that found the staffing cuts eliminated offices that may have been responsible for legally required functions, including education data collection and oversight of student loan servicers.
Click here to access the letter.
USCM/WDC STAFF ANALYSIS
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Click here to read the entire September 21 weekly legislative update.
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Click here to access legislative updates from previous weeks.
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Click here to access the entire catalogue of WDC publications.
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Click here to access the WDC SharePoint site, a centralized hub where WDC workforce leaders can upload, access, and exchange materials that help advance local workforce and economic development efforts.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
WDC in the News
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The Austin Infrastructure Academy will receive more than $2.5 million in city funds over the coming years to support the workforce training and jobs program as several major public projects continue their development. “Part of our goal was to evolve the economic development paradigm where it’s not just about, at the end of every year, counting the number of new jobs created, but counting the number of people we’re actually getting into jobs that are Austinites," Mayor Kirk Watson said. Click here to access the full article.
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Following a successful Summer Youth Jobs season that connected nearly 11,000 young people with paid work opportunities across the City, Mayor Michelle Wu and Boston Public Schools Superintendent Mary Skipper today announced the start of the School Year Youth Jobs program, expanding career connected opportunities for students year-round. Through partnerships with employers, schools and community partners, the program connects young people to real work experience, career-readiness support and pathways into Boston’s workforce. Click here to access the full article.
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Roughly half of the 152 million active workers in the U.S. are Skilled Through Alternative Routes (STARs), finds a new report from Opportunity@Work, which also released a policy playbook. These 75 million Americans include workers who attended community college, and they comprise nearly two-thirds of rural workers. AI-related job disruption poses a particular challenge for rural STARS, while one in five of all STARS (15.6 million) currently work in highly AI-exposed roles. Click here to access the full report.
New From DOL/ETA
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On Friday, September 18, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the State Employment and Unemployment Summary which showed that in August, unemployment rates were lower in 8 states and the District of Columbia and stable in 42 states. Nonfarm payroll employment increased in 4 states and was essentially unchanged in 46 states and the District. Click here to access the full report.
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In the week ending September 12, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 196,000, a decrease of 10,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 206,000. The 4-week moving average was 203,250, a decrease of 2,750 from the previous week's unrevised average of 206,000. Click here to access the full report.
Fact of the Week ---
According to a recent report from Deloitte Center for Energy & Industrials, manufacturing technician employment could grow six times faster than core production roles between 2025 and 2030, contributing to 2.3 million U.S. technician job openings. Technicians are also among the hardest roles to fill, but workers in adjacent industries represent a potential talent pool across the economy. Citing AI, the report calls for a redesign of training programs and career pathways.
Click here to access the report.
