The House has entered an extended recess ahead of the November midterm elections, prompting renewed attention to the legislative productivity of the 119th Congress and the amount of unfinished business that remains. As of today, Congress has passed an historically low number of bills (112 major laws), only 45 of which were passed in 2026. The House has also set a new record for the fewest votes cast in this century in the first session of a two-year Congress. Additionally, this Congress has set a record for the longest government shutdown in U.S. history (43 days). The 119th Congress is being compared to the 80th Congress, mocked by Harry S. Truman as the “Do Nothing Congress,” which passed 388 bills in its first year and over 900 within the first two years.
There’s just two weeks left on the schedule for the Senate, and any policy breakthroughs would likely require a unanimous vote to get across the finish line before Senators leave Washington. As lawmakers return to their districts ahead of the November 3 elections, these statistics, along with issues left unresolved during this Congress, are likely to be top of mind for voters.
House and Senate Health Bill Updates
Last Wednesday a Republican backed bill (H.R.10326) requiring states to turn over identity verification records, benefit disbursement logs, provider billing statements, and demographic information of safety-net programs for fraud investigations, passed the House in a 217-207 vote. This bill aligns with the House Republicans messaging that public health care programs are riddled with fraud and need to be addressed. The bill’s passage was one of the last House floor actions before left town.
The House Ways and Means Committee conducted markups on three health bills last week, including measures to extend Medicare coverage to certain tests for the early screening of Alzheimer’s (H.R. 6130), create a Medicare pilot to deliver medically tailored meals for seniors with diet-related diseases (H.R. 5439), and require the federal government to publicly post Medicare expenditure data for different types of beneficiaries (H.R. 4093).
Committee Activity This Week
The House is adjourned until after the midterm elections.
The Senate Special Committee on Aging will hold a hearing on Wednesday, September 23rd at 3:30 ET, “Leveling the Playing Field: Restoring America’s Edge in Generic Drug Manufacturing”
The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) will hold a vote on whether to advance three health nominees: Nicole Saphier for surgeon general, Timothy Westlake to lead the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), and Mary Lazare to be an assistant secretary for aging. The vote will take place on Thursday, September 24th at 10:00 am ET.
Immediately following the vote at 10:30 am ET, the Senate HELP Committee will hold a nomination hearing for Heidi Overton to be the Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration.
The Senate Finance Committee will meet on Thursday, September 24th at 10 am ET to vote on the nominations of Chris Klomp to be deputy secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Ge Bai to be an Assistant Secretary of HHS.
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