Congress Weekly — 2026-05-18

TITLE: Congress Weekly — Markups advance on veterans, China trade; soil and tree bills move in parallel

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Marked Up

• H.R. 6654, the VAMOSA Act of 2025, was forwarded by subcommittee to full committee by voice vote on April 15, signaling bipartisan momentum on the measure's veteran-affairs provisions ahead of full-committee consideration.

In Committee — Hearings Held

• The House Veterans' Affairs Committee held parallel hearings March 18 on H.R. 6740 (VA TRUST Act) and H.R. 6755 (Accountable Leadership for Veterans Act of 2025), pairing accountability reforms with trust-fund oversight in a coordinated veterans package.
• S. 753, the Strengthening Exports Against China Act, drew hearings in Senate Banking on March 26, advancing export-control tightening that complements the broader China-competition agenda in the upper chamber.
• H.R. 6526, the Clarity on Care Options Act, cleared subcommittee hearings on January 13, queuing up healthcare-disclosure language for further markup in the House.

Introduced — Notable Referrals

China & trade

• H.R. 7552, the CBW Fentanyl Act, was referred February 12 to Foreign Affairs with sequential referrals to Financial Services and Oversight, targeting Chinese chemical-weapons-adjacent fentanyl precursor networks through sanctions and disclosure authorities.
• S. 691, Leveling the Playing Field 2.0 Act, sits in Senate Finance after a February 24 referral; it would update antidumping and countervailing-duty tools, a perennial priority for domestic steel and manufacturing interests.
• H.R. 524, the NO GOTION Act, remains in House Ways and Means after its January 2025 referral, aimed at blocking federal tax credits from flowing to PRC-linked battery investments.

Veterans, foreign aid, and humanitarian

• H.R. 8106, the RESCUE Act, was referred March 26 to Foreign Affairs and Financial Services, signaling a multi-jurisdictional humanitarian-assistance vehicle moving through the House.
• H.R. 8524, the Kenya Merritt Renewing our PACT Act of 2026, went to House Education and Workforce on April 27, extending the PACT Act framework with a named tribute.

Agriculture and land

• Companion soil-health bills S. 3820 and H.R. 7474, both styled the Soil CARE Act of 2026, were referred February 10 to Senate Agriculture and House Agriculture respectively — a clean bicameral pairing worth tracking as conservation reauthorization debates open.
• S. 4403, the Neighborhood Tree Act of 2026, was referred April 27 to Senate Agriculture, targeting urban-forestry grant authorities.
• Companion bills H.R. 8674 (referred May 7 to House Natural Resources) and S. 4399 (referred April 27 to Senate Energy and Natural Resources), the Geese House Site Conveyance Act, would transfer a specific federal parcel and have synchronized bicameral movement.

Tax and consumer

• H.R. 4654 (Baby Sleep Tax Relief Act) and H.R. 4674 (Baby Hygiene Tax Relief Act) were both referred July 23 to Ways and Means with sequential Foreign Affairs referrals — a paired tariff-and-tax-relief package on infant goods that should be read together rather than separately.

Health

• H.R. 1300, the PSA Screening for HIM Act, was referred February 13 to House Energy and Commerce, addressing prostate-cancer screening coverage standards.

Disaster policy

• H.R. 1105, the Disaster Resiliency and Coverage Act of 2025, was pushed down to the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management on February 6 — placement that typically signals a long runway before action.

Passed

No bills in this week's signal reached floor passage. Editor's note: the post-office naming bill H.R. 8669 (Eliot L. Engel Post Office, Bronx) is omitted as purely symbolic.