Both chambers are in session this week with a full plate: a five-year farm bill, the expiring FISA Section 702 surveillance authority, a visit from King Charles III, and a budget resolution that could finally end the DHS shutdown, now a disastrous 73 days old.

The most pressing item is the DHS funding standoff. Secretary Markwayne Mullin has informed lawmakers that the administration will not be able to keep paying department employees past April 30, giving Congress a hard deadline to act by this Thursday. Senate Republicans previously passed a budget resolution covering most of DHS appropriations, but House Republicans have refused to take it up without immigration enforcement funding secured first. GOP leaders hope a reconciliation bill funding ICE and Customs and Border Protection will be able to bridge the gap. The House is set to take up the Senate's resolution (S. Con. Res. 33) this week, though whether it has the votes to pass remains an open question. To add an additional hurdle, looming over the week is the fate of FISA Section 702, the foreign surveillance authority, which also expires Thursday.

The House is also expected to take up the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026 (H.R. 7567), a five-year farm bill sponsored by Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-PA). An earlier version advanced out of the House Agriculture Committee in March.

Democrats may also force a vote on a War Powers resolution (H. Con. Res. 75), sponsored by Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), which would direct the President to remove U.S. Armed Forces from hostilities against Iran pursuant to the War Powers Resolution. The issue remains live with U.S. military operations in the Persian Gulf now well past the 60-day mark.

King Charles III will address a joint meeting of Congress on Tuesday afternoon. This is the second time in history an English monarch has come here to do so. His late mother, Queen Elizabeth II, last visited in 1991.

The house is also set to consider Ways and Means legislation spanning tax administration and IRS oversight, disaster relief, taxpayer privacy, intellectual property enforcement in trade, child support, clergy housing, small business development, and economic self-sufficiency programs. Also on suspension is a bill to authorize raising the retirement age for the U.S. Capitol Police.

Finally, budget hearings and appropriations markups continue this week as the FY 27 process moves forward.

Committee Hearings of Interest This Week:

House Energy and Commerce will hold a hearing to examine EPA’s FY 2027 budget. Today at 10:00 AM (details here).