Both chambers are back in session this week, with the U.S. military strikes on Iran over the weekend reshaping the legislative agenda.

U.S. forces, working alongside the Israeli military, struck Iran over the weekend, and Congress is moving quickly to respond. Democrats in both chambers are planning to force war powers votes aimed at constraining the President's authority to conduct further military action without congressional approval.

On the House floor this week, members will take up a series of bills primarily from the Natural Resources Committee, including the Critical Mineral Consistency Act (H.R. 755), which aims to improve regulatory consistency around critical mineral development — an issue of growing relevance to our industry. Other Natural Resources bills address tribal land leasing, Alaskan land exchanges and oil spill recovery, broadband deployment on federal lands, and fisheries development. The Education and Workforce Committee also has bills on the schedule covering human trafficking detection, homeschool graduation recognition, and territorial student access to higher education. Later in the week, the House is expected to consider immigration-related legislation, including the Deporting Fraudsters Act of 2026 (H.R. 1958).

The DHS shutdown is now in its nineteenth day. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) announced plans to bring another Homeland Security funding bill to the floor this week, though the new draft is nearly identical to a bill the House already passed (HR 7147) that remains stalled in the Senate. Democrats have given no indication they are prepared to soften their position on immigration enforcement in exchange for a deal.

The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation will hold a hearing to consider two bills this Wednesday at 10:00 AM. S.933, to authorize programs for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for fiscal year 2025, and S.3923, to improve the weather research of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. You can watch the proceedings here.