Monday, January 12th, 2026
Venezuela: The Senate voted to move ahead on S.J.Res.98 (52-47), which would require the administration to seek authorization from Congress before taking further military action in Venezuela. This came days after U.S. forces bombed Caracas and captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. The Senate will still need to take a vote on final passage of the resolution after it advanced. While the legislation is considered nonbinding, it sends a symbolic message that lawmakers aren’t necessarily willing to rubber-stamp the administration’s military operations and are clamoring to claw back their authority. Previous efforts to limit President Trump’s power have lacked enough GOP support and failed. In a rare move, five Republicans joined with Democrats to bring the bill to the floor.
Obamacare Subsidies: The House voted on H.R.1834 (230-196), which would restore expired Obamacare subsidies for three years, through December 2028. The measure is unlikely to overcome Republican opposition in the Senate, but several of the Republican defectors said they hoped a strong showing in the House would increase pressure on the Senate to reach a bipartisan compromise. The 43-day government shutdown in 2025 revolved largely on the expiration of these subsidies.
Commerce, Justice, Science; Energy and Water Development; and Interior and Environment Appropriations: The House passed H.R.6938, would fund the departments of Energy, Commerce, Interior and Justice, as well as water programs, the EPA and federal science initiatives through the end of the current fiscal year. The bill includes negotiated bipartisan agreements on those three full-year FY 2026 spending measures, which would provide a total of $174.65 billion in base discretionary spending. There's increasing optimism that the six remaining fiscal 2026 spending bills can also be completed before Jan. 30, when current funding for most federal agencies is set to run out.
Housing Affordability: The House passed H.R.5184 (263-147), which eliminates a Biden-era rule that gave the Energy Department greater authority to create energy efficiency standards for manufactured housing. The bill would restore the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s lead role in determining such standards for manufactured housing, a more affordable home ownership option for many Americans. More than 16 million Americans lived in manufactured homes in 2023.
Arkansas Valley Conduit: The House failed to override President Trump’s veto of H.R.131 (248-177), which would have provided clean water to rural parts of Colorado. The vote fell short of the 285, two-thirds, majority needed for an override. Just 35 Republicans joined all 213 Democrats in voting for it.
Miccosukee Reserved Area: The House failed to override President Trump’s veto of H.R.504 (236-188), which would have expanded the Miccosukee Tribe’s reserved area in the Florida Everglades related to flood control. The vote fell short of the 284 vote majority needed to override the veto.
South Dakota Air Plan Approval Rule: The Senate failed to advance S.J.Res.86 (43-50), which would repeal the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) final rule titled Air Plan Approval; South Dakota; Regional Haze Plan for the Second Implementation Period (90 Fed. Reg. 41893) and published on August 28, 2025. The final rule approved South Dakota’s revision to its state implementation plan to satisfy the requirements of the EPA’s regional haze rule. The regional haze rule requires states to take actions to improve visibility in national parks and wilderness areas.
