Committee Cliff Notes: Weekly Recap – Week of November 17, 2025

Here’s a recap of key moments from House Republican committees during the week:

Budget

On Tuesday, November 18, the Committee on the Budget held a full committee hearing called "Oversight of the Congressional Budget Office." The hearing explored ways to address the accuracy of the Congressional Budget Office’s products, the timeliness of its communications, and the accountability of its actions to Congress, as well as proposals to imbue more transparency in the agency.

Education & Workforce

On Tuesday, November 18, the Committee on Education and Workforce held a full committee hearing called "The Future of College: Harnessing Innovation to Improve Outcomes and Lower Costs." College costs are skyrocketing, yet employers say graduates still aren’t job-ready. It’s a broken system that affects every American—tuition bills, student debt, worker shortages, and rising prices all tie back to this issue. This hearing examined ways to innovate higher education so we can lower costs, better align programs with workforce demands, and equip all students for success in today’s economy.
On Wednesday, November 19, the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections held a hearing called "E-Verify: Ensuring Lawful Employment in America." Democrats had four years to secure the border and tackle inflation—they didn't. President Trump did. Now, Republicans are securing American wages too—thanks to E-Verify, which was the focus of this hearing. By verifying that workers are legally eligible to work in this country, we protect economic opportunity for American workers and ensure their wages aren’t driven down by unfair competition.
On Wednesday, November 19, the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education held a hearing called "From Classroom to Career: Strengthening Skills Pathways Through CTE." The future workforce starts in our schools. During this hearing members heard from educators, workforce leaders, and policy experts on strengthening career & technical education (CTE). CTE makes sure students learn the skills that match real job opportunities. That means fewer unfilled jobs, more career-ready graduates, and a stronger economy.

On Thursday, November 20, the Committee on Education and Workforce held a full committee markup of the following legislation:

H.R. 2870, the Working Families Flexibility Act (Miller)
H.R. 2312, the Tipped Employee Protection Act (Womack)
H.R. 2299, the Ensuring Workers Get PAID Act of 2025 (Grothman)

These bills offer flexibility, fairness, and faster pay for America’s workers. Specifically, they provide clear, modern, and flexible solutions that expand flexibility for families, boost earnings for tipped workers, and ensure workers get paid faster when payroll mistakes occur. Simply put, they are commonsense solutions that put workers and families first.
On Friday, November 21, the Committee on Education and Workforce held a full committee hearing called "Member Day." The Committee heard from Reps. Randy Fine (R-FL), Jahana Hayes (D-CT), Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), Maxine Dexter (D-OR), Kevin Hern (R-OK), Rep. Tracey Mann (R-KS), and Dave Taylor (R-OH). Chairman Walberg highlighted the Working Families Tax Cuts, which helps lower college costs, increases accountability for schools, and expands access to high-quality job training so students have skills that match real job opportunities.

Energy & Commerce

On Tuesday, November 18, the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology held a markup of 7 bills to streamline broadband permitting and connect millions of unserved and underserved Americans. All 7 bills were forwarded to the Full Committee.

H.R. 1343, the Federal Broadband Deployment Tracking Act (Pfluger)
H.R. 1588, the Facilitating DIGITAL Applications Act (Miller-Meeks)
H.R. 1665, the DIGITAL Applications Act (Cammack)
H.R. 1681, the Expediting Federal Broadband Deployment Act (Evans)
H.R. 1731, the Standard FEES Act (Palmer)
H.R. 6046, the Broadband and Telecommunications RAIL Act (Joyce)
H.R. 2289, the Proportional Reviews for Broadband Deployment Act (Carter)

On Tuesday, November 18, the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held a hearing called "Innovation with Integrity: Examining the Risks and Benefits of AI Chatbots" to evaluate the risks of AI chatbots and ensure AI innovation while protecting the most vulnerable among us as AI usage becomes more commonplace.
On Wednesday, November 19, the Subcommittee on Health held a markup of the following legislation:

H.R. 3474, the Federal Mechanical Insulation Act (Weber)
H.R. 3699, the Energy Choice Act (Langworthy)
H.R. 5184, the Affordable Housing Over Mandating Efficiency Standards (Affordable HOMES) Act (Houchin)
H.R. 4690, the Reliable Federal Infrastructure Act (Langworthy)
H.R. 4593, the Saving Homeowners from Overregulation With Exceptional Rinsing (SHOWER) Act (Fry)
H.R. 4758, the Homeowner Energy Freedom Act (Goldman)
H.R. 4626, the Don't Mess With My Home Appliances Act (Allen)
H.R. 1355, the Weatherization Enhancements and Readiness Act of 2025 (Tonko)

On Thursday, November 20, the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade held a hearing called "Daylight and Destinations: Examining Time, Travel, and Tourism." The hearing examined how we can help strengthen the travel and tourism industries as well as examined the impacts of Daylight Saving Time.

Financial Services

On Tuesday, November 18, the Committee on Financial Services held a full committee hearing called "The Future of Deposit Insurance: Exploring the Coverage, Costs, and Depositor Confidence." The Committee examined the current deposit insurance framework in the United States. Members and witnesses assessed the potential costs and benefits of proposed reforms and explored considerations from both policymakers and financial institutions.

Foreign Affairs

On Wednesday, November 19, the East Asia and Pacific Subcommittee and the South and Central Asia Subcommittee held a joint hearing titled, “No Exit Strategy: Burma's Endless Crisis and America's Limited Options.” The members examined the ongoing crisis in Burma as the civil war between the military junta and ethnic resistance organizations continues to wreak havoc across the country. In their opening remarks, South and Central Asia Subcommittee Chairman Bill Huizenga and East Asia and the Pacific Subcommittee Chairwoman Young Kim highlighted the role China and Russia are playing in supplying the military regime, and the junta’s moves to chill the democratic process in Burma. The lawmakers also underscored the importance of U.S. leadership in the region to end the humanitarian catastrophe in Burma.

On Thursday, November 20, the South and Central Asia Subcommittee held a hearing titled, “Export Control Loopholes: Chipmaking Tools and their Subcomponents.” The members examined the Chinese Communist Party's persistent efforts to exploit the loopholes in the U.S. export controls stockpile chipmaking tools. In his opening remarks, Subcommittee Chairman Bill Huizenga underscored the imperative for the U.S. to remain at the center of the AI revolution and for Congress to act quickly to close the export control loopholes exploited by China.

On Thursday, November 20, the Africa Subcommittee held a hearing titled, “President Trump’s redesignation of Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern—CPC”: a serious, well-founded wake-up call.” The members examined the ongoing persecution of Christians in Nigeria and President Trump's decisive action in designating Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern. During his opening remarks, Subcommittee Chairman Chris Smith underscored that the United States cannot stand by while these atrocities are happening in Nigeria.

On Thursday, November 20, the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee held a hearing titled, “Democracy in Peril: the Fight for Free Election in Honduras.” During her opening remarks Subcommittee Chairwoman Maria Salazar underscored the importance of the upcoming elections and the critical crossroads for Honduras. “This committee is sending a very clear message supported by the State department and the Trump administration, that Honduras must hold a free, fair, and transparent election,” she said. “No intimidation, no stolen ballots, no foreign interference. The eye of the United States is upon Honduras this November 30th.”

Homeland Security

On Thursday, November 20, the Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security and the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection held a joint hearing entitled “Securing Global Communications: An Examination of Foreign Adversary Threats to Subsea Cable Infrastructure.” Subsea cables play a vital role in unholding our global economy, communication apparatus, and our own national security. Witnesses testified that there are increasing threats from adversaries to these systems and emphasized that we need to implement safeguards to mitigate security risks.
Several committee bills passed the House this week and are headed to the Senate. The bills will help assess evolving threats, bolster our cyber defenses, defend against transnational criminal organizations, and support our U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers.

House Administration

On Wednesday, November 19, the Committee on House Administration held a full committee hearing titled, “Taking Stock of the STOCK Act.”

Judiciary

On Tuesday, November 18, the Committee on Judiciary held a full committee markup on the following legislation:

H.R. 4638, the Bill to Outlaw Wounding of Official Working Animals (BOWOW) Act (Calvert)
H.R. 5713, the Expedited Removal of Criminal Aliens Act (Gill)
H.R. 4711, the Rapid Expulsion of Migrant Offenders who Violate and Evade (REMOVE) Act (Nehls)
H.R. 2189, the Law Enforcement Innovate to De-Escalate Act of 2025 (Fitzgerald)
H.R. 2675, the Protecting Our Courts from Foreign Manipulation Act of 2025 (Cline)
H.R. 1109, the Litigation Transparency Act of 2025 (Issa)
H.R. 6048, the NDO Fairness Act (Fitzgerald)
H.R. 988, To amend title 36, United States Code, to move the place of incorporation and domicile of the National Woman’s Relief Corps to Illinois, to move the principal office of such Corps to Murphysboro, Illinois, and for other purposes (Bost)

On Wednesday, November 19, the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Limited Government held a hearing called "Enumeration or Estimation: Why Inaccurate Census Results Hurt American Citizens."
On Wednesday, November 19, the Subcommittee on Oversight held a hearing called "Restoring Law and Order in High-Crime U.S. Cities."
On Thursday, November 20, the Committee on the Judiciary held a full committee hearing called "Member Day."

Natural Resources

On Wednesday, November 19, the Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries held a legislative hearing on the following bills:

H.R. 338, the Every Drop Counts Act (Costa)
H.R. 1514, the Mississippi River Basin Fishery Commission Act (Ezell)
H.R. 3756, the Fighting Foreign Illegal Seafood Harvests (FISH) Act of 2025 (Crenshaw)
H.R. 5699, the Fisheries Data Modernization and Accuracy Act of 2025 (Rutherford)

On Wednesday, November 19, Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs held a legislative hearing on the following bills:

H.R. 4276, To amend the Native American Tourism and Improving Visitor Experience Act to authorize grants to Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and Native Hawaiian organizations, and for other purposes (Case)
H.R. 5515, the Indian Trust Asset Reform Amendment Act (Hurd)
H.R. 5682, To take certain land in the State of California into trust for the benefit of the Pechanga Band of Indians, and for other purposes (Issa)
H.R. 5696, the Strengthening Tribal Real Estate Authority and Modernizing Land for Indigenous Nation Expansion (STREAMLINE) Act (LaMalfa)

On Thursday, November 20, the Committee on Natural Resources held a full committee markup to consider:

H.R. 573, the Studying NEPA’s Impact on Projects Act (Yakym)
H.R. 681, To amend the Act of August 9, 1955 (commonly known as the "Long-Term Leasing Act"), to authorize leases of up to 99 years for land held in trust for the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe and the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah), and for other purposes (Keating)
H.R. 3903, the Chugach Alaska Land Exchange Oil Spill Recovery Act of 2025 (Begich)
H.R. 4386, To amend the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act to clarify entrance privileges for vehicles with respect to the America the Beautiful interagency pass (Walberg)
H.R. 4467, the Vicksburg National Military Park Boundary Modification Act (Thompson)
H.R. 4503, the ePermit Act (Johnson)
H.R. 4776, the Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development (SPEED) Act (Westerman)
H.R. 5131, the Public Lands Military Readiness Act of 2025 (Begich)

Rules

On Monday, November 17, the Committee on Rules met on the following measures:

S.J. Res. 80, Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Bureau of Land Management relating to ‘‘National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska Integrated Activity Plan Record of Decision’’ (Sen. Sullivan)
H.J. Res. 130, Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Bureau of Land Management relating to ‘‘Buffalo Field Office Record of Decision and Approved Resource Management Plan Amendment’’ (Hageman)
H.J. Res. 131, Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Bureau of Land Management relating to ‘‘Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program Record of Decision’’ (Begich)
H.R. 1949, the Unlocking our Domestic LNG Potential Act of 2025 (Pfluger)
H.R. 3109, the REFINER Act (Latta)
H. Con. Res. 58, Denouncing the horrors of socialism (Salazar)
H.R. 5214, the District of Columbia Cash Bail Reform Act of 2025 (Stefanik)
H.R. 5107, the Common-Sense Law Enforcement and Accountability Now in DC Act of 2025 (Clyde)

This week, the Rules Committee met to consider measures on Energy, DC reforms, and denouncing socialism. Members discussed the need to reverse the damage from Biden’s war on energy and the importance of American energy producers. Rules Republicans also detailed the horrors created by the socialism to communism pipeline. Finally, we laid out the reasons to walk back DC’s radical criminal justice reforms which have made our nation’s capital less safe.

Select Committee on China

On Wednesday, November 19, the Select Committee on China held a hearing called "Predatory Pricing: How the Chinese Communist Party Manipulates Global Mineral Prices to Maintain Its Dominance."

On Wednesday, November 19, Select Committee on China Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI) and member Carlos Gimenez (R-FL) held a discussion with legislators from the National Assembly of Panama to discuss China’s influence in the Western hemisphere and the Panama Canal.

On Thursday, November 20, Select Committee on China Chairman John Moolenaar held a meeting with Ambassador Hugo Beteta, Guatemala’s ambassador to the United States. The leaders discussed China’s efforts to intimidate Guatemala because of its courageous stand with Taiwan.

Small Business

On Tuesday, November 18, the Committee on Small Business held a full committee markup on the following legislation:

H.R. 5763, the Main Street Parity Act (Williams)
H.R. 5788, the 504 Program Risk Oversight Act (Tran)
H.R. 3496, the Northern Mariana Islands Small Business Access Act (King-Hinds)
H.R. 5764, the AI for Mainstreet Act (Alford)
H.R. 5784, the Artificial Intelligence Wisdom for Innovative Small Enterprises (AI-WISE) Act (Scholten)
H.R. 5778, the Improving SBA Engagement on Employee Ownership Act (McIver)
H.R. 4305, the Destroying Unnecessary, Misaligned, and Prohibitive (DUMP) Red Tape Act of 2025 (Wied)

On Thursday, November 20, the Committee on Small Business held a full committee hearing called "Made in the USA: How Main Street is Revitalizing Domestic Manufacturing." The purpose of this hearing was to examine how small businesses are driving innovation and job creation by bringing manufacturing back to the United States.

Veterans Affairs

On Thursday, November 20, the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs held an oversight hearing titled “Improving Outcomes for Disabled Veterans: Oversight of VA’s Medical Disability Examination Office.” The hearing examined VA’s oversight of contractors through VA’s Medical Disability Examination Office (MDEO). A recent GAO report revealed how laxed controls and oversight during the Biden-Harris administration led to VA overpaying $2.3 million in financial incentives to contractors who schedule and manage contracted disability examiners. Additionally, GAO revealed how this office has failed to implement avenues for stakeholder feedback on the exam process and is behind on reviewing high-error claim types. GOP members heard from witnesses about VA’s progress recouping these payments and implementing controls. GOP members asked VA to commit to keeping them informed of efforts to review the incentive process and the process for sending medical examiners a veteran’s medical history.

Ways and Means

On Tuesday, November 18, the Subcommittee on Work and Welfare held a hearing called "Leaving the Sticky Notes Behind: Harnessing Innovation and New Technology to Help America’s Foster Youth Succeed." Witnesses shared how using new and innovative technologies will enhance caseworkers’ ability to support foster youth transitioning to adulthood. Currently, caseworkers spend an average of four hours per day on documentation and paperwork because of outdated case management systems, mostly dating back to the 1990s, as well as green screen technology, electronic “sticky notes,” and Excel sheets.

The hearing is a part of the Committee’s ongoing efforts to modernize and reform the Chafee program and improve outcomes for foster youth and former foster youth. In June, the Work & Welfare Subcommittee held a hearing examining ways the Chafee program could be improved. Additionally, President Trump recently issued an Executive Order as part of First Lady Melania Trump’s “Fostering the Future Initiative” that identifies “antiquated information systems” as a problem for the nation’s foster care system and calls for states to expand the use of technology tools such as artificial intelligence in the child welfare systems.

On Wednesday, November 19, the Subcommittee on Health held a hearing called "Modernizing Care Coordination to Prevent and Treat Chronic Disease." As America’s health care system is failing to address the nation’s chronic disease crisis, medical providers from across the country testified how improving care coordination provides better care for patients and how fragmented care contributes to medical errors, unnecessary visits, redundant or repeated services, avoidable hospitalizations, and suboptimal care. The need for coordinated care to manage chronic diseases is particularly great, given that 60 percent of Americans suffer from a chronic disease and account for 90 percent of the nation’s $4.9 trillion annual health care costs. Today, Medicare beneficiaries see 50 percent more specialists than in 2000, underscoring the need for communication and care teams. Expert witnesses discussed how Accountable Care Organizations, doctor-pharmacist collaboration, community paramedics, remote patient monitoring, and telehealth follow-up appointments are proven models of coordinated care that can be expanded and incentivized.

Republicans took targeted steps toward advancing care coordination in the working families tax cuts enacted this year by increasing reimbursements for physicians and made community paramedics eligible for resources from the newly created $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program.

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