Good afternoon! Congress returns this week with a full agenda focused on appropriations and a major housing bill. The Senate is expected to pass comprehensive housing legislation Monday evening, sending it back to the House and possibly the President’s desk by the end of the week. The House will consider two Fiscal Year 2027 (FY27) spending bills and review its Defense appropriations bill in committee. Senate Republican appropriators will begin their own FY27 markups on Thursday, though no topline funding agreement has been reached. The House Energy and Commerce Committee will introduce a bipartisan agreement on children’s online safety. President Trump will meet with the head of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on Wednesday amid ongoing concerns about U.S. force commitments in Europe. Negotiations continue on the fragile framework to end the war in Iran.
WHITE HOUSE
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Vice President J.D. Vance, leading the U.S. delegation, reported progress in high-level talks with Iran as both sides agreed to a framework for a final agreement during a 60-day truce. Mediators Qatar and Pakistan announced the breakthrough Monday, outlining a roadmap to a final deal, a “de-confliction cell” to halt military operations in Lebanon, and a communication line to prevent incidents in the Strait of Hormuz. The talks began amid tension after President Trump threatened further strikes on Iran unless it stopped Hezbollah activity in Lebanon and warned of severe consequences if Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz, which it attempted to do on Saturday. Iranian state media reported that these threats briefly caused its delegation to leave the talks, though negotiations continued through the mediators. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated that the mediators had achieved significant progress toward ending the conflict after talks resumed.
- President Trump will host NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte at the White House on Wednesday, as the alliance addresses U.S. plans to reduce its military commitment to European defense. Rutte arrives Tuesday for a three-day visit, including meetings with senior administration officials and members of Congress. The visit follows Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s announcement of a six-month review of U.S. troop deployments in Europe and criticism of NATO allies.
SENATE
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Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) will bring comprehensive housing legislation to the floor today, where it is expected to pass. Senate Banking and House Financial Services committee leaders reached an agreement on the bill last week. The legislation seeks to increase housing supply and reduce costs by easing regulations, encouraging new construction, and loosening regulations for community banks and credit unions. It also includes a modified version of President Trump’s proposed ban on large institutional investors’ bulk purchases of single-family homes. The House is expected to consider the measure later this week.
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Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins (R-ME) has scheduled markups on Thursday to consider the FY27 Agriculture, Military Construction-VA, Commerce-Justice-Science, and Legislative Branch funding bills despite no overall topline funding agreement with Democrats.
- The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee will consider five nominations on Wednesday morning, including the appointment of Thomas B. Chapman to the National Transportation Safety Board, Edward Eppler as Department of Transportation Chief Financial Officer, and Karen Jean Hedlund’s appointment to the Surface Transportation Board.
HOUSE
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The full House Appropriations Committee will mark up its draft FY27 Defense spending bill on Wednesday, totaling over $1 trillion. The bill allocates $60 billion for Navy ship procurement, below the Trump administration’s $65 billion request for eighteen battle force ships and sixteen support ships.
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The House will consider the FY27 National Security-State and Energy &Water appropriations bills this week. The $47.3 billion National Security-State bill, advanced in April, is 5.7 percent below FY26 levels. The Energy-Water bill, approved in late May, allocates $62.2 billion, approximately $1.1 billion less than the FY26 enacted level.
- House Energy and Commerce Chair Brett Guthrie (R-KY) will announce a bipartisan agreement Monday regarding online protections for children, establishing a unified House position on the Kids Online Safety Act. The agreement incorporates the broader KIDS Act, advanced by the committee in March, and reflects months of negotiations. The House version includes a requirement that platforms implement procedures to protect young users, mandates default maximum safety settings for minors, and restricts features such as disappearing messages. A federal policy floor would override weaker state laws while allowing states to enact stronger protections, with preemption limited to the policies proposed.
