Dear friend, 

Welcome to your Weekly Wrap, a recap of the week in Congress and highlights of my work. 

Last week, the House Committee on Agriculture Subcommittee on Nutrition and Foreign Agriculture convened for a hearing entitled, Exploring State Options in SNAP. Also, the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education convened a hearing entitled, From Playground to Classroom: The Spread of Antisemitism in K-12 Schools.

More from the week: The New Democratic Coalition Health Care Access and Affordability Task Force held a health care roundtable on Enhanced Premium Tax Credits (EPTC), and the House advanced the Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

For my full recap, please read below.

Exploring State Options in SNAP

Last week, the House Committee on Agriculture Subcommittee on Nutrition and Foreign Agriculture convened for a hearing entitled, Exploring State Options in SNAP.

Nine weeks after the largest cut to food assistance in the history of our nation, this is the first hearing the Committee has held on this important topic.

As a result of H.R. 1, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”, 4 million people, including families with children, seniors, veterans, and individuals with disabilities, will see the food assistance they need to afford groceries cut substantially or taken away entirely.  

H.R. 1 creates an enormous burden for states to cover costs associated with administering SNAP. The hearing, Exploring State Options in SNAP, examined what options are available to states as they work to ease benefit cliffs.

Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility is a state option that allows SNAP participants who get a slight raise or earn a little more, continue to receive food assistance instead of getting kicked off the program. States may have to opt out of options like Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility to afford program costs because of provisions included in the “One Big Beautiful Bill”.

Listen to the full Exploring State Options in SNAP hearing  here. 

From Playground to Classroom: The Spread of Antisemitism in K-12 Schools

On Wednesday, the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education convened a hearing entitled, From Playground to Classroom: The Spread of Antisemitism in K-12 Schools. 

During the hearing, my remarks focused on how false charges or smears of antisemitism undermine the difficult work educators across the nation are engaged in to combat the resurgence of antisemitic incidents.

The use of antisemitism as a partisan political tool makes students unsafe - from the playground to college campuses.

Listen to my remarks during the hearing here.

Health Care Roundtable

On Wednesday afternoon, the New Democratic Coalition Health Care Access and Affordability Task Force held a health care roundtable on Enhanced Premium Tax Credits (EPTC).  

Enhanced Premium Tax Credits help families purchase health insurance. In 2021, Congress expanded eligibility for EPTCs – allowing an additional 10 million people to receive assistance to cover healthcare costs. Unfortunately, EPTCs are set to expire at the end of the year.

As costs of goods and services continue to soar, it is imperative that these tax credits be extended to help families continue to receive quality healthcare.

National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)

Last week, the House passed H.R. 3838, the Streamlining Procurement for Effective Execution and Delivery and National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026.

The purpose of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) is to equip the U.S. military with the proper resources to address security threats to the United States, spur innovation between business and the Department of Defense (DOD), and support service members and their families. Traditionally, this legislation has moved through Congress with bipartisan support.

The initial FY26 NDAA contained numerous bipartisan investments that I have supported. These include pay raises for service members and investments in Historically Black Colleges and Universities. During debate, several amendments were proposed to improve the bill, including my  amendment that would direct the military to update suicide prevention and behavioral health information annually on their websites. The amendment is based on my legislation, the Accurate Mental Health Resources for Our Servicemembers Act.

Unfortunately, several partisan amendments were also added to the bill that undermine the authority of Congress and would allow for further executive overreach by the Trump Administration. The legislation also did nothing to address the mobilization of U.S. troops in American cities. For these reasons, I could not support House passage of the legislation and ultimately voted No.

And that’s a wrap.

Thank you for taking the time to read this update. As always, please continue to share your thoughts and priorities with me.

Jahana Hayes

Member of Congress