Dear friend,

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

Last week, the Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions convened a hearing entitled, “Pension Predators: Stopping Class Action Abuse Against Workers’ Retirement,” and the Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education (ECESE) Subcommittee convened a hearing entitled, “Safeguarding Student Privacy and Parental Rights: A Review of FERPA and PPRA.” Additionally, I appeared before the House Committee on Veterans Affairs to discuss my legislation, the Caring for Survivors Act.

I am also including an update on the bills before the full House.

For my full recap, please read below.

Pension Predators: Stopping Class Action Abuse Against Workers’ Retirement

On Tuesday, the Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions convened a hearing entitled, “Pension Predators: Stopping Class Action Abuse Against Workers’ Retirement”.

During the hearing, I focused on efforts by the Department of Labor to rescind the Retirement Security Rule. This would negatively impact employees who have invested their earnings in the hopes of retiring with dignity.

Additional information on the Pension Predators: Stopping Class Action Abuse Against Workers’ Retirement hearing is available here.

Safeguarding Student Privacy and Parental Rights: A Review of FERPA and PPRA

On Wednesday, the Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education (ECESE) Subcommittee convened a hearing entitled, “Safeguarding Student Privacy and Parental Rights: A Review of FERPA and PPRA.”

During the hearing, I reiterated the importance of the Department of Education as it is the primary federal entity responsible for protecting the rights of students and educators across the country –and enforces federal law like Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FEPRA) and the Pupil Rights Amendment Act (PPRA).

During the hearing, I also addressed the disturbing rhetoric around indoctrination in schools. Teachers do not become teachers to push ideology and indoctrinate children. They become teachers to educate and support students.

Students are more successful when they have involved and engaged parents. As a teacher, I saw firsthand the importance of strong parent-teacher partnerships. Constant support in and out of the classroom is what leads to stronger academic outcomes.

The full Safeguarding Student Privacy and Parental Rights: A Review of FERPA and PPRA hearing is available here.

House Committee on Veterans Affairs

In June, I appeared before the House Committee on Veterans Affairs to discuss my bill, the Caring for Survivors Act, legislation to expand benefits for survivors of service members and veterans who have given their lives in service to the United States of America.

Last week, I returned to encourage the committee to advance the legislation through the committee as next step towards eventual passage on the House floor.

When a service member dies in the line of duty, or a veteran dies from service-related injuries or illnesses, their surviving family members receive a monthly benefit known as Dependency and Indemnity Compensation, or D-I-C. Unfortunately, the D-I-C rate has been minimally adjusted since the Department of Veterans Affairs established the benefit in 1993 and currently has lower rates and more stringent rules than other federal survivor programs.

The Caring for Survivors Act raises the monthly D-I-C benefit by more than $450 per recipient, bringing D-I-C payments in line with surviving payments that other federal civilian employees are eligible to receive. Additionally, the bill reduces the time frame a veteran must be disabled to qualify for D-I-C benefits from 10 to 5 years. Together, these provisions would increase D-I-C benefits and broaden eligibility to ensure families receive the financial help they deserve.

Learn more about the Caring for Survivors Act here.

Floor Update

Last week, the House considered the Small Business Regulatory Reduction Act of 2025 and the DUMP Red Tape Act of 2025.

The Small Business Regulatory Reduction Act of 2025 requires the SBA to ensure any agency regulatory changes do not increase small business compliance costs for the fiscal year — disregarding potential incentives for rural business owners or veterans. The DUMP Red Tape Act codifies the Office of Advocacy's “Red Tape Hotline,” wasting time and resources on a flawed and redundant system rather than addressing recent tariff policy and the harm is creating for small businesses. For these reasons, I opposed the legislation when it came before the House for a vote.

No less concerning, the majority advanced a series of Education and Workforce bills that do nothing to address the most pressing issues facing students today including the closure of the Department of Education and school safety measures.

These bills include H.R. 1005, Combating the Lies of Authoritarians in School Systems Act, H.R. 1049, the Transparency in Reporting of Adversarial Contributions to Education Act, and H.R. 1069, the PROTECT Our Kids Act.

I voted against this legislation when it came before me in Committee and continue to oppose this legislation on the floor.

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