Thursday, April 23, 2026

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Congress is in active session with the House voting today and the Senate in recess. The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled for a business meeting this afternoon to consider three bills and five judicial nominations. The appropriations cycle is in the public testimony submission phase with 55 member offices now accepting FY2027 requests. Six presidential determinations on energy infrastructure were published today, invoking Defense Production Act authorities. Regulatory activity includes four proposed rules with 33-day comment periods and multiple securities exchange notices.

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CONGRESSIONAL SESSION STATUS

House: In session for voting (Thursday, April 23, 2026). Next recess begins May 25 (Memorial Day).

Senate: Not in session today. Next recess begins May 4 (State Work Period).

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SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE BUSINESS MEETING

Date/Time: April 23, 2026, 2:15 PM ET

Location: Hart Senate Office Building, Room 216

Status: Scheduled

Bills for Consideration:

• S. 1572 — Amends title 18, U.S. Code, to improve the Federal carjacking statute
• S. 3062 — Requires artificial intelligence chatbots to implement age verification measures and make certain disclosures
• S. 3966 — Prohibits enforcement of certain contractual clauses that restrict disclosure of sexual abuse of minors

Judicial Nominations for Consideration:

• Sheria Akins Clarke — U.S. District Judge, District of South Carolina
• Kathleen S. Lane — U.S. District Judge, District of Montana
• Evan Rikhye — Judge, District Court of the Virgin Islands (10-year term)
• Kara Marie Westercamp (Virginia) — Judge, U.S. Court of International Trade
• Kenneth Sorenson — U.S. Attorney, District of Hawaii (4-year term)

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APPROPRIATIONS CYCLE STATUS

Current Phase: Public Testimony Submissions (Active)

Next Phase: 302(b) Allocations (8 days away, ~May 1)

Live Signals — Member Request Portals Open:

55 House members have opened FY2027 appropriations request portals as of April 22. Sample of active portals:

• Rep. John W. Mannion (D-NY) — https://mannion.house.gov/fy27-appropriations-requests
• Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-CA) — https://sarajacobs.house.gov/appropriations-requests
• Rep. Troy A. Carter (D-LA) — https://troycarter.house.gov/services/fy27-appropriations-requests
• Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA) — https://collins.house.gov/services/fy27-appropriations-requests
• Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY) — https://espaillat.house.gov/appropriations-requests
• Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX) — https://sessions.house.gov/appropriations-requests
• Rep. Donald Norcross (D-NJ) — https://norcross.house.gov/fy27-appropriations-requests
• Rep. Jesús G. "Chuy" García (D-IL) — https://chuygarcia.house.gov/appropriations-requests
• Rep. Henry C. "Hank" Johnson (D-GA) — https://hankjohnson.house.gov/appropriations-requests
• Rep. Laura Friedman (D-CA) — https://friedman.house.gov/fy27-appropriations-requests

Advocacy Guidance: Submit written testimony to all relevant subcommittees. Follow committee formatting rules (5 pages max for House, 4 for Senate). Cite prior committee actions on your issue.

Upcoming Appropriations Hearings (Next 7 Days):

• April 28, 2:00 PM — Senate Commerce, Justice, Science Subcommittee: NASA FY2027 Budget (Dirksen 138)
• April 28, 2:00 PM — Senate Labor-HHS-Education Subcommittee: Department of Education FY2027 Budget (Dirksen 124)
• April 29, 6:30 PM — Senate Energy and Water Development Subcommittee: National Nuclear Security Administration FY2027 Budget (Dirksen 124)

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COMMITTEE HEARINGS & MARKUPS (WEEK OF APRIL 23-29)

Today (April 23):

• 12:00 PM — House National Security, State, and Related Programs Subcommittee: FY2027 National Security/State Bill (Capitol H-140)
• 1:00 PM — House Agriculture, Rural Development, FDA Subcommittee: FY2027 Agriculture Bill (Capitol H-140)
• 1:30 PM — Senate Armed Services Committee: CENTCOM and AFRICOM Posture Hearings; FY2027 Defense Authorization (Capitol Visitor Center 217 / Dirksen G50)
• 2:00 PM — Senate Finance Committee: President's 2026 Trade Policy Agenda (Dirksen 215)
• 3:00 PM — House Commerce, Justice, Science Subcommittee: Department of Commerce Budget Hearing (Rayburn 2358-A)

April 27-28:

• 7:30 PM (April 27) — Senate Strategic Forces Subcommittee: DOD Missile Defense Activities; FY2027 Defense Authorization (Russell 222)
• 7:30 PM (April 27) — House Commerce, Justice, Science Subcommittee: NASA Budget Hearing (Rayburn 2358-A)
• 8:00 PM (April 27) — House Interior, Environment Subcommittee: EPA Budget Hearing (Rayburn 2008)
• 8:00 PM (April 27) — House Labor-HHS-Education Subcommittee: Department of Labor Budget Hearing (Rayburn 2358-C)
• 9:15 PM (April 27) — House Intelligence Committee: FY2027 Budget Request for ODNI and USD(I&S) — CLOSED SESSION (Capitol HVC-304)
• 1:00 PM (April 28) — House Environment Subcommittee: NOAA FY2027 Budget Review (Rayburn 2318)
• 1:30 PM (April 28) — Senate Armed Services Committee: SOCOM and CYBERCOM Posture; FY2027 Defense Authorization — CLOSED SESSION (Russell 222)

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PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS

Defense Production Act Determinations (Signed April 20, Published April 23):

Six presidential determinations invoking Section 303 of the Defense Production Act of 1950 were published today, designating the following as essential to national defense:

1. Natural Gas Transmission, Processing, Storage, and LNG Capacity — Document 2026-08017
2. Domestic Petroleum Production, Refining, and Logistics Capacity — Document 2026-08016
3. Grid Infrastructure, Equipment, and Supply Chain Capacity — Document 2026-08013
4. Large-Scale Energy and Energy-Related Infrastructure Development, Manufacturing, and Deployment — Document 2026-08011
5. Coal Supply Chains and Baseload Power Generation Capacity — Document 2026-08010
6. Air Force Jet Fighter Training Operations in Idaho, Oregon, and Nevada — Document 2026-08009

Executive Order #14401 (Signed April 18, Published April 22):

Accelerating Medical Treatments for Serious Mental Illness — Document 2026-07907

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REGULATORY FILINGS

Proposed Rules with Open Comment Periods (Published April 23):

1. Air Plan Approval; Michigan; 2015 Ozone Moderate RACT (EPA)

Comments close: May 26, 2026 (33 days)

Document 2026-07905

1. Hazardous Waste Management; Identification and Listing; Correction (EPA)

Comments close: May 20, 2026 (27 days)

Document 2026-07899

1. Pacific Island Fisheries; Guam Bottomfish Annual Catch Limit and Accountability Measures (NOAA)

Comments close: May 26, 2026 (33 days)

Proposed increase in ACL from 31,000 lb to 34,500 lb; replaces in-season accountability measures with post-season overage adjustment.

Document 2026-07919

1. Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic; Regulatory Amendment 36 (NOAA)

Comments close: May 26, 2026 (33 days)

Revises recreational vessel limits for gag and black grouper; revises transit storage requirements for ropeless black sea bass pots.

Document 2026-07901

1. Exceptions From Foreign Ownership, Control or Domination (Nuclear Regulatory Commission)

Comments close: May 26, 2026 (33 days)

Amends FOCD regulations to comply with section 301 of the Accelerating Deployment of Versatile, Advanced Nuclear for Clean Energy Act of 2024.

Document 2026-07918

Securities Exchange Notices (Published April 22):

Multiple self-regulatory organization notices filed with the SEC regarding proposed rule changes to auction mechanisms and trading procedures (Cboe, Nasdaq ISE, Nasdaq GEMX, Nasdaq MRX, Nasdaq PHLX, NYSE, Cboe EDGX, Nasdaq Texas). NYSE also filed notice of proposed rule change to enable tokenized securities trading.

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POLICY DEVELOPMENTS IN NEWS

Cabinet Turnover: Navy Secretary John Phelan announced departure; Senate Republicans bracing for additional administration shakeups following recent departures of Kristi Noem, Pam Bondi, and Lori Chavez-DeRemer.

DHS Funding Pressure: Speaker Mike Johnson facing pressure from all sides as DHS funding dwindles. Johnson insists on GOP-only reconciliation bill for immigration enforcement before bipartisan DHS funding legislation, despite department set to run out of money to pay employees in weeks.

House Ethics Reforms: Surge of House resignations (Eric Swalwell, Tony Gonzales, Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick) triggering calls from both parties for broader ethics process overhaul.

FISA Section 702 Renewal: Lawmakers extended deadline by 10 days to negotiate spy powers renewal. Privacy hawks pushing for warrant requirement before reviewing information on Americans speaking with surveilled foreigners.

Data Center Backlash: Maine legislature became first state to pass bill banning large-scale data center development; Wisconsin city approved referendum on tax-funded projects in response to AI infrastructure construction.

Anthropic-Trump Administration: Anthropic's new Mythos AI model drawing federal government interest despite Trump administration blacklisting firm's products from military/government work earlier this year.

Virginia Redistricting: Democrats' redistricting win in Virginia could give party as many as 4 additional House seats by fall, forcing Republicans to counter with Florida redistricting efforts.

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ACTION ITEMS

• Testimony Deadline: Submit written testimony to relevant appropriations subcommittees by May 26 (end of public testimony window). Coordinate with 55+ member offices now accepting FY2027 requests.
• Senate Judiciary: Monitor S. 3062 (AI chatbot age verification) and S. 3966 (sexual abuse disclosure restrictions) for potential floor consideration following today's business meeting.
• Regulatory Comment: File comments on five proposed rules with May 20-26 deadlines (EPA air quality, hazardous waste, NOAA fisheries, NRC foreign ownership).
• DHS Funding: Track Speaker Johnson's reconciliation strategy and timeline for immigration enforcement bill; monitor for potential government funding crisis.

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