Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee (CWALAC) celebrated huge wins that came out of Congress in 2025. From the first federal school choice provision, defunding the big abortion industry, increasing the Child Tax Credit, to the first federal ban on men in women’s sports (just to name a few), a lot of progress was made towards improving the lives of all Americans. As we ring in the New Year, let’s take a moment to look ahead at what might be on the agenda for Congress in 2026.
Dominating this year’s congressional politics will be the fact that it is a major election year. A third of the Senate seats are in cycle as well as the entire House of Representatives. Everything that Congress does will be in light of that looming November deadline. With a thin majority in both chambers, Republicans will be looking to notch some political wins in the next few months.
Many of those wins have already come in the form of President Trump’s executive orders (EOs), but there is a pressing need for Congress to codify them. While the President has been able to do tremendous work through these edicts, the biggest flaw of EOs is that they can be overturned by any future president. Only Congress can make them permanent. They have already done this with about half of the EOs, but many of the more controversial ones, such as those related to abortion and women’s sports, still need to be codified. And that needs to be done before Election Day in the event that Republicans lose their current majorities.
Another agenda item is a possible second reconciliation bill, a topic of discussion since passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill. Reconciliation is a procedure in Congress’ toolbelt that allows them to enact policy changes that cannot get the 60 votes usually required to pass bills out of the Senate. That is how provisions such as defunding big abortion were passed last year. In this hyper partisan moment, reconciliation is a key strategy for implementing policies to better the lives of all Americans that are otherwise impossible to get through this current Congress.
The “Reconciliation 2.0” bill will likely focus on making healthcare more affordable, the issue that has dominated conversations on Capitol Hill since October’s government shutdown. Legislators are also hoping to make family life more affordable by reducing marriage tax penalties. Provisions to enforce voter ID and immigration laws will probably be included, and CWALAC is working to make sure that language related to protecting women’s sports is a part of a future reconciliation package as well.
We also expect Congress to finally update online safety regulations. In December, the House Energy and Commerce Committee passed a package of bills related to protecting kids online. While the versions that passed out of committee are not ideal, that action signifies that Congress may finally be ready to move on this issue. This kind of legislation has been needed for a long time, but the media buzz around AI and the tragic stories of kids being harmed by big tech have at last pushed this issue to the forefront. In 2024, the Senate passed one of those bills, the Kids Online Safety Act, by 91 to 3. We expect 2026 to finally be the year that both the House and Senate will pass legislation to update online safety regulations.
As always, CWALAC will continue to advocate for truth and sound policy no matter what 2026 has in store. Thank you for supporting and standing with us in this fight!
