Dear friend,

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

Last week, I was joined by Rep. Lateefah Simon (CA-12) to introduce the See the Board Act, legislation to direct the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to make grants available for nonprofit organizations that provide free, mobile vision services for students in public schools. Additionally, the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), the Democratic Women’s Caucus (DWC), and the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) held a joint press conference to denounce the politically motivated and baseless criminal charges filed against Rep. LaMonica McIver (NJ-10). I am also including an update on the rehiring of Department of Education staff following the intervention of a federal judge.

More from the week:  Unfortunately, House Republicans advanced their budget plan which makes the largest cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Medicaid in U.S. history.

I vehemently condemn this bill and the undemocratic process that produced it. I joined my colleagues in introducing 522 amendments to protect communities across the Fifth District and the country. 

My full update is available below.

See the Board Act

Last week, alongside Rep. Lateefah Simon (CA-12), I introduced the See the Board Act, legislation directing the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to make grants available for nonprofit organizations that provide free, mobile vision services for students in public schools.

Lack of access to critical vision care causes an estimated 3 million students nationwide to go to school each day without the glasses they need to fully participate in class, negatively impacting their learning experience. Children with uncorrected vision are more likely to perform poorly in school and face lower self-confidence.

Ensuring every child can see is fundamental to their education and overall success. When students lack access to essential vision care, they face unnecessary hurdles in learning. 

The See the Board Act is a proactive solution, bringing crucial mobile vision services directly to our schools and removing financial and logistical barriers that prevent children from receiving the eye care they need to thrive.

More on the See the Board Act is available here. 

Support for Rep. LaMonica McIver (NJ-10)

On Wednesday, the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), Democratic Women’s Caucus (DWC), and Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) held a joint press conference to denounce the politically motivated and baseless criminal charges filed against Rep. LaMonica McIver (NJ-10) by the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey.

For months, the Trump Administration has pursued efforts to prevent Members of Congress from entering public, federal buildings. This is a direct assault on the separation of powers between the legislative and executive branch.

Under federal law, Members of Congress have a legal right to show up to conduct oversight of federal detention facilities without prior notice. Threats against Members of Congress who do so are unlawful. Oversight authority is established by Article I powers of the Constitution and has been further clarified in recent appropriations law. Specifically, Section 527 of the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024 maintains that no appropriated funds may be used to prevent a Member of Congress or certain congressional employees from entering, for the purpose of conducting oversight, any DHS facility. The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024 was signed into law by President Biden on March 23, 2024.

I continue to stand with my colleagues in the House Democratic Caucus as we work to hold the Trump Administration accountable.

Statement on Federal Court Decision to Reinstate Fired Department of Education Workers

On May 22, 2025, a federal judge moved to block the Trump Administration from dismantling the Department of Education and ordered the immediate rehiring of unlawfully terminated staff. The ruling directly cited an amicus brief, which I helped lead along with 192 House Democrats, underscoring the importance of our efforts to protect the agency.

This ruling is a significant victory for the dedicated public servants at the Department of Education. The attempts by the administration to unilaterally dismantle the Department of Education were a blatant overreach and a direct assault on the rule of law. The immediate rehiring of these unlawfully terminated individuals is paramount. These are the experts, professionals, and committed individuals who work tirelessly to support our education system. Their presence is essential to the function of the Department and to ensuring that programs designed to benefit students and schools are effectively administered. My Democratic colleagues and I are pleased with the success of our efforts in supporting the legal challenge that led to this decision.

Read my full statement here. 

Update on Passage of Republican Budget Plan

Last week, House Republicans advanced H.R. 1 – legislation that makes the largest cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Medicaid in U.S. history.

The staggering $792 billion in cuts to Medicaid are a direct assault on the 78.5 million Americans, including children, seniors, pregnant women, and people with disabilities and chronic conditions, who rely on this vital program.

The bill also rips away $313 billion from agriculture and nutrition programs, jeopardizing access to food assistance for 42 million Americans. It launches an unprecedented assault of food security by proposing to shift a significant portion of SNAP food benefits costs from the federal government to states.

Further, the Republican Budget bill cuts household income for the poorest Americans by 4 percent while handing a 2 percent increase to the richest 10 percent and will put more than 18 million kids at risk of losing school meals.

I vehemently condemn this bill and the unconscionable process that produced it.

Rules

House Republicans attempted to jam through this dangerous legislation late into the night and hide it from the American people. House Democrats fought back with the longest Rules Committee markup in recent memory to ensure people can see clearly just how devastating the bill is.

After nearly 20 hours of testimony from House Democrats, House Republicans rejected every Democratic amendment – including those that would have protected essential programs.

More than 100 House Democrats offered 522 amendments to the legislation including my amendment to protect SNAP from cuts. Specifically, my amendment would have prevented any cuts to SNAP that would reduce benefits for the 42 million Americans who rely on the program for food assistance.

SNAP serves 16 million children, 8 million seniors, and 4 million people with disabilities. House Republicans have stated repeatedly that they were focusing on able-bodied adults without dependents who have the ability to work. If that were true, it should have been an easy choice for them to support my amendment to ensure communities of greatest need are not cut off of from these programs.

After the Republican majority voted down my amendment, I took to the House Floor to again oppose the consideration of this legislation.

Floor Debate

The majority continues to push untested policy proposals that have real life consequences on the people in our communities. They are pushing work requirements with no workforce development, reporting requirements with no administrative reports, and cuts to children with no consideration of how they would eat at home or school.

In Connecticut, 391,200 people, including 117,000 children and 81,000 seniors, received SNAP benefits last year, totaling $893 million. If Connecticut were forced to cover just 10% of these benefits, it would cost the state $89 million – the equivalent of 33 million meals – an unbearable burden.

Hunger is a policy choice, and House Republicans made the conscious decision to take food away from veterans, seniors, and children.

Final Vote    

On Thursday, I cast my vote against this legislation, the most destructive bill I have witnessed during my tenure in Congress. Unfortunately, the bill passed out the House of Representatives by a vote of 215-214-1.

The House Republican budget bill was jammed through by the Republican majority, under immense pressure from President Trump and with reckless speed. This legislation is a profound betrayal of the American people.

The House Republican Party has chosen to jeopardize the health and well-being of millions to advance a narrow, partisan agenda. 

I urge the Senate to stand against this cruelty, reject this bill, and prioritize the actual needs of the American people.

Jahana Hayes
Member of Congress