Dear friend,

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

Last week, House Committee on Agriculture Ranking Member Angie Craig joined me to introduce the Restoring Food Security for American Families and Farmers Act of 2025, legislation to repeal the devastating cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Program (SNAP) in the One Big Beautiful. Also, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce convened a full committee hearing entitled, The Future of College: Harnessing Innovation to Improve Outcomes and Lower Costs and a markup of three bills. On Wednesday, the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education (ECESE) also held a hearing entitled, From Classroom to Career: Strengthening Skills Pathways Through CTE. 

More from the week: The House passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act, legislation to make publicly available all files pertaining to the prosecution of Jeffrey Epstein. 

I am also including an update on additional legislation considered by the House. 

For my full recap, please read below.

Restoring Food Security for American Families and Farmers Act

Last week, House Committee on Agriculture Ranking Member Angie Craig and nearly 200 House Democrats joined me to introduce the Restoring Food Security for American Families and Farmers Act of 2025, legislation to repeal the devastating cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Program (SNAP) in the One Big Beautiful. Bicameral legislation has been introduced in the United States Senate by Ranking Member of the Senate Agriculture Committee Subcommittee on Food and Nutrition, Specialty Crops, Organics, and Research, Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-NM). 

In July 2025, Republicans forced through the One Big Beautiful Bill, which eliminated $187 billion from SNAP, the largest cut in the history of the program, and provided over $1 trillion in tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans and the largest corporations. As a result, millions of children, seniors, veterans, workers, and those with disabilities and chronic health conditions will be blocked from SNAP, the most effective anti-hunger program in the country.

At every opportunity, Republicans have chosen to target and decimate the programs that feed people, proving that cruelty is the point. During the government shutdown, all of America watched as they once again chose to use hunger as a weapon and blocked emergency funding for SNAP – marking the first ever lapse in funding. My legislation would reverse the damage caused by the Big Beautiful Bill and restore the nearly $200 billion eliminated from SNAP. 

I joined Senator Luján, Ranking Member Angie Craig, and the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) for a press conference to announce our legislation and once again reiterate the importance of SNAP.  Over 42 million Americans participate in the program – including 16 million children. Cuts to SNAP will also impact farmers, ranchers, producers, and the 250,000 grocers authorized to accept SNAP dollars. 

Learn more about the Restoring Food Security for American Families and Farmers Act of 2025 here.

The Future of College: Harnessing Innovation to Improve Outcomes and Lower Costs

On Tuesday, the House Committee on Education and Workforce convened for a full committee hearing entitled, The Future of College: Harnessing Innovation to Improve Outcomes and Lower Costs.

This hearing was to focus on a range of innovative practices that could be used to increase college completion rates or lower costs, including but not limited to distance education and digital tools like AI. 

The educational landscape is ever changing, and it is important to embrace innovation in the classroom. We must be forward-thinking about the ways we can best teach students and ensure they are receiving a high quality education that will be foundational to their lives. This starts by ensuring teachers, professors and administrators are properly prepared and have the skills needed to implement emerging technologies. 

Unfortunately, the Trump Administration has terminated $1 billion in research funding at the Institute of Education Sciences (IES). As the research arm of the Department of Education, IES assists states, schools, and educators with making data-backed decisions that support student learning. 

Cutting critical research funding only hinders the implementation of advanced technologies in the classroom.

Additional information is available here. 

From Classroom to Career: Strengthening Skills Pathways through CTE

On Wednesday, the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education came together for a hearing entitled, From Classroom to Career: Strengthening Skills Pathways Through CTE.  

During the hearing, I made clear that school districts were negatively impacted by the government shutdown, despite claims from the other side of the aisle they were not. 

While Title I funds and IDEA funding that supports special education students were dispersed over the summer, the shutdown caused some districts to see delays in reimbursements for meal programs.

Headstart programs experienced closures or temporarily reduced services and federal grant-making opportunities and technical assistance services were also limited. Faculty and staff who serve the 67,000 students enrolled in our Department of Defense Education Activities (DoDEA) military schools around the world were not paid and extracurricular activities were halted. The Office of Civil Rights, which has seen a decline in the number of cases closed, and a rise in the number of complaints, was not able to provide answers to the parents and families with pending cases and the stress and uncertainty for families, especially those who are government employees or rely on services effected by the government pause cannot be overstated.

The hearing reiterated the fundamental role the federal government plays in supporting students as they navigate through school and transition into the workforce.

House Committee on Education and Workforce Markup

On Thursday, I participated in a full committee markup of three pieces of legislation including H.R. 2312, the Tipped Employee Protection Act of 2025,  H.R. 2870, the Working Family Flexibility Act of 2025, and H.R. 2299, the Ensuring Workers Get PAID Act of 2025.

I voted against these pieces of legislation because they allow unscrupulous employers to violate the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), commit wage theft, and pay workers sub-minimum wages. 

Specifically, the Tipped Employee Protection Act of 2025 would expand the pool of workers to whom employers can pay a sub-minimum wage, or tipped wage, rather than a full minimum wage. Since 1991, the federal tipped minimum wage has been frozen at $2.13 per hour. 

My legislation, the Tipped Worker Protection Act would increase the tipped minimum wage by $1.50 per year until it matches the federal minimum wage, creating a transition period for tipped employees and their employers. The bill would give nearly 5 million workers a raise, creating a stable, livable wage for every worker. 

It is unacceptable that in 2025, we operate under a system where the tipped minimum age has not changed since 1991. The Tipped Worker Protection Act would correct decades of wage inequality and provide financial security for those already struggling to afford the cost of living. 

Additional information on the Tipped Worker Protection Act is available here. 

Additional information on the markup is available here. 

Floor Update

Last week, the House reconvened for the first full legislative session since September 19, 2025. On Tuesday, the House voted on H.R. 4405, the Epstein Files Transparency Act. My vote on this legislation was an easy yes, because simply put, anyone who participated in, had knowledge of this depravity, or worked to cover up the abuse of young women should be brought to justice. 

President Trump, the Department of Justice and House Republicans have blocked the release of the Epstein files for months in Committee, refused to comply with subpoenas and attempted to stall a discharge petition signed by 218 Members of Congress. More than eighty percent of Americans believe these files should be released. Victims deserve full recognition, the public deserves full disclosure, and history demands the truth.

Over the course of the week, the Majority also jammed through a series of “gotcha” votes designed to subvert local governance in the District of Columbia, overturn Bureau of Land Management (BLM) policies established by the Biden Administration and drive up the cost of utility bills and gas prices. 

Finally, the House considered two votes for censure including Rep. Corey Mills (FL- 07) and Delegate Stacey Plaskett (VI). This year, five resolutions of censure or disapproval have come before the House for a vote. This action which should be used by the House of Representatives to reprimand Members has been reduced to partisan theatre. I will not be voting for these resolutions. My confidence is in the Committee on House Ethics who is fully capable of investigating and enforcing the official code of conduct of Members of the House. 

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

And that's a wrap. 

Jahana Hayes

Member of Congress