With most of the government now funded through September 30 in an appropriations bill that included an extension of trade programs, the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and the Haiti Economic Lift Program, and a significant package of health provisions, the question becomes what's next for the congressional agenda. Aside from crafting reforms to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) enforcement procedures — a process that promises to be difficult given competing priorities of members of the two parties and threatens the Senate's President's Day recess — a near-term focus could be on housing legislation, which is a prong of the affordability agenda being pursued by both parties.

The House could vote next week on the "Housing for the 21st Century Act," which addresses housing supply issues, rural housing, affordable housing, transparency, consumer protection and other areas. The bipartisan bill, by Financial Services Chairman French Hill (R-AR) and Ranking Member Maxine Waters (D-CA), is intended to streamline housing development and affordability by updating outdated programs, easing regulations and increasing local flexibility. The bill was approved by Financial Services on a 50-1 vote in December.

The Senate Banking Committee's bipartisan "ROAD to Housing Act," which addresses issues including zoning and land use, manufactured and modular housing, homeownership, federal rental assistance, and incentives to build and renovate homes, is queued up for the Senate floor, after previously passing as part of the chamber's version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). House Chairman Hill rejected including the Senate's housing bill in the final agreement for the NDAA, saying said he wanted to get his own committee's housing product out and then negotiate a compromise with the Senate.

"If the House is able to pass its own version by a wide margin before the Senate, it could have additional leverage for negotiations with the upper chamber for a final bill," Politico reported February 2. "Hill and other House Republicans have said the Senate bill, which received overwhelming bipartisan support in the Senate Banking Committee, has a number of provisions that would not be acceptable among House GOP members."

A February 5 New York Times story, "Congress Targets Housing Crisis as Solutions Elude Trump," said the bills have significant overlap. "The House bill is expected to get a vote on the floor next week, and congressional leaders from both parties say they are optimistic that it will pass," the report said. "The White House has indicated that it would support congressional housing legislation." President Trump has called for a ban on large institutional investors buying up single-family homes and ordered Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to purchase $200 billion of mortgage bonds in a bid to bring down mortgage rates. The report said the President's efforts have focused on the demand side of the crisis.

"Making it cheaper to buy a house would not address the central reason for the crisis: a housing shortage. It could even worsen things by pumping up demand without boosting supply," the report said. "For almost 20 years, the country has not been building enough homes, and it is now short by as many as 7 million units. That's a big reason home prices have surged 55% since the start of the pandemic … " In contrast to the President's efforts, "The congressional bills are designed to make it faster and cheaper to get shovels in the ground."

Bloomberg reported February 3 that homebuilders are developing a plan to address prospective buyers' affordability concerns through "Trump Homes," in which builders sell homes in a program backed by private investors, potentially with a rent-to-own component.

Health care — A group of senators working on a proposal to address enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) premium tax credits (PTCs) that expired at the end of 2025 — which at one point at least called for a two-year extension with an extended open enrollment deadline, an income limit, and a minimum payment requirement — have declared the effort essentially dead. "It's effectively over," Senator Bernie Moreno (R-OH) said Wednesday, according to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ). Senator Moreno suggested that Democrats, led by Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), wanted an issue for the midterms, not a resolution to the credits' expiration.

Affordability — Pocketbook issues continue to be a focus and priority for both parties in the run-up to the midterm elections. A February 5 Punchbowl News report said, following the apparent collapse of the bipartisan ACA credit talks, "At-risk GOP lawmakers must now wage a new fight, figuring out if — and how — they can force their party to take up legislation to help Americans dealing with rising costs before the midterm elections." Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) enumerated other affordability priorities, including housing, food, fuel, childcare, elder care and transportation. "It's all unaffordable right now," he said.

An opinion piece in the February 5 WSJ , "Republicans Have an Economy Problem," noted that the economic confidence of Americans without a college degree is at a historic low by some measures, and "blue-collar jobs declined by more than 145,000 last year." The commentary, by Karl Rove, a senior adviser and deputy chief of staff for President George W. Bush, encouraged Republicans to continue to celebrate the "One Big, Beautiful Bill Act" and tax increase it prevented, and make the case that "giving patients a fixed sum and letting them shop for the insurance that's best for them will help rein in health care costs."

Financial services — The House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday (February 4) held a hearing on "The Annual Report of the Financial Stability Oversight Council." The only witness was the chairman of the FSOC, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. The hearing featured both sharp partisan conflict and substantive exchanges on a range of issues. Secretary Bessent's prepared remarks focused on repositioning the FSOC's annual report away from identifying vulnerabilities in every market toward prioritizing economic growth, market functioning and resilience, asserting that stagnation and regulatory excess can themselves threaten financial stability. Bessent also appeared before the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday for the same hearing, where he attributed the erosion of household purchasing power to "policies championed by the Biden Warren economy" and fielded questions about AI, digital assets, deposit insurance and Argentina.

Trump Accounts — At Wednesday's House-side hearing with Secretary Bessent, Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY) lauded the OBBBA's "Trump accounts" and asked how the program would promote ownership and financial literacy. Bessent framed it as bringing "Wall Street to Main Street," saying people who "own a piece of the action do not want to bring down the system," and emphasizing Treasury's financial literacy push. Bessent said over 1 million households have preregistered for the accounts, a July 5 launch is planned, an initial single master custodian will hold accounts before allowing migration to designated institutions, and fees will be kept to "the lowest possible" on index funds. He added to "look for the commercial right after the national anthem at the Super Bowl this weekend."

Cryptocurrency — During the Senate's version of the hearing Thursday, Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), who has a crypto tax proposal addressing a de minimis threshold and other issues, asked Bessent when "digital assets that might be used as a means of exchange … will it be a capital gain, or will it be exempt from capital gains when it's used as a means of exchange to purchase things? And if it's going to be a subject to a capital gain, how do you calculate what the capital gain is" in a blended portfolio with assets purchased at different prices? Sec. Bessent demurred, saying he would have the Treasury Office of Tax Policy work with Lummis on the question.

Other priorities — The President's State of the Union Address is set for February 24. An FY2027 budget is also expected, though at least one member of Congress, House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK), has said the spending blueprint may not arrive until March.

The next highway bill, or a stopgap extension, will be required by September 30, 2026. The 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) (Public Law 117-58, also known as the "Bipartisan Infrastructure Law") provided approximately $350 billion for federal highway programs over five years (FY 2022 through 2026) and $118 billion in general fund transfers to the Highway Trust Fund (HTF).

Additionally, a new farm bill (or extension) is due September 30, 2026. E&E News reported February 5 that House Agriculture Chair Glenn Thompson (R-PA) said Wednesday he wants the Committee to complete a five-year farm bill by the end of February, "as lawmakers try to bridge political divides that have stalled the legislation." Nutrition programs have traditionally been a sticking point between the two parties.

Congress — On Tuesday, February 10 at 10 a.m., the House Ways and Means Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing on "Foreign Influence in American Non-profits: Unmasking Threats from Beijing and Beyond."