Congress

The U.S. Congress is the country’s legislative body and is made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate. Read stories here about elections to these bodies, the laws they introduce and the ways lawmakers shape peoples’ lives.

Women Are Being Priced Out of Health Coverage—and Congress Knows It

PUBLISHED 1/21/2026 by

With the 2026 Affordable Care Act (ACA) open enrollment period now closed, millions of Americans are facing an uncomfortable new reality: higher monthly costs for the health coverage they already struggled to afford.

When health insurance becomes unaffordable, women don’t just absorb the cost. They make sacrifices—often at the expense of their health. They end up skipping preventive services, delaying medical tests, forgoing mental healthcare, and leaving prescriptions unfilled. The consequences can be severe: delayed diagnoses, worsened health outcomes, poorer quality of life, and higher costs down the road for families and the health system.

Unable to wait for Congress to act to extend the credits, the vast majority of Americans have already made their health insurance decisions for 2026. With the enrollment deadline passed, women have had to make decisions based on what they can afford right now—not on promises that may never materialize.

There Is Nothing Patriotic About Denying Veterans Abortion Care

PUBLISHED 1/14/2026 by

Claiming that abortion care is not an essential medical service, in August the Trump administration proposed a new rule to “reinstate the full exclusion on abortions and abortion counseling from the medical benefits package” for veterans and their dependents.” The proposed rule change drew fierce public opposition from a wide range of groups during the requisite 30-day comment period.

Then, under the cover of the holidays, the full exclusion on abortion and abortion counseling for veterans and their dependents took effect, by way of a legal directive issued in a Dec. 18 DOJ memo.

“You can’t thank a veteran for putting her body on the line for her country, then turn around and take away her right to control it. There is nothing patriotic about denying our nation’s heroes the care they deserve and the ability to determine their own futures.”

Junk In, Junk Out: The Senate HELP Hearing Confirmed What We Already Knew About the War on Medication Abortion

PUBLISHED 1/13/2026 by , and | UPDATED 1/14/2026 at 12:43 P.M. PT

On Jan. 14, the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) Committee held a hearing deceptively titled “Protecting Women: Exposing the Dangers of Chemical Abortion Drugs.”

Rather than offering new evidence or legitimate oversight, the hearing played out exactly as reproductive health experts warned: a partisan exercise in recycling debunked claims, elevating junk science and laying the groundwork for further restrictions on the most commonly used abortion medication in the United States.

Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), a senior member and former chair of the HELP Committee, dismantled the premise of the hearing, calling out Republicans for using the committee to advance a political agenda rather than public health. “We all know this hearing is not about safety—it’s about banning abortion nationwide.”

What’s Next for Menopause Legislation in Your State?

PUBLISHED 1/7/2026 by

An unprecedented 19 states have introduced three dozen bills to improve menopause care and treatment; eight of those bills are now law.

At the federal level, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration finally removed the “black box warning” on estrogen products, ushering in a new era for menopause care whereby women and their doctors can make decisions without the unnecessary fear the prior label engendered.

And so, we kick off the new year with a mighty impressive track record. Can we expect more of the same in 2026? My prediction is a resounding yes. This is only the beginning of a long overdue and much deeper series of demands. Here’s my forecast for what to expect in the weeks and months ahead.

Congress Went on Recess. Americans Got Higher Healthcare Bills.

PUBLISHED 12/22/2025 by

Congressional discussions on extending the Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits, which are set to expire Dec. 31, remain deadlocked as Congress begins its winter recess. Now, millions will see their premiums increase as a result: Payments will more than double on average—some even quadrupling—for enrollees who were eligible for the tax credits.

Without the extension, more and more ACA marketplace enrollees will drop their increasingly costly health insurance plans. This comes at a time when the ACA is more popular than ever—recent polls show that across the political spectrum, three quarters of voters support extending the tax credits.

Could the administration’s latest attack on transgender young people be the administration’s way of deflecting attention from the disaster unfolding in real time for millions of families in need of healthcare?  

How the Trump Administration Used a National Guard Tragedy to Accelerate Its Anti-Immigrant Agenda

PUBLISHED 12/20/2025 by

Months before the lives of West Virginia National Guard Specialist Sarah Berkstrom and Afghan asylee Rahmanullah Lakanwal collided, the Trump administration planned to bring immigration to a halt from countries like Afghanistan, Somalia, and other nations that supposedly threaten American values. When Lakanwal was charged with first-degree murder in Berkstrom’s Nov. 26 death, the administration seized on this tragedy to redouble its rhetoric against Afghans and others and to usher in the next round of immigration restrictions.

As Spojmie Nasiri, an Afghan American immigration attorney points out, “They are using the tragedy to enact the agenda that they already had.”