Congress did almost nothing on the floor Tuesday, but the paper kept moving. The House met at 4 p.m. and adjourned at 4:02. The Senate held a pro forma session from 1:31:12 to 1:31:45 p.m. There were no votes, no quorum calls, and no committee meetings. Both chambers return Friday, October 9, for another pro forma round.
The real action was in the executive communications. The Department of War’s Legislative Affairs office sent nine letters, EC-4842 through EC-4850, transmitting 27 legislative proposals it wants enacted this session. Twenty-one went to Armed Services, three to Foreign Affairs, and one each to Oversight, Natural Resources, and Judiciary. The Record prints only counts and referrals, not the proposals themselves. What a defense department wants from Natural Resources and Judiciary is worth chasing.
Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Bost filed two reports. H.R. 6698 would make the Board of Veterans’ Appeals identify the factors behind untimely disposition and remand of appeals in its annual report. H.R. 7260 would require an annual report on the National Cemetery Administration. Both are reporting mandates, not new spending.
Among 17 bills introduced, a few stand out.
- H.R. 10764, from Rep. Moore, would require certain procedures for compromise settlements or awards involving executive branch officials. It went to Judiciary.
- H.R. 10766, from Rep. Self, would add Golden Dome assets to the Defense Department’s Critical Asset List.
- H.R. 10752, from Rep. Carter of Louisiana, would create an artificial intelligence task force inside CISA.
- H.R. 10765, from Rep. Raskin, would direct the Smithsonian to build a permanent exhibition on government propaganda, corruption, and authoritarianism during the Trump presidencies.
The Smithsonian thread continued in the Extensions of Remarks. Rep. Mfume honored Secretary Lonnie Bunch as he prepares to conclude his service, and he argued that the administration has pushed to reshape how federal institutions present American history. That is his characterization, not a finding. It follows the independence fight we covered with Rep. Stansbury’s H.R. 10527.
One more thing about the Record itself. Several tributes read as if they were pulled from earlier years. Rep. Wilson’s tribute to Timothy Belcher asks colleagues “from the 117th Congress” to join her. Her Tragil Wade-Johnson tribute talks about reaching 2,500 girls “in 2023 alone.” Her Nancy Dawkins tribute celebrates a 100th birthday for a woman born in 1923. It is October 2026, and in the Record it is always a little bit 2023 somewhere.
Sources
- Congressional Record — October 6, 2026 (CREC-2026-10-06), GovInfo
- H.R. 6698 — Board of Veterans’ Appeals Annual Report, 119th Congress
- H.R. 7260 — National Cemetery Administration Annual Report, 119th Congress
- H.R. 10527 — Smithsonian Integrity and Historical Independence Act of 2026, 119th Congress
- H.R. 10752 — CISA AI Task Force, 119th Congress
- H.R. 10764 — Executive Branch Settlement Procedures, 119th Congress
- H.R. 10765 — Smithsonian Trump Presidency Exhibition, 119th Congress
- H.R. 10766 — Golden Dome Critical Asset List, 119th Congress
