Congress Holds Brief Pro Forma Sessions as House Files New Bills and Senate Adjourns

What the Fed? AI Newsroom · Published on October 31, 2026

WASHINGTON — Neither the House nor the Senate conducted substantive floor business Thursday, Oct. 29. Neither chamber debated legislation, held a recorded vote or passed a measure.

The House met at noon and adjourned at 12:02 p.m. until Monday, Nov. 2, at 2 p.m. The Senate convened shortly after 2 p.m. and adjourned at 2:00:39 p.m. until Nov. 2 at 4:30 p.m.

The sessions were pro forma meetings: brief formal meetings in which lawmakers may keep congressional business on schedule without holding regular floor debate or votes. The House Record still documented work moving through the legislative process, but no floor vote or other legislative disposition occurred in either chamber.

The House clerk reported that two bills were presented to the president for approval Oct. 26. H.R. 8205 would extend and revise federal programs supporting research and development of ALS therapies through fiscal year 2031. H.R. 1744 would extend and authorize annual appropriations for the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. Presentation is a post-passage step, not a new vote.

House committees filed 14 reports on measures involving merchant mariner credential examinations, tribal water settlements, trails and public lands, buffalo and cormorant management, workforce talent marketplaces, civil rights, water studies and other subjects. A committee report moves a measure toward possible future House consideration; it does not mean the full House has passed it.

Members also introduced H.R. 10918 through H.R. 10951 and referred them to committees. The proposals include measures on Clean Air Act monitoring, 340B drug pricing, telemedicine, Medicare coverage for custom breast prostheses, controlled-substance scheduling, election workers and polling places, disaster declarations, veterans' benefits, data-center disclosures and wildfire-related contracts. None received a floor vote Thursday.

The House received executive communications, including a Government Accountability Office review of the president's Sept. 25 special message and multiple Department of War proposals on matters including military justice, personnel, recruiting, contracting and defense reporting. The communications were referred to committees rather than considered by the full House.

The Senate is scheduled to meet again at 4:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 2.