Legislative Calls to Action -- Aug 27, 2026
- Aug 26
- 3 min read
Congress is in recess. The House returns on August 31st and the Senate returns on September 14.
The Senate will only be in session from September 14 to October 5th before the midterm elections. The House is in session from August 31st until they recess on September 4th. When they return after the Labor Day break, they will be in session until October 1st and not return until after the mid-term elections.
Here are critical items to be addressed when they return:
The Continuing Resolution
Two versions have to be merged before the September 30th deadline.
Surface transportation reauthorization
House committees have approved their portions of a five-year surface transportation bill, but the combined measure hasn’t gotten floor consideration, so a short-term extension is needed by September 30.
FISA / Section 702 surveillance
Negotiations over FISA reauthorization are expected to resume, as lawmakers seek to restore Section 702 surveillance authorities that lapsed in June.
NDAA (defense authorization)
The House already approved its version of the FY27 National Defense Authorization Act, but Senate floor consideration remains stalled, with informal House-Senate discussions underway.
CORCA - Combating Organized Retail Crime Act
One bill that has been voted on by the House that is very concerning is the CORCA Act. Every US Representative from Indiana voted “Yea”.Here is more information about this proposed bill. For an in-depth look at this bill for further information, please check out this podcast: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/105-it-could-happen-here-30717896/episode/how-congress-could-bring-ice-to-a-store-near-you-340410377
Oppose Passage of CORCA in the Senate Defense Authorization Bill
The Senate is positioning to attach the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act (CORCA) as an amendment to the upcoming National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).CORCA expands federal surveillance, adds to the existing and sensationalized problem of over-prosecution of low level crime, and further enables federal forces to insert themselves into local policing.
CORCA’s establishment of an Organized Retail Crime Coordination Center sitting under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would drastically expand domestic surveillance; allowing agents to tap into expansive biometric and facial recognition databases, license plate readers, and other private retail monitoring systems. This would amplify already-rampant use of surveillance technology by ICE and pair their mandate from the supreme court to racially profile people with technology that’s as much as 100 times more likely to misidentify Black and Brown individuals than White ones.
By requiring low-level thefts to be aggregated over a 12 month period, the bill also effectively lowers the monetary threshold for federal prosecution. From numerous case studies of similar legislation at the state level, policies like these are likely to lead to harsher sentencing, increased recidivism, and ballooning costs in prison funding. In contrast, research shows that states have safely raised felony theft thresholds without leading to any increases in theft or disruption of the overall trend of decreasing property crime.
Tell your senators to vote against CORCA in the upcoming NDAA and any similar legislation expanding federal surveillance.
Script:
Hi, my name is [NAME] and I’m a constituent from [CITY, ZIP].
I’m calling to demand [SEN NAME] to oppose any version of S.4784 the Senate National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) containing the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act (CORCA) or similar legislation expanding federal surveillance.
CORCA would expand DHS and ICE domestic surveillance authorities, use invasive facial recognition technology in public spaces, and federalize minor low-level offenses better addressed at the local level.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
IF LEAVING VOICEMAIL: Please leave your full street address to ensure your call is tallied.
