ELO Realignment and Strategic Engagement Reform Act of 2026
Latest action. Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
ELO Realignment and Strategic Engagement Reform Act of 2026
This bill requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to develop a comprehensive plan to reorganize its Engagement, Liaison, and Outreach (ELO) Office and submit such plan to Congress. The bill also limits certain DHS actions until DHS submits the plan to Congress and certifies that it is being implemented.
ELO is part of DHS's Office of Intelligence and Analysis (I&A). ELO manages strategic relationships with I&A’s international stakeholders and federal, state, local, tribal, territorial, and private sector partners, including by facilitating intelligence and information sharing.
Under the bill, the plan must
identify redundant or non-essential positions, programs, or functions within ELO;
specify how reorganization of ELO will address such redundant or non-essential positions, programs, or functions;
realign essential functions and personnel of ELO within the Partner Engagement directorate of I&A; and
improve the management and coordination of strategic relationships with priority law enforcement agencies.
Until DHS submits this plan to Congress and certifies that it is being implemented, DHS may not (1) expand the staffing, budget, or programmatic scope of ELO; or (2) establish new offices duplicating the mission of ELO or the Partner Engagement directorate without congressional authorization.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on February 13, 2026. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on July 14, 2026: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 118th Congress (2023-24), 274 of the 16,565 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 1.7 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Gabe Evans (R-CO) introduced it on February 13, 2026, and 2 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 2 Democrats.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on February 13, 2026, 210 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 59 days ago, on July 14, 2026.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 119th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2027 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers