* **Responsible Legislating Act:** Extends key agricultural reporting requirements to ensure continued market transparency. * **Veteran Apprenticeship:** Enhances career opportunities for veterans by improving their access to and awareness of registered apprenticeship programs. * **Federal Employee Retention:** Supports federal employees in high-risk roles who become ill or injured on duty by encouraging retention and modifying retirement rules. * **Retirement Savings:** Improves and expands retirement savings options for Americans by making changes to employer-sponsored retirement plans and individual retirement accounts (IRAs). * **Boots to Business Program:** Supports veteran entrepreneurship by providing training and resources to veterans, transitioning service members, and their families. * **School Zone Safety:** Increases penalties for human trafficking, coercion, and enticement offenses, particularly in or near school zones and institutions of higher education. * **National Museum of Asian Pacific American History and Culture:** Establishes a commission to explore the possibility of creating a National Museum of Asian Pacific American History and Culture in the Washington, D.C., area. * **Semiconductor Supply Chain:** Strengthens the U.S. semiconductor supply chain by increasing foreign direct investment in domestic manufacturing. * **Homeland Security Equipment Approval:** Revises the approval process for certain equipment purchases made with grants under the Homeland Security Act. * **NASA Leasing Authority Extension:** Extends NASA's authority to lease underused properties to private entities, state and local governments, academic institutions, and other federal agencies for an additional year. * **Committee Hearing Mandate:** Mandates that each standing committee in the House of Representatives must hold a hearing to review how this Act is being put into action. * **Whistleblower Protection:** Addresses the protection of whistleblowers by setting strict guidelines on the disclosure of their identities. * **Foreign Ownership of Marine Terminals Study:** Mandates a comprehensive study to evaluate the effects of foreign ownership of marine terminals at major U.S. ports on the nation's economic security. * **Budgetary Effects:** References how the financial impact of the bill will be officially measured and recorded, ensuring it aligns with existing budget rules. * **Federal Credit Union Act Amendment:** Amends the Federal Credit Union Act to modify how often the board of directors of Federal credit unions are required to meet. * **Treasury Fund Allocation:** Allocates specific funds from the Treasury for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2026, to various government programs and departments.
James "Jim" McGovern
Representative
MA-2
Here are the high-level summaries for each bill, designed to be concise and informative for website descriptions: * **Responsible Legislating Act:** This bill extends key agricultural reporting requirements, ensuring continued market transparency for livestock sales and supporting agricultural marketing services. * **[Bill Regarding Veteran Apprenticeship Programs]:** This legislation enhances career opportunities for veterans by improving their access to and awareness of registered apprenticeship programs through better education and online resources. * **[Bill Regarding Federal Employee Protections]:** This bill supports federal employees in high-risk roles who become ill or injured on duty by encouraging agencies to retain them and modifying retirement rules to avoid penalties. * **[Bill Regarding Retirement Savings]:** This legislation aims to improve and expand retirement savings options for Americans by making changes to employer-sponsored retirement plans and individual retirement accounts (IRAs). * **[Boots to Business Program Act]:** This bill establishes the "Boots to Business Program" to provide entrepreneurship training and resources to veterans, transitioning service members, and their families, helping them start and manage small businesses. * **[Bill Regarding Human Trafficking Penalties]:** This legislation increases penalties for human trafficking, coercion, and enticement offenses, particularly in or near school zones and institutions of higher education, to create safer environments for students. * **[Bill Regarding National Museum of Asian Pacific American History and Culture]:** This legislation establishes a commission to explore the possibility of creating a National Museum of Asian Pacific American History and Culture in the Washington, D.C., area. * **[Bill Regarding Semiconductor Supply Chain]:** This legislation strengthens the U.S. semiconductor supply chain by increasing foreign direct investment in domestic manufacturing through the Department of Commerce’s SelectUSA program. * **[Bill Regarding Homeland Security Equipment Purchases]:** This bill revises the approval process for certain equipment purchases made with grants under the Homeland Security Act to ensure a clear and consistent review process. * **[Bill Regarding NASA Leasing Authority]:** This legislation extends NASA's authority to lease underused properties to private entities, state and local governments, academic institutions, and other federal agencies for an additional year. * **[Bill Regarding House Committee Hearings]:** Mandates that each standing committee in the House of Representatives must hold a hearing to review how this Act is being put into action. * **[Bill Regarding Whistleblower Protection]:** Addresses the protection of whistleblowers by setting strict guidelines on the disclosure of their identities, aiming to encourage the reporting of misconduct within the House of Representatives without fear of reprisal. * **[Bill Regarding Foreign Ownership of Marine Terminals]:** Mandates a comprehensive study to evaluate the effects of foreign ownership of marine terminals at major U.S. ports on the nation's economic security. * **[Bill Regarding Budgetary Effects]:** References how the financial impact of the bill will be officially measured and recorded, ensuring it aligns with existing budget rules. * **[Bill Regarding Federal Credit Union Act]:** Amends the Federal Credit Union Act to modify how often the board of directors of Federal credit unions are required to meet, ensuring appropriate oversight based on the credit union's age and financial stability. * **[Bill Regarding Treasury Funds Allocation]:** This legislation allocates specific funds from the Treasury for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2026, to various government programs and departments.
Sweeping Legislative Package Tackles Everything from Farms to Whistleblowers: Here's the Real-World Breakdown
This massive legislative bundle rolls together seventeen separate bills, touching on everything from agriculture and veteran support to national security and retirement savings. It's a lot to unpack, so here's a breakdown of the key changes and what they might actually mean for you.
Farming Facts: Keeping Markets Transparent
The bill extends the Livestock Mandatory Reporting Act of 1999, meaning meatpackers still have to report livestock sale prices and volumes. This helps farmers and ranchers make informed decisions, preventing potential price manipulation. It also keeps the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 going, supporting services like product grading and market news – basically, ensuring quality and reliable info for both producers and consumers.
Vets Get a Boost: Apprenticeships and Business Training
This part focuses on helping veterans transition to civilian careers. It requires the military to inform separating service members about registered apprenticeship programs (Section [insert section number here]). It also creates a website where veterans can easily search for apprenticeships by occupation and location, and mandates that apprenticeship.gov be updated with comprehensive program details. Plus, the Boots to Business Program is officially established, providing entrepreneurship training to veterans and their families, with a focus on collaboration and accountability.
Protecting Feds Injured on the Job
This section aims to support federal employees in high-risk national security and law enforcement roles who get sick or injured on duty. It encourages agencies to retain these employees, modifies retirement calculations so they don't lose benefits if they switch to a less demanding role, and ensures a smooth transition (no more than 3 days interruption) to a new position. These benefits have limits – they end if the employee moves into a supervisory role or reaches mandatory retirement age. Agencies have one year to create regulations to implement these changes.
Retirement Savings Get a Makeover
A big chunk of this legislation is about tweaking retirement savings rules. It expands automatic enrollment in 401(k) and 403(b) plans, boosts the savers credit for low-to-moderate income individuals, and increases tax credits for small businesses that offer retirement plans. The age for required minimum distributions is raised, catch-up contribution limits are increased, and employers can even match student loan payments as retirement contributions. There's also a new database to help people find lost retirement accounts, and penalty-free withdrawals for domestic abuse survivors. It's a lot of changes designed to make saving easier and more flexible.
Cracking Down on Human Trafficking Near Schools
This part increases penalties for human trafficking, coercion, and enticement offenses, especially near schools and higher education institutions. It adds up to 5 years in prison for offenses in school zones and expands protections to within 1,000 feet of colleges. The goal is clear: create safer environments for students by deterring these crimes.
Exploring a New National Museum
The legislation establishes a commission to explore creating a National Museum of Asian Pacific American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. The commission will develop a plan, focusing on establishment, operation, and funding through public contributions (minimizing federal funds). They'll produce reports, propose legislation, and even organize a national conference to gather input.
Securing the Semiconductor Supply Chain
This section aims to strengthen the U.S. semiconductor supply chain by increasing foreign direct investment in domestic manufacturing. It uses the Department of Commerce's SelectUSA program to coordinate with state economic development organizations, identify investment obstacles, and develop strategies to boost U.S. production. The goal is to reduce reliance on foreign sources and enhance national security.
Streamlining Equipment Approvals
This part revises the approval process for certain equipment purchases made with Homeland Security grants. It requires a uniform review process for equipment not already approved, considering factors like whether it's used by federal agencies and how well it fills capability gaps. The Inspector General will report on the new process, ensuring accountability.
NASA's Leasing Program Extended
NASA gets another year to lease underused properties to private entities, generating revenue that can be used for facility maintenance. This has already proven successful, with over $10 million collected in 2019.
Protecting Whistleblowers and Monitoring Implementation
The legislation protects the identities of whistleblowers reporting misconduct in the House, requiring consent for disclosure unless a two-thirds majority of a committee votes it's in the public interest. It also mandates that House committees hold hearings to review how the Act is being implemented.
Scrutinizing Foreign Ownership of Ports and Credit Union Rules
A study is mandated to evaluate the effects of foreign ownership of marine terminals on U.S. economic security, particularly ownership by Chinese or Russian entities. It also revisits how often credit union boards are required to meet, requiring more frequent meetings for newer or financially unstable institutions.
Funding Various Government Programs
Finally, the legislation allocates $1,000,000 to several government programs, including telehealth technology for nursing facilities, budget analysis, capital investments, Army operations, government management, and energy information collection.
The Bottom Line: This is a huge package of legislation with far-reaching consequences. While many provisions seem aimed at improving efficiency, transparency, and support for various groups, the sheer volume of changes and the potential for unintended consequences warrant close scrutiny. The mandated hearings and studies will be crucial in tracking the actual impact of these wide-ranging reforms.