Legislative Activity

The Funding Small Businesses During Shutdown Act ensures that critical Small Business Administration (SBA) loan servicing programs can continue operating for 30 days during a government shutdown in fiscal year 2026. This legislation allocates specific funds to cover the salaries and operating costs necessary to maintain key SBA loan functions. The goal is to prevent disruptions to small business lending support during a lapse in appropriations.

The Service Starts At Home Act establishes federal grants to support paid local government internships for students and creates a new scholarship program rewarding high school and college students for significant community volunteer hours. Additionally, the bill mandates a program to recognize educational institutions for their achievements in community service. These initiatives aim to foster civic engagement and provide practical experience in public service.

The Learn and Serve America Reinvestment Act secures $40 million annually for the Learn and Serve America program, ensuring dedicated funding for service-learning initiatives. This bill expands eligibility to include local and state educational agencies and updates the funding process to a competitive award system starting in Fiscal Year 2026. It also mandates specific allocations for the Bureau of Indian Affairs and requires annual reporting on fund usage.

The SBIR/STTR Website Improvement Act mandates that recipients of SBIR and STTR research awards must report detailed information about their subcontracted research partners. This new requirement ensures the public website lists the name, location, and specific institutional classifications of all partnering research institutions. The goal is to increase transparency regarding the academic and nonprofit entities involved in federally funded small business research and development.

The VA DATA Access Transparency and Accountability Act of 2025 strictly limits access to sensitive veteran data held by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). This bill specifically prohibits the DOGE Service Administrator from accessing any veteran records. Furthermore, it imposes tight restrictions on special government employees, ensuring they only use the data for approved official business and cannot retain any copies after their service ends.

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to create an exception to the Base Erosion and Anti-Abuse Tax (BEAT). Specifically, it prevents certain payments made to foreign related parties from being treated as "base erosion payments." This exception applies only if the foreign recipient company and the payment itself are subject to an effective foreign income tax rate of at least 15 percent. The legislation directs the Treasury to issue regulations to implement this calculation and prevent tax abuse.

The "Expanding Child Care Access Act of 2025" introduces a tax credit, up to $5,000, for qualified child care startup expenses incurred by licensed family child care providers. This credit aims to support individuals starting or expanding licensed child care services within their primary residence, covering expenses such as licensing fees, supplies, insurance, and necessary equipment or renovations. The credit is available for a limited time and cannot be claimed for expenses already covered by other deductions or credits.