Legislative Activity

The Law Enforcement Animal Safety and Harm Reporting Act of 2026 (LEASH Act) mandates that recipients of federal justice assistance grants must report felony animal cruelty convictions to the Attorney General. This data will be used to prioritize funding for local governments that submit this information, and a public database of these convictions must be established.

The Our Doctors First Act of 2026 prohibits the use of Medicare funds for graduate medical education costs associated with residents who are not U.S. citizens or nationals. This restriction applies to payments for both direct and indirect medical education expenses for hospitals and nonhospital providers. The bill establishes escalating civil monetary penalties and potential exclusion from future Medicare payments for entities that violate this new citizenship requirement.

The GME Transparency Act of 2026 requires hospitals receiving Medicare payments for graduate medical education (GME) costs to report de-identified data on the citizenship and immigration status of their medical residents. This information will be compiled by the Secretary of Health and Human Services into an annual report for Congress. Hospitals failing to submit this required data will lose eligibility for Medicare GME payments for those residents.

The ICE FROST Act establishes significant supplemental pay, including a 25% base payment and an additional 15% hazardous duty supplement, for immigration enforcement personnel serving in high-risk areas. To fund these increased compensation measures, the bill imposes a new surcharge on certain international remittance transfers based on the destination country's risk profile. This legislation aims to increase retention and compensate officers operating in challenging enforcement theaters.

The Taxpayer Notification and Privacy Act enhances taxpayer rights by requiring the IRS to provide more specific details when notifying taxpayers about contacts with third parties for information gathering. This legislation mandates that taxpayers receive notice identifying the specific information sought from third parties and grants them at least 45 days to respond before the IRS proceeds with the third-party contact. These new specificity and notification requirements aim to increase transparency in IRS information requests.

The PRIMATE Act generally bans the importation of live nonhuman primates into the United States to prevent toxic exposures. This prohibition includes a narrow exception allowing importation only by AZA-accredited facilities under strict conditions regarding the animal's future use. Violations of this ban are subject to significant civil penalties and forfeiture of the illegally imported primates.

The OPTIONS Act establishes "qualified benefit options plans," allowing employees to allocate employer contributions among various tax-free benefits. Under these plans, employees cannot opt to receive cash or other taxable benefits instead of the designated noncash options. This structure ensures that employer contributions allocated through these plans are excluded from the employee's gross income for federal tax purposes.

The CLEAR Act establishes enhanced penalties for individuals who forcibly assault, resist, or interfere with federal law enforcement officers from the Department of Homeland Security or the Department of Justice. Specifically, the bill imposes prison sentences of up to 20 years for those who use a vehicle to commit such assaults or who obstruct officers while they are inside a federal law enforcement vehicle.

The American Families First Assistance Act restricts eligibility for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) benefits for most legal immigrants. While it establishes a general prohibition on these benefits for "qualified aliens," the bill provides specific exceptions for certain categories of immigrants as defined by existing federal law.

The CHARGE Act aims to protect U.S. national security by prohibiting the import of energy storage systems that contain remote monitoring capabilities linked to the People's Republic of China. By restricting these technologies, the bill seeks to prevent potential foreign interference with the reliability of the nation’s critical energy infrastructure.

This resolution sets the stage for the House of Representatives to immediately consider H.R. 7378, a bill that seeks to permanently adjust American time by amending the Calder Act. The process is highly streamlined, waiving all procedural objections and amendments to move directly to a final vote after one hour of debate.

The CLEAN Act proposes to make individuals designated as sex offenders ineligible for the refundable tax credit used to purchase health insurance through the Marketplace. Additionally, the bill would prohibit the use of federal Medicaid funds for medical assistance provided to sex offenders, while allowing states the option to withhold coverage.

The Disaster Zone Energy Affordability and Investment Act allows businesses in federally or state-declared disaster areas to transfer certain unused general business tax credits from prior years. This provision is designed to help affected taxpayers by converting these credits into usable funds based on their eligible operating expenditures within the disaster zone. The credits apply to investments made following disasters declared after December 31, 2023.

The Air Quality Act establishes a sweeping federal prohibition on weather modification, geoengineering, and stratospheric aerosol injection, with limited exceptions for laboratory research and fire suppression. This legislation imposes significant civil and criminal penalties for unauthorized activities that affect interstate commerce or occur within U.S. jurisdictions. Furthermore, the Act mandates public reporting systems managed by the FAA and EPA to track aircraft and investigate suspected violations. Finally, it repeals all existing federal authorities that currently authorize weather modification activities.

The Ending Exploitative Imported Labor Exemptions Act (EXILE Act) aims to eliminate the H-1B visa program. This legislation amends existing law to set the numerical limit for H-1B visas to zero starting in fiscal year 2027.

The Daylight Act of 2026 seeks to establish permanent standard time across the United States by amending existing time zone laws. This legislation would eliminate the practice of observing Daylight Saving Time, meaning clocks would no longer change twice a year. The bill sets specific, permanent offsets from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) for all established time zones.

This Act establishes specific definitions for "female," "male," and "sex" based on biological reproductive systems for amateur athletics. It mandates that organizations recognized by the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee must prohibit individuals identified as male from competing in competitions designated for females. This aims to protect competitive opportunities specifically for biological females in amateur sports.

The Worldwide Animal Testing Compliance and Harmonization (WATCH) Act of 2026 mandates quarterly inspections and certification for foreign laboratories receiving U.S. federal funding for animal research. The bill ensures these facilities adhere to established animal welfare standards, with provisions to suspend or revoke funding for those that fail to maintain compliance.

The Ensuring Consistency in Nutrition Labels Act establishes stricter standards for food labeling accuracy. It deems a food product "misbranded" if its actual nutrient content exceeds the labeled value by more than 5 percent for certain required nutrients. This legislation mandates the Secretary of Health and Human Services to update relevant regulations within 60 days of enactment.

The DISPOSAL Act mandates the sale or long-term lease of six specific, underutilized federal buildings in Washington, D.C., granting the Administrator of General Services broad discretion over the transactions. This process is largely exempt from standard environmental and historic preservation reviews, with a strict prohibition on foreign ownership. Net proceeds from these disposals will fund relocation costs before being deposited into the Treasury to reduce the deficit.