The Universal School Meals Program Act of 2026 mandates that all children enrolled in participating schools receive free breakfast and free lunch, eliminating previous income-based eligibility requirements. The bill establishes specific funding rates for these meals, adjusts them annually for inflation, and requires states to disburse funds directly to selected schools. Additionally, the legislation prohibits schools from collecting unpaid meal debts from parents and forbids practices like segregating students or publicly identifying those who cannot pay. The act also expands summer food programs to include all children, updates poverty measurement standards for federal data, and extends free lunch eligibility to incarcerated juveniles in eligible detention centers.
The Advancing Water Reuse Act creates a new federal tax credit to encourage investment in water recycling infrastructure. This 30 percent credit applies to businesses and utilities that install, replace, or modify onsite water recycling systems in industrial, manufacturing, data center, or food processing facilities. Eligible projects also include those that replace freshwater with recycled municipal water or build new municipal water recycling systems. To qualify, the construction of the project must begin within ten years of the bill's enactment, and the credit is calculated based on the cost of tangible property placed in service during the taxable year.
The Supporting Newborn Parents Act of 2026 creates a new tax credit of $2,000 for each child born to a taxpayer during the tax year. To receive this credit, parents must have earned income, with the maximum amount limited to 20% of their earnings, and the benefit phases out as family income rises. The bill allows parents to request an advance payment of the credit shortly after a child's birth by providing their information when applying for a Social Security number. Additionally, the legislation requires the Treasury to establish an online portal to help parents understand how to make elections regarding advance payments and estimated income figures.
The Universal School Meals Program Act of 2026 mandates that all public schools provide free breakfast and lunch to every enrolled student, regardless of income. It establishes specific funding rates for these meals, adjusts payments based on the use of locally sourced food, and eliminates the ability of schools to collect debt for unpaid charges. Additionally, the bill expands free meal access to summer programs, afterschool care, and incarcerated juveniles while updating poverty measurement standards across various federal education and nutrition laws.
The IGNITE HBCU Excellence Act authorizes federal grants to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to fund long-term improvements to their campus facilities and infrastructure. These grants are awarded competitively to eligible HBCUs based on criteria such as the age of their facilities, deferred maintenance needs, financial capacity, and student enrollment levels. Recipients may use the funds to construct or renovate buildings, upgrade technology and broadband systems, improve safety measures, and develop workforce training hubs, while being prohibited from using the money for routine maintenance or athletic facilities. The legislation also includes provisions for reporting on project outcomes and requires institutions to create comprehensive master plans that involve consultation with diverse campus and community stakeholders.
The Let Kids Play Act prohibits private equity firms and their affiliates from investing in or engaging in specific harmful practices within the youth sports industry. It defines "vulture practices" as actions that extract profit by imposing excessive debt, raising prices, cutting jobs, or restricting access to essential services and competing platforms. To operate in this sector, these firms must obtain certification from the Federal Trade Commission or the Department of Justice proving they have never engaged in such behaviors and will not do so in the future. If a firm is designated as a vulture investor, it is required to divest its ownership stakes, return assets, refund fees, and forgive debts owed to the community and employees. The bill also establishes a Youth Sports Fund to receive disgorged funds for reducing participation costs and supporting local sports programs.
This bill requires the Department of Defense to review and eventually ban contracts with retailers that use payment processing systems from specific countries deemed a national security risk, such as China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea. Effective January 1, 2027, the Defense Department will be prohibited from entering into agreements for payment equipment or services if those tools rely on technology developed, owned, or controlled by entities in these nations. The law defines covered systems broadly to include hardware, software, and firmware linked to these countries, aiming to prevent potential foreign access to sensitive military financial data. Retailers wishing to continue working with the Department of Defense must replace their payment processing infrastructure with systems that do not involve these restricted technologies.
The Bereaved Parents Rights Act requires hospitals and birth centers to notify parents of miscarriages or stillbirths about their options for burial, cremation, or hospital disposal. This notification must occur within six hours of the event or the parent's discharge, using a standardized form provided by the government. If parents choose burial or cremation within 72 hours, the facility must follow the same state laws that apply to other fetal deaths. The bill also allows parents to sue in federal court if these notification requirements are not met.
The Critical Mineral and Extraction Tax Parity Act expands a federal tax credit for advanced manufacturing to include eleven new critical minerals, such as boron, copper, and uranium, while also adding specific rules for phosphate. It allows companies that extract ore in the United States to claim these credits for the extraction costs themselves, provided they certify that the ore is refined into a qualifying mineral and sold to an unrelated buyer. Additionally, the bill removes a previous penalty that reduced tax credit amounts for metallurgical coal, ensuring these materials receive the same financial support as other critical minerals. These changes are designed to encourage domestic production and processing of essential raw materials and will take effect for minerals produced and sold after December 31, 2025.
This resolution expresses support for police officers and other law enforcement personnel. The resolution further recognizes law enforcement officers across the United States in the pursuit of preserving safe and secure communities; the need to ensure that such officers have the equipment, training, and resources necessary to protect their health and safety while they are protecting the public; and the law enforcement community for acts of sacrifice and heroism. The resolution expresses condolences and appreciation to the loved ones of each law enforcement officer who has made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty.
This joint resolution directs the President to remove U.S. Armed Forces from hostilities against Iran that lack explicit congressional authorization, asserting Congress's constitutional war-declaring power. The measure applies only to ongoing military engagements within or against Iran and does not restrict defensive actions against attacks on the United States or its personnel. It permits continued intelligence gathering and defensive support for partner nations attacked by Iran since late February 2026, while requiring a formal declaration of war or specific statutory authorization for any future offensive military operations.
This joint resolution seeks to disapprove a rule from the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection that would have withdrawn a previous regulation on deceptive marketing practices related to remittance transfers. The bill directly affects financial institutions and consumers who send money internationally, aiming to keep the original marketing standards in place. If passed, the resolution would prevent the Bureau from removing the existing rules that prohibit misleading claims about the speed or cost of sending remittances. The measure uses the Congressional Review Act process to formally reject the agency's action and ensure the withdrawn rule remains inactive.
