The SACRED Act adds a new federal crime to protect access to places of religious worship by prohibiting intimidating or harassing conduct within 100 feet of religious buildings. It directly affects individuals who engage in disruptive behavior near religious sites and those seeking to enter or exit them. The law defines prohibited actions as conduct that causes reasonable fear for physical safety or intentionally harasses people within 8 feet, with penalties ranging from fines up to $10,000 for nonviolent first offenses to potential life imprisonment if death results. The bill also establishes civil remedies allowing aggrieved individuals or religious organizations to sue for damages and injunctive relief, while permitting state and federal attorneys general to bring civil actions on behalf of affected persons. Importantly, the legislation explicitly preserves the right to peaceful expressive conduct like picketing and does not override existing state or local laws.
This bill directs the U.S. Treasury Department to designate the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, which would block all U.S. assets belonging to CAIR and its affiliates and prohibit Americans from engaging in any financial transactions with the organization. The legislation also requires the Treasury Secretary to suspend CAIR's tax-exempt status under federal law. These actions are based on provisions in Executive Order 13224 that allow the government to restrict support for designated terrorist organizations. The bill includes a requirement for federal agencies to submit a detailed report to Congress within 30 days explaining the legal criteria used to justify the designation.
This bill amends Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to clarify that protections against sex discrimination do not extend to gender identity. It directly affects employers, employees, and individuals involved in workplace discrimination claims by explicitly excluding gender identity from the definition of sex-based discrimination. The key provision is a rule of construction that interprets existing federal law in a specific way, rather than creating new protections or restrictions. This change would limit the scope of federal sex discrimination claims to biological sex rather than including gender identity as a protected category.
This bill expands family leave protections under the Family and Medical Leave Act to include time off for employees when their son or daughter dies. It allows eligible workers to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave within 12 months of the death, with provisions for using paid leave balances and requiring advance notice when the loss is foreseeable. The legislation also updates rules for civil service employees and establishes certification requirements that employers may request to verify the need for leave.
This bill, titled the Homeland Security and Further Additional Continuing Appropriations Act, 2026, provides funding for the Department of Homeland Security and extends certain continuing appropriations for fiscal year 2026. It allocates money for various DHS components including border security, immigration enforcement, cybersecurity, disaster relief, and law enforcement training. The bill also includes the SAVE America Act, which requires states to verify voter citizenship through documentary proof and mandates photo identification for voting in federal elections. Additionally, it establishes reporting requirements for DHS budgeting and oversight, and prohibits certain border crossing fees.
The Tribal Roads Improvement Act addresses the poor condition of approximately 160,000 miles of roads on Tribal lands by allowing Tribal governments to use more of their transportation funding for road grading projects. This change removes a previous limitation that restricted how much of Tribal Transportation Program funds could be spent on grading, giving Tribes greater flexibility to improve road infrastructure. The bill also requires the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study within three years to evaluate the impact of this funding flexibility on road conditions, economic development, and community access. Results from the study will be reported to Congress with recommendations on how to further support Tribal road grading initiatives.
This bill, known as the BETS OFF Act, would make it illegal for anyone to place, accept, or facilitate bets on specific events such as acts of terrorism, assassinations, wars, or government actions that are not primarily financial in nature. The law defines these prohibited events as those where the outcome is controlled by a person or known in advance, while explicitly excluding standard insurance products and federal risk programs from the ban. In addition to criminalizing the betting activity itself, the bill updates existing federal gambling laws to include these prohibited wagers under current anti-gambling statutes and prevents financial exchanges from clearing or trading contracts based on these specified events. The measure takes effect 30 days after it is signed into law and would be enforced through civil actions brought by the Attorney General.
This bill creates a new commemorative military service medal called the Agent Orange Veterans Service Medal to honor veterans who received compensation for herbicide exposure during the Vietnam War. The medal will be designed by the Department of Defense and issued to living veterans or provided to next-of-kin for deceased veterans who meet specific eligibility criteria. Eligible recipients include those who receive compensation under existing Vietnam-era herbicide exposure laws or who are officially recognized as Vietnam-era herbicide-exposed veterans. The bill establishes an application process for veterans and their families to request the medal through the Department of Defense.
This bill establishes the Taiwan Critical Undersea Infrastructure Resilience Initiative to protect submarine cables and energy pipelines near Taiwan from sabotage, particularly by the People's Republic of China. It directs the State Department to create a program that includes advanced monitoring systems, rapid response protocols, enhanced maritime surveillance, and international cooperation to detect and mitigate threats to these critical communication and energy assets. The legislation authorizes $20 million annually through 2032 for these activities and mandates the hardening of undersea infrastructure to reduce vulnerability to damage. Additionally, the bill authorizes the President to impose sanctions on foreign entities that sabotage or facilitate attacks on undersea infrastructure critical to Taiwan or U.S. allies, and requires the creation of a Cross-Strait Contingency Planning Group to coordinate U.S. government responses to potential crises involving Taiwan.
This bill establishes a demonstration program that provides up to 15 competitive grants to local governments and public housing agencies to help develop workforce and affordable housing in areas where the workforce is expanding. To receive funding, recipients must submit applications that outline existing and proposed zoning reforms, such as upzoning, expedited permitting, and removal of parking minimums, along with implementation timelines. The grants can be used for converting commercial spaces to housing, developing new units, providing technical assistance, and acquiring properties, with at least 30 percent of created units required to be affordable housing. The program prioritizes jurisdictions that have already reduced regulatory barriers and aims to include urban, suburban, and rural areas, while requiring a study to evaluate the program's effectiveness on housing timelines and production.
Pay Our Homeland Defenders Act This bill provides appropriations to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for the remainder of FY2026. It also ends the partial DHS shutdown that began on February 14, 2026, because the continuing resolution (CR) that was funding DHS expired and a regular FY2026 DHS appropriations bill had not been enacted. Specifically, the bill provides appropriations to DHS for Departmental Management, Intelligence, Situational Awareness, and Oversight, including the Office of the Secretary and Executive Management; the Management Directorate; Intelligence, Analysis, and Situational Awareness; and the Office of Inspector General. In addition, the bill provides appropriations for Security, Enforcement, and Investigations, including U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Transportation Security Administration, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the U.S. Secret Service. The bill provides appropriations for Protection, Preparedness, Response, and Recovery, including the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The bill provides appropriations for Research, Development, Training, and Services, including U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers, and the Science and Technology Directorate. The bill also authorizes back pay, in accordance with current law, for federal employees who were affected by the partial DHS shutdown. Finally, the bill ratifies and approves certain obligations that were incurred during the partial DHS shutdown, including obligations incurred to maintain the essential level of activity to protect life and property and bring about an orderly termination of government functions.
This resolution formally acknowledges historical and ongoing injustices in women's healthcare, particularly affecting marginalized groups such as Black, Indigenous, immigrant, LGBTQ+, disabled, and low-income women. It highlights specific issues including dismissed pain, lack of bodily autonomy, and past medical abuses like non-consensual sterilization and coercive contraceptive testing. The bill calls for patient-centered care, expanded research, and stronger protections for reproductive and gynecological health, while urging the federal government to address systemic bias in medical settings.
