This bill, known as the Protecting and Enhancing Public Access to Codes Act of 2026, adds a new section to the U.S. Copyright Code to address standards that are incorporated by reference into federal, state, and local laws and regulations. The legislation requires standards development organizations to make these incorporated standards freely available online at no cost to the public, including searchable tables of contents and indexes, while still protecting the organizations' copyright rights. The bill defines key terms such as "incorporated by reference" and "standards development organization" to clarify which materials fall under these requirements. It also establishes that copyright protection for these standards continues even after they are referenced in laws, provided the organization makes them publicly accessible online within a reasonable time of being notified about the incorporation. The measure aims to balance public access to technical standards used in regulations with the ability of standards organizations to fund their work through licensing and sales.
S 2903, the Safe Step Act, requires health insurance plans and employers offering health coverage to establish a clear, timely process for patients or doctors to request exceptions when step therapy protocols (where insurers require trying cheaper drugs first) would harm a patient. It mandates approval for exceptions if prior drugs failed, delay would cause severe harm, a drug is unsafe, or a patient is stable on their current medication. Plans must respond to requests within 72 hours (or 24 hours in emergencies) and cover the requested drug without extra cost-sharing. The bill also requires annual reports to the government on exception requests, approvals, denials, and trends by medical condition or specialty. This directly affects patients on health plans with step therapy, their doctors, and the insurers managing those plans.
This bill (S 1677, Ensuring Lasting Smiles Act) requires health insurance plans to cover medically necessary treatments for congenital anomalies or birth defects affecting the eyes, ears, teeth, mouth, or jaw. It mandates coverage for reconstructive services, dental/orthodontic care, and related treatments during the course of medical treatment, while excluding purely cosmetic procedures not medically necessary. Plans may apply cost-sharing requirements similar to those for other medical services but must provide notice about these coverage requirements to participants by January 1, 2026. The bill also directs a study on provider network adequacy and cost impacts related to these coverage requirements, to be completed by December 2027.
S. Res. 650 is a Senate resolution that formally recognizes the heritage, culture, and contributions of American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian women in the United States. The resolution highlights their achievements in military service, business ownership, healthcare, science, arts, and civil rights advocacy through specific examples of individual women. It does not create new laws or funding but serves as a symbolic acknowledgment of their historical and ongoing contributions to American society.
This bill requires the U.S. Secretary of State to work with the Secretary of Defense and submit a report to Congress within 180 days on emerging threats facing Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. The report will examine military, cyber, and political dangers from countries like Russia, Belarus, China, and Iran, while also assessing current U.S. and NATO security presence in the region. It includes recommendations for improving defense cooperation, cybersecurity, and democratic resilience in the Baltic states, and highlights opportunities to strengthen bilateral and multilateral partnerships. The legislation reflects Congress's view that supporting these NATO allies aligns with U.S. national security interests.
The Energy Bills Relief Act aims to lower household energy costs and accelerate the development of low-cost, clean energy by modifying federal tax credits, expanding weatherization programs, and streamlining permitting processes. Key provisions include restoring tax incentives for renewable energy projects, increasing funding for low-income heating assistance, and requiring federal agencies to treat wind, solar, and storage projects with the same procedural fairness as oil and gas projects. The bill also establishes new incentives for upgrading the electricity grid, such as tax credits for transmission lines and grants for wildfire prevention measures, while creating mechanisms to ensure utilities serve public interests and protect consumers from price volatility.
This bill amends the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 to require faster public access to information about federal awards. It directly affects government agencies that issue federal funding and the public seeking transparency on how those funds are used. The key provision changes the posting deadline from 30 days after an award is given to just 3 days, ensuring more immediate public availability of award data. This change aims to improve real-time transparency without altering the underlying funding process or eligibility requirements. The bill focuses solely on accelerating the timing of information disclosure rather than changing how awards are distributed or managed.
This bill amends a provision in the U.S. Code regarding national cemetery interments, specifically changing the legal definition used to determine who is barred from burial. It updates references from "tier III sex offender" under outdated law (34 U.S.C. § 20901) to the current definition (34 U.S.C. § 20911) for the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act. This change directly affects individuals classified as tier III sex offenders under current law, altering the criteria applied when reviewing burial eligibility in national cemeteries. The bill makes a technical correction to align the cemetery policy with the existing sex offender registration statute, with no broader changes to cemetery access or policy.
S 2264, the AVERT Crises Act of 2025, requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to submit three reports to Congress within 90-180 days of enactment. The first report will assess VA's emergency management roles, organizational structure, and potential for consolidating offices to improve coordination. The second will detail the operations and inventory of VA's Regional Readiness Centers, including supply requests and emergency response capabilities. The third will examine barriers to sharing resources like fuel with FEMA during emergencies and whether congressional action is needed to enable better coordination. These reports aim to identify inefficiencies and improve the VA's emergency response systems for veterans.
Automotive Support Services to Improve Safe Transportation Act of 2025 or the ASSIST Act of 2025 This bill expands the definition of medical services for purposes of veterans’ benefits to include additional medically necessary automobile adaptations. Under the bill, the Department of Veterans Affairs may provide funding for the following medically necessary automobile adaptations for driver or passenger use: ramp and kneeling systems, lowered floors, occupied and unoccupied mobility lifts, ingress or egress accessibility modifications, and adapted seating. The bill also extends the limitation on pension amounts for certain hospitalized or institutionalized veterans through September 30, 2032.
The Love Lives On Act of 2025 modifies veterans' and military survivors' benefit rules to prevent remarriage from automatically ending eligibility. It directly affects surviving spouses of veterans or military members who remarried, ensuring they retain access to key benefits. Key provisions include: (1) preventing termination of veterans' dependency compensation (under 38 U.S.C. §1311/1562) due to remarriage; (2) stopping termination of military Survivor Benefit Plan annuities solely for remarriage, with specific rules for those who remarried before age 55; and (3) expanding TRICARE coverage to include remarried widows/widowers whose subsequent marriage ended (via death, divorce, or annulment). These changes restore or maintain benefits that were previously lost upon remarriage.
This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to cover abortion care, counseling, and related medication as part of standard hospital and medical services for eligible veterans and certain dependents. It amends VA healthcare law to explicitly include these services under existing coverage for veterans qualifying under section 1703 and dependents eligible under section 1781(a). The policy directly affects veterans and their dependents enrolled in VA healthcare programs by expanding covered benefits to include abortion-related care. This is a concrete policy change to VA healthcare benefits, not a broader abortion law.
