The Housing Survivors of Major Disasters Act of 2026 expands disaster relief assistance to individuals who lived in disaster areas but lacked formal proof of ownership or were not renting, including those who were homeless or stayed in temporary accommodations. It allows these eligible households to use federal funds to pay for obtaining property titles, such as costs for land surveys and associated taxes, by accepting a wide range of documents like utility bills, driver's licenses, and school records as evidence of their connection to the property. The bill also requires FEMA to create a simple, non-notarized form for applicants to self-certify their eligibility and mandates that the agency consult with the Department of Housing and Urban Development to coordinate temporary rental assistance programs for displaced residents. Additionally, the legislation amends existing disaster housing rules to focus on ensuring residences are habitable during long-term recovery and permits temporary housing if the President deems it a cost-effective alternative to other solutions.
The Small Business Territories Support Act creates a new Office of Territorial Affairs within the Small Business Administration to better serve small businesses in Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands. This office will be led by an Assistant Administrator with specific expertise in territorial affairs and small business development, who is tasked with coordinating programs related to entrepreneurship, disaster relief, and government contracting. The bill requires the new office to regularly review existing services, host outreach events, and submit annual reports to Congress detailing its activities and the number of businesses assisted. Additionally, the legislation defines key partners, such as small business development centers and veteran outreach centers, to collaborate on supporting these communities.
This bill, titled the Kenya Merritt Renewing our PACT Act of 2026, establishes a legal presumption that specific diseases are caused by exposure to open burn pits and other toxic hazards for certain federal employees. It directly affects workers in departments such as Defense, State, and Homeland Security who spent at least 30 days in foreign contingency operations on or after August 2, 1990. Under the new rules, eligible employees can receive disability or death compensation for listed illnesses without needing to prove that the disease was recorded during their time of exposure. The Secretary of Labor is tasked with maintaining an updated list of covered diseases and submitting a progress report to Congress within one year of the law's enactment.
The PROTECT Act prevents federal buildings, lands, or assets from being named, renamed, or designated after Donald J. Trump. It also bars the use of federal funds for any such naming or redesignation. Additionally, the law requires that any federal property currently named after Trump be reverted to its original legal name upon the bill's enactment.
The HELP Act of 2026 directs the Department of Health and Human Services to create a program that strengthens and coordinates 211 services, which provide free information and referrals for health and human services like food assistance and housing. The bill authorizes $250 million annually from 2026 to 2032 to fund grants for state-level 211 networks, requiring recipients to match at least 25% of the funding with local resources. A designated nonprofit administering agency will distribute these funds, oversee coordination between 211, 911, and 988 systems, and run public awareness campaigns to ensure all individuals can access these services regardless of location or disability.
Domenic and Ed's Law allows parents who have taken out federal student loans to repay those loans if their child becomes permanently and totally disabled. This change applies to all outstanding parent loans, regardless of when the loan was taken out or when the disability began. The law requires that the disability be medically determinable and expected to last for at least 60 months or result in death.
The PROTECT Act requires the Department of Homeland Security to share safety and data protection guidelines with government agencies and private organizations within a year of passing. These guidelines focus on how to securely handle personal information for law enforcement officers and employees, as well as steps they can take to stay safe. The law defines personal information broadly to include any data that can identify an individual, regardless of their citizenship status. This initiative aims to improve security practices across federal, state, local, and private sectors without changing existing legal requirements for data handling.
The PRICE Act requires third-party food delivery apps to stop using hidden pricing strategies that change delivery fees based on a customer's past order history or willingness to pay. Starting 90 days after enactment, these platforms must calculate delivery fees using a fixed formula based only on the order total and distance, while clearly displaying the base food price and the final total before checkout. The law also mandates that apps explain exactly what each delivery fee covers and whether it is refundable. The Federal Trade Commission is responsible for enforcing these rules, and state attorneys general have the authority to sue platforms that violate the act on behalf of their residents.
This bill extends the deadline for certain regulations protecting the North Atlantic right whale from 2028 to 2035. It directly affects the National Marine Fisheries Service and other agencies responsible for enforcing these conservation rules. The key provision amends the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 to update the expiration date in the relevant section of federal law. This change ensures that existing protective measures for the whale species remain in effect for an additional seven years.
This bill, known as the Precision Agriculture Workforce Training and Development Act, aims to expand educational programs that prepare students for careers in precision agriculture. It directly affects universities, research institutions, and public or private partners by authorizing new grants to support workforce training initiatives. The legislation modifies existing federal funding rules to explicitly include cooperative education programs focused on improving skills in modern farming technologies. By adding these specific categories to research and extension grants, the bill ensures that financial resources are available for developing specialized training partnerships.
The Timely Access to Coverage Decisions Act of 2026 establishes strict deadlines for Medicare contractors to review and decide on requests regarding local coverage rules, ensuring that complete requests are resolved within one year and incomplete ones are addressed within 60 days. To improve transparency, the bill mandates that new or significantly revised local coverage decisions go through a public process involving published drafts, open meetings with remote access options, expert panel advice, and a 30-day window for written public comments before they take effect. Additionally, the law requires the Secretary to review reconsideration decisions if requested by interested parties, such as patients, providers, or other entities, to check for errors in evidence interpretation or legal application. These measures aim to create a more predictable and open system for determining which medical items and services are covered under Medicare in specific geographic areas.
The Supporting Energy and Economic Development (SEED) Act extends tax credits for biodiesel and renewable diesel production through 2029. It prevents taxpayers from receiving both the production credit and the fuel use credit for the same fuel, ensuring only one benefit is claimed. These changes apply to fuel sold or used after the bill becomes law.
