The Essential Caregivers Act of 2026 requires nursing homes, long-term care hospitals, rehabilitation facilities, and intermediate care facilities to allow two chosen family members or friends to visit residents during times when regular visitation is suspended. These essential caregivers must agree to follow the facility's existing safety and infection control rules, which are no more restrictive than those applied to staff. While facilities can limit access for the first seven days of a suspension or deny entry if a caregiver shows symptoms of a serious infectious disease, they cannot block visits for end-of-life care. Additionally, the bill mandates that complaints about denied access to essential caregivers be investigated and resolved within three days.
This bill transfers the administration of various postsecondary education programs from the Department of Education to the Department of Labor. It directly affects students participating in specific federal initiatives, such as TRIO programs, grants for historically black colleges and universities, and assistance for veterans and students with disabilities. The key mechanism involves moving all related duties, funding, and personnel to the Labor Department while repealing a few other specific programs. Once the transfer occurs, the Labor Secretary will manage these functions using the same authorities previously held by the Education Secretary, ensuring that existing applications and legal proceedings continue without interruption.
This bill, known as the Less Bureaucracy, Better K-12 Education Act, transfers the responsibility for administering numerous federal K-12 education programs from the Department of Education to the Department of Labor. These programs include funding for disadvantaged students, teacher development, literacy initiatives, and support for rural and homeless children, among others. The legislation mandates that all related personnel, funds, and legal authorities move to the Department of Labor, while ensuring that existing grants and pending applications remain valid during the transition. Once the transfer is complete, all future references to the Department of Education regarding these specific programs will legally refer to the Department of Labor instead.
This bill proposes moving the management of Federal student loans from the Department of Education to the Department of the Treasury. Under the plan, the Treasury would take over all tasks related to servicing loans, handling collections for defaulted debts, and administering various financial aid programs like Pell Grants and work-study opportunities. The transfer is designed to reduce bureaucracy by centralizing these functions within the Treasury, which already handles tax collection, while ensuring that existing legal processes and pending applications continue without interruption.
The Less Bureaucracy, Better Family Engagement Act transfers several federal programs related to family engagement and school safety from the Department of Education to the Department of Health and Human Services. These programs include funding for family engagement initiatives, community support for school success, school safety activities, and ready-to-learn programming grants. The bill mandates that the new department head can delegate these responsibilities to specific staff members while ensuring that the total number of federal employees does not increase. Existing grants, contracts, and legal proceedings involving these programs will continue without interruption during the transition, which is scheduled to take effect six months after the law is passed.
This bill transfers the federal program that provides child care assistance to low-income student parents from the Department of Education to the Department of Health and Human Services. The key mechanism involves moving all related duties, staff, contracts, and funding to the new agency, while ensuring that existing applications and legal cases continue without interruption. An official from the Office of Management and Budget will oversee the transition to ensure no net increase in federal employees and will certify that the transfer is complete. The law takes effect six months after enactment, though the agencies may begin moving resources earlier if they choose.
This bill transfers the responsibility for accrediting foreign medical schools from the Department of Education to the Department of Health and Human Services. The key mechanism involves moving all related staff, funds, and legal authority to the new agency, while ensuring that existing accreditation decisions and ongoing legal cases remain valid and unaffected. The Office of Management and Budget will oversee the transition to ensure no net increase in federal employees and will certify that the transfer is completed correctly. The changes are designed to streamline bureaucracy by placing medical education oversight within the department that already handles health-related matters.
The Less Bureaucracy, Better Tribal Education Act transfers federal programs and funding for tribal education and job training from the Department of Education to the Department of the Interior. This shift includes specific initiatives such as grants for American Indian and Alaska Native children, language preservation programs, and career and technical education support for Native-serving institutions. The bill also mandates that the Secretary of Education consult with Indian Tribes within six months of enactment before the transfer takes effect one year later. Additionally, the law ensures that existing contracts, grants, and legal proceedings continue without interruption during the transition period.
This bill transfers the responsibility for managing disclosures of foreign gifts received by U.S. colleges and universities from the Department of Education to the Department of State. The key mechanism involves moving all related duties, personnel, and funds to the Secretary of State, who will then have the authority to administer these functions under existing laws. To ensure a smooth transition, the Office of Management and Budget is tasked with certifying that the move does not increase the total number of federal employees and that all pending applications and legal proceedings continue without interruption. The changes are designed to centralize oversight of international gift transparency within the foreign affairs department while maintaining the status of existing administrative actions.
The Saving Today's Acute-Care Resources Act modifies how Medicare calculates payment rates for long-term care hospitals to ensure they receive appropriate funding for treating complex patients. Starting in fiscal year 2027, the bill expands the criteria for avoiding payment reductions by adding a "high acuity" standard that considers patients transferred from acute care or critical access hospitals with severe diagnoses. It also updates existing rules to include discharges from long-term care hospitals that have undergone significant construction projects or hold state certificates of need. These changes aim to adjust reimbursement levels based on the severity of patient conditions and the specific history of the hospital treating them.
HR 7651, the Chloe Cole Act of 2026, prohibits healthcare providers from performing certain medical interventions on minors under 18 aimed at altering physical development to align with gender identity. These "covered interventions" include puberty blockers, hormone treatments, and specific surgeries, but exclude medically necessary care for conditions like disorders of sexual development or traumatic injuries. The bill creates a federal civil lawsuit right for affected minors or their parents against providers who perform such interventions, allowing claims for damages including emotional distress and punitive awards, with strict liability for providers after the law's enactment. It explicitly allows exceptions for legitimate medical treatments and requires providers to prove such exceptions apply if challenged.
HR 7184, the PRESS Act, targets equipment used to manufacture illegal drugs by making it unlawful to sell specific items like tableting machines, gelatin capsules, or related chemicals when the seller knows the equipment will be used to produce controlled substances for unlawful U.S. importation. It directly affects manufacturers and distributors of these drug-making tools who have knowledge or reasonable cause to believe their products will facilitate illegal drug trafficking. The bill adds new prohibitions to the Controlled Substances Act and increases potential prison sentences for violations, with penalties reaching up to 20 years for major offenses involving large quantities of equipment or chemicals. These changes aim to disrupt the supply chain for illicit synthetic drugs by holding equipment sellers accountable for their intended use.
