This bill requires the Government Accountability Office to conduct an audit of a 2026 energy deal between the United States and Venezuela that involves selling Venezuelan oil and managing the proceeds through U.S.-controlled accounts. The audit will examine the roles of multiple federal agencies including the Departments of State, Energy, and Treasury, as well as any contractors or entities involved in implementing the agreement. Key provisions mandate that the audit begin within 30 days of the bill's enactment, with interim briefings provided to congressional leadership and a final unclassified report submitted to Congress within 90 days of completion. The legislation also ensures that any delays or denials of access to information during the audit are promptly reported to congressional committees.
This bill, titled the Protect Liberty and End Warrantless Surveillance Act of 2026, reforms the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and adds protections for data brokers to limit how law enforcement and intelligence agencies can access personal information. The legislation prohibits warrantless queries of communications belonging to U.S. persons, requires court orders before accessing certain data from third-party providers, and mandates greater transparency in surveillance directives. It also expands the role of independent advocates in surveillance court proceedings and restricts the use of illegally obtained data from data brokers in legal proceedings.
This bill, titled the Stop Unemployment Fraud Act, requires states to verify the identity of unemployment compensation claimants using government-issued IDs and supporting documents like utility bills or lease agreements. It mandates that states use data-matching systems to cross-check claimant information against employment records, new hire directories, and databases of incarcerated or deceased individuals to detect and prevent fraud. The legislation also prohibits relying solely on a claimant's self-attestation to prove eligibility and strengthens work search requirements by mandating that claimants maintain and submit weekly records of job search activities. Additionally, the bill allows states to use up to 5% of recovered overpayments or collected contributions to fund fraud prevention efforts, technology modernization, and proper employment classification programs.
HR 7827 restricts the Department of Defense from purchasing or selling military-style assault weapons and certain high-capacity ammunition (like .223 Remington) in commercial markets. It imposes strict requirements on dealers selling firearms or ammunition, including mandatory NICS background checks, limits on high-volume sales, security measures (like surveillance systems), and electronic recordkeeping for transactions. Dealers must also meet crime trace limits (fewer than 24 crime guns traced annually) and implement training on recognizing straw purchases and preventing illegal sales. Government-owned weapons plants must annually report commercial sales data to Congress, including customer locations and revenue.
This bill, titled the Medicines for the People Act, would create a new National Institute for Biomedical Research and Development within the Public Health Service Act. The new institute would conduct full-cycle research and development of drugs, devices, and biological products using federal laboratories, contracts with public and private entities, and acquisitions of existing technologies. Key provisions include government ownership of patents and trade secrets from institute-funded research, mandatory sharing of clinical trial data with the public, and licensing agreements that prioritize nonprofit and public entities while allowing some for-profit licensing under public interest terms. The institute would be overseen by a 15-member governing board with restrictions on members from the pharmaceutical industry, and it would receive an initial authorization of $90 billion for fiscal year 2027.
This bill, known as the Securing Accountability in Foreign Entries Act, requires importers of record to be individuals who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents, or entities with a physical U.S. location and U.S. ownership or employment. It mandates that importers pay duties directly from U.S.-based bank accounts verified through anti-money laundering procedures, and increases the minimum continuous import bond to $100,000 for most importers. The law also restricts foreign entities from serving as importers of record unless they have a U.S. subsidiary meeting specific ownership and operational criteria, while allowing major express consignment operators to designate wholly-owned U.S. customs brokers as their importers of record. These changes apply to entries made one year after the bill is enacted, with regulations to be issued within 360 days.
This bill establishes the United States Immigration Courts as an independent judicial system under Article I of the Constitution, separate from the executive branch. It creates three divisions (appellate, trial, and administrative), sets qualifications for judges, and defines jurisdiction for immigration proceedings. The bill transfers functions from the Executive Office for Immigration Review to this new court system, with detailed provisions for appointment, compensation, and retirement of judges. It also requires annual reporting to Congress on court workload and outcomes, including demographic information and case processing times.
This bill, the PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026, requires most health insurance plans to cover HIV prevention medication without charging patients any out-of-pocket costs. It directly affects people with private insurance, government health programs like Medicare and Medicaid, military health care, and the Indian Health Service. The law mandates that insurance companies cannot require pre-approval for these medications, cannot charge deductibles or copayments for them, and cannot deny or charge higher premiums for life, disability, or long-term care insurance based on someone taking HIV prevention medication. The bill also creates a new public education campaign to increase awareness about HIV prevention options and provides federal funding to states and community organizations to expand access to these services.
This bill requires hospitals receiving Medicare funding to create discharge plans for pregnant patients who are expected to leave the hospital before delivery, ensuring they have safe transportation and access to backup care if needed. The discharge plans must include clinical justification for early discharge, assessment of travel logistics, identification of alternative delivery facilities, and confirmation that patients understand the information in their primary language. Additionally, the bill expands rural maternal health training grants to include racial bias training, establishes performance milestones for grant recipients, and creates a new initiative to evaluate different training models for healthcare professionals. The legislation also mandates the development of a public dashboard tracking maternal health outcomes and federal investments in maternal health research.
This bill, titled the No Federal Tax Dollars for Illegal Aliens Health Insurance Act of 2026, amends the Affordable Care Act to restrict the use of federal taxpayer funds for health insurance coverage. It directly affects states that receive funding under the ACA and individuals seeking health insurance coverage through federal programs. The key provision prohibits states from using pass-through funding to pay for health insurance or related benefits for individuals who are not U.S. citizens, nationals, or lawfully present aliens. Additionally, the bill requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to rescind any existing waivers that would have allowed such funding for unauthorized individuals had the new restrictions been in place at the time of approval.
This bill, the Supplemental Security Income Restoration Act of 2026, updates eligibility rules and benefit amounts for the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program, which provides financial assistance to low-income elderly, blind, and disabled individuals. Key changes include raising income and resource limits to help more people qualify, adjusting benefit calculations to better reflect poverty guidelines, and extending the program to U.S. territories like Puerto Rico and Guam. The legislation also removes certain financial penalties, excludes retirement accounts and tribal welfare payments from eligibility calculations, and clarifies how state tax credits are treated when determining income.
HR 7856, the Fair Housing for Survivors Act of 2026, amends the Fair Housing Act to explicitly prohibit housing discrimination based on being a survivor of domestic violence, sexual assault, or severe trafficking in persons. It adds "survivor of domestic violence, sexual assault, or severe trafficking" as a protected class in the law, alongside existing categories like race or national origin. This means landlords, housing providers, and programs cannot deny housing, evict, or otherwise discriminate against individuals due to their status as a survivor. The bill directly affects survivors who face housing barriers, including those with protective orders, shelter histories, or past evictions linked to abuse.
