The FLUENT Act authorizes a competitive grant program to provide family literacy services to households with English language learners, specifically targeting families that include at least one child under the age of eight. The Department of Education would award grants ranging from $150,000 to $1,000,000 to eligible providers, such as schools and nonprofit organizations, for periods of up to five years. These funds must be used for research-based instruction grounded in the science of reading, with a requirement that programs prioritize families facing the greatest economic and educational needs. The bill also mandates that grantees track specific outcomes, including improvements in English proficiency, primary language skills, and caregiver workforce readiness, while reserving federal funds for program evaluation and technical assistance.
The Reaching English Learners Act establishes a competitive grant program to help colleges and universities improve how they prepare teachers to instruct students who are learning English. These grants, which last up to five years, require partnerships between higher education institutions and high-need school districts or early childhood programs to develop curricula that include evidence-based teaching strategies such as bilingual and immersion education. Recipients must cover at least half of the program costs with non-federal funds and prioritize recruiting teacher candidates from underrepresented groups or those who are former English learners. The law also mandates that these partnerships evaluate their progress in placing new teachers in high-need areas and report findings to the Secretary of Education.
The Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas Recognition Act grants federal recognition to the Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas, thereby extending all applicable federal laws and benefits for federally recognized tribes to its members. To access these services, the tribe must submit its current membership roll and governing documents to the Secretary of the Interior, who is required to verify that the enrollment meets the criteria set in the tribe's own rules within two years. Once verification is complete, the Secretaries of the Interior and Health and Human Services will work with the tribe to determine specific service needs and establish a designated area for delivering federal programs. This legislation aims to resolve the lack of formal status that previously prevented the tribe from receiving government support and benefits available to other recognized Native American groups.
The Empower Energy Exporting Communities Act creates a new trust fund within the U.S. Treasury to support local infrastructure and public services in areas affected by energy exports. The fund is financed by appropriating 3 percent of net revenues collected from major oil and gas companies under existing tax laws. Eligible recipients include counties, municipalities, parishes, or Tribal communities located within 50 miles of a major port used for exporting oil, gas, or related products. Funding distributed to each port region is capped based on that region's share of total nationwide energy exports, ensuring allocations reflect local export activity levels.
The SAFE Platforms Act requires large online platforms to implement specific measures to prevent consumer fraud, including mandatory reporting buttons for scams, stricter default privacy settings that hide user information from strangers, and robust identity verification for advertisers in high-risk categories like finance or health. The bill grants the Federal Trade Commission enforcement powers to treat violations as unfair or deceptive practices, while also allowing state attorneys general and individual consumers to file lawsuits for damages. To qualify for legal protection under this law, platforms must review reported fraudulent content within 48 hours and take action within seven days, though they are not required to monitor all content before it is posted.
The Greeley Land Exchange Act authorizes a land swap between the City of Greeley, Colorado, and the U.S. Forest Service, where the city transfers approximately 40 acres of water utility property in exchange for about 78 acres of National Forest System land. The bill requires the exchange to be of equal value, allowing the city to pay any difference in cash or convey additional land, while explicitly reserving all city-owned water rights from the transfer. The federal government retains perpetual easements on specific trails to ensure continued public access and administrative use of the area. All costs associated with appraisals, surveys, environmental assessments, and legal processing are borne by the City of Greeley.
The U.S. Innovation and Global Competitiveness Act of 2026 amends federal tax laws to adjust how multinational corporations are taxed on foreign earnings, primarily by increasing the deduction rate for foreign-derived intangible income from 33.34 percent to 40 percent. The bill modifies the base erosion minimum tax by exempting certain payments made to foreign entities that face a high effective tax rate or operate in jurisdictions with discriminatory taxes, such as digital services taxes. It also eliminates specific inclusions of foreign base company sales and services income while allowing corporations to carry forward net tested losses from controlled foreign corporations for up to five years. Additionally, the legislation expands the research tax credit to all taxpayers rather than just small businesses and provides special rules for transferring intangible property from foreign subsidiaries to U.S. shareholders.
The STARS Act of 2026 establishes the United States Space Academy as a new institution within NASA, designed to provide undergraduate technical education and leadership training for future space professionals. The bill mandates that the academy's permanent campus be located in Florida, prioritizing sites near major launch facilities like Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Within 180 days of enactment, the NASA Administrator must submit a report to Congress detailing the specific site selection, proposed curriculum, graduate service obligations, and budget estimates. The legislation authorizes necessary federal funds for the acquisition, design, and construction of the academy's facilities.
This bill designates the U.S. Postal Service facility at 901 Lake Street in Oak Park, Illinois, as the "Detective Allan Reddins Post Office Building." It also requires that any federal law, map, regulation, or document referencing this facility must use its new official name.
The Survivor Benefits Application Modernization Act requires the Commissioner of Social Security to create an online portal for individuals applying for survivor insurance benefits. This portal must first allow users to schedule appointments within 180 days of enactment and later enable them to file their applications entirely online within one year. The bill directly affects people seeking these specific benefits by providing a digital alternative to traditional in-person or paper-based processes. Additionally, the law mandates that the Commissioner submit a report to Congress three years after enactment detailing changes in application volume, costs, and fraud rates resulting from the new system.
The MAGNET Act amends the Magnet Schools Assistance Program to expand grant eligibility to state educational agencies and creates a new supplemental diversity grant for school districts seeking to promote racial and socioeconomic integration. These funds support specific initiatives such as implementing inclusive enrollment practices, providing free transportation, improving teacher recruitment, and establishing inter-district partnerships to reduce segregation. The bill requires recipients to submit annual reports on their progress toward diversity and achievement goals, with the federal government retaining the authority to enforce compliance or revoke funding if schools fail to demonstrate tangible improvements.
The Backlog Justice Act of 2026 aims to reduce the backlog of untested sexual assault evidence kits by requiring the Attorney General to create a public database tracking inventory levels and laboratory processing times across state and local jurisdictions. To address staffing shortages, the bill authorizes the FBI to develop training programs for forensic analysts and DNA technical leaders, allowing states and localities to hire individuals who have completed this federal training. Additionally, it funds a program for the FBI to collaborate with state and local providers on validating new DNA processing technologies and sharing related protocols. The legislation also provides increased grant funding to states that implement electronic tracking systems allowing sexual assault survivors to monitor the status of their evidence kits from collection through final disposition.
