Budget & Taxes

This bill limits the overhead costs universities can charge on federal research grants to match the average rate charged for private research grants. It requires the Office of Management and Budget to calculate this average rate annually and caps federal indirect costs at that level. The Comptroller General must also study current federal and private indirect cost rates - including how funds are used for administrative staff - and submit a report to Congress within one year. The bill directly affects colleges and universities receiving federal research funding from agencies like the NIH and NSF.

The Build the Wall Act of 2025 creates a new fund called the Southern Border Wall Construction Fund to finance physical barriers along the U.S. southern border. It requires all unspent funds from the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (originally for pandemic relief) to be transferred immediately into this new account. The Secretary of Homeland Security would then use these redirected funds to construct and maintain border barriers. This bill changes how existing federal funds are allocated, shifting resources from pandemic recovery efforts to border security infrastructure.

HR 1169, the Wildfire Victim Tax Relief and Recovery Act, provides tax relief for individuals affected by specific 2024 Texas Panhandle wildfires. It treats compensation received for losses from the Smokehouse Creek, Windy Deuce, Grape Vine Creek, 687 Reamer, and Roughneck fires as tax-free disaster relief payments, covering costs like property damage, closing fees, and inconvenience. The bill also amends tax code provisions to allow wildfire victims to defer capital gains taxes on livestock sold due to fire, similar to existing flood-related rules. These changes apply to payments received on or after February 26, 2024, and tax returns filed for 2024 and later. The law directly benefits Texas residents who suffered wildfire-related losses and received qualifying compensation from government agencies, Xcel Energy, or related entities.

HR 1417 establishes a new program within the U.S. Department of Agriculture to provide tailored technical assistance to rural health care facilities. The program directly supports facilities like hospitals, clinics, and health centers in rural areas by helping them identify operational needs, improve financial management, and access USDA loan and grant programs. Key provisions include prioritizing facilities in medically underserved areas or facing financial vulnerability, with a $2 million annual funding limit for fiscal years 2026-2030. The program requires annual reports on outcomes and effectiveness to Congress, focusing on preventing facility closures and strengthening rural health care delivery.

Maintaining and Enhancing Hydroelectricity and River Restoration Act This bill establishes a new investment tax credit in the amount of 30% of the basis of any hydropower improvement property. The bill defines hydropower improvement property as property that adds or improves fish passage at a qualified dam; maintains or improves the quality of the water retained or released by a qualified dam; promotes downstream sediment transport and habitat maintenance; upgrades, repairs, or reconstructs a qualified dam to meet safety and security standards; improves public uses of, and access to, public waterways impacted by a qualified dam; removes an obsolete river obstruction; or places into service an approved remote dam. Further, written approval for hydropower improvement property must be obtained from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission or state or local officials prior to January 1, 2032. The bill also allows an election to claim the investment tax credit for qualified progress expenses for some types of hydropower improvement property in advance of such property being placed into service. Any investment tax credit amount claimed for qualified progress expenses reduces the amount of the investment tax credit that may be claimed once the hydropower improvement property is placed into service.  The bill authorizes certain entities, including tax-exempt and governmental entities, to treat the investment tax credit for hydropower improvement property as a payment of tax and receive a refund of any overpayment (also known as elective pay).  Finally, the investment tax credit for hydropower improvement property may be transferred (i.e., sold).

HR 1797, the Employment Services and Jobs Parity Act, amends the Wagner-Peyser Act to extend federal employment service funding to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) and American Samoa. It directly affects these territories' employment service programs by requiring the federal government to provide them with funding equal to half of what Guam receives under the current allotment system. The key provision, added to Section 6(c)(2), mandates that starting after fiscal year 2025, CNMI and American Samoa will each receive an annual allotment equal to one-half of the amount allocated to Guam for that fiscal year. This change ensures these territories receive a guaranteed share of federal funds for employment services, previously only available to Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

HR 1792 prohibits U.S. federal funds from being provided to three United Nations agencies: the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and the Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). The bill requires the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct a study identifying all U.S. funding to these agencies from 2021-2025, including amounts and restrictions, and to assess any funds owed to the U.S. government. It also mandates an audit of the State Department’s Refugee Travel Loan Program. The GAO must submit a report to Congress within 180 days of the bill’s enactment detailing these findings. This bill directly affects federal funding mechanisms for international refugee and migration programs.

This bill reauthorizes and expands U.S.-Israel energy cooperation programs through 2031. It increases annual funding for the BIRD Energy Foundation from $2 million to $5 million and for the U.S.-Israel Energy Center from $4 million to $7 million, extending support through fiscal years 2026-2031. The bill adds new focus areas like hydrogen energy, fusion, industrial decarbonization, carbon management, agrivoltaics, grid modernization, and energy infrastructure cybersecurity to existing collaboration efforts. These changes directly affect U.S. and Israeli energy companies, researchers, and institutions working on commercializing clean energy technologies.

This bill creates a tax credit for new vehicles with better fuel economy than the median for their model year, with a maximum credit of $5,000. It also imposes a fee on manufacturers of vehicles with fuel economy below the median for their model year. The credit amount is calculated based on how much a vehicle's fuel economy exceeds the median for its model year, using combined fuel-economy ratings expressed in miles per gallon of gasoline equivalent. Vehicle manufacturers must report fuel economy data annually, and the credit can be transferred to dealers who disclose the amount to customers. The bill applies to new passenger cars and light trucks starting with model year 2027.

HR 1146, the "No More Funding for NPR Act of 2025," blocks all federal funding for National Public Radio (NPR) and its successor organizations after the bill's enactment. It prohibits direct or indirect federal support, including funding for public broadcast stations using federal money to pay NPR for programming, and permanently rescinds unobligated funds allocated to NPR for fiscal years 2025 and 2026. The bill does not apply during active FEMA disaster responses when funds are used solely to share urgent public safety information. This legislation directly affects NPR's federal funding stream, which currently supports its operations and programming.