The Protecting Student Athletes from Unexpected Tax Liability Act requires companies to withhold 30 percent of income tax from payments made for a student athlete's name, image, and likeness. This rule treats these specific commercial payments as if they were standard wages, even though the athletes are not classified as employees. The bill also waives penalties for underpaid taxes in the first year a student athlete is subject to this new withholding requirement. To ensure the policy works effectively, the Treasury Department must report to Congress by 2029 on whether the 30 percent rate is appropriate and how well companies are complying with the law.
The PERFORM Act restricts the ability to award bonuses and other performance-based compensation to the Postmaster General of the United States Postal Service under specific conditions. These restrictions apply if the Postal Service runs a budget deficit, fails to meet nationwide service targets, receives a negative financial audit opinion, or does not submit a required annual report to Congress. The bill mandates that the Postmaster General provide a detailed report each year outlining compensation paid to senior executives, the metrics used to justify those payments, and data on financial and service performance. Additionally, the Postal Service Inspector General is required to review these annual reports to ensure compliance with the new reporting and compensation rules.
This bill, known as the Presidential Tax Accountability and Audit Integrity Act, prevents the President and their close family members or related business associates from entering into agreements that waive or release federal tax debts while the President is in office. It stops the IRS from honoring any such waivers or orders made during the President's term and requires the agency to publicly report the identities of any taxpayers affected by these instruments within seven days. Additionally, the law ensures that the standard time limits for the government to collect unpaid taxes or sue for collection do not expire until at least three years after the President leaves office. These measures aim to increase transparency and maintain the integrity of the tax system by restricting special treatment for the highest office holder and their connections.
The PERFORM Act restricts the Postmaster General from receiving bonuses or performance-based pay if the Postal Service runs a financial deficit, misses service targets, or fails to pass its annual audit. To enforce this, the law requires the Postmaster General to submit an annual report to Congress detailing all executive compensation, the metrics used to justify those payments, and the agency's financial and service performance data. Additionally, the Postal Service Inspector General must review these reports to ensure compliance with the new restrictions. These measures directly affect the compensation of senior Postal Service leadership and increase transparency regarding the agency's financial and operational results.
The No GRIFT Act of 2026 prohibits the Department of Justice from awarding grants to certain nonprofit organizations in a given fiscal year. To qualify for a grant, a nonprofit must certify that it is not a "covered nonprofit," which is defined as an organization where over 50% of its recent revenue came from DOJ grants and where it paid an officer or employee more than the Attorney General's annual salary. This provision directly affects 501(c)(3) organizations that have received significant federal funding and have high executive compensation, requiring them to disclose their financial history before applying for new grants.
The Stop Settlement Slush Funds Act of 2026 restricts federal agencies from entering into settlement agreements that require payments to third parties unless those funds directly remedy actual harm or compensate for services rendered. This law prohibits officials from directing settlement money to entities other than the United States for purposes such as slush funds or unrelated projects. To ensure compliance, the bill mandates annual reports to the Congressional Budget Office detailing the distribution of settlement funds and requires federal Inspectors General to publicly report any violations to congressional committees. These reporting requirements are set to expire seven years after the bill is enacted.
The Stop CHEATERS Act directs the Internal Revenue Service to increase its enforcement efforts against high-income individuals and large corporations by allocating billions of dollars in additional funding for tax audits, criminal investigations, and taxpayer services through fiscal year 2031. A significant portion of this funding is designated for modernizing the IRS's technology and business systems to improve its ability to detect fraud and noncompliance. The legislation also requires the IRS Commissioner to submit regular reports to Congress detailing plans to shift auditing resources toward wealthy taxpayers and analyzing how much unpaid tax is owed by different income groups.
The Tariff Impacted Farmer Support Act of 2026 directs the Secretary of Agriculture to provide financial assistance to farmers who lost revenue on specific crops due to tariffs during the 2025 and 2026 crop years. Eligible producers must grow corn, cotton, peanuts, poultry, or soybeans and have an average adjusted gross income of $500,000 or less. Payments are calculated based on the difference between a farmer's revenue in the previous year and their current year's revenue, with a total funding cap of $15 billion split equally between the two years. A key provision prevents any single farmer from receiving payments for both 2025 and 2026 losses, and the funds must be distributed by November 1 of the following year.
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The Protecting American Taxpayers Act is a comprehensive bill designed to combat government fraud, recover misused funds, and strengthen oversight across various federal programs. It directly affects federal agencies, state governments administering public assistance, small businesses, veterans, and contractors by imposing new reporting requirements, extending statutes of limitations for fraud cases, and restricting financial assistance to entities linked to foreign agents or the Taliban. Key mechanisms include requiring child care payments to be based on recorded attendance rather than enrollment, mandating investigations into sudden spikes in health care spending, prohibiting small businesses with convicted fraudsters from receiving loans, and creating a new officer within the Department of Veterans Affairs dedicated to scam prevention. Additionally, the legislation rescinds unspent pandemic-era funds for deficit reduction, expands whistleblower protections for defense and non-defense contractors, and establishes stricter rules against transferring public assistance money abroad via remittance transfers.
The GUARD Act allows state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies to use existing federal grant funds to investigate elder financial fraud (targeting elderly or disabled individuals), "pig butchering" scams (where victims are tricked into investing in fake crypto schemes), and general financial fraud. It requires agencies to hire specialized staff, use technology tools for tracking scams, and report annually on how funds were used and their impact on fraud statistics. The bill also mandates two key federal reports: one to Congress on scam trends and enforcement actions, and another detailing annual consumer losses and government spending on fraud prevention. These provisions aim to improve coordination between law enforcement, financial institutions, and federal agencies to combat evolving fraud schemes.
