This bill establishes a collaborative research initiative to study health conditions affecting descendants of veterans exposed to toxic substances during military service. Within 180 days, it requires an interagency task force (including the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry) to research diagnosis and treatment options for these health conditions. The task force must maintain a public website sharing research findings and evidence reviews on links between specific toxic exposures and health outcomes. It also mandates annual reports on research progress and strategic plan implementation for five years. The bill directly affects descendants of veterans with toxic exposure histories, focusing on evidence-based research rather than immediate healthcare benefits.
Guard and Reserve GI Bill Parity Act of 2025 This bill expands eligibility for Post-9/11 educational assistance for members of the reserve components of the Armed Forces and members of the National Guard. Specifically, the bill expands the types of activities that count towards Post-9/11 GI Bill eligibility to include active duty, inactive-duty training, annual training duty, and full-time National Guard duty or active duty. (Generally, under current law, only federal active duty counts towards educational assistance eligibility.)
The Love Lives On Act of 2025 modifies veterans' and military survivors' benefit rules to prevent remarriage from automatically ending eligibility. It directly affects surviving spouses of veterans or military members who remarried, ensuring they retain access to key benefits. Key provisions include: (1) preventing termination of veterans' dependency compensation (under 38 U.S.C. §1311/1562) due to remarriage; (2) stopping termination of military Survivor Benefit Plan annuities solely for remarriage, with specific rules for those who remarried before age 55; and (3) expanding TRICARE coverage to include remarried widows/widowers whose subsequent marriage ended (via death, divorce, or annulment). These changes restore or maintain benefits that were previously lost upon remarriage.
This bill requires that U.S. Representatives and Senators have their pay withheld for each day a government shutdown occurs during their pay period. If a shutdown happens, Congress's payroll office would withhold an amount equal to one day's salary for each full day of the shutdown, either reducing the current pay or holding funds in a special account until after the November 2026 election (for shutdowns before that date). The law applies to all federal agency shutdowns and specifies that withheld funds must be released to members on the 2026 election date to comply with constitutional pay protections. It takes effect for shutdowns occurring after the 2026 election.
HR 5688, the Non-Domiciled CDL Integrity Act, changes rules for issuing commercial driver's licenses (CDLs) to people who don't live in the state where the license is issued. It allows states to issue CDLs to foreign nationals with lawful U.S. immigration status and work-related visas (valid for up to one year or until their stay ends), requiring states to verify status before issuing and keep records for two years. For residents of U.S. territories like Puerto Rico, it requires proof of U.S. citizenship or permanent residency before issuing CDLs, with similar verification and record-keeping rules. The bill directly affects commercial drivers from foreign countries and U.S. territories seeking CDLs in states where they are not residents.
This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to cover abortion care, counseling, and related medication as part of standard hospital and medical services for eligible veterans and certain dependents. It amends VA healthcare law to explicitly include these services under existing coverage for veterans qualifying under section 1703 and dependents eligible under section 1781(a). The policy directly affects veterans and their dependents enrolled in VA healthcare programs by expanding covered benefits to include abortion-related care. This is a concrete policy change to VA healthcare benefits, not a broader abortion law.
Governing Unaccredited Representatives Defrauding VA Benefits Act or the GUARD VA Benefits Act This bill imposes fines on individuals for soliciting, contracting for, charging, or receiving any unauthorized fee or compensation with respect to the preparation, presentation, or prosecution of any claim for Department of Veterans Affairs benefits. The attempted commission of such offenses is also punishable by fine.
This resolution formally recognizes March 14, 2026, as Black Midwives Day to honor the contributions of Black midwives to maternal and infant health in the United States. It highlights the importance of midwifery in addressing gaps in healthcare access and reducing maternal mortality rates, which are disproportionately high among Black women. The bill encourages federal, state, and local governments to take actions such as diversifying the perinatal workforce, removing regulatory barriers for midwives, and expanding insurance coverage for midwifery services. It also calls for increased funding for education and mentorship programs to support Black midwives and promote culturally competent care.
This bill, titled the Equal Tax Act, proposes changes to how the U.S. tax system treats capital gains and earned income. It would limit preferential tax rates for capital gains to individuals with taxable incomes of $1,000,000 or less, while maintaining lower rates for qualifying family farms and businesses. Additionally, the bill would require taxpayers to recognize capital gains when property is transferred through gifts or inheritance, except for transfers between spouses and certain charitable contributions. The legislation also includes provisions for reporting certain gifts and bequests, allows for extended payment terms for taxes owed on gains realized due to death, and places limits on using like-kind exchanges to defer taxes on real estate gains.
This bill prohibits betting on specific events such as terrorist acts, assassinations, wars, and other non-financial government actions or outcomes that are controlled by individuals or known in advance. It directly affects anyone who places, accepts, or facilitates wagers on these designated events, making such activity illegal under federal law. The legislation updates existing gambling statutes to include these new prohibitions and prevents financial exchanges or derivatives from being traded on these sensitive events through registered entities.
This bill proposes a new windfall profits tax on crude oil producers and importers, targeting companies that extract or import more than 300,000 barrels of oil per day. The tax rate would be 50% of the amount by which current crude oil prices exceed a baseline set at the 2025 average, with adjustments for inflation in subsequent years. Revenue collected from this tax would be placed in a dedicated fund and then rebated directly to individual taxpayers as a credit against their income taxes. The rebate amount would be calculated quarterly based on the total tax revenue collected and distributed to eligible individuals, with higher amounts for joint filers and income-based phase-outs. The bill applies to oil extracted or imported after December 31, 2025, and includes provisions for territories with mirror tax systems to receive equivalent benefits.
This bill, titled the Antitrust Accountability and Transparency Act, amends the Clayton Act to increase transparency and oversight in antitrust enforcement by the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice. The legislation requires that proposed consent judgments and voluntary dismissals be published in the Federal Register at least 45 days before taking effect, allowing for public comment and review. It also clarifies the public interest standard courts must apply when evaluating antitrust settlements and expands intervention rights for state attorneys general in certain cases. Additionally, the bill strengthens protections against improper communications between government officials and private parties during antitrust proceedings.
