The Health and Location Data Protection Act of 2026 prohibits data brokers from buying, selling, or sharing specific types of personal information, including an individual's health data and location history. This ban applies to any entity that resells data it did not collect directly from the person, though it allows exceptions for actions compliant with existing HIPAA rules, newsworthy reporting, and disclosures where the individual has given valid consent. The Federal Trade Commission is tasked with defining exactly what counts as "data" and issuing final rules within 180 days of the law's enactment. Violations of these restrictions can lead to enforcement actions by the FTC, state attorneys general, or private individuals, potentially resulting in civil penalties of up to 15 percent of the violator's annual revenue. The legislation also includes a funding provision that appropriates $1 billion to the FTC for fiscal year 2027 to support its work under this act.
The Local Foods for Healthy Schools Act of 2026 creates a new program to help state and local governments purchase and distribute food grown within 400 miles of schools. This initiative provides $200 million annually to eligible state agencies, which can either buy local produce directly or give funds to school districts for that purpose. The bill defines local foods as minimally processed agricultural products and requires recipients to submit reports on their purchases while ensuring funds supplement rather than replace existing state support.
This bill authorizes Congress to award a Congressional Gold Medal to individuals who fought for or with the United States in the Pacific theater during World War II and subsequently became prisoners of war. The legislation specifically recognizes the service and sacrifice of those who defended locations such as Bataan and Corregidor, including Filipino soldiers and civilians who served alongside U.S. forces. To implement this award, the Speaker of the House and the President pro tempore of the Senate will arrange for the creation of a gold medal by the Secretary of the Treasury, which will be presented to the Smithsonian Institution for display. The act also allows for the production of duplicate bronze medals to cover the costs of the original gold medals, with any proceeds from these sales deposited into the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund.
This bill establishes a new category of student loans called Outcomes-Based Financing (OBF) products, which allow borrowers to repay their debt based on their future income rather than a fixed schedule. It directly affects students, lenders, and educational institutions by creating specific tax rules that treat OBF payments similarly to interest and educational assistance. The legislation mandates strict consumer protections, requiring lenders to disclose key terms like income thresholds and payment calculations, while also capping monthly payments at 20% of a borrower's income and setting a maximum loan duration of 360 months. Additionally, the bill preempts conflicting state laws regarding interest rates and payment structures to ensure uniformity for these new financial products.
The Investor Choice Act of 2026 prohibits companies, brokers, and investment advisers from forcing customers into mandatory arbitration or class-action waivers for future disputes. Under this law, securities exchanges cannot list stocks from issuers that require arbitration in their bylaws or contracts, and financial firms are barred from entering into agreements that limit a client's choice of legal forum or ability to join group lawsuits. The bill applies to new contracts signed after its enactment, while existing agreements containing these prohibited clauses become void unless arbitration proceedings were already started before the law takes effect.
The Diversity Visa Protection and Modernization Act limits the executive branch's ability to completely stop the Diversity Visa Program, which provides immigration opportunities to applicants from countries with low rates of migration to the United States. Instead of allowing indefinite or broad pauses, the bill permits only targeted restrictions on specific countries, individual security denials, or temporary suspensions lasting no more than 60 days. Any such limitation requires the relevant government officials to notify Congress and publish details about the threat and legal basis at least seven days in advance. Additionally, the law ensures that individuals who have already received a Diversity Visa cannot lose their eligibility due to a temporary program-wide suspension.
The Transparency in Medicare Advantage Steering Act requires Medicare Advantage organizations to report specific details about agents and brokers who help enroll individuals in their plans starting in 2028. These reports must include whether an agent was involved, the amount and form of compensation paid to that agent, and the total compensation paid to all such representatives for the year. Beginning in 2030, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will make this compensation data publicly available online and add an indicator to identify agent-enrolled individuals in its data warehouse. The bill directly affects Medicare Advantage organizations, their sales representatives, and the public seeking information about how these plans are marketed.
The READ AI Models Act directs the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to develop a free, flexible template for documenting artificial intelligence (AI) models. The template would require basic details like developer information, training data cutoff dates, supported languages, and terms of service for both public and private sector AI models. NIST must gather public input through a 60-day comment period before finalizing the template and technical guidelines. If the pilot program proves effective, NIST would publish the template publicly and report to Congress within one year.
The LIFT AI Act (HR 5584) provides federal funding through competitive grants to develop AI literacy programs for K-12 education. It directly affects elementary and secondary schools, teachers, and students by supporting the creation of AI-focused curricula, teacher training on responsible AI use, and hands-on learning tools. Key provisions include funding for project-based learning materials, professional development for educators, and evaluation methods to assess student AI proficiency. The bill aims to integrate practical AI skills into classrooms while ensuring content adapts to evolving technology. It does not fund direct student programs but enables schools to build foundational AI education through grant-supported resources.
HR 5351, the NSF AI Education Act of 2025, creates new funding mechanisms to expand artificial intelligence education. It authorizes scholarships and fellowships covering tuition, fees, and stipends for undergraduate and graduate students in AI-related fields, with priority for programs teaching AI in K-12 schools, advanced manufacturing, and agriculture. The bill also establishes up to eight regional "Centers of AI Excellence" at community colleges and career schools to develop AI curricula, build industry partnerships, and create student job pathways. Additionally, it funds research grants to develop K-12 AI teaching materials and supports professional development for educators and industry professionals to integrate AI into classrooms.
Creating Resources for Every American To Experiment with Artificial Intelligence Act of 2025 or the CREATE AI Act of 2025 This bill establishes a national program to provide U.S. researchers, educators, and students with access to artificial intelligence (AI) data, computational resources, educational tools and services, and testbeds. The program, to be known as the National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource (NAIRR), must be established by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to improve U.S. AI research capacity and spur the strategic development of AI capabilities. NAIRR may accept and use donated resources from the private sector and federal agencies. Those eligible to use NAIRR resources are (1) researchers, educators, and students based in the United States and affiliated with a U.S. institution of higher education, nonprofit, executive agency, or other specified entity; and (2) employees of U.S. executive agencies or federally funded research and development centers with a demonstrable mission need. NSF must select a nongovernmental organization to operate NAIRR (i.e., an operating entity ) through a competitive and transparent process. The operating entity must ensure that a significant percentage of the annual allotment of computational resources is provided to projects primarily focused on AI privacy, ethics, safety, security, risk mitigation, or trustworthiness. The operating entity must also establish minimum security requirements for all individuals interacting with NAIRR. The operating entity may establish a fee schedule for access to NAIRR, which must include a free tier of access and must ensure that the primary purpose of NAIRR is to support research.
This Senate resolution honors the 27th anniversary of the Supreme Court's Olmstead v. L.C. decision, which established that states must offer community-based services to individuals with disabilities rather than forcing them into institutions. The bill affirms the legal requirement that people with disabilities should live in the most integrated settings possible and salutes those who have expanded home and community support services. It also condemns a recent Department of Justice opinion that challenges this integration mandate and calls on the department to rescind that opinion. Additionally, the resolution criticizes cuts to the Medicaid program and urges Congress to restore funding to protect the health and independence of people with disabilities.
