The National Nursing Workforce Center Act of 2025 establishes a two-year federal pilot program to create or enhance state-based nursing workforce centers. These centers, funded through $1.5 million annually (2026-2027), will analyze nursing workforce data, address shortages, and develop strategies for recruitment and retention - using matching funds requiring $1 non-Federal for every $4 federal dollar. Eligible entities like state nursing boards, schools of nursing, and nonprofits will use grants to conduct statewide research on education gaps, clinical staffing challenges, and strategies to improve rural access and workforce diversity. Centers must report annually on outcomes, including demographic data and best practices for reducing shortages across specialties and regions.
Resident Education Deferred Interest Act or the REDI Act This bill allows borrowers in medical or dental internships or residency programs to defer student loan payments until the completion of their programs.
S 880, the Fair College Admissions for Students Act, bans colleges receiving federal student aid from giving preferential treatment to applicants based on family connections to donors or alumni. This amendment to the Higher Education Act of 1965 directly affects all institutions participating in federal financial aid programs. The key provision prohibits schools from considering an applicant’s relationship to donors (like major contributors) or alumni (like family members who graduated) during admissions decisions. The ban takes effect starting with the second academic year after the bill becomes law.
The HELP Copays Act requires that financial assistance from non-profit organizations or prescription drug manufacturers counts toward patients' annual out-of-pocket cost-sharing limits (like deductibles and copays) for certain prescription drugs. It directly affects individuals enrolled in group health plans or individual insurance who receive such assistance, ensuring payments from these sources reduce their total out-of-pocket spending. The bill amends key healthcare laws to include these payments in calculating cost-sharing thresholds, specifically for specialty drugs and drugs subject to utilization management (like prior authorization). It takes effect for plan years beginning in 2026 and does not change how utilization management tools are applied.
This bill requires the U.S. Secretary of State to work with the Secretary of Defense and submit a report to Congress within 180 days on emerging threats facing Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. The report will examine military, cyber, and political dangers from countries like Russia, Belarus, China, and Iran, while also assessing current U.S. and NATO security presence in the region. It includes recommendations for improving defense cooperation, cybersecurity, and democratic resilience in the Baltic states, and highlights opportunities to strengthen bilateral and multilateral partnerships. The legislation reflects Congress's view that supporting these NATO allies aligns with U.S. national security interests.
This bill reauthorizes funding for the Federal Lands Access Program, which provides financial assistance to build and maintain roads connecting communities to federal lands like national parks and forests. It directly affects state and local governments, transportation agencies, and communities that rely on these roads for access to public lands. The legislation appropriates specific amounts from the Highway Trust Fund for each fiscal year from 2027 through 2031, with funding increasing slightly each year. The program supports infrastructure projects that improve transportation routes to federal lands, facilitating recreation, tourism, and emergency access.
This bill expands the Food and Drug Administration's authority to order the recall of unsafe drugs, extending current powers that currently apply only to controlled substances to include all drugs. It modifies the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to allow the FDA Director to issue orders stopping the distribution and recall of any drug deemed unsafe, rather than limiting this action to controlled substances. The legislation also updates import and export regulations to include drugs subject to these FDA recall orders, ensuring broader oversight of drug safety across the supply chain.
The Energy Bills Relief Act aims to lower household energy costs and accelerate the development of low-cost, clean energy by modifying federal tax credits, expanding weatherization programs, and streamlining permitting processes. Key provisions include restoring tax incentives for renewable energy projects, increasing funding for low-income heating assistance, and requiring federal agencies to treat wind, solar, and storage projects with the same procedural fairness as oil and gas projects. The bill also establishes new incentives for upgrading the electricity grid, such as tax credits for transmission lines and grants for wildfire prevention measures, while creating mechanisms to ensure utilities serve public interests and protect consumers from price volatility.
The Feeding Families Not Fear Act of 2026 reverses specific provisions from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025 by restoring funding and benefits that were previously cut. It directly affects low-income families and individuals who rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) by reinstating benefits that were reduced under earlier legislation. The bill achieves this by repealing two sections that increased funding for immigration and customs enforcement and another section that modified SNAP benefits under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008. By removing these changes, the legislation returns SNAP provisions to their previous state as if the 2025 law had not been enacted.
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 allows Purple Heart veterans who served after September 11, 2001, to transfer unused Post-9/11 GI Bill education benefits to family members. Specifically, veterans can transfer up to 36 months of benefits to eligible dependents (like spouses or children) without affecting their own remaining benefits. It sets rules for when dependents can use transferred benefits - children must complete high school or turn 18 first, and benefits expire by age 26 unless used for caregiving or due to school closures. The bill also ensures transferred benefits aren’t treated as marital property and includes special provisions for caregivers of injured veterans or emergency school closures.
