David Schweikert

H.R. 10460, the SMARTER Act, makes sweeping changes to the nation's immigration system by eliminating the Diversity Visa Program's 55,000 annual lottery visas and significantly restricting family-based immigration to spouses and minor children of permanent residents while capping family visas at 88,000 annually. The bill replaces employment-based immigration with a points system that awards visas based on applicants' age, education, English proficiency, job offer salary, and other factors, allocating slots through a new five-member Commerce Department board that sets annual caps for skilled workers and H-1B nonimmigrants based on economic data like unemployment and job vacancies. The employment-based board begins with 85,000 nonimmigrant visas in year one and can adjust allocations annually by no more than 10 percent, while applicants must pay a $160 fee, secure employer attestations, and provide health insurance. These changes take effect the first day of the first fiscal year after enactment, with reporting requirements for the Department of Homeland Security detailing visa issuance statistics annually and recommending points-system revisions every four years to boost economic growth and protect American wages.

The SMARTER Act fundamentally restructures American immigration law by eliminating the Diversity Visa Program and significantly restricting family-based immigration, while creating a new employment-based system focused on labor market needs. The bill establishes a SMART Board within the Department of Commerce to annually set caps for employment-based and H-1B visas based on economic data like unemployment rates and job vacancies, starting with an initial nonimmigrant cap of 85,000. Employment-based immigrants will be selected through a points-based merit system rewarding education, English proficiency, age, and salary rather than country-by-country quotas, with a $160 application fee and requirements for employer attestations and health insurance. Family sponsorship is narrowed substantially, reducing annual family visas to 88,000 and eliminating parents as immediate relatives while lowering the age limit for sponsoring children from 21 to 18. The changes take effect at the start of the next fiscal year following enactment, with the Department of Homeland Security required to submit annual reports to Congress on visa issuances and demographic data.

The Rural Broadband Modernization Act modifies the ReConnect program, a federal initiative that funds broadband infrastructure in rural areas, to allow assistance regardless of the technology used to deliver internet service. Under this bill, projects must still meet a minimum speed requirement of 100 megabits per second downstream and 20 megabits per second upstream, but applicants can use any technology to achieve this, including traditional terrestrial networks, satellite systems, or other emerging technologies. The bill prevents the government from denying applications or favoring one technology over another based on the delivery method chosen. The Secretary of Agriculture must issue final regulations within 180 days to implement these changes and must publicly report on awards made and the technologies used within 30 days of each grant or loan decision, as well as report on completion of projects showing disbursement amounts and locations served. This change aims to expand broadband access options in rural communities by opening funding to a wider range of deployment technologies.

The Advancing American Innovation Act amends federal trade law to tighten rules for patent infringement cases brought before the U.S. International Trade Commission. The bill refocuses the commission's resources on protecting genuine domestic industries by requiring complainants to demonstrate they have made substantial investments in developing or licensing technology, and prevents companies from relying solely on licensees' activities to qualify as a U.S. industry. The legislation also adds transparency requirements for patent cases by mandating that complainants disclose the identity of third-party litigation funders, any funding agreements, and related details within ten days of establishing a funding relationship or when the case begins. Additionally, the bill allows the commission to expedite decisions on certain issues within one hundred days and requires it to consider broader economic impacts, public health effects, and consumer interests when deciding whether to block imports or issue cease-and-desist orders. The changes take effect immediately for complaints filed after the bill becomes law, with no specific funding authorized.

The AIDEN Act requires the federal government and states to collect data on incarcerated offenders' childhood experiences with the child welfare system. Specifically, the Attorney General must distribute surveys to all federal prisoners asking about any interventions they experienced as minors, such as reports of abuse, neglect, or domestic violence, and what types of services or placements resulted from those interventions. The same survey requirement applies to state prisoners as a condition for states to receive Department of Justice grants. The federal government will distribute surveys to new federal prisoners during intake within 90 days of the law's enactment and to existing prisoners within 180 days. Each year, the Attorney General and participating states must report aggregate findings to the federal Children's Bureau without including any personally identifiable information. This data collection is intended to help child welfare agencies nationwide improve their case planning and support services by identifying patterns in the histories of criminal offenders.

Foreign Funding Transparency ActThis bill requires certain organizations exempt from federal income tax to report to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) information related to contributions received from foreign nationals.The bill applies to tax-exempt organizations described in Section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code (e.g., charities, social welfare organizations, labor organizations, and business or civics leagues) with (1) gross receipts for the preceding tax year of $200,000 or more, or (2) assets (determined at the close of the preceding tax year) of $500,000 or more. Such tax-exempt organizations that are required to file a Form 990 series information return with the IRS must report (1) the aggregate amount of contributions received during the tax year from foreign nationals, and (2) the portion of those contributions received from foreign nationals from China, Iran, Korea, or Russia. Under the bill, a tax-exempt organization may rely on the representation of the donor as to nationality unless the organization knows or should know that such representation is false.

The Intelligent Arbitration Act of 2026 would allow parties involved in arbitration disputes to use artificial intelligence tools to assist with their cases, but with specific limitations and requirements. Parties could use AI to identify relevant laws and case law, organize and prioritize documents, file supporting documents when facts are undisputed and only legal questions remain, and deliver final decisions to other parties. However, both sides must provide written consent before AI can be used, and generative AI systems are explicitly prohibited from use in arbitrations. If a party uses AI and agrees to its use, they cannot later challenge the arbitration decision solely based on errors caused by the AI tool. The bill makes no changes to existing arbitration procedures and primarily affects private parties involved in commercial and civil disputes handled through arbitration rather than court proceedings.

This bill directs the Department of Homeland Security to identify and equip high-risk land ports of entry with advanced scanning technology to detect drugs and other contraband. High-risk ports are defined as those ranking at or above the 70th percentile in drug seizure volume on either the northern or southern U.S. border. Within one year of identifying these ports, Customs and Border Protection must install large-scale, non-intrusive inspection equipment such as x-ray or gamma-ray systems and screen at least 40 percent of passenger vehicles and 70 percent of commercial vehicles passing through these ports using the technology. The bill requires the agency to train relevant personnel, annually report to Congress on the effectiveness of the technology, and continuously search for improved scanning systems. The legislation does not specify dedicated funding amounts, but establishes a one-year timeline for initial port identification and a subsequent one-year timeline for technology implementation at each designated location.

This bill directs U.S. Customs and Border Protection to launch a two-year pilot program at Arizona border land ports of entry using artificial intelligence to detect anomalies and improve screening for illegal drugs and contraband. The CBP Commissioner must test and assess how well the technology assists officers with inspections, speeds up processing, improves detection accuracy, and enhances border security. The Department of Homeland Security must ensure the system meets all cybersecurity requirements and manage ongoing cyber risks, and CBP may coordinate with other federal agencies and the private sector during development and implementation. CBP must submit progress reports to Congress every six months detailing metrics on detection accuracy, false alarm rates, operational costs, and any successes or failures, followed by a final report within 60 days of the pilot's end with recommendations on whether to expand the program. The pilot automatically terminates two years after the bill becomes law.

This bill updates federal quality standards for mammography facilities to allow the use of artificial intelligence and machine-learning systems in breast cancer screening. Specifically, it amends the Public Health Service Act to permit AI systems to perform certain mammography interpretation tasks that have traditionally been required to be done by physicians, while also removing a requirement that interpreting physicians must sign off on all mammography reports. The bill affects mammography facilities across the country that provide breast cancer screening services. The legislation does not specify any dedicated funding or implementation timeline, instead directing relevant federal agencies to incorporate these changes into existing regulatory frameworks.

This bill makes two changes to the federal tax code to support domestic copper production. First, it designates copper as an "applicable critical mineral" eligible for the advanced manufacturing production credit, a tax incentive that rewards domestic production of critical minerals needed for clean energy and technology. Second, it allows companies that extract copper ore to count their extraction costs toward the credit, provided the ore is refined into copper in the United States and the refiner sells the finished product to an independent buyer. The bill includes protections to prevent double-counting of expenses and generally restricts the benefit to copper mined in the United States, though foreign ore can qualify if it is not commercially available domestically and does not come from countries of concern. Both provisions take effect for minerals and costs after December 31, 2025, and the bill was introduced in April 2026 by Representatives Schweikert and Carey.

Taxpayer Workforce Modernization ActThis bill requires the Internal Revenue Service to establish a fellowship program to recruit qualified data scientists and a task force, which includes such fellows, to supportaudit case selection and effectiveness,efforts to address offshore tax evasion,use of artificial intelligence and data analytics in tax administration, andvarious training and educational efforts.The bill defines a qualified data scientist as a professional who has demonstrated skills applying advanced analytics, statistical modeling, or machine learning in complex regulatory, financial, or compliance environments while working alongside tax law specialists and other tax subject matter experts.

Taxpayer Experience Improvement ActThis bill requires the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to provide certain information related to call volume, wait times, and other metrics. The bill also expands online taxpayer accounts and electronic access to federal tax return and refund information.Specifically, the bill requires the IRS to provide in real time on its public website the number of callers for each applicable phone number extension that are (1) connected to speak with an IRS representative, (2) connected to speak with an automated system, and (3) waiting to speak with either an IRS representative or an automated system.The website also must includethe longest wait time of any caller waiting to speak with an IRS representative;the estimated wait time to speak with an IRS representative;if a callback service is available or when such service is scheduled to be available; andcertain monthly metrics, including the average and median wait times and call lengths.Further, the bill expresses the sense of Congress that, by 2028, the IRS should provide an option to receive a callback for any call that is not answered within five minutes.Finally, the bill requires the IRS to make available (via website or mobile application) to any taxpayer certain information, includingtax returns, documents, notices, or letters sent to the taxpayer by the IRS or filed with (or sent to) the IRS by the taxpayer;the status of a federal tax return or refund; andan estimated date for receipt of a refund.

This bill modifies Medicaid's personal care services program to limit coverage more strictly. Specifically, it requires that individuals receiving personal care services under Medicaid must be unable to perform at least three or more activities of daily living—such as bathing, dressing, eating, or using the toilet—to qualify for these benefits. The change applies to Medicaid assistance provided starting January 12, 2027, and affects seniors and disabled individuals who rely on Medicaid-funded in-home care. The bill does not authorize new funding; rather, it narrows eligibility criteria for an existing Medicaid benefit. The restriction aims to target assistance to those with the greatest functional limitations, though critics might argue it could deny services to some individuals with significant care needs who fall below this three-activity threshold.

The AIMS Act of 2025 requires the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs to jointly adopt shared medical image technology that allows their facilities to exchange patient medical images and related data seamlessly. The bill affects military service members, veterans, and patients receiving care at military hospitals, VA medical centers, and private providers that contract with the VA. The two secretaries must submit a detailed implementation plan to Congress within 180 days that identifies specific software solutions meeting strict interoperability standards, includes a two-year timeline for developing a data storage platform, and projects total costs. The legislation mandates that the secretaries provide progress reports every six months after the initial plan submission, including metrics on cost and time savings achieved through the new system. The goal is to eliminate inefficiencies and patient burden caused by current methods of sharing medical images through physical discs and couriers.

H.R. 7078 amends federal law governing how Colorado River water is distributed among Arizona, California, and Nevada during times of shortage. Currently, water reductions follow a complex system that can favor certain water rights holders; this bill would instead require all three states to reduce their water use proportionally based on their baseline water allocations whenever the Secretary of the Interior determines the river has insufficient water. This change would apply to the Central Arizona Project, which supplies water to Arizona communities and agricultural users. The bill aims to create a more equitable and predictable system for managing Colorado River shortages, though it does not specify funding amounts or implementation timelines. The legislation was introduced in January 2026 and referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.

The Postal Contracting Financial Accountability Act would allow private contractors operating postal units to continue running those operations even if the U.S. Postal Service decides to close or stop contracting with them. Under the bill, contractors could elect to keep their postal units open without payment from the Postal Service, provided the closure wasn't due to contractor breach of contract and no new contractor has been brought in. The Postal Service retains the right to terminate agreements if contractors violate terms, and the Postmaster General has discretion to continue paying contractors if deemed appropriate. This change applies to "contract postal units"—facilities where private contractors provide postal services under agreement with USPS—and would give these private operators more control over whether their locations remain operational in their communities.

H.R. 5410 directs the Department of Energy to fund research and development into extracting critical minerals from brine sources, aiming to reduce U.S. reliance on imported minerals and demonstrate that domestic extraction could be cheaper and more environmentally friendly than traditional methods. The bill requires the Energy Department to collaborate with private industry on scaling up and demonstrating this technology while working to improve its performance and lower costs. Within one year of the law's enactment, the Energy Department must submit a report to Congress (coordinated with the Departments of Commerce and Defense) assessing the technical and economic feasibility of brine extraction technology, identifying barriers to expansion, and exploring potential federal-private partnerships to reduce extraction costs. The legislation authorizes $2 million annually from fiscal years 2026 through 2030 to support these research and development efforts.

H.Res. 696 is a symbolic resolution that recognizes Singapore's 60th anniversary of independence on August 9, 1965, and expresses support for strengthening the U.S.-Singapore relationship. The resolution highlights the significant economic ties between the two countries, including a free trade agreement in place since 2004 that generated $27 billion in U.S.-Singapore trade in 2024, supports over 330,000 American jobs, and hosts over 5,800 American companies with regional offices in Singapore. It also emphasizes Singapore's strategic importance to U.S. military operations and security in the Indo-Pacific region, noting that American military forces regularly rotate through Singapore to conduct patrols and regional operations. The resolution calls for deepening cooperation in economics, security, technology, and educational exchanges, while acknowledging the significant people-to-people connections between the nations, including over 30,000 Americans living in Singapore. Because this is a non-binding resolution, it carries no funding requirements or legal obligations, but instead serves as an expression of congressional support for the bilateral partnership.

This bill would authorize the President to issue letters of marque and reprisal—a constitutional power that allows the government to commission private armed forces to pursue targets outside U.S. territory. Specifically, it would allow the President to authorize private individuals and entities to seize persons and property belonging to members of criminal enterprises involved in cybercrimes, including scam centers, pig butchering schemes, ransomware attacks, and cryptocurrency theft. The bill applies to anyone the President determines is part of such an operation responsible for aggression against the United States, and it requires security bonds to ensure the private forces comply with terms of their authorization. While framed as addressing national and economic security threats from international scam operations and cybercriminals, the bill resurrects a 18th-century legal mechanism that has not been used in over a century and raises significant questions about oversight and the privatization of military action.

This bill strengthens requirements for federal agencies to regularly review their existing regulations. Currently, agencies must plan to review all rules within ten years, but this legislation removes that planning requirement and makes periodic review mandatory without a formal timeline. The bill also requires agencies to publish an annual list identifying which rules do not have significant economic impact on small businesses. Additionally, it changes the legal consequences when courts find an agency failed to conduct proper rule reviews—instead of just ordering the agency to comply, courts would now be required to prohibit enforcement of that rule entirely. The legislation affects all federal agencies and their regulatory processes, with particular attention to how regulations impact small businesses, and applies to both existing rules and future regulations adopted after the law's enactment.

This bill exempts certain less-than-lethal projectile devices from federal firearms taxes and regulations under the National Firearms Act. The legislation creates a new category for devices that cannot fire standard ammunition or projectiles exceeding 500 feet per second, are designed to avoid causing death or serious injury, and cannot accept typical firearm magazines. Manufacturers can request determinations from the Treasury Secretary within 90 days about whether their devices qualify for the exemption. The Treasury Secretary must maintain and annually update public lists of qualifying devices and report to Congress on emerging technologies in this space. The bill takes effect immediately upon enactment for new sales, with a 180-day grace period for initial manufacturer requests for device classifications.

The WEAR IT Act allows Americans to use pre-tax health savings accounts, Archer Medical Savings Accounts, and flexible spending arrangements to purchase wearable health devices like smartwatches and fitness trackers that monitor or treat medical conditions. The legislation defines eligible wearable devices as those worn on the body that collect health data for diagnosing, treating, or preventing diseases, or assist in medical diagnosis and treatment. Each person can use up to $375 per year from these tax-advantaged accounts toward wearable device purchases, including any associated software subscriptions. The bill takes effect on January 1, 2026, and primarily benefits individuals with employer-sponsored health plans or those who maintain personal health savings accounts, potentially increasing adoption of health-monitoring technology. The legislation was introduced by Representatives David Schweikert and Ami Bera and referred to the House Ways and Means Committee.

This bill creates a two-year pilot program, starting no later than January 1, 2026, to test whether artificial intelligence algorithms can help Medicare prevent fraud in payments for durable medical equipment and laboratory tests. The program will voluntarily enroll Medicare beneficiaries who receive electronic billing statements and use a risk-scoring system (rated 1 to 99) to flag potentially suspicious transactions based on factors like unusual billing patterns, new provider relationships, and fund transfer changes. When a transaction receives a high-risk score, Medicare will contact the beneficiary by email or phone to confirm it's legitimate before paying, and beneficiaries can dispute scores they believe are wrong. The Secretary of Health and Human Services must thoroughly test the algorithm, notify affected beneficiaries and providers about how their data is used, and ensure a human reviews flagged transactions before any payment suspension occurs. The program will work with industry partners, including equipment suppliers, to develop and implement the system.