Elise Stefanik

Student Protection and University Accountability ActThis bill requires institutions of higher education (IHEs) participating in federal student aid programs and the Department of Education (ED) to take certain actions to investigate alleged violations of civil rights under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. (Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination based on race, color, or national origin in federally funded programs or activities.)Specifically, the bill requires an IHE to develop specific procedures for investigating Title VI complaints and widely distribute those procedures to students and their families. Among these procedures, an IHE must designate at least one Title VI coordinator and have a system for maintaining records of complaints.The bill makes an IHE that fails to meet the bill's requirements for two consecutive award years ineligible to participate in federal student aid programs for at least two subsequent award years. However, the IHE may regain eligibility if it demonstrates compliance with the bill's requirements.ED's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) must give bimonthly congressional briefings on (1) the number of complaints filed with OCR, (2) how OCR plans to address those complaints and the investigations being carried out in response to those complaints, and (3) data about the length of those investigations.The bill revises the process through which OCR investigates Title VI complaints, including by prohibiting OCR from closing a complaint due to the filing of another complaint involving the same allegations against the same IHE under certain circumstances.

This bill requires colleges and universities to certify that they do not operate branch campuses in nine specified countries—Venezuela, North Korea, Iran, China, Cuba, Turkey, Russia, Qatar, and any other countries designated by the Secretary of State—in order to receive federal research and development funding. The certification requirement applies to all institutions of higher education applying for research awards from federal agencies and must be implemented within two years of the bill's enactment. The bill defines a branch campus as a permanent, geographically separate unit of a university that offers degree or certificate programs and has its own faculty, administration, and budgetary authority. This measure is intended to strengthen research security by preventing federal research funds from supporting institutions with ties to designated countries.

This bill prohibits U.S. colleges and universities from receiving federal research and development awards for five years if they accept funding from certain foreign governments or their associated entities to conduct research. The ban applies to funding received from China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela, Turkey, Qatar, and any other countries the Secretary of State designates. The restriction specifically targets research related to national security and military applications in three areas: artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and quantum information science. The bill defines "foreign source" broadly to include not just governments themselves, but also government-owned companies, entities in which the government holds at least 25 percent ownership, and subsidiaries or affiliated foundations. The legislation amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 and applies the five-year penalty period from the time a covered institution receives foreign funds for a specified task.

The American Security Robotics Act of 2026 prohibits federal agencies from purchasing or operating unmanned ground vehicle systems (including remote surveillance robots, autonomous patrol technology, and humanoid robots) that are manufactured or controlled by foreign entities from countries considered national security concerns. The ban takes effect immediately for new purchases and one year after enactment for existing systems, and it also prevents federal funds from being used to support such equipment through contracts or grants. The law applies to all executive branch agencies but includes narrow exemptions for the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, Department of State, and Department of Justice when the equipment is used for national security research, counter-terrorism, or criminal investigations, or when the system has been modified to eliminate foreign data connections and poses no cybersecurity risk.

This bill requires motor carriers transporting Department of Defense cargo to certify they have no ownership ties, control, or significant business relationships with Chinese military companies or other designated foreign adversaries. The legislation applies to all trucking contractors, subcontractors, and owner-operators involved in Defense Department freight transportation and requires them to maintain certification records for five years. It also establishes a new "Secure Defense Freight Carrier Registry" that motor carriers must join to bid on or perform Defense Department trucking contracts, with eligibility requirements including valid operating authority, enhanced national security vetting, and personnel screening comparable to Transportation Worker Identification programs. The Department of Defense has one year from enactment to establish the registry and implement associated regulations, with a one-year transition period before the registry becomes mandatory for all Defense Department freight contracts. Carriers that knowingly submit false certifications face suspension, debarment from Defense contracting, and civil penalties.

Truman Scholarship Clean House ActThis bill makes changes to the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation, which awards scholarships to students who plan to attend graduate school in pursuit of a career in public service.Specifically, the bill dissolves the current Board of Trustees (which oversees the foundation) and terminates all members of the board effective 90 days after the bill's enactment. New board members must be appointed as outlined by the bill.Additionally, the bill (1) prohibits any board member (other than the Secretary of Education or the Secretary's designee) from serving more than two six-year terms, and (2) establishes a quorum as seven board members.The board must appoint a new executive secretary of the foundation, who must (1) be appointed by an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the board, and (2) serve a four-year term (but may be reappointed).The bill establishes certain requirements for regional review panels, including that each panel must consist of at least five members appointed annually by an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the board and no more than half of the panel may be affiliated with the same political party.The bill establishes additional scholarship conditions, including by (1) stopping payments to scholarship recipients who commit certain actions (e.g., served as a leader in a student organization suspended for misconduct), and (2) requiring recipients who have their scholarship payments stopped or who are not employed in public service for a certain time period to repay their scholarship with 6% interest.

The Patrick Leahy Lake Champlain Basin Program Enhancements Act of 2026 modifies how the federal government manages the Lake Champlain restoration program by allowing the program's Steering Committee and the EPA Administrator to jointly select any qualified organization as a fiscal agent, rather than automatically designating the New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission. The bill requires the agencies to assess the fiscal agent's effectiveness at least every five years and permits switching to a new fiscal agent through a competitive process if needed, with preference given to organizations headquartered in the Lake Champlain drainage basin or the states of New York or Vermont. The legislation also expands the Great Lakes Fishery Commission's authority to conduct fisheries research, invasive species management, and restoration work in the Lake Champlain region and extends the program's authorization through 2032. No new funding amounts are specified in the bill; rather, it restructures how existing federal funds for the program are administered and managed.

This bill expands credit monitoring protections by broadening the definition of who qualifies as a servicemember eligible for these benefits. Currently, the Fair Credit Reporting Act provides certain credit monitoring requirements for "active duty military consumers," but this bill changes that language to "uniformed services member consumers," which includes a wider range of military personnel as defined under federal law. The expanded definition ensures that more members of the armed forces—potentially including reserve and National Guard members—have access to the same credit monitoring protections that active duty service members currently receive. No specific funding amounts or implementation timelines are mentioned in the bill text. The legislation was introduced in November 2025 and referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.

Improving Newborn Formula Access for a Nutritious Tomorrow Act of 2025 or the INFANT Act of 2025This bill requires a state to select two infant formula manufacturers as suppliers under the competitive bidding process for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). Currently, a state may only select a single infant formula manufacturer as a supplier.Specifically, the bill redefines competitive bidding to mean a procurement process under which a state agency selects two manufacturers for a product; a state may designate one of the manufacturers as the primary manufacturer and one as the secondary manufacturer.

Promoting Agriculture Safeguards and Security Act of 2025 or the PASS Act of 2025This bill establishes requirements to address the national security risk to the agricultural sector of the United States.Specifically, the bill prohibits a foreign person (i.e., an individual or entity) who is a citizen of or acting on behalf of China, Russia, Iran, or North Korea from purchasing or investing in U.S. agricultural land and companies. The prohibition also applies to an entity that is registered or organized in, or has a principal place of business in, any of these countries. The President may waive this prohibition, on a case-by-case basis, if the President determines that the waiver is vital to U.S. national security interests.The bill also places the Secretary of Agriculture on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) and requires CFIUS to review certain transactions involving investments by foreign persons in the U.S. agricultural sector.Additionally, the Department of Agriculture must report on the risks that foreign purchases of U.S. businesses engaged in agriculture pose to the U.S. agricultural sector.

The Consistent Egg Labels Act of 2025 prohibits companies from marketing plant-based and other non-egg products using egg-related terms like "egg" or common egg product names unless they actually come from bird eggs. The bill defines a real egg as the reproductive output of poultry species with a calcium-based shell, and defines egg products according to existing federal regulations. This legislation affects food manufacturers who produce egg alternatives and plant-based egg substitutes, which the bill's sponsors argue can mislead consumers—particularly those with allergies who need to identify what they're buying. The Food and Drug Administration must issue draft guidance within 180 days and final guidance within one year on how to enforce these labeling rules, and must report back to Congress within two years on enforcement actions taken. The bill includes no new direct spending but establishes a framework for the FDA to prevent what sponsors view as deceptive labeling of egg alternatives in the marketplace.

This bill prohibits state and local law enforcement agencies from arresting or detaining foreign nationals in the United States based solely on warrants or indictments issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC), unless the federal government specifically authorizes such action. The legislation affects state and local police departments, sheriffs' offices, and other local law enforcement agencies that might otherwise cooperate with ICC requests. Congress justifies the restriction by noting that the United States is not a party to the ICC's founding treaty and that foreign relations authority rests exclusively with the federal government. The bill includes narrow exceptions allowing cooperation only if Congress passes specific legislation authorizing it in a particular case or if the President certifies that cooperation is essential to national security and issues written authorization. The measure contains no specific funding provisions or implementation timeline beyond its enactment.

No Federal Funds for Cashless Bail ActThis bill prohibits the receipt of funds under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program by a state or local government that has in effect a law or policy that substantially limits cash bail for individuals who are charged with certain criminal offenses that pose a clear threat to public safety and order.Under the bill, the criminal offenses that pose a threat to public safety and order include criminal offenses involving a violent or sexual act (e.g., burglary, murder, or rape) and offenses that promote public disorder (e.g., looting or vandalism).

District of Columbia Cash Bail Reform Act of 2025This bill mandates, in the District of Columbia (DC), pretrial and post-conviction detention for crimes of violence and dangerous crimes and cash bail to obtain pretrial release for public safety or order crimes. Under current DC law, a court may generally order a defendant released before trial based on the judge’s assessment of the risks posed by the defendant's release. If the defendant is charged with a crime of violence or a dangerous crime, the court must determine conditions for release; if the defendant has a prior history of such crimes, is charged with a crime that involves deadly weapons, or is charged with a crime of violence, there is a rebuttable presumption that the defendant must be detained.The bill requires defendants charged with a crime of violence or a dangerous crime to be detained while awaiting trial. It also prohibits a court from releasing a defendant charged with a public safety or order crime without a secured appearance bond (i.e., money or property subject to forfeiture). Public safety or order crimes include fleeing from a law enforcement officer, rioting, and stalking.Current DC law also allows individuals who are convicted of an offense to be released pending sentencing or an appeal if the court finds the individual is unlikely to flee or pose a danger to others. The bill requires individuals who are convicted of a crime of violence or a dangerous crime to be detained in these circumstances.

The Fairness in Higher Education Accreditation Act would modify the standards that accrediting agencies must follow when evaluating colleges and universities. Specifically, the bill prohibits accrediting agencies from imposing requirements or standards related to the racial, ethnic, or gender composition of student bodies, faculty, staff, or leadership—and requires accrediting agencies to allow institutions to adopt any lawful policy on these matters regardless of the school's stated mission. The bill defines "free inquiry" for public institutions as compliance with the First Amendment and institutional academic freedom policies, and for private institutions as adherence to their own written policies on freedom of speech and academic freedom, though it exempts religiously controlled institutions from these requirements. The legislation would allow colleges and universities to sue accrediting agencies in federal court if they lose accreditation due to violations of these new prohibitions. The bill contains no new funding provisions or implementation timelines.

WWII Nurses Congressional Gold Medal Act This bill provides for the award of a Congressional Gold Medal to World War II Army and Navy Nurse Corps members in recognition of their critical military service and devotion to duty.

H.Res. 636 is a congressional resolution that condemns a July 28, 2025 shooting incident in New York City that killed four people, including NYPD Officer Didarul Islam and security officer Aland Etienne, along with three civilians. The resolution honors the victims and their families while commending the bravery of Officer Islam and the New York City Police Department for responding to and stopping the shooter. The resolution also expresses strong opposition to violence against law enforcement officers generally and calls on lawmakers to support those in law enforcement. This is a symbolic resolution with no funding or implementation timeline—it does not create new law or programs but rather makes a statement of congressional sentiment. The resolution was introduced by a bipartisan group of House members and referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

The Trusted Foreign Auditing Act amends federal securities law to address concerns about auditors operating under the control or influence of foreign governments deemed threats to U.S. national security. The bill creates a new category called "compromised auditors"—accounting firm branches or offices subject to control by covered countries (those identified as national security threats in intelligence reports or by the Defense Department)—and requires disclosure of when U.S. public companies use such auditors. Companies headquartered in countries of concern that hire compromised auditors would face trading prohibitions on U.S. stock exchanges. The legislation also modifies confidentiality rules for Securities and Exchange Commission hearings involving compromised auditors, allowing them to be public unless the Board determines otherwise. The bill affects U.S. public companies, foreign-based accounting firms, and the stock market oversight system, but contains no specific funding allocations or implementation timelines.

The American Investment Accountability Act requires three federal agencies—the Departments of Commerce and Treasury, and the Securities and Exchange Commission—to monitor and report on U.S. investments in foreign adversary nations and entities controlled by those governments. The bill defines "countries of concern" as China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, and Venezuela, and requires quarterly reports to Congress detailing the value and location of American direct and portfolio investments in these countries, with special attention to large transactions exceeding $5 million to $25 million depending on investment type. The legislation affects major U.S. businesses and investors making international investments, with exemptions for small businesses, and requires the first comprehensive report within one year of enactment, followed by ongoing quarterly updates. There is no specific funding authorization mentioned in the bill; the reporting costs would fall within existing agency budgets.

This bill modifies federal workforce training programs to create "employer-directed skills accounts" that allow employers to directly fund and control job training for workers they select and commit to hiring. Under the new system, employers can offer on-the-job training or employer-sponsored skills development programs, and they must contribute a portion of the costs—ranging from 10 percent for small businesses (50 or fewer employees) to 50 percent for larger employers (over 100 employees)—while the federal government covers the remainder through these dedicated accounts. Local workforce boards must review and approve employer agreements, prioritizing small businesses and programs aligned with in-demand industries that lead to recognized credentials. The bill essentially shifts some training funding and decision-making authority from government-controlled individual training accounts to employer-managed accounts, streamlining the process for companies to develop workers for their specific skill needs while ensuring employers share financial responsibility for training costs.

The Advancing Skills-Based Hiring Act establishes a voluntary program at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) that allows employers to submit hiring tests and selection procedures for review before using them. Employers can submit evidence showing their tests are job-related and based on business necessity, and if the EEOC approves, employers can use that determination as legal protection in discrimination lawsuits. The bill requires employers with more than 100 employees to pay a reasonable fee for this review service, while protecting employers from having their submitted information used against them in future enforcement actions or court cases. The EEOC will also provide education and guidance to help employers understand how to validate their hiring tests. The program takes effect 90 days after the bill becomes law and is designed to encourage skills-based hiring practices while reducing legal uncertainty for employers.

Drones for First Responders ActThis bill imposes additional duties (i.e., tariffs) and limitations on the importation of unmanned aircraft (i.e., drones) and drone components sourced from China.Specifically, the bill imposes an additional duty on Chinese drones that incrementally increases from 30% (30 days after the bill's enactment) to $100 each plus 50% (four years after the bill's enactment and thereafter).Beginning in 2031, a drone may not enter the United States unless it is accompanied by a document required by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to establish that the drone does not contain specified components (e.g., radios or cameras) manufactured in China. CBP must confirm the document's veracity. The Federal Aviation Administration must provide CBP with a list of drones that qualify for an exemption from the prohibition. Generally, drones may not enter the United States under an exemption if they are wholly manufactured by a covered foreign entity (e.g., a Chinese military company) or in a foreign adversary country (i.e., North Korea, China, Russia, or Iran).The bill also (1) establishes the Secure Unmanned Aircraft Systems for First Responders Fund within the Treasury, (2) requires revenues from tariffs imposed on Chinese drones to be deposited into the fund, and (3) authorizes the Department of Homeland Security to use the fund to make grants to first responders, farmers and ranchers, and providers of critical infrastructure for secure drones (i.e., drones that are not manufactured or assembled by a covered foreign entity or in a foreign adversary country).

Ernest Peltz Accrued Veterans Benefits ActThis bill establishes procedures for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to issue a pension that was due but unpaid at the time of a veteran’s death. Specifically, if the VA issues a decision awarding entitlement to a pension to a veteran prior to the veteran’s death but issues the payment after the veteran dies, the pension must be paid to the first available recipient on the following list: (1) the veteran’s living spouse; (2) the veteran’s living children; (3) the veteran’s living dependent parents; or (4) the estate of the veteran, unless the estate will escheat (i.e., transfer to the state). To be eligible for such pension payments, a claimant of accrued benefits must file an application within one year after the veteran's death.If no application for accrued benefits is filed within one year following the death of the veteran, the pension must be paid to the veteran’s estate unless the estate will escheat.

The Stamp Out Invasive Species Act directs the U.S. Postal Service to create and sell a special semipostal stamp (a stamp that costs slightly more than regular postage) dedicated to fighting invasive species. All revenue from the stamp sales, after postal service costs, goes to invasive species control programs run by the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture, split equally between the two agencies. The stamp will be available for public purchase for two years, starting no later than one year after the bill becomes law, with a price increase capped at 25 percent above the standard postage rate. This voluntary fundraising approach allows Americans to contribute to ecosystem protection efforts simply by choosing to buy these special stamps when mailing letters or packages. The bill has been referred to the House committees on Oversight and Government Reform, Natural Resources, and Agriculture.

Border Airport Fairness Act of 2025This bill requires the President to designate certain primary airports near the border as ports of entry and terminate the user fee requirement for customs services at these airports.