Joe Neguse

The Family Stability and Opportunity Vouchers Act of 2026 creates a new housing assistance program designed to help families with young children escape homelessness and poverty. The bill authorizes up to 50,000 new housing vouchers per year from fiscal year 2027 through 2032 for eligible families, which include homeless or unstably housed families with children under age 6, or families expecting a child within 300 days, as well as families living in high-poverty areas or at risk of displacement. Public housing agencies that receive funding through this competitive program must offer mobility services to help eligible families move to neighborhoods with good schools or quality childcare, though families cannot be forced to participate in these services to receive a voucher. The agencies must partner with home visiting and support service providers where available and can receive additional funding to cover the costs of providing these mobility services. The Department of Housing and Urban Development must establish definitions and implementation rules within 180 days of the bill's enactment, with initial funding allocations to occur within two years of appropriation.

This bill creates a federal grant program administered by the Secretary of Energy to help electric utilities strengthen the nation's power grid and reduce wildfire risks caused by power lines. The program will provide grants to all types of electric utilities—including public, municipal, cooperative, and investor-owned utilities—to fund projects such as burying power lines, installing fire-resistant equipment, deploying early warning systems, and managing vegetation near power infrastructure. The legislation requires utilities to match grant funds dollar-for-dollar, though smaller utilities selling less than 4 million megawatt-hours annually only need to provide one-third matching funds, and establishes that at least 40 percent of available grants must support wildfire risk reduction projects while at least 20 percent must go to small utilities. The bill authorizes $15 billion annually from fiscal years 2027 through 2036 and requires the Secretary to submit progress reports to Congress every two years measuring improvements in grid reliability and reductions in wildfire risk.

The Town Halls for All Act of 2026 requires every Member of Congress, including senators and representatives, to hold and personally attend at least 12 public town halls per calendar year in their home state or congressional district. These town halls must be free to attend, open to the general public, conducted in person, and last at least one hour, with organizers required to give the public at least four days' notice of the date, time, and location through email, social media, websites, or other regular communication methods. The bill also mandates that town halls comply with accessibility requirements under the Americans with Disabilities Act so people with disabilities can participate. This legislation affects all 535 Members of Congress and their constituents by establishing a minimum standard for direct public engagement between elected officials and the people they represent. The law would take effect at the start of the congressional session following its enactment.

The SMASH 2.0 Act reauthorizes and expands a federal program that funds surveillance and control efforts for mosquito-borne and other vector-borne diseases like Zika, West Nile virus, and dengue fever. The legislation authorizes $100 million annually from 2026 through 2030 for grants to states and localities to develop disease prevention plans and control programs, while allowing up to 5 percent of funds to support training and education for public health professionals. The bill encourages the use of innovative mosquito prevention technologies and requires the federal government to coordinate with the Strategic National Stockpile to prepare emergency supplies of vector control products. This reauthorization affects public health departments, state and local governments, and disease control agencies that work to reduce mosquito populations and prevent disease transmission in their communities.

This bill modifies how federal funding is shared for conservation projects carried out by youth and conservation corps organizations. Currently, the federal government pays 75 percent of project costs while participating organizations cover 25 percent. The legislation increases the federal share to 90 percent and reduces the local cost-sharing requirement to 10 percent. The change makes it easier for youth and conservation corps groups to undertake environmental projects on public lands by lowering the financial burden on local organizations. The bill was introduced in September 2026 and referred to the House Committees on Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Education and Workforce.

The Screen to Save Act would require Medicare, Medicaid, and private health insurance plans to provide free annual screening mammograms for women starting at age 30, with the new coverage taking effect on January 1, 2027. Currently, Medicare covers mammograms for women 40 and older, and this bill would expand that coverage to include women in their thirties at no cost to patients. The legislation also modifies frequency rules to allow one screening mammogram per year for eligible women while prohibiting coverage for women under 30. The bill affects millions of Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries as well as individuals with private insurance coverage, though it does not specify federal funding amounts or appropriations needed to implement the changes.

The Wildfire Response and Readiness Act expands prescribed fire operations, forest restoration, and wildfire prevention across federal lands while providing new support for communities and firefighters. The bill requires the Agriculture and Interior Departments to increase prescribed fire acreage by 10 percent annually over the next decade, establishes collaborative partnerships with states, tribes, and private entities to conduct these operations, and creates liability protections for fire managers. The legislation authorizes $100 million annually from 2027 through 2036 for post-fire ecosystem restoration and a separate $100 million Community Resilience and Restoration Fund, while also funding forest landscape restoration projects, nursery and seed programs, and large-scale forest restoration initiatives covering up to 20 projects. The bill provides new federal assistance to homeowners earning under $250,000 (or $500,000 for joint returns) to receive up to $10,000 in grants for wildfire mitigation measures like defensible space and fire-resistant materials, establishes a new federal office within NOAA to coordinate wildfire response across agencies, and significantly improves compensation and benefits for federal wildland firefighters including annual cost-of-living pay increases, hazardous duty pay, recruitment bonuses, and mandatory rest and recuperation leave after major fire incidents.

This bill establishes a pilot program combining National Guard service with national service opportunities to address workforce needs and national security priorities. The program, to be developed by the National Guard Bureau and the Corporation for National and Community Service, would focus on critical infrastructure protection, cybersecurity training, disaster preparedness, and creating employment pathways for National Guard and Reserve members. Before launching the pilot, the two agencies must complete a feasibility study within one year examining the logistics, costs, expected participation rates, and potential benefits of connecting military service members with civilian workforce training programs. The legislation also directs the study to assess how such a program could help military spouses and dependents gain employment and training opportunities. While the bill does not specify direct funding amounts, it requires the agencies to evaluate the financial and administrative costs of implementation as part of their feasibility analysis.

The Safe Spaces for All Act amends the Homeland Security Act to expand the Nonprofit Security Grant Program, which provides federal funding to help nonprofits improve their security. The bill clarifies that grant money can be used for hiring onsite security personnel, off-duty police officers, and staff dedicated to applying for and administering the grants themselves. The legislation caps administrative costs for grant application work at 5 percent of the total grant amount. The bill affects nonprofits across the country that are vulnerable to security threats and seek federal assistance to protect their facilities and members. No specific funding amount or timeline is established in the legislation, as it primarily clarifies existing program rules rather than creating new appropriations.

The Local Input Act requires the Secretary of the Interior to involve the public, state governments, local officials, and Native American tribes before deciding to lease federal land for oil and gas drilling. Before offering any parcel for leasing, the department must publicly disclose the proposal and analyze how drilling would affect the land's resources and other uses, then give the public a chance to comment on the proposal. The bill mandates that the Interior Secretary consider feedback from all these groups, including formal government-to-government consultation with federally recognized tribes, before making a final leasing decision. Based on the input received, the secretary would then have the authority to decide whether or not to offer a parcel for oil and gas leasing. The legislation does not establish specific timelines or funding amounts, but instead sets procedural requirements for how the federal government must engage communities before moving forward with oil and gas lease sales on public lands.

This bill directs the Defense Health Agency to study whether it's feasible to create a pilot fellowship program for training doctors in behavioral neurology, specifically to treat traumatic brain injuries in active-duty military members and veterans. The Defense Health Agency has 270 days from the bill's enactment to submit a report to Congress that evaluates the feasibility and identifies potential locations for the program. The proposed pilot would train two physicians annually in a one-year fellowship, accepting doctors who have completed medical school and residency training in neurology or psychiatry, with the goal of preparing them to eventually earn board certification in behavioral neurology. The bill does not specify funding amounts or authorize spending, as it only requires a feasibility study rather than establishing an actual program. This addresses a gap in specialized training for treating the behavioral and neurological impacts of traumatic brain injuries in the military and veteran populations.

Expand the Behavioral Health Workforce Now Act This bill requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to issue guidance for states on ways to increase education, training, recruitment, and retention of mental health and substance use disorder providers under Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), particularly in rural and underserved areas.

The Reducing Military Health Care Wait Times Act directs the Department of Defense to publicly display specific information about appointment wait times and referral processing at military medical treatment facilities on a Defense Department website. The legislation requires the annual TRICARE Program Evaluation Report to Congress include data on the average number of days between when patients book appointments and when those appointments occur, as well as the percentage of referrals made within one business day of patient contact. This requirement makes permanent certain transparency measures that the Defense Health Agency voluntarily began reporting in their 2024 evaluation. The bill affects active-duty service members, veterans, and their families who receive health care through the TRICARE military health program. The legislation contains no specific funding authorization or implementation timeline beyond requiring the information be included in future annual program evaluation reports.

This bill requires the Secretary of Defense to evaluate how quickly military members receive their electronic health records when they leave active duty and then establish standards to improve the process. Within 180 days of the bill's enactment, the Secretary must submit a report to Congress detailing the current average wait time for separated service members to receive their records, the longest wait time experienced, and reasons for any delays based on data from the previous year. Within 270 days after submitting that report, the Secretary must establish new standards ensuring separated service members get their health records within a reasonable timeframe, which will be determined by considering the report's findings and input from transitioning service members, veterans, and other relevant stakeholders. The bill affects military personnel separating from active duty and the Department of Defense, which will need to improve its health records transfer processes. There is no specific funding amount authorized in the legislation, but it requires two main actions with clear deadlines to improve the transition experience for departing service members.

The C.A.R.E. for Mental Health Professionals Act directs the federal government to establish a grant program that provides funding to states and interstate compact commissions to support mental health professionals who practice across state lines. The bill aims to expand access to counselors, psychiatrists, psychologists, and pediatric mental health professionals by encouraging them to work in states that have agreed to recognize professional licenses from other states through interstate compacts. Eligible recipients include state licensing boards and interstate commissions that manage these professional licensing agreements. The legislation authorizes four million dollars per year in federal grants from 2026 through 2029 to support these efforts. Overall, the bill seeks to reduce barriers that prevent qualified mental health professionals from practicing in multiple states, which could help address workforce shortages and improve access to mental health services nationwide.

The 988 Lifeline Location Improvement Act of 2026 directs the Federal Communications Commission to investigate challenges with sharing caller location information when people call the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, and requires the Government Accountability Office to study how to improve geolocation capabilities. The bill affects telecommunications companies, 911 emergency services, crisis centers, and the 988 hotline itself, which provides mental health support to people in crisis. The FCC must complete its inquiry within 270 days of the bill's enactment and consider issues including legal authority, privacy protection, technical feasibility, costs, and challenges for deaf and hard-of-hearing callers using video services. The GAO must submit its report within 180 days and will consult with a broad range of stakeholders including phone companies, government agencies, emergency responders, and mental health organizations. The bill does not establish new funding amounts but directs these agencies to evaluate what costs and funding may be needed to implement location-sharing technology for crisis calls.

This bill amends the federal disaster relief law to add two main protections. First, it explicitly prohibits the President from deciding whether to grant disaster assistance, emergency declarations, or major disaster declarations based on the political affiliation of affected areas or states. Second, it establishes a 45-day response deadline for the President to act on requests for major disaster declarations from states, tribes, or territories, with the provision that any request that goes unanswered within that timeframe is automatically approved. The bill affects all communities seeking federal disaster assistance by ensuring decisions are made on objective criteria rather than politics and guaranteeing timely processing of disaster relief requests. The legislation does not specify new funding amounts but creates procedural requirements that apply to existing disaster relief programs administered under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act.

The TRUST Act establishes new requirements for Department of Homeland Security immigration enforcement personnel working with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection, and other DHS enforcement agencies. The legislation requires officers to carry serially numbered badges displaying the DHS seal and their directorate, wear visible identification while on duty, and makes it a federal crime for anyone to fraudulently wear or duplicate DHS badges while impersonating a federal immigration officer. Additionally, the bill mandates that all immigration enforcement officers undergo specialized training in six critical areas: procedures to prevent wrongful detention of U.S. citizens and lawful residents, deescalation and safe civilian engagement, language access for individuals with limited English proficiency, recognition of medical distress and disability accommodations, constitutional protections and civil rights laws, and prevention of discriminatory enforcement practices. These requirements aim to ensure accountability and proper conduct among immigration enforcement personnel while protecting the rights of citizens and residents.

The KIDS Act would significantly restrict the Department of Homeland Security's detention and enforcement powers by prohibiting the detention of children, individuals with cognitive disabilities, and primary caregivers of such individuals, except in narrow circumstances when a criminal warrant has been issued by a court. The bill would also ban immigration enforcement actions within 1,000 feet of sensitive locations including schools, hospitals, religious facilities, courthouses, polling places, and social service agencies where vulnerable populations seek assistance. When enforcement violations do occur, evidence obtained would be inadmissible in removal proceedings and wrongfully detained individuals would be released. The legislation applies to immigrants and their family members throughout the United States and would require the Department to report any permitted detentions of children to Congress within 24 hours. The bill contains no specific funding provisions or implementation timeline beyond the 24-hour reporting requirement for detentions.

The OPEN Act establishes new transparency requirements and procedural protections for immigration detention and enforcement. The legislation grants all Members of Congress unrestricted access to detention facilities to inspect conditions and interview detainees, requires the Department of Homeland Security to publicly report data on misconduct allegations in immigration enforcement, and mandates that detention facilities establish multilingual grievance procedures with consequences for officers found to use excessive force. Additionally, the bill restricts the conversion of warehouses and correctional facilities into detention centers unless they meet strict federal standards and allow access to legal counsel and independent monitors, and it requires immigration officers to obtain judicial warrants from judges rather than administrative warrants for arrests and home entries. These measures affect immigration detention operations across federal, state, and private facilities, with enforcement mechanisms including financial penalties for non-compliance and the exclusion of evidence obtained through warrant violations in deportation proceedings.

The Public Lands Workforce Stability Act would prevent the Department of the Interior and the United States Forest Service from laying off employees or forcing them to leave their jobs for four years, through September 30, 2030. The ban applies to most federal workers at these agencies, including competitive service employees, career employees in the excepted service, and senior executives, though employees can still be involuntarily separated for cause such as misconduct, poor performance, or delinquency. Any reduction in force or involuntary separation would require prior written approval from the chairs and ranking members of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees, making such actions subject to congressional oversight. The bill does not specify new funding requirements but prohibits spending federal money to carry out these workforce reductions. This legislation directly affects thousands of federal employees who manage and protect public lands and forests across the United States.

Agricultural Access to Addiction and Mental Health Care ActThis bill directs the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) to study the accessibility of addiction and mental health care providers and services for farmers and ranchers impacted by severe and persistent drought, extreme weather events, instability in the commodities market, and misinformation targeting consumers.For example, the study must examine (1) best practices and successful programs at the state and local level that can be replicated at the federal level to address addiction and mental health care needs in agricultural communities, and (2) recommendations for improving the accessibility of care.In conducting the study, NIFA must collaborate and consult with relevant federal agencies, state departments of agriculture, and mental health and agricultural organizations.

H.R. 8061, the Forest Resources Accountability Act, prohibits the U.S. Forest Service from constructing or approving a year-round road project in Colorado's White River National Forest that would provide access to private land (known as the Berlaimont Estates parcel). The bill stems from congressional concern that Forest Service staffing cuts of 6,000 positions since January 2025 have reduced hazardous fuels reduction, trail maintenance, and research across the nation's 193 million acres of federally managed forests, requiring the agency to prioritize critical needs like wildfire prevention and wildlife habitat protection. The legislation restricts access to the disputed 680-acre parcel to existing unpaved seasonal routes and prohibits the use of federal funds for any new road or utility corridor development there. Instead, the bill directs the Secretary of Agriculture to work with Colorado state and local officials and land trusts to acquire the parcel from willing sellers within 180 days, with any acquired land to be incorporated into the national forest for wildlife conservation and public recreation. No specific funding amount is allocated in the bill; it primarily focuses on preventing the road project and encouraging voluntary land acquisition.

The Federal Retirement Safety Act modifies how federal employees and members of Congress can receive lump-sum retirement benefits when they have experienced domestic violence from a spouse or former spouse. Currently, federal law requires employees to notify their spouse and obtain their consent before receiving these retirement payments, but this bill creates exceptions to those requirements in domestic violence cases. Under the new rules, an employee can skip notifying their spouse or obtain payment without their consent if the employee submits a written statement to the Office of Personnel Management confirming that the spouse committed a domestic violence crime within the past year and that providing notice or seeking consent would pose a safety risk to the employee or others. The bill applies to both the Federal Employee Retirement System and the Civil Service Retirement System, covers federal employees and members of Congress, and requires the Office of Personnel Management to issue implementing regulations within one year of the law's enactment, with an effective date one year after that.

The Tribal Conservation Priorities Inclusion Act amends federal conservation programs under the Food Security Act of 1985 to explicitly include Indian Tribes and tribal lands in eligibility and priority-setting decisions. Specifically, the bill modifies four major agricultural conservation programs—the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, Conservation Stewardship Program, Stewardship Contracts, and Critical Conservation Areas—by adding "tribal" alongside state and local designations so that tribes can participate in and be considered when identifying priority resource concerns. The legislation ensures that Indian tribes and lands under tribal jurisdiction are treated equally with state and local governments when the U.S. Department of Agriculture determines where to focus conservation efforts and resources. This change removes barriers that may have previously excluded tribes from these federal conservation initiatives and funding opportunities. No new funding is created by this bill; rather, it clarifies that existing program funds can be directed toward tribal conservation priorities.