Sarah Elfreth

The Military Readiness Permitting Efficiency Act of 2026 allows the Department of Defense to enter into agreements with the National Marine Fisheries Service and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to speed up environmental reviews of priority military programs and projects. Under the bill, the Defense Department can provide direct financial assistance to these agencies to hire additional personnel needed to complete reviews required by federal wildlife and fisheries laws, including the Marine Mammal Protection Act, Endangered Species Act, and Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. The Defense Secretary can designate a military program or project as a priority and invoke this expedited review process if the agency confirms it lacks sufficient funding or staff to complete the environmental review within the required timeframe without additional assistance. The funded activities can cover preparatory military planning, the actual review process itself, and development of related agreements. This legislation aims to reduce delays in military construction and operations caused by lengthy environmental permitting reviews while ensuring those reviews still occur.

This bill authorizes the federal Chesapeake Bay Program Office to formally join Maryland's Whole Watershed Program and similar state programs as an advisory member. The legislation allows the Program Office to coordinate with state, local, and federal agencies while providing technical assistance and financial support for environmental projects within the Chesapeake Bay watershed. This change aims to strengthen federal involvement in Maryland's watershed management efforts by enabling the existing federal office to play a more active advisory role alongside state leadership. The bill does not specify new funding amounts or implementation timelines, instead modifying existing authority of the Chesapeake Bay Program Office to expand its participation in state-level watershed initiatives.

This bill authorizes the Attorney General to award grants of up to $5 million annually to establish a national training and technical assistance center focused on lethality assessment programs for domestic violence. These programs help law enforcement and first responders quickly identify domestic violence situations with the highest risk of resulting in serious injury or death, and connect victims to local support services. The grants would go to nonprofit or tribal organizations with demonstrated expertise in developing and implementing such programs, and the funding would support their efforts to help states, local governments, and Indian tribes adopt these assessment tools. The legislation aims to reduce the number of domestic violence-related homicides by improving how communities identify and respond to high-risk situations. Funding is authorized starting in fiscal year 2026 and would remain available until spent.

H.R. 7251 would ban the use of images of living political figures on the America the Beautiful pass, the annual national parks pass sold by the federal government. Currently, the pass features artwork selected through a design competition, and this bill would prevent any living current or former elected officials or other living political figures from appearing on the pass. The legislation amends the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act and applies to all national parks and federal recreational lands covered by the pass program. The bill affects the National Park Service and anyone who purchases the annual pass, which allows access to hundreds of federal recreation areas. There is no specific funding mechanism or implementation timeline mentioned in the bill text.

This bill adds a new requirement to the Natural Gas Act that would prevent U.S. companies from exporting natural gas to certain countries without special approval from the Secretary of Energy. Under the legislation, exporters would need to obtain a certification from the Energy Department stating that the export serves the public interest, in addition to the existing authorization already required. Each certification would remain valid for one year unless the Secretary of Energy revokes it earlier. The bill specifically targets exports to countries designated as "covered nations" under federal defense law, though it does not specify which countries currently hold that designation. The measure affects natural gas exporters and could reshape U.S. energy trade policy by giving the federal government stronger control over which nations receive American natural gas.

This bill prohibits the Secretary of the Navy from constructing a golf course at the Greenbury Point Conservation Area located within Naval Support Activity Annapolis in Maryland, and prevents the Navy from restricting public access to the area. The legislation amends a previous 2024 military construction law that had limited the Navy's authority to modify or restrict access to the site. The bill does allow the Navy to continue environmental restoration activities at Greenbury Point that comply with existing environmental laws and regulations. No specific funding or implementation timeline is included in the legislation, which was introduced in December 2025 and referred to the House Armed Services Committee.

H.R. 6630, the Expanding Mental Health Access for Cyber Command Personnel Act, directs the Department of Defense to improve mental health support for military personnel working in cybersecurity roles within U.S. Cyber Command and the Cyber Mission Force. The bill requires the Defense Department to assign behavioral health professionals to cyber operating locations and ensure these professionals hold the necessary security clearances to treat service members. Starting within one year of enactment, the Defense Department must implement this initiative and then provide annual briefings to Congress for three years on its progress, including information about the professionals' security clearances, the types of mental health cases being treated, and any challenges to implementation. This legislation addresses work-related stress and behavioral health challenges specific to the high-pressure, sensitive nature of cyber operations.

H.R. 6631 directs the Secretary of Defense to establish a collaborative program with colleges and universities to develop and standardize cybersecurity education across the country. The bill requires the Defense Department to work with other federal agencies—including the National Security Agency, FBI, and National Institute of Standards and Technology—to create curriculum standards, designate institutions that meet excellence criteria in cyber defense and operations, and avoid duplicating existing federal cyber education efforts. Participating academic institutions must demonstrate community outreach, faculty leadership development, commitment to cybersecurity best practices, and collaboration with government and private sector employers to define workforce needs. The Secretary must submit annual reports to Congress measuring the program's success and comparing benefits to costs, though the legislation does not authorize any new federal funding for these efforts.

H.R. 6627 modifies military law to help enlisted soldiers become military lawyers by increasing the maximum years of active duty service they can have while remaining eligible for the Defense Department's funded law school program. Specifically, the bill raises the eligibility threshold from eight years to ten years of service for enlisted members who receive Department of Defense funding for their legal education. This change affects active-duty military personnel seeking to transition into the Judge Advocate General (JAG) corps, which provides legal services to the armed forces. The bill does not specify new funding amounts, but it effectively expands the pool of eligible enlisted servicemembers by allowing those with more years of experience to pursue legal training. The legislation was introduced in December 2025 and referred to the House Committee on Armed Services.

This bill requires the Secretaries of the Army, Navy, and Air Force to develop comprehensive master plans for each military service academy under their jurisdiction by September 30, 2027. Each plan must identify infrastructure in poor or failing condition and propose solutions to repair, replace, or renovate it within five years, while also addressing historic preservation needs and assessing risks related to energy disruptions, extreme weather, cyber threats, and water availability. The military departments must brief Congress within six months on their timeline for completing the plans and submit finished plans to the Armed Services Committees no later than December 1, 2027. This legislation affects the U.S. Military Academy, Naval Academy, Air Force Academy, and Coast Guard Academy, ensuring long-term strategic planning for their physical infrastructure and resilience.

The NOAA Data Preservation Act requires the Secretary of Commerce to maintain uninterrupted storage of data held by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) by restricting the government's ability to abruptly cancel cloud storage contracts. Before ending any contract with a cloud service provider, the department must first develop a detailed transition plan to move NOAA's data and reporting systems to an alternative provider and coordinate with NOAA's leadership to ensure data protection continues without interruption. The bill essentially prevents service disruptions that could compromise access to critical weather, ocean, and climate data relied upon by businesses, researchers, and the public. It affects NOAA's data management operations and its relationships with cloud service vendors. The legislation includes no specified funding amount or implementation timeline, leaving those details to be determined by the appropriate congressional committees.

The THRIVE Act directs the Veterans Affairs Department to establish a task force within 90 days to study how veterans can better access complementary and integrative health treatments like acupuncture, yoga, meditation, and peer-support programs, particularly for mental health conditions like PTSD, depression, anxiety, and traumatic brain injury. The task force will include VA officials, academic researchers, veteran clinicians, veterans service organizations, and community-based program representatives who will assess current access to these therapies, develop frameworks to measure their effectiveness, identify research gaps, and recommend how the VA should expand or modify these services. The task force must submit its recommendations to the VA Secretary within one year, followed by an initial report to Congress 90 days later and a final action plan within 180 days of that, after which the task force will dissolve. The bill establishes no specific funding amount but authorizes the task force to identify what additional resources or congressional authorities the VA may need to improve access to these treatments for veterans.

The Shutdown Student Loans for Feds Act would provide relief to federal employees and contractors whose agencies experience government shutdowns lasting at least 14 days. During such shutdowns, federal student loan payments would be suspended for affected workers, with no interest accruing on those loans during the suspension period. The bill treats suspended payments as if they were actually made for purposes of loan forgiveness programs, protects borrowers' credit reports by reporting suspended payments as regular payments, and allows workers to request refunds for any loans paid during qualifying shutdown periods. The legislation applies retroactively to September 30, 2025, and would remain in effect for any shutdowns occurring in fiscal year 2026 and beyond, addressing the financial hardship federal employees face when they stop receiving paychecks during appropriations lapses.

The Help Federal Employees During Shutdowns Act would require states to provide unemployment benefits to federal employees who work without pay during government shutdowns in fiscal years 2026 and 2027. The bill specifically targets "excepted" federal employees—those required to work during a shutdown despite a lapse in funding—allowing them to collect unemployment compensation for weeks they perform emergency duties. The federal government would fully reimburse states for 100 percent of these benefits and any administrative costs through the Unemployment Trust Fund. However, if an excepted employee eventually receives back pay after the shutdown ends, they must repay the unemployment benefits they received, with the money returned to the state's unemployment fund.

This resolution recognizes the 180th anniversary of the United States Naval Academy, which falls on October 10, 2025. The resolution honors the institution's founding in Annapolis, Maryland, by Secretary of the Navy George Bancroft, and celebrates its role in educating officers for the Navy and Marine Corps since its establishment. The resolution acknowledges the academy's significant contributions to American military and public service, noting that its nearly 93,000 graduates have included one U.S. President, numerous members of Congress and governors, 73 Medal of Honor recipients, and 55 astronauts, among many others who served in major conflicts from the Civil War to recent military operations. The House of Representatives formally recognizes this milestone, honors those who died in service, and invites all Americans to celebrate the academy's accomplishments and its continued importance to the nation's defense. No funding or implementation timeline is associated with this resolution, as it is a symbolic measure expressing appreciation for the institution.

Mitigation Action and Watermen Support Act of 2026 or the MAWS Act of 2026This bill requires the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to establish a pilot program to facilitate the purchase of blue catfish caught within the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. (Blue catfish are considered an invasive species in the Chesapeake Bay.)Under the program, NOAA must enter into cooperative agreements with manufacturers or processors of pet food, animal feed, or aquaculture feed for the purchase of blue catfish from watermen and seafood processors. NOAA must determine the minimum price per pound after considering market factors; feedback from watermen, seafood processors, and participants in the program; and differentiation of price points for fillet and byproduct. The bill also requires NOAA to enter into a memorandum of understanding with nonfederal partners to develop abundance estimates of blue catfish in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. NOAA must make the first abundance estimate publicly available before beginning the pilot program.

H.R. 1989, the Protect Our Probationary Employees Act, allows federal employees who were involuntarily separated from their jobs during their probationary period between January 20, 2025, and January 20, 2029, to get credit for the time they already served when they are rehired. Specifically, if a probationary federal employee is terminated and then reinstated to their former agency in a similar position, they would only need to complete the remaining portion of their probationary period rather than starting over from the beginning. The bill affects federal employees in Executive agencies who were on initial probationary appointments at the time of their involuntary separation. The legislation contains no specific funding requirement and automatically expires on January 20, 2029, unless Congress extends it.