# Summary of H.R. 8864 — LIFT Act The Local Infrastructure Financing Tools (LIFT) Act creates a new federal tax credit to help state and local governments finance infrastructure projects more affordably. Under the bill, when a state or local government issues a bond for infrastructure work, the federal government will reimburse the issuer for a portion of each interest payment made on that bond. The credit percentage starts at 42 percent for bonds issued between 2026 and 2030, then gradually decreases to 30 percent by 2033 and beyond. Eligible bonds must be used entirely for infrastructure capital projects or maintenance, and the interest on these bonds becomes taxable income to bondholders rather than tax-exempt as with traditional municipal bonds. The bill also makes technical changes to advance refunding rules for municipal bonds and increases from $10 million to $30 million the threshold for certain small issuers' tax-exempt borrowing exemptions, with inflation adjustments after 2026. Additionally, the bill requires that any projects funded by these infrastructure bonds comply with prevailing wage requirements under the Davis-Bacon Act. The legislation takes effect 30 days after enactment, allowing states and localities to immediately begin issuing these new bonds to finance roads, bridges, utilities, and other public infrastructure with reduced interest costs.

The Maternal Vaccination Act amends federal public health law to expand vaccination programs specifically targeting pregnant and postpartum women, with particular emphasis on reaching racial and ethnic minority communities. The bill modifies existing vaccination awareness and equity campaigns under the Public Health Service Act to include pregnant and postpartum individuals as a priority population and directs healthcare providers to address vaccination gaps in this group and their children. Funding for these maternal vaccination initiatives increases from $15 million annually (under the previous authorization period) to $17 million per year for fiscal years 2027 through 2031. The legislation was introduced in March 2026 and referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. The bill reflects a congressional focus on improving maternal health outcomes and vaccine equity by ensuring pregnant women have access to evidence-based vaccination information and services.

The Maternal Vaccination Act amends federal public health law to strengthen vaccination efforts for pregnant and postpartum women and their children. The bill expands existing vaccination awareness and equity campaigns to specifically target pregnant and postpartum individuals, including those from racial and ethnic minority communities, while also enhancing coordination between prenatal, obstetric, and pediatric care providers. Funding for these maternal vaccination programs increases from $15 million annually to $17 million per year for fiscal years 2027 through 2031. The legislation aims to address vaccination disparities among pregnant women and their newborns by integrating maternal vaccination promotion into broader public health initiatives and improving access to vaccination information and services across different healthcare settings.

This bill revises and reauthorizes through FY2031 a program that provides financial assistance for rural water systems under the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act.Under the existing program, the Department of Agriculture may provide grants to nonprofit organizations that in turn must provide subgrants and loans to individuals for household water well systems or individually owned household decentralized wastewater systems in rural areas.This bill modifies the eligibility requirements for subgrants. To be eligible for a subgrant, an individual must be a member of a household with an annual combined income that is no more than 60% of the median nonmetropolitan household income for the area served by the nonprofit (currently, the state or territory in which the individual resides).The bill also allows a subgrant for a household decentralized wastewater system to include sufficient additional funding to cover the cost of a performance warranty with a duration of at least five years.In addition, the bill allows loans to be awarded to an individual who is a member of a household with an annual combined income that is 60% or more of the median nonmetropolitan household income for the area.

Increasing Access to Quality Cardiac Rehabilitation Care Act of 2025This bill expands coverage of cardiac, intensive cardiac, and pulmonary rehabilitation programs under Medicare.Specifically, the bill allows physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and clinical nurse specialists to administer these programs in their offices, prepare and sign treatment plans, and prescribe exercise.

The Rural Health Training Opportunities Act modifies the federal Health Profession Opportunity Grants program to prioritize rural communities and ensure participants can access training. Specifically, the bill directs the federal government to give preference to grant applications that serve rural areas, whether through training programs based in those communities or through partnerships with rural employers committed to hiring graduates. All funded programs must include a transportation assistance plan that either connects participants to subsidized public transit or provides direct payments for transportation costs, recognizing that lack of reliable transportation is a major barrier for rural students. The law takes effect on October 1, 2025, and requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to submit biennial reports to Congress detailing how many grant applications are received and approved, with separate tracking for rural-focused applications, along with an assessment of how well these programs are addressing healthcare workforce shortages in rural areas. This legislation aims to help rural communities build their healthcare workforce by removing practical obstacles that prevent rural residents from completing health profession training.

Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act of 2025This bill increases the number of residency positions eligible for graduate medical education payments under Medicare for qualifying hospitals, including hospitals in rural areas and health professional shortage areas.The bill provides for an additional increase of 2,000 positions per fiscal year from FY2026-FY2032; during this period, each hospital may receive up to 75 additional positions in total under the bill and current law. Additionally, one-third of the positions that are made available under the bill must be allocated to hospitals that are already operating above applicable resident limits.The bill also requires the Government Accountability Office to report on strategies to increase the diversity of the health professional workforce, including with respect to representation from rural, low-income, and minority communities.

H.R. 4381 directs the Department of Defense to launch a five-year pilot program that treats pregnancy as a qualifying event for military families to enroll in TRICARE Select, the military's health insurance plan for eligible beneficiaries. Currently, pregnancy is not recognized as a qualifying life event that allows people to change their health coverage outside of normal enrollment periods. The pilot program must begin within 180 days of the bill's enactment, and the Secretary of Defense must provide Congress with a briefing one year after launch and annual reports for the following four years tracking how many people use pregnancy as a reason to enroll in TRICARE Select. The reports will break down enrollment changes by month and category, including whether changes are tied specifically to pregnancy versus other qualifying events like military separation or return to active duty. This pilot program has no specific funding authorization mentioned in the legislation but aims to improve health coverage access for pregnant military families and their dependents.

The Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act of 2025 aims to address the shortage of physicians in the United States by creating 14,000 new medical residency positions between fiscal years 2026 and 2032—2,000 positions per year. The bill prioritizes distributing these positions to rural hospitals, medically underserved areas, hospitals affiliated with historically Black medical schools, and facilities training primary care physicians, with individual hospitals capped at receiving 75 additional positions over the seven-year period. To support this expansion, the bill establishes two new grant programs offering $12.7 million annually through 2030 to help create rural residency programs where physicians train in underserved communities for at least half their residency, with a focus on primary care and maternal health. The bill also modifies Medicare's payment formulas to ensure hospitals receive appropriate training adjustment payments for the new resident positions beginning July 1, 2027. Participating hospitals must formally apply for positions and commit to actually filling them.

The Bridge to Medicaid Act of 2025 aims to make health insurance more affordable for low-income people in states that have not expanded Medicaid coverage. The bill primarily works through the Affordable Care Act's federal health insurance marketplace, reducing out-of-pocket costs to nearly zero for individuals earning up to 138 percent of the federal poverty line during plan years 2026–2028, while also extending premium tax credits to those same low-income individuals. The legislation adds benefits like non-emergency medical transportation and other services similar to what Medicaid covers, enables continuous enrollment for eligible individuals, and requires $105 million in outreach and education funding through 2028 to inform low-income people about available coverage options. Additionally, the bill increases federal Medicaid reimbursement rates for states that have already expanded Medicaid through 2028 to help offset costs. Total new federal funding appropriated includes $65 million for implementation and up to $105 million for outreach, with additional mandatory funding for premium assistance and health insurance issuer payments through open-ended appropriations.

John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2025This bill establishes new criteria for determining which states and political subdivisions must obtain preclearance before changes to voting practices may take effect. Preclearance is the process of receiving preapproval from the Department of Justice (DOJ) or the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia before making legal changes that would affect voting rights.A state and all of its political subdivisions shall be subject to preclearance of voting practice changes for a 10-year period if, during the previous 25 years:15 or more voting rights violations occurred in the state;10 or more violations occurred, at least 1 of which was committed by the state itself; or3 or more violations occurred and the state administers the elections.A political subdivision as a separate unit shall also be subject to preclearance for a 10-year period if three or more voting rights violations occurred there during the previous 25 years.States and political subdivisions that meet certain thresholds regarding minority groups must preclear covered practices before implementation, such as redistricting.States and political subdivisions must notify the public of changes to voting practices.The bill authorizes DOJ to require states or political subdivisions to provide certain documents or answers to questions for enforcing voting rights.The bill outlines factors courts must consider when hearing challenges to voting practices, such as the extent of any history of official voting discrimination in the state or political subdivision.

Rosa Parks Day Act This bill designates Rosa Parks Day as a federal holiday.

This resolution expresses support for the designation of Earned Income Tax Credit Awareness Day. The resolution also calls for increasing awareness of (1) the earned income tax credit, which is refundable; (2) other refundable federal tax credits; and (3) free tax filing assistance.