The Informed Investor Access Act expands who qualifies as an "accredited investor" under federal securities law. Currently, accredited investors are primarily high-income or high-net-worth individuals who can invest in private offerings and other restricted securities. This bill adds a new category: individuals who receive personalized investment advice or recommendations from registered investment advisers, registered brokers or dealers, or their representatives, regardless of their income or net worth. The change allows ordinary investors receiving professional guidance to access the same investment opportunities previously limited to wealthy investors. The Securities and Exchange Commission is required to update its regulations to reflect this expanded definition, and the bill does not specify any funding or implementation timeline beyond requiring the SEC to make these regulatory changes.

This bill authorizes the federal government to help build and fund the Dry-Redwater Regional Water Authority System, a water supply project serving five counties in eastern Montana and one county in North Dakota. The project aims to provide safe municipal, rural, and industrial water to residents and businesses in the region. The federal government will cover up to 75 percent of the planning, design, and construction costs through a cooperative agreement with the local water authority, though the authority will own and operate the completed system. Congress has authorized $602 million in federal funding for the project between fiscal years 2027 and 2037, with adjustments allowed for inflation and unexpected cost changes. The project will also receive power from federal hydroelectric facilities under the Pick-Sloan Missouri River Basin Program at the firm power rate, which the local authority must pay for along with any necessary upgrades to deliver that power.

The PARTNERS Act of 2026 would give states the authority to enforce Medicare Advantage plan requirements, shifting enforcement responsibility from the federal government alone to a shared state-federal approach. Currently, the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has primary oversight of Medicare Advantage organizations, but this bill would allow states to directly require that these plans meet federal standards within their borders. The legislation directs the federal government to coordinate enforcement efforts with states where Medicare Advantage organizations operate and permits formal collaborative enforcement agreements between federal and state regulators. The bill affects Medicare Advantage insurers and the states in which they do business, potentially strengthening consumer protections through additional state-level oversight. No specific funding or implementation timeline is specified in the legislation.

The Accelerating Forest Management Act streamlines the environmental review process for salvage logging operations on Bureau of Land Management lands by exempting certain harvest activities from detailed environmental assessments. The bill allows the removal of dead and dying trees from fire, insects, disease, and drought across up to 1,000 acres in smaller disturbance areas or up to 5,000 acres in larger areas, along with limited new road construction and temporary road development to facilitate these operations. Affected parties include timber companies, conservation groups, and local communities near federal forests, as the bill reduces regulatory review timelines while requiring documented plans addressing environmental concerns like erosion control, riparian buffers, and invasive species prevention. Additionally, the legislation extends the Forest Ecosystem Health and Recovery Fund authorization through 2033, providing ongoing federal funding for forest restoration work. The changes take effect upon enactment with no specified implementation timeline beyond the fund extension date.

H.R. 8092, the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Modernization Act of 2026, updates and reauthorizes federal housing programs serving Native American and Native Hawaiian communities through fiscal year 2032. The bill streamlines environmental reviews and compliance requirements for tribal housing projects, expands homeownership opportunities through lease-to-own programs, extends land lease terms from 50 to 99 years to improve financial viability, and broadens eligibility for home loan guarantees to include more lender types and loan structures. It also creates a new rental assistance program specifically for homeless or at-risk Indian veterans and reduces administrative burdens on tribal housing entities by allowing consolidated federal reporting and exempting them from certain federal procurement rules. Overall, the legislation aims to accelerate housing development and homeownership in Native American communities while maintaining federal support through modernized, more efficient processes.

This bill reauthorizes through FY2028 the planning, design, and construction of the Assiniboine and Sioux Rural Water System and the Dry Prairie Rural Water System, both located in Montana.

The McCarran-Ferguson Restoration Act eliminates the Federal Insurance Office (FIO) within the Treasury Department and replaces it with a new United States Insurance Representative position. The Representative will coordinate federal insurance policy on international matters, represent the U.S. in international insurance supervisory organizations, and has authority to determine when state insurance laws conflict with international trade agreements covering insurance. The bill also adds a state insurance commissioner to the Financial Stability Oversight Council, appointed by the President with Senate confirmation and selected from candidates recommended by state insurance regulators. The bill does not grant the new Representative broad regulatory power over insurance and specifically excludes health insurance, long-term care insurance, and crop insurance from their authority while protecting state authority over insurance rates, coverage requirements, and insurer solvency standards. The Representative must provide states with notice and opportunity to comment before preempting any state insurance measure, with such determinations subject to court review.

The Montana Sportsmen Conservation Act releases approximately 104,000 acres of Montana public land from wilderness study area designations, allowing these lands to be managed for multiple uses instead of being held for potential wilderness preservation. The bill specifically removes wilderness protections from three areas—the Middle Fork Judith Wilderness Study Area (81,000 acres), the Hoodoo Mountain Wilderness Study Area (11,380 acres), and the Wales Creek Wilderness Study Area (11,580 acres)—that federal agencies determined decades ago were unsuitable for wilderness designation. The affected lands will now be managed by the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management according to their current resource management plans, which the bill says will enhance hunting and fishing opportunities, improve public access, and enable wildlife habitat and wildfire mitigation projects. The legislation is based on findings that these areas have been in wilderness study limbo for nearly 50 years despite being deemed unsuitable for formal wilderness status, and that removing the designations will allow better management while still maintaining environmental protections under existing laws.

This bill clarifies that the federal Bureau of Reclamation maintains permanent ownership, operational control, and funding responsibility for the Lower Yellowstone Fish Bypass Channel, a 2.1-mile engineered channel built near Intake, Montana to help endangered pallid sturgeon and other native fish migrate around the Intake Diversion Dam. The bill explicitly prohibits federal agencies from shifting any financial or operational burden for the channel to the Lower Yellowstone Irrigation District or Project, local irrigation entities that were never intended to manage this federal environmental mitigation project. The legislation authorizes $1 million annually beginning in fiscal year 2026 for operations, maintenance, repairs, and adaptive management of the channel, and requires the Interior Department to submit biennial reports to Congress on its status and costs. The bill also grants the Lower Yellowstone Irrigation District legal standing to challenge any federal attempt to transfer responsibilities to them, while preserving all existing federal obligations under the Endangered Species Act and the irrigation district's separate water delivery responsibilities.

The Floodplain Enhancement and Recovery Act amends federal flood insurance law to streamline approval for ecosystem restoration projects in flood-prone areas. The bill exempts these projects from flood insurance fee requirements when requesting updated flood maps, and allows communities to permit restoration projects in floodways that slightly raise water levels—up to 1 foot—provided a professional engineer certifies the increase won't harm structures or critical infrastructure and the community reports the results within 180 days. FEMA must issue guidance within 180 days to help federal and state agencies implement these new rules. The legislation primarily affects property owners, communities, and environmental organizations pursuing natural wetland and floodplain restoration while maintaining existing flood safety standards.

National Cemetery Access ActThis bill requires that national cemeteries administered by the Department of Defense, Department of Veterans Affairs, or the National Park Service must be open to visitors on the 11 legal public holidays (e.g., Memorial Day).

The Retirement Investment Choice Act would convert Executive Order 14330 into federal law, making it a permanent requirement rather than a directive that could be changed by future administrations. The order aims to expand 401(k) retirement plan options by allowing individual investors greater access to alternative investments—such as private equity, hedge funds, and other non-traditional assets—that are typically available only to wealthy investors or large institutions. The bill would affect millions of Americans with 401(k) retirement accounts and the employers who sponsor these plans, as well as the financial institutions that manage them. No specific funding is allocated in the legislation, and there is no stated implementation timeline. The bill was referred to both the House Committee on Education and Workforce and the Committee on Financial Services for review.

The IMAGES Act of 2025 seeks to modernize the National Flood Insurance Program's rate maps by requiring FEMA to include detailed geographic information such as building locations, addresses, and property identification data. The bill also mandates that flood maps be updated within five years to align with current geodetic standards and be made publicly accessible through a new online repository where people can view flood risks and related data down to individual properties. Additionally, the legislation requires FEMA to work with the U.S. Geological Survey to maintain and upgrade stream gauge stations that monitor water flow in flood-prone areas, ensuring these critical monitoring networks have modern equipment and adequate coverage. The bill provides ongoing funding by allocating 5 percent of quarterly revenue collected by the National Flood Insurance Fund specifically for creating and maintaining current and accurate flood rate maps. The legislation affects property owners, flood insurance policyholders, FEMA, and communities relying on flood risk assessments, with most map updates required within five years of the completion of updated national geodetic standards.

SBA Fraud Enforcement Extension ActThis bill extends the statute of limitations to 10 years for fraud-based criminal and civil offenses with respect to the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant and the Restaurant Revitalization Fund COVID-19 relief programs.

This joint resolution opens certain land administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in eastern Montana to coal leasing. Specifically, it nullifies the rule issued by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) relating to the Record of Decision and Approved Resource Management Plan (RMP) Amendment for the Miles City Field Office in Montana. The BLM approved the RMP Amendment on November 20, 2024. The RMP Amendment made no acres available for coal leasing and 1,745,040 acres unavailable for further consideration for coal leasing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Protecting Private Job Creators ActThis bill provides statutory authority for an exemption from specified disclosure requirements applicable to fixed-income securities (e.g., corporate bonds or a certificate of deposit).Under current securities regulations, brokers and dealers are generally prohibited from publishing securities quotations (i.e., the sale price) in over-the-counter (i.e., not on a national exchange) markets unless they have certain information about the securities issuer in their records. The Securities and Exchange Commission issued a series of orders (with the latest order issued in November 2024) granting an exemption to this rule to fixed-income securities that comply with specified safe-harbor rules. The bill provides statutory authority for this exemption.

The COAL POWER Act would repeal an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulation issued in May 2024 that sets emission standards for hazardous air pollutants from coal- and oil-fired power plants. The rule, which established stricter pollution controls for these facilities, would be completely eliminated as if it never went into effect. This bill affects coal and oil power plant operators, who would no longer be required to meet the EPA's updated emission reduction standards. The legislation contains no specified funding or implementation timeline beyond its stated intent to nullify the existing EPA regulation. The bill was introduced by House Republicans and referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce.

The SEC Modernization Act restructures the internal organization of the Securities and Exchange Commission by consolidating several offices to streamline operations. Specifically, the bill moves the Office of the Secretary, Office of Ethics Counsel, and Office of International Affairs under the General Counsel's oversight; places the Office of the Chief Accountant, Office of Credit Ratings, and Office of Municipal Securities within the Division of Corporate Finance; merges the Office of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs with the Office of Public Affairs; and transfers the Office of Investor Education and Advocacy to the Office of the Investor Advocate. The reorganization affects SEC staff and management structure but preserves the Commission's authority to make additional organizational changes in the future if needed to protect investors. The bill also grants the SEC discretionary authority to consolidate its regional offices. No specific funding or implementation timeline is mandated by the legislation.

This bill would limit how much unspent money the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) can hold onto each year. Specifically, the CFPB would be allowed to keep only 5 percent of its annual budget as unobligated balances—money that has been appropriated but not yet spent. Any amount above that threshold would be transferred back to the U.S. Treasury's general fund. The bill also requires the CFPB to provide detailed reports explaining how it uses any unobligated balances. This legislation affects the CFPB's financial management and budgeting practices but does not establish new funding amounts or specific implementation timelines beyond requiring compliance going forward.

This bill expands federal immigration detention requirements by adding four new crimes to the list of offenses that automatically trigger the detention of non-citizens pending removal proceedings. Specifically, it amends immigration law to include trespassing, vandalism, arson, and burglary as crimes that make deportable aliens subject to mandatory detention without bail hearings. The legislation affects immigrants convicted of these property crimes, removing judicial discretion in bail decisions and requiring them to remain in custody while their immigration cases proceed. The bill includes no new funding provisions or implementation timeline, as it simply modifies existing detention authority already established in immigration law. It was introduced in April 2025 by Republican members and referred to the House Judiciary Committee.

Stop Russian Market Manipulation ActThis bill prohibits the importation of specified minerals from Russia.Specifically, the bill prohibits the importation of platinum, palladium, braggite, rhodium, ruthenium, nickel, cooper, or zinc if the mineral is (1) produced in Russia or by a Russian entity; or (2) determined to have been exchanged with, swapped for, or otherwise obtained in lieu of such a mineral in a manner designed to evade or circumvent this prohibition. The President may not waive this prohibition.The prohibition shall continue to apply until one year after the President certifies to Congress that the Russian government has ended all hostilities against Ukraine. If the Russian government resumes hostilities against Ukraine within three years of a certification, then the prohibition shall resume effect.

Expanding Access to Capital for Rural Job Creators ActThis bill requires the Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation within the Securities and Exchange Commission to report on issues encountered by rural-area small businesses.

This bill authorizes coal to be mined on approximately 800 acres of federal land in Musselshell County, Montana. Specifically, it allows all federal coal reserves in such federal land and leased under Federal Coal Lease MTM 97988 to be mined in accordance with the 2020 Bull Mountains Mining Plan Modification. The Bull Mountains Mine is operated by Signal Peak Energy.This bill directs the Department of the Interior, without modification or delay, to approve the Bull Mountains Mining Plan Modification to the extent necessary to mine such land.

Crow Revenue ActThis bill addresses the exchange of mineral interests in Montana involving the federal government, the Crow Tribe of Montana, and a private party.Specifically, the bill requires the Department of the Interior to accept the relinquishment of a specified federal coal lease associated with the Bull Mountains Mine near Roundup, Montana (the current operator of the mine is Signal Peak Energy); the Joe and Barbara Hope Mineral Trust (Hope Family Trust) to convey approximately 4,660 acres of subsurface mineral interests located within the boundaries of the Crow Indian Reservation in Big Horn County, Montana, to the tribe; and Interior to convey approximately 4,530 acres of subsurface mineral interests and 940 acres of surface interests located in Musselshell County, Montana, to the Hope Family Trust. Prior to these conveyances, the tribe must notify Interior that the tribe and the Hope Family Trust have agreed on a revenue-sharing formula for the development of the mineral and surface interests in Musselshell County, Montana.The mineral interests conveyed by the Hope Family Trust to the tribe shall be held in trust by the United States for the benefit of the tribe, upon the tribe's request. These mineral interests shall not be subject to state or local taxation.

Crow Tribe Water Rights Settlement Amendments Act of 2025This bill revises the water rights settlement agreement entered into by the Crow Tribe of Montana and Montana.The Crow Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act of 2010 ratified, authorized, and confirmed the water rights compact between the tribe and Montana. Among other provisions, this settlement act authorized the Bureau of Reclamation to plan, design and construct the following two major projects on the Crow Reservation: (1) the rehabilitation and improvement of the Crow Irrigation Project (CIP); and (2) the planning, design, and construction of the MR&I System (the municipal, rural, and industrial water system of the Crow Reservation).Among other provisions, the bill revises the settlement act toreplace references to the MR&I System with MR&I Projects; establish a nontrust, interest-bearing account (to be known as the Crow CIP Implementation Account) to allow Reclamation to continue to work on the rehabilitation of the CIP; create a new MR&I Projects Account, through which the tribe must use funds for activities related to water production, treatment, or delivery infrastructure; andextend by five years (to 2030) the period during which the tribe has the exclusive right to construct hydropower facilities on the Yellowtail Afterbay Dam in Montana.