This bill withdraws approximately 235,000 acres of federal land in the Rio Chama Watershed area of northern New Mexico from mineral extraction and mining claims. The legislation prevents new mining operations on these federally owned minerals while specifically protecting existing rights held by Native American tribes and Spanish and Mexican land grant communities. The bill also preserves traditional uses of common materials like sand, gravel, and stone by local residents for domestic, cultural, religious, and agricultural purposes. No specific funding or implementation timeline is included in the legislation, which was introduced by Senators Luján and Heinrich in August 2026 and referred to the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. The withdrawal aims to protect the Rio Chama Watershed's environmental and cultural resources while respecting the historical land and mineral rights of indigenous and Hispanic communities in the region.

# Summary of S. 5321, HCBS Access Act This legislation requires Medicaid to cover home and community-based services (HCBS) for eligible individuals with disabilities and older adults, aiming to eliminate waiting lists and enable people to receive care in their communities rather than institutions. Beginning five years after enactment, states must provide these services—including personal care assistance, supported employment, transportation, housing support, and behavioral health services—to anyone meeting eligibility requirements, with the federal government covering 100 percent of costs for participating states that meet expansion requirements. The bill establishes a substantial workforce development program, directing $1 billion in fiscal year 2029 for grants to support recruitment, training, and retention of direct care workers and family caregivers, recognizing that current shortages and low wages threaten service availability. It creates a national technical assistance center to help states build workforce capacity and establishes quality measurement standards to track service improvements and outcomes across states, with particular attention to reducing disparities for Black, Latino, and other marginalized communities. States must submit comprehensive implementation plans explaining how they will expand services, eliminate access barriers, ensure adequate provider payment rates, establish support for family caregivers, and build workforce infrastructure. The legislation also removes Medicaid liens and recovery provisions that had previously allowed states to recover costs from individuals' estates, eliminates lengthy waiver processes, and extends protections against spousal impoverishment for HCBS recipients. Federal funding includes 80 percent reimbursement for administrative costs during implementation.

The GHOST Act prohibits ticket resellers from selling, offering to sell, or advertising event tickets unless they physically or virtually possess those tickets first. This legislation targets the practice of speculative ticketing, where resellers advertise tickets they do not yet own, and applies to secondary ticket market sellers of concerts, sports events, and other ticketed events. The Federal Trade Commission will enforce the law and can impose civil penalties of at least $15,000 per day of violation, plus $1,000 to $5 times the ticket price per ticket sold in violation. State attorneys general can also sue on behalf of residents, and the FTC must establish a complaint website and report annually to Congress on enforcement efforts. The law takes effect 60 days after enactment.

This bill authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide five-year grants to states for improving early childhood educators' qualifications, pay, and professional development. The grants would fund scholarships for educators pursuing bachelor's degrees in early childhood education, credential programs for those with degrees in other fields, increased compensation during and after degree completion, and ongoing professional development covering child development, teaching practices, family engagement, and cultural competence. States applying for grants must develop comprehensive professional development systems in collaboration with local stakeholders including higher education institutions, child care agencies, and early childhood educator organizations, and must coordinate with colleges to create accessible pathways for working students. The bill does not specify exact funding amounts but authorizes "such sums as may be necessary" for fiscal years 2027 through 2032, with grants renewable after the initial five-year period if states meet compliance and performance requirements. The legislation requires that grant funds supplement rather than replace existing federal, state, and local early childhood education funding.

The Stroke Act authorizes the federal government to conduct research and support programs aimed at improving stroke care quality across the United States. The bill directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to fund research on delivery of stroke care, establish a national stroke registry to collect standardized data on stroke treatment and outcomes, and support grants that help hospitals and communities improve stroke care coordination and emergency response. The legislation also funds a public education campaign to promote stroke prevention and encourage people to seek immediate treatment, recognizing that stroke occurs every 40 seconds in the U.S. and is a leading cause of disability and death. The bill authorizes a total of $25 million in funding across four years, from fiscal years 2027 through 2032, distributed among research, data collection, systems improvement, and public education initiatives.

This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs to redraw service boundaries so that two New Mexico counties—Otero and Eddy—are included in Veterans Integrated Service Network 17 within 180 days of the law's enactment. The change affects rural veterans in those counties by potentially improving their access to VA health care services and benefits. The bill does not establish new funding or programs, but rather reorganizes existing VA service networks to better serve veterans in these rural New Mexico areas. The legislation was introduced by Senators Martin Heinrich and Ben Luján in July 2026 and addresses geographic accessibility challenges for veterans in southern New Mexico.

S. 5196, introduced in July 2026, would prohibit the Department of Justice and other executive agencies from granting immunity or legal releases to the President, Vice President, or their family members, business entities, and associates for various crimes. The bill specifically bars immunity for activities including general prosecution releases, money laundering for designated hostile nations or criminal organizations, insider trading related to war, abuse of women, and steering government funds to personal connections. The legislation defines covered entities broadly to include spouses, children, siblings, cousins, trusts, business partners, and any corporation or partnership in which the President or Vice President holds a stake of more than 5 percent. The bill does not include specific funding or implementation timelines beyond establishing the prohibition. This legislation would essentially prevent the executive branch from using immunity agreements or legal waivers to shield the sitting President, Vice President, and their extended circle from criminal investigation and prosecution for the specified offenses.

The Strengthening Taxpayer Advocate Act amends federal tax law to expand the power and access of the National Taxpayer Advocate, an independent office within the IRS that helps taxpayers resolve disputes and address hardships. The bill gives the Taxpayer Advocate's office broader hiring authority, requires the IRS Commissioner to provide the office with access to taxpayer returns, legal advice, and meeting information within two weeks of request, and eliminates a previous rule that suspended time limits for taxpayers seeking the Advocate's assistance. Additionally, the legislation allows the Taxpayer Advocate to continue operations and assist struggling taxpayers even during periods when Congress has not appropriated funding to the IRS. These changes take effect between immediately upon enactment and twelve months after the bill becomes law, with no specific new funding amounts identified in the legislation.

The Local Input Act requires the Secretary of the Interior to involve the public, state governments, tribal nations, and local officials before deciding to lease federal land for oil and gas drilling. Before offering any parcel for leasing, the Interior Department must disclose the proposal and analyze how oil and gas activities would affect the land's resources and other uses, then provide a public comment period and consider all feedback received. The bill gives the Secretary of the Interior discretion to decide not to lease a parcel based on the input gathered during this process. This legislation applies to all federal lands subject to oil and gas leasing decisions under existing mineral leasing law. The bill does not specify funding or implementation timelines but establishes new procedural requirements that must be followed before any future leasing decisions can be made.

This bill requires the IRS to send quarterly notices to taxpayers who have unpaid tax balances, increasing the frequency from the current annual requirement. Each notice must include an estimate of penalties and interest that will accumulate if the debt remains unpaid and information about assistance programs available to help taxpayers resolve their obligations. The requirement does not apply to taxpayers who are already on a payment plan, have an accepted offer-in-compromise, or whose tax debt has been deemed uncollectible by the IRS. The changes take effect 24 months after the bill becomes law, giving the IRS time to implement the new notification system. This legislation aims to improve transparency and keep taxpayers regularly informed about their delinquent tax debts and available options to address them.

This bill requires the Treasury Department to submit detailed annual reports to Congress on the Internal Revenue Service's efforts to prevent and address tax fraud, starting within 12 months of enactment. The fraud reports must describe specific actions taken during tax filing seasons to combat different types of fraud, including identity theft and refund fraud, as well as information sharing and recommendations between the IRS and tax industry partners. The reports must also include detailed data on the amounts of fraud detected for specific tax forms, the dollar value of fraudulent refunds paid out, and the value of fraudulent claims stopped before payment. Additionally, the bill requires a separate annual analysis of what makes the federal tax code complex and difficult to administer. The Treasury Department must make relevant fraud data publicly available on the IRS website, with appropriate redactions to protect sensitive information.

The High Court Gift Ban Act would establish strict limits on gifts that federal judges, including Supreme Court justices, can accept. Under the bill, judges could only accept gifts worth less than $50 from any source, and the total gifts from a single source cannot exceed $100 per calendar year, with some exceptions for items like honorary degrees, educational seminars, and personal hospitality from individuals who are not involved in cases before the judge. The law would apply to all federal judicial officers and would prohibit gifts from parties or individuals who have cases or interests that could come before the judge. The bill includes enforcement mechanisms allowing the Attorney General to bring civil actions with penalties up to $50,000 and criminal penalties of up to one year in prison for knowing violations. The Supreme Court and Judicial Conference would have 180 days from enactment to create regulations to implement and enforce the new gift restrictions.

This bill amends federal water rights settlement law to create two new funding mechanisms for Native American water rights obligations. It establishes an Operations, Maintenance, Repair, and Ongoing Obligations Subaccount that will receive $45 million annually from 2026 through 2035 to support existing water settlements for tribes including the Ak-Chin Indian Community, Ute tribes, Hualapai Tribe, and Snake River water rights holders. The bill also creates a New and Continuing Settlements Subaccount receiving $250 million per year over the same ten-year period to fund both new and ongoing Indian water rights settlements approved by Congress. These funds will be transferred by the Secretary of the Interior to tribal trust funds and other accounts without requiring additional congressional appropriations, and the Secretary has discretion to determine the timing and amounts of transfers based on settlement obligations. Overall, the legislation commits $2.95 billion over ten years to fulfill the federal government's water rights commitments to Native American tribes.

The CHILE Act of 2026 establishes a new emergency assistance program for specialty crop farmers whose production is harmed by adverse events such as economic crises or market disruptions. The bill amends federal agriculture law to require the Secretary of Agriculture to create a framework for providing direct payments to affected specialty crop producers, with payments calculated based on their prior sales history multiplied by a payment factor determined by the Secretary. The program accounts for the higher costs and values associated with specialty crops compared to other agricultural products and recognizes the diverse business structures used by specialty crop farmers. The bill appropriates five billion dollars for fiscal year 2027 to fund these direct assistance payments, with the money remaining available until spent. Payment limits generally follow existing agricultural program caps, though farmers deriving at least 75 percent of their income from farming activities can receive up to a minimum of $900,000 in assistance per crop year.

This bill creates two dedicated funding streams within the Indian Water Rights Settlement Completion Fund to help fulfill the federal government's long-standing obligations to Native American tribes regarding water rights. The first subaccount will receive $45 million annually from 2026 through 2035 to support operations, maintenance, and repairs for existing water settlements involving tribes including the Ak-Chin Indian Community, Ute tribes, and the Hualapai Tribe. The second subaccount will receive $250 million annually during the same ten-year period to fund new water rights settlements and complete ongoing settlement agreements, with the Secretary of the Interior having discretion to determine how and when to distribute these funds. The bill also extends customs user fees through September 2035 to help offset the cost of these water settlement obligations. Overall, the legislation allocates approximately $2.95 billion over a decade to address various Indian water rights settlements that have been authorized by Congress.