Bill Cassidy

This Senate resolution expresses support for designating October 2026 as "National Dyslexia Awareness Month." The measure, sponsored by Senators Cassidy, Hickenlooper, and Capito, calls on Congress, schools, and state and local educational agencies to recognize dyslexia as a significant educational issue requiring attention. Dyslexia is a common learning disability affecting an estimated one in five people, characterized by unexpected difficulty in reading despite normal intelligence, and is often rooted in phonological processing challenges. The resolution highlights that early screening and diagnosis are critical for providing evidence-based interventions and accommodations that help people with dyslexia succeed academically and in life. This is a symbolic measure with no direct funding or regulatory requirements; it serves to raise public awareness of dyslexia and encourage educational institutions to prioritize identification and support for affected individuals.

The Taxpayer Funded Compensation Accountability Act would cap the salaries of political appointees in the executive branch so they cannot exceed what members of Congress earn. The bill applies to a broad range of positions including cabinet secretaries, senior executive service officials, and other policy-making appointees throughout the federal government, but excludes the Vice President. This salary cap would be tied to congressional pay, which is currently $174,000 annually, meaning any political appointee earning more would need to have their salary reduced. The legislation contains no specific funding provisions or implementation timeline beyond what is necessary to enforce the new salary limits going forward. The stated purpose is to increase accountability for taxpayer-funded compensation of political leaders.

This bill establishes a nine-year pilot program that requires hospitals to purchase at least 40% of their personal protective equipment and medical consumables from domestic manufacturers, with the Secretary of Health and Human Services able to adjust this requirement during supply disruptions or emergencies. Hospitals meeting this domestic purchasing goal receive full reimbursement of domestic product costs from a dedicated fund, while those failing to comply face escalating reimbursement cuts of 2-8% depending on how long they remain non-compliant. The legislation defines domestic products as those with final assembly in the United States and at least 60-75% domestic component costs, with higher standards for textile-based items like masks and gowns. To encourage domestic PPE manufacturing capacity, the bill creates tax credits including per-unit payments for each domestically-made PPE item and a 20% investment tax credit for companies building or upgrading U.S.-based manufacturing facilities, with both credits expiring after December 31, 2035. These provisions override existing trade agreements and Buy American Act limitations to enforce domestic sourcing requirements.

The Safe and Fair Elections Act of 2026 requires states to permit the counting of early votes before Election Day in all federal elections starting in 2027, allowing election officials to process ballots cast in advance rather than waiting until Election Day itself to expedite the reporting of results. The bill includes a nonseverability clause stating that if any part of the legislation is ruled unconstitutional or invalid by a court, the entire act becomes void rather than just the problematic provision. This legal strategy forces courts to either uphold the complete bill or invalidate it entirely, with no option to preserve some provisions while striking down others.

This bill would increase the tax credit limit for qualified elementary and secondary education scholarships for married couples filing joint tax returns. Specifically, it amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow married joint filers to claim double the current credit limit, while single filers would continue using the existing limit. The change would take effect for tax years beginning after December 31, 2025. The bill affects married taxpayers who contribute to education scholarship programs for elementary and secondary students and seek to claim the related tax credit on their returns. No specific funding amounts are mentioned in the legislation, as it functions as a tax credit modification rather than a direct spending program.

This bill removes a requirement that states must opt in to allow their residents to claim a federal tax credit for donations to elementary and secondary education scholarship programs. Currently, the tax code allows taxpayers to claim a credit for contributions to qualified scholarship funds, but only if their state has chosen to participate in the program. The legislation eliminates this state opt-in requirement, making the scholarship credit available to all taxpayers nationwide regardless of whether their state has formally opted into the program. The bill makes conforming changes to the tax code to reflect this elimination, striking provisions related to state participation lists and opt-in procedures. The changes take effect retroactively as of the date that the original scholarship credit was established in an earlier tax law.

This Senate resolution establishes a structured process for Congress to address the solvency crisis facing Social Security's trust funds. By August 10, 2026, Senate leadership must form a bipartisan working group of 12 senators (with optional House participation) that will develop at least two separate legislative proposals to ensure the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and the Disability Insurance Trust Fund can pay full benefits for at least 50 years. The working group must hold public listening sessions, gather stakeholder input, and submit detailed recommendations by October 1, 2026. Once the working group's proposals are introduced in the Senate by mid-November, they follow an expedited consideration process in the Finance Committee with strict rules: any amendments or substitute proposals must maintain long-term solvency and cannot include unrelated provisions, debate is limited to 30 hours total, and passage requires a three-fifths Senate supermajority. This process essentially forces Congress to consider and vote on Social Security reform legislation under tight timelines and procedural constraints designed to prevent the bill from being derailed or loaded with extraneous provisions.

The PREFERRED Screening Act establishes a new payment model to reimburse healthcare providers for conducting comprehensive breast cancer risk assessments and developing personalized screening plans for Medicare patients. The model will cover eligible individuals ages 40 to 75 enrolled in Medicare Part A or B, using validated risk assessment tools that include genetic testing, family history, breast density, and lifestyle factors to categorize patients into risk levels. Participating providers—including doctors, nurse practitioners, genetic counselors, and physician assistants—will receive payments for these assessments and personalized plans, with the model emphasizing enrollment of providers in underserved areas, rural communities, and states with high breast cancer mortality. The Secretary of Health and Human Services must implement the model within two years, operate it for seven years, and evaluate its effectiveness through measures like screening frequency, medication utilization, cost-effectiveness, and patient outcomes, ultimately reporting to Congress on whether to expand or make the program permanent. The bill requires no new federal funding and uses existing Medicare resources to operate the initiative.

The FAIR DME Appeals Act requires Medicare contractors to pay the legal fees and litigation costs of small durable medical equipment suppliers who successfully win appeals against wrongful payment denials. When an administrative law judge determines that a contractor's initial denial was clearly erroneous, unsupported by evidence, or violated applicable rules, that contractor must cover the supplier's reasonable attorney fees and court costs from all stages of the appeal process. The bill creates a 30-day application period for suppliers to request these fee awards and gives contractors 30 days to respond, with an administrative law judge issuing a final determination within 60 days. However, suppliers remain ineligible for fee awards if their denials resulted from their own failure to submit required documentation, non-compliance with billing requirements, or the contractor's correct application of rules that were later changed. The Secretary must issue implementing regulations within two years, with the law taking effect for contracts entered into on or after January 1 of the following year.

This bill would prevent the Department of Education from transferring the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services to the Department of Health and Human Services or from outsourcing its functions to that agency. The legislation blocks the Education Secretary from contracting with, procuring services from, or entering into any similar agreements with Health and Human Services related to special education programs and services. The bill applies to special education functions currently authorized under federal law and would override existing laws that normally allow federal agencies to share or transfer administrative functions between departments. However, the prohibition does not apply to any existing contracts or arrangements already in place as of February 1, 2025, or to renewals of those existing agreements. The bill essentially acts as a safeguard to maintain special education administration within the Department of Education rather than consolidating it with other federal health programs.

This bill establishes a five-year pilot program allowing veterans with acquired brain injuries to use existing Veteran-Directed Care funds to purchase care services from nonprofit organizations that serve veterans. The Secretary of Veterans Affairs must begin the program within 180 days of the bill's enactment and select at least five VA medical centers to participate. The program affects veterans clinically diagnosed with acquired brain injuries who are already eligible for Veteran-Directed Care benefits, as well as veteran-focused nonprofits that provide care services. The Secretary is required to submit annual reports to Congress measuring program participation, clinical outcomes, veteran satisfaction, and other relevant data throughout the pilot period. No specific new funding amount is mentioned in the legislation, as it reallocates existing Veteran-Directed Care program resources rather than creating a new funding stream.

This bill expands career services to spouses of veterans who have died by suicide or died on active duty. Currently, the Department of Veterans Affairs offers employment and career support through the Disabled Veterans' Outreach Program, but these services are generally limited to veterans themselves. The legislation amends federal law to make surviving spouses eligible for these same services, including job training, placement assistance, and other employment-related support. The bill affects three groups of spouses: those of service-connected disabled veterans, those whose spouse died while on active duty, and those whose spouse died by suicide with a service-connected disability. The bill contains no specific funding authorization or implementation timeline in the text provided, leaving those details to be determined through the appropriations process.

The Outpatient Surgery Access Act of 2026 modifies how Medicare pays ambulatory surgical centers, which are facilities where patients receive same-day surgical procedures. The bill requires that payment updates for these centers be aligned with payment increases for hospital outpatient departments, ensuring more consistent rate adjustments across both settings starting in 2027. It also eliminates a separate budget neutrality adjustment that was previously applied only to ambulatory surgical centers, while requiring that any overall budget neutrality calculations for outpatient services now include volume data from these centers. The legislation affects Medicare beneficiaries, ambulatory surgical centers, and hospitals by creating more uniform payment rules. No specific funding amounts are authorized in the bill, as it primarily restructures existing Medicare payment formulas.

This bill strengthens oversight and fraud prevention in the federal child care assistance program. It requires states to pay child care providers based on actual child attendance rather than fixed rates, implement electronic systems to verify attendance, and conduct data analysis to detect fraudulent patterns. States must also verify family eligibility without allowing presumptive eligibility, establish faster payment timelines (within 21 days of invoices), and post their plans and compliance records publicly. The legislation increases federal monitoring by requiring reviews at least every three years and designates states as "high-risk" if they have improper payment rates exceeding 6 percent or unresolved audit findings, subjecting them to more frequent inspections. States with improper payments above 6 percent must submit corrective action plans, and penalties of 5 percent are added to any amounts that must be reimbursed. The bill also requires the Secretary to issue attendance verification regulations within one year and mandates a national database of child care providers disqualified for fraud. States must set aside 3 percent of child care funds for quality and compliance activities, with an interim federal rule to be issued within one year of enactment.

This bill restructures how the Railroad Retirement Board pays for its administrative operations. It creates a new Railroad Retirement Board Administrative Account within the Treasury, allowing the Board to transfer money from three existing funds—the Railroad Retirement Account, the Social Security Equivalent Benefits Account, and the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Administration Fund—to cover its operating costs, subject to annual caps based on a percentage of benefits paid or trust fund assets. It also establishes a dedicated Technology Fund, with at least $10 million in 2027 and $20 million annually from 2028 through 2031, specifically to modernize the Board's outdated legacy computer systems used for processing retirement and unemployment benefit claims. The Government Accountability Office must study best practices for this technology upgrade, consulting Board officials, railroad companies, unions, and beneficiaries, and report initial findings within 10 months and a follow-up assessment after fiscal year 2031. Separately, the bill delays a pension insurance premium deadline for single-employer pension plans for one specific two-year window (2036–2037), giving those employers extra time to pay premiums to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. Overall, the legislation affects railroad retirees, current railroad workers, and pension plan sponsors, aiming to give the agency more stable, predictable funding to modernize its aging technology while maintaining existing congressional budget oversight requirements.

# Summary of S. 4945, Home Market Restoration Act of 2026 This bill imposes import quotas and tariffs on seven agricultural and seafood products to protect domestic producers. The legislation establishes tariff-rate quotas, which allow a certain volume of imports to enter at lower duties, while quantities exceeding those limits face much higher tariff rates. For shrimp, honey, crawfish, rice, and catfish fillets, the bill sets annual import limits by country of origin. For example, Ecuador can export up to 181 million kilograms of shrimp annually at standard rates, but shrimp exceeding these limits faces a 40 percent additional tariff. Honey imports are capped at roughly 39 million kilograms per quarter, with above-quota rates determined by comparing import prices to U.S. production costs. Crawfish faces particularly high tariffs, with some categories reaching 300 percent for in-quota imports and over 400 percent above quota. The bill also increases base tariff rates on sheep and goat meat and beef products, with additional quotas that decline annually through 2036. Live cattle imports are capped at 1.5 million animals per year at a 25 percent tariff, with 50 percent rates for excess quantities. Dollar-based tariffs are adjusted annually for inflation beginning in 2027. The bill primarily affects U.S. importers, foreign exporters, and domestic agricultural producers in shrimp, honey, crawfish, rice, beef, and sheep industries. Consumer costs for these imported products will likely increase. The legislation provides no new funding but directs customs officials to publish quota details and track compliance.