Jim Banks

This Senate resolution expresses support for designating September as "Dystonia Awareness Month" to raise public understanding of dystonia, a neurological disorder causing involuntary muscle contractions and abnormal movements or postures. It affects an estimated 250,000 to 300,000 people in the United States, though the actual number may be higher due to underdiagnosis, and it can impact individuals of any age or background, including servicemembers and veterans affected by traumatic brain injury or related conditions. The resolution highlights the lack of a cure, the existing treatments like botulinum toxin injections and deep brain stimulation, and the ongoing research efforts, including studies funded by the Department of Defense's Peer Reviewed Medical Research Program. It calls for continued research into new treatments and a cure, commends medical professionals working on the condition, and encourages Americans to mark the month with educational programs and activities. As a resolution, it carries no funding, enforcement mechanisms, or legal requirements—it is a symbolic statement of support.

This bill establishes a program allowing the President to transfer military equipment and supplies from the U.S. Department of Defense inventory to Taiwan. The transfers would include humanitarian and medical supplies, weapons, ammunition, missiles, and other munitions, but only items that are currently obsolete or surplus and already stored in Taiwan as reserve stocks. Before making any transfer, the President must notify Congress at least 30 days in advance, identifying what items will be transferred and what concessions the U.S. will receive in return. The Secretary of State must submit an initial report to Congress within one year of the bill's enactment, and annually thereafter, detailing the items transferred, concessions received, and delivery timelines. The bill affects the U.S. military's surplus equipment management and Taiwan's defense capabilities, though no specific funding amounts or overall quantity limits are specified in the legislation.

This bill would roll back diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies within the Department of Defense and military. Specifically, it would remove requirements that military selection boards for promotions consider diversity in their decision-making processes, repeal the military's pronoun policy, and modify human relations training to focus on values like honor, excellence, courage, and commitment instead of current diversity-related content. The legislation affects active-duty military personnel and the promotion system across all branches of the armed forces. The bill does not specify any funding allocations or implementation timelines and would take effect upon enactment if passed into law.

This bill removes restrictions on how Indiana can use land that the Department of the Army previously conveyed to the state. Specifically, it allows the Army Secretary to release a requirement that 80 acres of former parkland be used only for recreational purposes, provided that Indiana transfers approximately 80 acres of prior parkland to the Indiana Army Ammunition Plant Reuse Authority and receives approximately 100 acres of former industrial property in return, with that 100 acres restricted to recreational use. The bill essentially swaps which parcels must be reserved for recreation while keeping the same total acreage dedicated to recreational purposes. There is no new federal funding required, as the bill only modifies existing land transfer conditions established in military construction laws from the 1990s. The legislation affects the State of Indiana and the Indiana Army Ammunition Plant Reuse Authority, allowing them greater flexibility in managing the land exchange and potentially freeing the original 80 acres for other uses like economic development.

The Service Academy Testing Enhancement Act of 2026 requires the Department of Defense to expand standardized testing options at military service academies and Defense Department schools. Rather than requiring a single test, applicants to the service academies must be allowed to satisfy testing requirements by submitting scores from any of at least three nationally recognized standardized assessments that measure college readiness in areas including mathematics, reading, writing, and analytical reasoning. The bill also directs the Defense Department's Education Activity to offer eleventh-grade students at DoDEA schools the opportunity to take at least three of these standardized assessments. The legislation does not specify funding amounts or implementation deadlines beyond its enactment.

This bill directs the Department of Defense to conduct a comprehensive audit of foreign-made cellular modules in military systems and infrastructure within 180 days of enactment, with a focus on equipment critical to military mobility, logistics, and installation security. The audit must identify the manufacturer, model, and cybersecurity risks of each cellular module found in systems operated by the Pentagon, military branches, and defense contractors connected to Defense Department networks. Within one year, the Secretary of Defense must submit a report to Congress detailing audit findings and describing mitigation strategies such as replacing equipment, isolating networks, or switching to trusted suppliers, along with cost estimates and timelines for these actions. The bill requires biennial progress reports over a six-year period and directs the Government Accountability Office to assess the effectiveness of these mitigation efforts within 180 days of the first report. The legislation focuses specifically on cellular modules produced by entities linked to China or identified as national security risks under existing law.

The Insider Threat Reporting and Security Guidance Act of 2026 requires the Secretary of Defense to establish security reporting rules for large artificial intelligence contractors working with the Pentagon. The law applies to contractors with Defense Department AI contracts valued at $100 million or more and that have spent at least $1 billion on AI research and development in the preceding three years. Within 180 days of enactment, the Defense Secretary must issue regulations requiring these contractors to report their security practices related to personnel vetting, insider threat prevention, access controls, and supply chain security, as well as any known security breaches or incidents involving their AI systems. Additionally, contractors must notify the Defense Department within 72 hours of discovering acute national security risks and must certify every 90 days that their submitted information remains accurate. The bill also directs the Defense Secretary to issue voluntary security guidance for these contractors by the same 180-day deadline and to update that guidance after completing a one-year risk assessment, with a final report to Congress due within one year of enactment.

This bill requires the Secretary of Defense to develop and submit a comprehensive plan within 180 days to identify, prioritize, and remove equipment and computational facilities owned or controlled by foreign adversaries from the U.S. electric grid. The plan must assess national security risks to military installations, defense infrastructure, and grid reliability, establish priorities for removal based on threat level, and propose strategies to replace vulnerable equipment with secure alternatives while minimizing disruption to power operations. Starting in fiscal year 2028, the U.S. Northern Command must annually submit budget requests to Congress estimating the funding needed to carry out the remediation plan. The bill defines covered equipment broadly to include internet-connected devices in the power grid that are remotely updatable or vulnerable to cyberattacks, as well as computing facilities supporting grid operations. The plan will be submitted in unclassified form with the option for a classified annex, and the Secretary of Defense has 90 days to issue guidance further defining what constitutes a covered computational facility, with annual updates as needed.

This bill would amend federal law to restrict Pell Grant eligibility to U.S. citizens and nationals only. Currently, certain non-citizens, including eligible noncitizen immigrants, may qualify for Pell Grants under existing regulations. The legislation would change this by adding a citizenship or national status requirement to the definition of an eligible student for Pell Grant purposes. The bill does not specify any new funding amounts or implementation timelines beyond the changes to eligibility criteria. The change would affect students who are not U.S. citizens or nationals and are currently receiving or seeking Pell Grants, a federal program that provides need-based grants to low-income undergraduate and graduate students.

This bill directs the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation to test a new program called the Accountable Produce is Medicine Bundled Payment Model, which provides food-based health services to patients with chronic diseases. The program will enroll at least five healthcare providers over a minimum of five years, offering eligible patients personalized nutrition plans, fresh produce, telehealth monitoring, dietitian counseling, and lifestyle programs at no cost to them. Eligible patients must have conditions like diabetes, obesity, or hypertension, live in underserved areas, and receive referrals from their doctors. Participating providers will receive bundled payments from Medicare, Medicaid, or the Children's Health Insurance Program, and after three years may be required to share financial risk based on their performance in reducing healthcare costs and improving patient health outcomes.

This bill allows pharmaceutical manufacturers to provide prescription drug information to doctors and pharmacists through digital means only, rather than requiring printed copies. Manufacturers must still offer healthcare providers the option to receive or request paper versions of prescribing information at no additional cost. The bill affects anyone involved in prescribing or dispensing medications, including physicians, pharmacists, and drug manufacturers. The Department of Health and Human Services has one year from the bill's enactment to issue regulations explaining how the digital system will work and how providers can obtain paper copies if needed. The new digital requirement would take effect two years after the bill passes, or when the final regulations are issued, whichever comes first.

The Kidd's Stuttering Act amends federal health programs to expand screening and treatment coverage for childhood stuttering and other speech fluency disorders. Beginning January 1, 2028, the bill requires the federal government to add screening measures for speech fluency disorders in children ages two to six to Medicaid's core quality metrics, and starting January 1, 2029, it mandates that Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) cover speech therapy services for treating these disorders in children under twenty-one. The legislation ensures that treatment limits for stuttering and fluency disorders cannot be more restrictive than limits applied to other speech disorders like articulation problems, and it allows these services to be delivered through telehealth. The bill affects millions of low-income children covered by Medicaid and CHIP, though no specific federal funding amounts are authorized in the text, meaning states will need to incorporate these services into their existing program budgets.

This bill excludes compensation paid to clinical trial participants from federal income taxes and protects it from counting against eligibility for federal assistance programs. Individuals who receive payments for participating in approved clinical trials or for reimbursement of trial-related expenses will no longer report these amounts as taxable income. The exemption also ensures that clinical trial compensation does not affect eligibility for needs-based federal benefits like Medicaid, food assistance, or housing programs. The tax exemption applies to payments made after December 31, 2025, making it retroactively effective to the start of 2026. This change aims to remove financial disincentives that might prevent lower-income individuals from participating in medical research.

The Citizenship Act of 2026 would fundamentally alter birthright citizenship in the United States by designating certain categories of people as "invaders" and denying citizenship to their children born on U.S. soil. The bill classifies as invaders anyone who enters the country without legal authorization, anyone unlawfully present, anyone seeking admission specifically to give birth in the United States, and nationals of certain countries who enter surrogacy arrangements to have children born here. Under this legislation, children born after its enactment to these designated parents would not automatically receive U.S. citizenship, even if born within the country, marking a significant departure from the current understanding of the Fourteenth Amendment's birthright citizenship provision. The bill contains no direct appropriations but would affect immigration and citizenship policy nationwide, potentially impacting millions of undocumented immigrants and their U.S.-born children, as well as individuals engaging in international surrogacy arrangements. The legislation also bars federal courts from reviewing determinations of invasion made by the President or Congress, effectively placing such decisions beyond judicial oversight.

This bill simplifies how employee benefit plan administrators file Form 5500, the annual report required for retirement and health plans covering millions of Americans. The legislation extends the filing deadline from 210 days after a plan year ends to 15 days after the ninth calendar month ends following the plan year, giving administrators more time to gather and submit information. The bill also requires the Treasury Department, Labor Department, and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation to modernize their forms to allow electronic signatures instead of requiring physical ones. Additionally, the law provides flexibility for plan administrators affected by disasters or other emergencies to request extended filing deadlines from the Secretary of Labor. These changes take effect for plan years ending after the bill becomes law and are intended to reduce administrative burdens on the thousands of plan administrators managing retirement savings for American workers.

This bill would amend federal education law to prohibit schools from using federal funding under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act to develop, implement, or promote any programs, activities, literature, or materials for children under 18 that contain sexually oriented material. The legislation defines sexually oriented material broadly to include depictions of sexually explicit conduct as well as content involving gender dysphoria or transgenderism. The bill carves out exceptions for standard science coursework in biology and related subjects, teachings about major world religions, and classic works of literature and art as defined by specific reference materials and publications. The legislation does not specify dedicated funding or implementation timelines, instead establishing restrictions on how existing federal education dollars can be spent. The bill affects all schools receiving federal education funding and would require them to ensure compliance with these restrictions on instructional materials and programs.

This bill establishes a new Blast Overpressure Task Force within the Department of Veterans Affairs to address health issues affecting veterans and military members exposed to blast injuries. The task force, which must be created within 180 days of the bill's enactment, will bring together VA and Defense Department researchers to improve healthcare and benefits for those diagnosed with traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder, and other blast-related conditions. The task force will coordinate research on specific health areas including sleep therapy, gut health, balance problems, and cumulative mild traumatic brain injury, while also establishing medical baselines and monitoring sensory decline in affected service members. The task force must submit annual reports to Congress detailing research progress and providing recommendations on how VA claims processors should evaluate blast-related conditions when determining benefit eligibility. The task force is set to operate for approximately three years, terminating on September 30, 2029.

The SAFE for Kids Act of 2026 requires websites and commercial entities that publish sexually explicit material to implement age verification systems to prevent minors under 18 from accessing such content. Covered entities must verify users' ages through government identification, transactional data, or other reliable methods before allowing access to sexual material that meets specific legal definitions. The bill protects internet service providers, search engines, and cloud services from liability simply for providing connections to these websites, and prohibits companies from retaining or selling personal information collected during the age verification process. The Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice will enforce the law, with violations treated as unfair or deceptive practices subject to civil penalties and fines up to $1.5 million for organizations, plus potential criminal penalties including up to five years in prison for knowing violations. The legislation also creates a private right of action allowing individuals and parents to sue violating entities for damages and attorney's fees, with the FTC and Attorney General required to report to Congress annually on enforcement efforts for the first year and every three years thereafter.

The Parkinson's Protection for Firefighters Act adds Parkinson's disease to the federal list of illnesses presumed to be caused by firefighting work. This change means firefighters who develop Parkinson's disease would be eligible for workers' compensation and federal benefits without having to prove their illness was caused by their job duties. The bill amends federal law to include Parkinson's disease alongside other occupational illnesses already recognized as connected to fire protection activities. The legislation affects current and former firefighters who are federal employees or covered under federal workers' compensation systems. No specific funding amounts or implementation timelines are specified in the bill.