Jon Husted

This bill updates the wage requirements for certain highly skilled foreign workers on H-1B visas. Currently, companies can hire H-1B workers without meeting prevailing wage requirements if those workers earn at least $60,000 annually, a threshold set decades ago. The bill modernizes this exemption by replacing the fixed $60,000 amount with twice the national average wage index, which adjusts automatically each year based on Social Security Administration data. This change would significantly raise the wage floor for companies seeking to hire foreign workers through this program, making it more expensive for employers to use H-1B visas and potentially creating incentives to hire domestic workers instead. The bill affects technology companies, consulting firms, and other employers who rely on H-1B visas to fill specialized positions.

The Measuring Illicit Fentanyl Trafficking Act directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to develop performance metrics to track how effectively the department detects, deters, and seizes illicit fentanyl. The bill requires various components of the Department of Homeland Security to collaborate and share data with each other on fentanyl enforcement efforts, while also identifying any obstacles preventing information sharing. These performance metrics must align with the department's overall strategic goals for combating fentanyl trafficking. The Secretary has one year from the bill's enactment to establish these metrics and ensure coordination among relevant agencies. The legislation affects federal law enforcement agencies involved in border security and drug interdiction but does not include specific funding or authorization amounts.

This resolution designates the week of September 14 through September 20, 2026, as "Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Week" to honor the work of school athletic administrators across the United States. The resolution recognizes that athletic administrators serve as educational leaders who manage school sports programs, ensure student safety, develop school culture, and comply with regulations while serving over 8 million high school student athletes. The Senate acknowledges the role of school athletics in promoting student well-being, academic achievement, mental health, leadership development, and preventing youth violence. The resolution also commends the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association for its professional development and advocacy work. This is a ceremonial resolution with no funding requirements or direct regulatory impact, as it simply designates a specific week for national recognition of athletic administrators' contributions to education.

The Red Light Act would withhold all federal highway funding from states that issue driver's licenses or identification cards to people who are unlawfully present in the United States. Starting October 1, 2026, the Secretary of Transportation would withhold 100 percent of highway apportionment funds from any "noncompliant" state under this definition. If a state changes its law or policy to stop issuing such identification before the end of the fiscal year, withheld funds would be released to that state. Any funds that remain withheld would be redistributed to compliant states based on their share of total highway funding. If a state later returns to issuing identification to unlawfully present individuals, it would lose federal highway funding again.

The TEAM USA Act would require colleges and universities that receive federal financial aid to limit international student athletes to no more than 20 percent of each varsity sports team roster, or a maximum of one international athlete on teams with fewer than 10 players. An international student athlete is defined as someone who is not a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, or who receives financial support from a foreign country's Olympic or Paralympic committee. Colleges would be required to report annually to the federal government and their athletic association the percentage of international student athletes on each team. The legislation would take effect on July 1, 2029, and apply starting with the 2029-2030 academic year. Congress's stated purpose is to preserve athletic scholarship opportunities and roster spots for American students while maintaining some level of international participation in college sports.

The New Source Review Permitting Improvement Act amends the Clean Air Act to clarify when changes at industrial facilities trigger strict permitting requirements. Specifically, the bill narrows the definition of what counts as a "modification" requiring new permits by establishing that emissions increases are only counted if they exceed the maximum hourly emission rate achieved during the previous ten years, and by exempting certain pollution control, efficiency, safety, and reliability improvements from modification requirements. The legislation also limits permitting requirements to physical construction directly involving emissions units rather than other on-site activities, even if those activities are costly or permanent. The bill applies these clarifications to both air quality attainment and non-attainment areas. No new federal funding or implementation timeline is specified in the legislation.

The BIS STRENGTH Act authorizes the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security to hire up to 25 specialized experts from outside the traditional civil service to fill critical skill gaps that are difficult to recruit for through normal hiring processes. These experts can be appointed for up to five years at salaries up to the Vice President's level, with the Understanding that the department must first conduct annual studies to identify specific expertise gaps. The Under Secretary must report to Congress every six months initially, then annually, detailing which positions were filled, the qualifications of new hires, and their impact on the bureau's mission, particularly regarding export controls. The program terminates five years after enactment, though employees already hired maintain their positions and pay through their appointment terms. All standard background checks and federal ethics requirements still apply to these special hires.

This bill extends from 5 to 10 years the statute of limitations for civil and criminal violations of U.S. export control laws. The bill also specifies that the commencement of an action, suit, or proceeding includes the issuance of a charging letter. (A charging letter is a formal notification by the Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security that a company or individual is under investigation for an apparent violation of export administration laws or regulations.)

The ADVERSARIES Act requires the Department of Commerce to conduct a comprehensive review examining whether foreign adversaries can circumvent U.S. export controls by using American-based subsidiaries to acquire restricted technology and materials. The analysis must determine if U.S.-domiciled companies that are at least 50 percent owned by entities on the Commerce Department's Entity List or Military End User List are able to obtain items their foreign parent companies are prohibited from accessing, and assess the national security risks posed by foreign-controlled information and communications technology operating within the U.S. The Department of Commerce has 90 days from the bill's enactment to complete the review and must submit its findings to Congress within 30 days after completion, along with recommendations for any changes to U.S. law needed to address identified vulnerabilities. The bill essentially aims to close potential loopholes in export control enforcement by identifying ways that restricted materials and technology might reach adversarial nations through domestic corporate structures.

The China AI Power Report Act requires the Secretaries of Defense, Commerce, State, and other federal agencies to produce a comprehensive report assessing China's artificial intelligence capabilities and submit it to Congress within 180 days, then annually for three years thereafter. The report must detail China's advanced AI chip designers, semiconductor manufacturing and equipment makers, AI software companies, and AI models in development, along with their military and surveillance applications, international partnerships, and the effectiveness of current U.S. export controls on critical technologies. The assessment must cover 16 specific areas including China's military AI systems, research and development progress, computing infrastructure, humanoid robots, and funding sources, with particular attention to semiconductors critical to advanced AI systems. Within 90 days of submitting the initial report, relevant officials must brief congressional committees on the findings in both classified and unclassified formats. This legislation is designed to give Congress detailed intelligence about China's AI capabilities to inform U.S. policy decisions on technology competition and national security.

This bill establishes certain photo identification requirements for voting in federal elections.Specifically, the bill prohibits a state or local election official from providing a ballot for a federal election to an individual who does not present valid physical photo identification.Next, the bill outlines the availability of provisional ballots and the requirements for counting those ballots. An individual who does not present a valid photo identification must be permitted to cast a provisional ballot. However, an election official may not determine that the individual is eligible under state law to vote in the election unless, not later than three days after casting the provisional ballot, the individual presents (1) the identification required, or (2) an affidavit attesting that the individual does not possess the identification because of a religious objection to being photographed.An election official may not allow for voting methods other than in-person voting unless the individual submits with the ballot (1) a copy of their photo identification, or (2) the last four digits of their Social Security number with an affidavit attesting that the individual is unable to obtain a copy of a valid photo identification after making reasonable efforts to obtain a copy. This prohibition shall not apply to overseas military voters and certain disabled or elderly voters.States must, to the extent practicable, ensure public access to digital imaging devices for individuals to make a free copy of their valid photo identification.These requirements take effect one day after the bill's enactment.

This joint resolution would use Congress's power to disapprove federal regulations to overturn an Environmental Protection Agency rule that restored California's authority to set its own vehicle pollution standards and implement its Advanced Clean Car Program. The rule, which was originally issued in March 2022, allows California to enforce stricter emissions requirements than federal standards, affecting automakers and consumers in California and potentially other states that follow California's standards. The resolution has no funding provisions or implementation timeline since its sole purpose is to nullify the EPA regulation. If passed, the rule would be eliminated and have no legal effect. The resolution was introduced by a group of Republican senators and was referred to the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.

This bill allows people to withdraw money from 529 college savings accounts for their first home purchase without the usual tax penalties that normally apply to non-education withdrawals. To qualify, the account must have been open for at least 15 years, and the funds being withdrawn must have been in the account for at least five years before the withdrawal. First-time homebuyers can withdraw up to $35,000 total across their lifetime from these accounts, and they have 60 days to use the funds to buy a principal residence. If the home purchase falls through, the withdrawn funds can be returned to a 529 account or an ABLE account within 120 days. However, if the homebuyer sells the house or stops using it as their primary residence within five years, they will have to repay the tax benefits they received, though this penalty decreases by 20 percent for each year they keep the home.

The Children Harmed by AI Technology Act 2.0 (CHAT Act 2.0) establishes federal protections for minors using AI chatbots that are designed for education, companionship, or mental health support. The bill requires companies offering these chatbots to verify users' ages, enable parental controls, and prevent the AI systems from encouraging self-harm, engaging in sexual conversations with minors, falsely claiming to be human or licensed professionals, or creating emotional dependency. The legislation categorizes companion AI chatbots into three tiers with increasing restrictions: educational chatbots (Tier I), general companionship chatbots (Tier II), and mental health chatbots (Tier III), with Tier III chatbots requiring professional supervision and prohibited from providing diagnoses or functioning as standalone mental health providers. The Federal Trade Commission will enforce these requirements and conduct studies on potential harms, while state attorneys general can also pursue violations on behalf of residents. The bill becomes effective 180 days after enactment and includes provisions requiring parental notification if minors express suicidal thoughts, bans on selling minor users' data without parental consent, and mandatory deletion mechanisms for conversation histories.

Ratepayer Protection ActThe bill requires state utility regulators and nonregulated utilities to consider implementing a standard to hold certain large-load customers responsible for the costs associated with any generation, transmission, or distribution upgrade of electric service necessary to serve such customers. A large-load customer means a non-residential electric consumer that enters, or requests to enter, an agreement concerning the sale of electric energy primarily to operate information technology infrastructure and related systems pertaining to data storage and computational applications and services (e.g., data centers) that have a peak electric demand of 100 megawatts or more at a single site or campus. Specifically, the bill requires states to consider implementing a federal standard for large-load customers. The standard must require rates charged by electric utilities for providing electric service to a large-load customer to be designed to recover from the large-load customer the full, incremental cost of any generation, transmission, or distribution upgrade necessary to serve such customer. This rate must include the costs that would be incurred if the large-load customer terminates an agreement with the electric utility pertaining to the sale of electric energy or otherwise ceases the purchase of energy from the electric utility.Under the standard, an electric utility must require the large-load customer to provide to the utility financial assurances or contributions to cover the cost of any generation, transmission, or distribution upgrade that is necessary to serve the load of a large-load customer before the utility makes any generation, transmission, or distribution upgrade.