Lisa Blunt Rochester

The Data Center Transparency Act of 2026 requires federal agencies to provide regular public reports on the environmental and energy impacts of large data centers across the United States. The Environmental Protection Agency must report every three months on how data centers affect water resources and air quality, including water consumption, reuse practices, impacts on local water utilities, service disruptions, rate changes, and greenhouse gas emissions. The Energy Information Administration must report twice yearly on electricity consumption by data centers, including total energy use by state, changes in consumption over six-month periods, new data centers coming online, and how these operations may affect household energy bills. The law applies to data centers consuming at least 50 megawatts of power daily, and all reports must be made publicly available online. The first reports are due within six months of the law's enactment.

This resolution expresses Senate support for designating October 2026 as "World Menopause Awareness Month" to increase global awareness and improve access to care for women experiencing menopause and post-menopause. The resolution highlights that menopause affects hundreds of millions of women worldwide, with symptoms like hot flashes, memory loss, and mood changes that can last seven to nine years or longer, and that Black and Hispanic women often experience more severe symptoms. It notes that menopausal symptoms cost the U.S. economy approximately $1.8 billion annually in lost work time, with up to 40 percent of affected women experiencing work performance issues and some leaving the workforce entirely. The resolution encourages the Secretaries of Health and Human Services, Defense, and Veterans Affairs to expand medical training on menopause, provide better health information to patients and providers, conduct additional research on treatment options, and improve available screening tools and clinical resources. Unlike most legislation, this resolution does not authorize spending or create binding requirements but rather expresses the Senate's policy position and recommendations to federal agencies.

This bill authorizes the Department of Housing and Urban Development to provide capital assistance to owners and operators of federally-supported multifamily housing developments that are in poor condition or at financial risk. The assistance takes the form of direct loans at one percent interest, which may be forgiven in whole or in part, to pay for necessary physical improvements and repairs to these properties. Recipients must agree to maintain affordable housing for at least 30 years and contribute at least 20 percent of improvement costs from non-federal sources, though this requirement can be waived for applicants unable to secure matching funds. The bill affects owners, sponsors, and HUD-approved purchasers of apartment buildings with five or more units that receive federal housing assistance through various HUD programs. The legislation does not specify a dollar amount but authorizes "such sums as may be necessary" through future appropriations acts, with no set timeline for implementation or program duration specified.

This bill establishes a comprehensive federal effort to coordinate workforce development and talent strategies across the government. The Secretary of Labor must create an "American Talent Working Group" within 120 days that brings together leaders from eighteen federal agencies and offices to align education, workforce, and talent policies. The Working Group will develop a four-year Federal strategic talent plan that evaluates all federal workforce programs, identifies overlaps and inefficiencies, and recommends improvements to Congress. The plan will focus on critical areas including fast-growing industries, national security sectors, manufacturing, high-wage career pathways, and workers affected by automation and artificial intelligence. The Working Group and plan are set to sunset after eight years unless Congress reauthorizes them, and the Government Accountability Office will evaluate the plan's effectiveness at the four-year mark and with each subsequent update.

This bill would change how Medicare handles situations when seniors fail to pay their prescription drug plan premiums. Currently, if a beneficiary stops paying their premium, they automatically lose coverage, and this is treated as a voluntary decision. The legislation would allow the federal government to create rules that treat some premium non-payment cases as involuntary loss of coverage instead, giving seniors more flexibility and protection. The bill specifically amends the Medicare prescription drug program rules under the Social Security Act but does not specify particular funding amounts or implementation timelines. This change would primarily affect Medicare beneficiaries who struggle to pay their prescription drug premiums and could prevent them from losing coverage due to financial hardship.

Community Health Worker Access ActThis bill provides for coverage of community health services under Medicare.Community health services are services provided by a community health agency in accordance with an individual needs assessment, including preventive services (e.g., screenings) and services to address social determinants of health (e.g., educational home visits). Community health agencies include nonprofits, federally qualified health centers, and other organizations that employ health workers (in accordance with certain labor standards) who have lived experience in the communities served.The bill also allows state Medicaid programs to cover these services and provides for an increased Medicaid federal matching rate, also known as the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP), for these services.

The RESULTS Act of 2026 creates a federal grant program to help states build and improve comprehensive data systems that track student and worker progress from early childhood through employment. These statewide systems would connect data from schools, colleges, workforce training programs, and employers in a secure way to help policymakers understand educational outcomes and job market trends. The bill authorizes unspecified federal funding and allows states up to four years per grant to develop or modernize their data systems, with grants awarded competitively based on state size, proposal quality, and potential impact. States receiving grants must protect privacy under existing federal laws, disaggregate data by race and demographics to identify disparities, and make information publicly available through dashboards and reports while maintaining individual confidentiality. The legislation also gives states access to employment data from the National Directory of New Hires to better track how education and training programs prepare workers for actual jobs.

The FLOOD Act amends federal farm conservation law to include emergency watershed protection as an eligible program under the Regional Conservation Partnership Program. This change would allow farmers and landowners affected by natural disasters like flooding to access additional federal conservation resources and financial assistance more easily. The bill expands existing conservation tools by connecting emergency disaster relief with long-term watershed protection efforts. Senators Blunt Rochester and Justice introduced the legislation in July 2026, and it was referred to the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry for review. The bill does not specify new funding amounts or implementation timelines in the text provided.

This bill directs the National Science Foundation to award grants to colleges, universities, and nonprofit organizations to expand artificial intelligence research capacity and workforce development, with a focus on institutions that currently have limited AI research programs. Eligible recipients include schools that aren't among the top 100 federally funded research institutions, as well as historically Black colleges and universities, tribal colleges, and other minority-serving institutions. Grant funds can support activities like hiring AI faculty, developing graduate preparation programs, providing computing resources for AI research, holding workshops between academia and industry, and integrating AI safety principles into education programs. The legislation emphasizes geographic diversity and supporting underrepresented groups, including first-generation students, in AI research and careers. The bill does not specify funding amounts or implementation timelines, leaving those details to be determined through the appropriations process.

This concurrent resolution recognizes Black Women's Equal Pay Day on July 21, 2026, and acknowledges the significant wage gap between Black women and white, non-Hispanic men in the United States. According to census data cited in the resolution, Black women who work full-time year-round earn only 65 cents for every dollar earned by white, non-Hispanic men, and this disparity persists across all education and professional levels. The resolution outlines how this wage gap affects Black women's ability to support families, save for the future, and participate fully in the economy, noting that at current rates of progress, it would take nearly 200 years for Black women to achieve equal pay. The resolution also identifies contributing factors such as lack of affordable childcare, paid family leave, sexual harassment in the workplace, and restrictions on discussing wages with coworkers. Congress reaffirms its support for equal pay for equal work and commits to narrowing the gender wage gap through multifaceted strategies addressing both racial and gender injustices, though this resolution does not establish any new programs or funding.

The Medicare Cost Cap Act of 2026 protects Medicare beneficiaries by imposing an annual cap on out-of-pocket costs starting in 2028, beginning at $5,000 per year and adjusting annually based on healthcare spending growth. Once a Medicare beneficiary enrolled in Part A or Part B reaches this annual limit, they pay nothing for additional covered medical services for the remainder of that year, with Medicare covering the full cost. The legislation also expands eligibility for programs that assist low-income Medicare beneficiaries by eliminating asset tests for the Low-Income Subsidy and Medicare Savings Program and raising income limits to 200 percent of the poverty line starting January 1, 2028. Additionally, the bill streamlines enrollment between these two programs so that individuals approved for one program are automatically considered eligible for the other, reducing administrative burdens. The bill was introduced on June 24, 2026, by Senator Blunt Rochester and multiple Democratic colleagues and was referred to the Senate Committee on Finance.

S. 4923, the Food Assurance and Security Act, requires the Secretary of Agriculture to work with the Census Bureau to establish a program that collects and analyzes data on food insecurity and hunger in the United States. The bill mandates that the Census Bureau's Current Population Survey include a detailed food security supplement through 2028 that asks households specific questions about their ability to afford adequate food, whether they had to skip meals or go hungry, and for families with children, whether their kids had enough to eat. After 2029, the survey may continue with the same questions or substantially similar ones if they undergo proper testing and review. The Secretary must submit annual reports to Congress and post the findings publicly on the Agriculture Department's website, with the program authorized to receive whatever funding is necessary for implementation.

Innovative Maternal Payment and Coverage To Save Moms Act or the IMPACT to Save Moms ActThis bill requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to establish the Perinatal Care Alternative Payment Model Demonstration Project through FY2031 to allow states to test payment models for maternity care, including postpartum care, under Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP).

The WELLS Act requires hospitals that participate in Medicare to develop comprehensive discharge plans for pregnant individuals who show signs of labor but are being sent home before delivery. These discharge plans must include clinical justification for the discharge, assessment of travel distance to the hospital, verification of reliable transportation, identification of a backup facility for labor and delivery services, and confirmation that the patient understands the plan in their primary language. The requirement takes effect on January 1, 2027, and applies to hospitals, critical access hospitals, and rural emergency hospitals. The bill also establishes new grant programs and research initiatives to improve maternal and obstetric care in rural areas. It requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to set performance milestones for existing rural maternal and obstetric care training grants, beginning in fiscal year 2027, and mandates annual congressional reports on grant recipients and training outcomes starting January 1, 2027. Additionally, the legislation directs the creation of a multi-center research initiative to evaluate different training models for healthcare professionals and their effects on maternal health outcomes and disparities, along with an interagency maternal health dashboard to track and publicly report maternal health metrics across federal agencies.

The Optimizing Postpartum Outcomes Act of 2026 directs the Department of Health and Human Services to issue guidance within one year on how state Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance programs should cover pelvic health services for women during pregnancy and the postpartum period, which is defined as either six months after delivery or the length of breastfeeding, whichever is longer. The guidance will include best practices from states, financing recommendations, and technical assistance to help states expand access to pelvic floor examinations and pelvic health physical therapy. The bill also requires the Government Accountability Office to study coverage gaps in postpartum pelvic health services under Medicaid and establishes a federal education campaign through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to train healthcare providers and inform women about pelvic health services. The legislation authorizes $2 million annually from 2027 through 2031 for the education and training program, affecting low-income women covered by Medicaid and state health insurance programs.