Michael Bennet

This bill amends the Homeland Security Act to clarify what nonprofit organizations can use federal security grant money for. Specifically, it expands the Nonprofit Security Grant Program to explicitly allow nonprofits to hire onsite security personnel and off-duty police officers for protection. The bill also permits organizations to hire staff to help them apply for these grants, though such administrative costs cannot exceed 5 percent of the total grant amount. The legislation was introduced in September 2026 and affects nonprofit organizations seeking federal funding to improve their security measures. No specific funding amounts or implementation timelines are outlined in the bill text provided.

The Stop Orphaned Wells Act addresses the significant problem of abandoned oil and gas wells across the United States, where an estimated 140,000 documented and up to 740,000 undocumented orphaned wells pose public health, safety, and environmental risks with no responsible party to pay for cleanup, leaving taxpayers to foot the bill. The legislation requires oil and gas operators to provide financial assurances before drilling on federal lands through individual bonds of at least $200,000 per lease and $650,000 per state, with higher requirements for companies with numerous idled wells, shifting cleanup costs from taxpayers to industry. The bill establishes new oversight mechanisms including a public database of idled and abandoned wells, strict timelines for operators to either resume production or permanently abandon wells within four years, and mandatory reviews of bond amounts every five years. It also creates a vetting process requiring Interior Department approval of lease transfers based on companies' financial health, compliance records, and operational history, with automatic denial for bankrupt applicants or those lacking adequate credit ratings and safety records. The Secretary of the Interior must establish "fit to operate" standards for companies seeking new leases and conduct annual compliance reviews, with $30 million annually authorized through 2032 to implement these new requirements.

The Eviction Crisis Act of 2025 is a comprehensive federal initiative designed to address the nation's eviction crisis through multiple coordinated programs. The bill establishes a national eviction database (to be created within one year by HUD) that collects detailed data on court-ordered, administrative, and illegal evictions while protecting tenant privacy and the information of domestic violence survivors, with state attorneys general required to submit annual data by March 1. It authorizes $3 billion annually from 2027 through 2031 and beyond for competitive grants to state, local, tribal, and territorial governments to provide financial assistance and housing stabilization services—including back rent, utilities, legal aid, and case management—to very low-income households at risk of eviction, with assistance limited to 4 months per 3-year period (extendable to 7 months when necessary). The bill also funds eviction diversion programs and landlord-tenant community courts to help tenants avoid eviction through social services while preserving landlords' legal rights, and establishes a 16-member Advisory Committee on Eviction Research to guide data collection and anti-eviction policy development. Throughout these initiatives, the bill includes strict privacy protections, prohibits using collected data to determine program eligibility, requires recipients to provide detailed outcome reporting, and explicitly preserves landlords' rights to pursue lawful evictions.

The Segal AmeriCorps Education Award Tax Relief Act of 2026 would exclude AmeriCorps educational awards from federal income taxation. Currently, AmeriCorps participants who receive education awards to pay for college tuition, student loan repayment, or other qualified education expenses must count those awards as taxable income. This bill would change that by allowing participants to exclude these awards from their gross income for tax purposes, effectively providing tax relief to AmeriCorps volunteers. The legislation would apply to all taxable years after it is enacted and affects AmeriCorps participants nationwide who use their service awards for educational purposes. The bill was introduced by a bipartisan group of senators including Michael Bennet, Bill Cassidy, Catherine Cortez Masto, Susan Collins, Chris Coons, and Roger Wicker, and was referred to the Senate Committee on Finance.

The New Essential Education Discoveries Act of 2026 creates a new National Center for Advanced Development in Education within the Institute of Education Sciences to identify and promote educational innovations, including new teaching methods, technologies, and assessment tools designed to help struggling students and address achievement gaps in math and reading. The center will be led by a Commissioner who can award grants and contracts to public and private entities and share research findings with teachers, administrators, and parents. The bill also establishes a grant program to help states build and maintain statewide data systems that track student progress from early childhood through the workforce while protecting privacy, with grants lasting up to four years and renewable for an additional two years. An eight to twelve member advisory panel will provide annual reports to Congress evaluating education research and teaching advances with a focus on opportunity gaps. The bill authorizes federal funding through fiscal year 2031 for the new center and ongoing appropriations beginning in fiscal year 2027 to support state data systems.

This Senate resolution commemorates the one-year anniversary of a school shooting that occurred on September 10, 2025, at Evergreen High School in Evergreen, Colorado, where a student opened fire and wounded two people. The resolution honors the victims and survivors of the attack while expressing the Senate's condolences to their families and the broader Evergreen and Jefferson County communities. It also recognizes the heroic actions of first responders from the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, school security officers, educators, hospital staff, and community members who responded quickly to prevent further casualties. The resolution emphasizes that law enforcement arrived within two minutes of the lockdown, and medical teams at local hospitals provided critical care that allowed the victims to survive. This is a commemorative measure with no funding or policy changes; it serves to officially acknowledge the tragedy and express solidarity with those affected by the violence.

This Senate resolution honors five wildland firefighters who died during the 2026 wildfire season: Emily Barker, Sydney Watson, and Nicholas Hutcherson, who were killed on June 27, 2026 while battling fires along the Utah-Colorado border; Nathan Matthews, who died on July 24, 2026 from injuries sustained in that same incident; and pilot Nicholas Dale, who died on July 12, 2026 while supporting firefighting efforts on the Gold Mountain Fire in Colorado. The resolution expresses the Senate's condolences to their families, friends, and colleagues, and recognizes the courage of other firefighters who were injured and are still recovering. It also broadly thanks all wildland firefighters, aviation crews, emergency responders, dispatchers, and support staff who risk their lives to protect communities during wildfire season. The measure calls for continued support of these personnel alongside responsible management of forests and public lands, and encourages the American public to recognize their sacrifice and service. As a resolution, it carries no funding, regulatory changes, or binding legal effect; it is a symbolic statement of appreciation and mourning passed by the Senate.

This bill establishes a competitive grant program to help address mountain pine beetle infestations on federal forest lands. The Secretary of Agriculture would award grants to states, local governments, Indian tribes, water districts, and utility companies to fund forest restoration projects, including removing beetle-killed trees, reducing wildfire fuels, replanting forests, and protecting watersheds. Grant applicants would receive priority consideration if their projects protect water supplies, reduce wildfire risk to communities, target areas with severe beetle outbreaks, or align with state forest plans. The bill also authorizes the Forest Service to enter into cooperative agreements with states, tribes, and local governments to coordinate beetle monitoring, share data, and develop wood processing capacity. The legislation directs the Agriculture Department to provide technical assistance on beetle detection and management, as well as workforce development and market creation for wood products from beetle-killed trees, though it does not specify funding amounts or implementation timelines.

S. 5142 amends federal tax law to help certain taxpayers receive their refunds more easily. The bill specifically protects taxpayers who are classified as "currently not collectible" by the IRS—meaning they owe back taxes or debts but cannot currently pay—by allowing them to receive refunds up to the amount of their Earned Income Tax Credit without the IRS automatically seizing those refunds to pay off their existing debts. The legislation applies to taxpayers who request refunds after the IRS implements the new process, which must occur within 12 months of the law's enactment. The bill aims to improve fairness in the refund process by ensuring that low-income workers with unpaid tax obligations can still access their earned income credits. The measure was introduced by Senators Bennet and Cassidy and referred to the Senate Finance Committee.

This bill improves how the IRS notifies taxpayers and handles disputes when it imposes multi-year bans on claiming certain tax credits. The affected credits are the Child Tax Credit, American Opportunity Tax Credit, and Earned Income Tax Credit. Under the legislation, the IRS must provide clearer written notice explaining which credits are being denied, why they are being denied, and how long the ban will last. The bill also gives the Tax Court authority to review whether the IRS properly imposed these multi-year bans, and establishes new procedures allowing taxpayers to challenge previous bans that were issued without proper explanation. Most provisions take effect 36 months after enactment, with some applying immediately to cases pending in Tax Court, ensuring taxpayers have better protection and clearer review procedures when facing credit disallowances.

This bill modifies how the Internal Revenue Service handles penalties and certain tax credit disallowance periods. Currently, the IRS can assess penalties relatively easily, but this legislation requires that any penalty or disallowance decision be personally approved in writing by either the immediate supervisor of the employee making the decision or the IRS Office of Servicewide Penalties before sending the taxpayer an appealable notice. The bill specifically addresses three tax credits: the child tax credit, the American Opportunity tax credit, and the earned income tax credit. The changes take effect 12 months after the bill becomes law, and the legislation requires the Treasury Department to publish annual reports starting 24 months after enactment detailing all IRS penalties assessed, broken down by IRS office and showing how penalties progress through the determination and review process.

This bill would eliminate fees that the IRS charges when low-income taxpayers set up payment plans to pay their taxes over time. Specifically, it would waive installment agreement fees for any taxpayer whose income does not exceed 250 percent of the federal poverty level, meaning a single person making roughly $35,000 or less per year would qualify for fee-free payment plans. The change would apply to installment agreements set up more than 12 months after the bill becomes law, giving the IRS time to implement the policy change. The bill does not specify new funding requirements, as it simply eliminates a fee that taxpayers currently pay to the government. This measure would make it easier for lower-income individuals struggling to pay their tax bills to set up manageable payment arrangements without incurring additional costs.

This bill prohibits the Secretary of the Interior from approving any expansion of the Mid-Continent Limestone Quarry near Glenwood Springs, Colorado. The measure blocks the federal government from processing applications to expand existing mining operations or approve new mineral extraction contracts on specific parcels of Bureau of Land Management land in Garfield County, Colorado, covering the limestone quarry and surrounding areas. The bill affects the quarry operator, federal land managers, and the Glenwood Springs area, which is known for its hot springs and tourism economy. The legislation contains no new funding provisions or implementation timelines, instead serving as a direct prohibition on future expansion activities. The bill was introduced by Colorado Senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper in July 2026.

The Better Jobs through Evidence and Innovation Act creates a new federal grant program to support workforce development programs that have been tested and proven effective. The Department of Labor will award competitive grants to eligible organizations such as workforce boards, colleges, nonprofits, and community groups to implement, expand, and evaluate job training and employment programs that improve workers' earnings and employment outcomes. The bill prioritizes funding for programs with strong evidence of success, requiring at least 60 percent of grant money to go directly to program operations rather than administrative costs. Grantees must conduct rigorous evaluations of their programs, though early-stage programs may start with simpler feasibility studies before moving to full evaluations. The legislation authorizes spending for fiscal years 2027 through 2031, with at least 50 percent of annual funds directed to expanding proven programs and no more than 25 percent used for testing new, unproven innovations.