The STOP the SWAMP Act amends federal law to penalize witnesses who refuse to answer questions or commit perjury before Congress. Specifically, anyone summoned to testify before Congress who refuses to answer relevant questions faces a misdemeanor charge with fines between $100 and $1,000, jail time of one month to one year, and permanent debarment from federal employment. The bill also applies the same employment ban to anyone convicted of perjury or making false statements under oath during congressional testimony. Additionally, Congress members can introduce joint resolutions within 180 days to rescind a witness's federal salary and expenses, with expedited procedures requiring committee review within 15 days and floor votes within 20 days. These debarments and salary rescissions would be subject to court review, and current federal employees removed under these provisions would be separated from the civil service.

The Retirement Simplification and Clarity Act allows workers age 50 and older to roll over money from their employer-sponsored retirement plans directly into individual retirement annuities without waiting until retirement, expanding options for how people can manage their retirement savings. The bill also strengthens disclosure requirements by requiring plan administrators to provide clearer, more detailed written explanations to workers about rollover rules, tax withholding, early withdrawal penalties, and other key information they need to understand their options. The changes take effect for tax years beginning after December 31, 2026, affecting millions of Americans with 401(k) plans and similar workplace retirement accounts. The legislation does not authorize any new funding, as it modifies existing Internal Revenue Code rules and relies on the Department of the Treasury to issue implementing regulations.

The TRUTH in Coverage Act of 2026 would require group health plans and health insurance issuers offering group or individual coverage to provide benefits for medical treatments and services addressing complications and harms from what the bill defines as "sex-rejecting procedures." If a health plan covers such procedures, it must also cover related restorative and therapeutic care, including physical therapy, mental health services, fertility treatments, surgical corrections for complications, and hormone management. The bill defines sex-rejecting procedures broadly to include puberty blockers, hormone treatments at certain dosages, and various surgeries, while carving out exceptions for treating disorders of sex development, medical emergencies, and precocious puberty treatment. Cost-sharing and coverage limits for restorative care would be required to match those applied to other medical and surgical benefits, with no separate restrictions allowed. The bill amends multiple federal insurance laws covering employer-sponsored plans and individual coverage, with an effective date of January 1, 2027. No specific funding is allocated in the legislation.

Protecting Innocent Taxpayers from Endless Assessments ActThis bill limits the amount of time the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has to assess taxes related to fraudulent or false federal tax returns where there is no intent by the taxpayer to evade taxes.As background, the IRS generally has three years from the date that a tax return is filed (statute of limitations) to assess taxes owed by the taxpayer for the tax year. However, if a false or fraudulent tax return is filed with the intent to evade tax (fraud exception), then the IRS may assess taxes at any time. In Murrin v. Commissioner the U.S. Tax Court held (and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit affirmed) that the fraud exception applies when a tax return preparer places false or fraudulent entries on a tax return without the taxpayer’s knowledge. In contrast, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims held in BASR Partnership v. Commissioner that the fraud exception only applies if the taxpayer intends to evade taxes.The bill limits the fraud exception to cases in which the taxpayer intends to evade taxes.

This resolution, introduced by Senator Marshall along with Senator Moran, formally congratulates the Johnson County Community College Cavaliers baseball team for winning the 2026 National Junior College Athletic Association Division I Baseball National Championship. The Cavaliers finished the season with a 67-3 record and captured their first national title in program history with an 8-5 win over Blinn College, following a dramatic semifinal comeback against Midland College. The resolution praises the team's perseverance and sportsmanship, credits Head Coach Eric Horner for his leadership, and recognizes the pride the achievement has brought to Johnson County and Kansas. It carries no funding or regulatory impact and simply expresses the Senate's congratulations and well wishes to the student-athletes, coaches, and staff for future success.

This bill requires the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to establish the Expanding Childcare in Rural America Initiative to prioritize certain loans and grants that address childcare in rural areas. Under the bill, childcare includes eligible programs that provide quality care and early education for children who have not yet entered first grade.Under the initiative, USDA must give priority to applicants that propose to use certain loans or grants to address the availability, quality, or costs of childcare in rural areas. In addition, USDA must ensure a balanced geographical distribution of the benefits.USDA must conduct a comprehensive quantitative and qualitative evaluation of the projects carried out under the initiative and submit a report to Congress.

This bill modifies tax deductions for small oil and gas producers by increasing percentage depletion allowances on marginal oil and gas wells. Specifically, it raises the depletion rate from a base of 15 percent up to a maximum of 25 percent depending on crude oil prices, with the rate increasing by one percentage point for each dollar that oil prices fall below $70 per barrel. The bill also doubles the threshold for defining a "marginal" well from 1,000 barrels to 2,000 barrels of daily production and removes certain income limitations that previously restricted these deductions. The changes are designed to help small independent oil and gas producers, particularly in rural areas, by making their operations more profitable through increased tax benefits. The bill takes effect for tax years beginning after December 31, 2026, and includes an automatic inflation adjustment mechanism that will increase the $70 price threshold annually based on drilling cost inflation.

The Bereaved Parents Rights Act requires hospitals and freestanding birth centers to inform parents about their options for handling fetal remains following a miscarriage or stillbirth. Within six hours after a miscarriage or stillbirth, or before the parent leaves the facility, whichever comes first, facilities must notify parents in writing of their rights to arrange for private or common burial, cremation, or institutional disposal of the fetus. If parents choose burial or cremation within 72 hours of receiving notice, the facility must follow their state's standard fetal death disposition procedures. The bill applies to all hospitals and birth centers participating in Medicare and takes effect 30 days after enactment. Parents who believe a facility violated these requirements can sue in federal court for damages.

The ACCESS Act, introduced in April 2026, expands Medicaid coverage to include services provided in assisted living residences starting January 1, 2027. Under the bill, states must cover assisted living services for eligible individuals who would otherwise require hospital or nursing facility care, as long as the estimated annual cost per person does not exceed what would have been spent in institutional settings. The legislation also modifies the low-income housing tax credit program to prioritize projects that reduce long-term care costs by providing services to elderly individuals in non-institutional settings rather than hospitals or nursing homes. States that need to change their laws to comply have until the first regular legislative session ending after one year from the bill's enactment to make those changes. The bill aims to give low-income seniors more affordable housing options while potentially reducing government healthcare spending by shifting care to community-based assisted living facilities.

This resolution recognizes May 6, 2026, as Maternal Mental Health Day to raise public awareness about mental health conditions affecting mothers. The resolution highlights that maternal mental health disorders are the most common complication of pregnancy and childbearing, yet often go undiagnosed and untreated, with approximately one in five new mothers experiencing these conditions annually across 800,000 families in the United States. Untreated maternal mental health conditions can lead to serious consequences including premature births, impaired bonding between mother and child, developmental problems in children, and increased risk of depression and anxiety in offspring, with maternal suicide and overdose accounting for 23 percent of pregnancy-related deaths. The resolution calls for increased awareness among pregnant women, their families, and healthcare providers about risk factors and treatment options, while emphasizing that rural and low-income mothers face heightened risks due to economic instability. The Senate resolution supports efforts to encourage research on safe treatments for pregnant and postpartum women and to improve provider training on recognizing and treating maternal mental health disorders.

The STOP Act prohibits medical professionals and others from performing gender transition procedures on minors when the procedure involves interstate commerce, with violations resulting in civil penalties of at least $100,000 per violation plus potential lawsuits for compensatory and punitive damages. The bill broadly defines gender transition procedures to include puberty blockers, hormone treatments, and surgical procedures, while carving out exceptions for disorders of sex development, treatment of infections or injuries, and life-threatening medical conditions. The law applies to employers whose employees violate the prohibition and creates a compensation fund from collected penalties, while shielding minors and their guardians from liability. Additionally, the bill establishes a federal grant program to fund nonprofit organizations that provide counseling, education, and referrals for individuals seeking to reverse gender transition procedures, with grants supporting mental health services and employment assistance. Grant recipients must be private nonprofits providing free services with HIPAA-level privacy protections and cannot perform, refer for, or promote gender transition procedures or most abortions.

This bill prohibits tariffs on phosphate fertilizers imported from Morocco, effective within 7 days of enactment. It eliminates existing countervailing duties on Moroccan phosphate fertilizers that were imposed in 2021, and requires U.S. Customs and Border Protection to refund cash deposits that importers paid under those previous tariff orders within 90 days. The legislation is designed to lower fertilizer costs for American farmers by increasing access to affordable phosphate imports. The bill affects fertilizer importers, farmers who rely on phosphate-based fertilizers, and trade policy between the United States and Morocco, with no specific funding appropriations mentioned in the text.

The Medicare Advantage Improvement Act of 2026 makes significant reforms to Medicare's private insurance program to improve care access and protect beneficiaries. Starting January 1, 2028, the bill requires Medicare Advantage plans to authorize routine medical services much faster—within 72 hours for standard requests and 24 hours for urgent cases—while implementing automated systems for low-risk services and prohibiting unnecessary repeat authorizations. The law also accelerates the appeals process for denied claims, requiring independent review within 7 to 14 days for standard cases and 24 hours for urgent situations. To ensure compliance, the bill establishes a new scoring system that penalizes underperforming plans with payment reductions of 1 to 2 percent and creates public transparency through expanded Star Ratings so beneficiaries can compare plan quality. Additionally, the legislation restricts plans' ability to retroactively deny previously authorized services, requires plans to pay all authorized claims in full, and expands network requirements to ensure adequate access to specialized post-acute care facilities like long-term care hospitals and rehabilitation centers.

The No Bias in the Baseline Act would change how Congress calculates budget baselines, which are projections used to measure the fiscal impact of new legislation. Currently, the baseline assumes that discretionary spending (funding requiring annual congressional approval) will adjust for inflation each year. This bill would eliminate that inflation adjustment and instead freeze discretionary spending at current levels, meaning any spending increases would be counted as new costs that require legislative action. The change would affect how Congress evaluates the budgetary effects of proposed bills, potentially making it appear that more legislative proposals increase the deficit. The bill takes effect upon enactment and modifies procedures established under the 1985 Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act.

The Health Savings Account Expansion Act broadens who can use health savings accounts and what expenses they can cover. Currently, HSAs are available only to people with high-deductible health insurance plans, but this bill would expand eligibility to include people covered by Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, federal employee health plans, and health care sharing ministries, effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2026. The legislation also allows HSA funds to be used to pay health insurance premiums for these types of coverage, covers direct primary care arrangements and prepaid medical services as qualified expenses, and permits over-the-counter drugs and insulin to be purchased with HSA funds without a prescription. Additionally, the bill treats health care sharing ministries separately from traditional insurance and allows their membership fees and medical expense sharing to qualify for tax-advantaged treatment. The bill contains no specific funding provisions, as it primarily modifies the tax code to expand account eligibility and allowable uses.

The amendment introduces provisions that enhance existing regulations by expanding eligibility criteria for certain benefits and establishing new reporting requirements for compliance. Additionally, it allocates funding for increased oversight and enforcement to ensure adherence to the updated standards.

The amendment introduces provisions that enhance oversight and accountability measures, requiring additional reporting from relevant agencies. It also expands eligibility criteria for certain programs, ensuring broader access for underserved communities.

21st Century WIC Act of 2026This bill permanently allows individuals to remotely certify their eligibility for, and receive benefits through, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).Specifically, the bill requires that a state agency allow an individual seeking a WIC certification, recertification, or a nutritional risk evaluation to do so by phone or through video teleconference, in addition to the in-person option.A state agency has 90 days to collect data for a nutritional risk evaluation for a remotely certified individual. Further, a state agency may consider an applicant who meets the income eligibility standards to be temporarily eligible on an interim basis to participate in the program and may certify the individual for immediate participation without waiting for a nutritional risk evaluation.The bill also allows states to provide benefits on WIC electronic benefit transfer cards through mail or remote issuance instead of requiring participants to pick up or reload benefits in person at a WIC office.Further, the Department of Agriculture must report to Congress about the use of remote technologies and other digital tools in the WIC program.Currently, individuals are generally required to be physically present to certify their WIC eligibility and receive benefits, with exceptions. The Food and Nutrition Service has temporarily waived these requirements and allowed remote certification and benefits using authorities that were originally provided by laws that were enacted to address COVID-19.

Healthy Start Reauthorization Act of 2026This bill reauthorizes through FY2031 the Healthy Start program, which is administered by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau within the Health Resources and Services Administration. This program provides grants and other support for communities experiencing high rates of infant mortality and adverse maternal health outcomes, including support for case management, medical care, and health education. (For additional information on the Healthy Start program see CRS Insight IN12550.)

This resolution honors the memory of the victims of the Potomac River mid-air collision near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on January 29, 2025, and offers condolences to the families, loved ones, and friends of those who lost their lives in the incident.It also (1) acknowledges the bravery and professionalism of the first responders and emergency personnel, servicemembers, medical professionals, and investigators who assisted in the rescue and recovery efforts; and (2) expresses a commitment to translating the safety lessons learned from the collision into action.

Advancing Cutting Edge Agriculture Act of 2026 or the ACE Agriculture Act of 2026This bill reauthorizes the Agriculture Advanced Research and Development Authority (AGARDA) through FY2031 and expands the program's environmental sustainability goals. This Department of Agriculture (USDA) program supports innovative research and development of technology, research tools, and products to address long-term and high-risk challenges related to food and agriculture.The bill expands the program's goals to includewater conservation;responding to greenhouse gas emissions; andresilience to drought, infectious diseases, and plant and animal pathogens and pests.The bill also expands the program's goals to include undertaking advanced research and development in areas in which industry by itself is not likely to do so because of economic cost.Further, the bill removes the current pilot program designation and requires USDA to establish and maintain an AGARDA staff.Finally, the bill allows USDA to use any unobligated USDA funds to implement the program.