Congressional Digest — May 2026: 31 Bills That Moved Past Committee
Catching the digest up to spring: May 2026 saw 31 bills clear committee, including 7 signed into law. All of them below, minus the legalese, with the complete analysis linked on each.
Signed into law
S 98 — Rural Broadband Protection Act of 2025. This law requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to create a formal vetting process for applicants seeking funding to build broadband networks in high-cost areas such as rural communities.
Rural Broadband Protection Act of 2025
S 723 — Tribal Trust Land Homeownership Act of 2025. This law sets deadlines and process requirements for the Bureau of Indian Affairs when reviewing mortgage and land-use documents on tribal trust lands. It also creates a new Realty Ombudsman position within the BIA and requires a government study on digitizing mortgage documents for Native American homebuyers.
Tribal Trust Land Homeownership Act of 2025
S 1020 — A bill to require the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to extend the time period during which licensees are required to commence construction of certain hydropower projects. This law allows the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to grant additional time for hydropower project licensees to begin construction.
HR 2066 — Investing in All of America Act of 2025. This bill modifies the rules governing Small Business Investment Companies (SBICs), which use a mix of private capital and SBA financing to invest in small businesses.
Investing in All of America Act of 2025
HR 2815 — Cape Fox Land Entitlement Finalization Act of 2025. This act waives a requirement that Cape Fox Corporation, an Alaska Native village corporation for Saxman, Alaska, must receive approximately 185 acres within a specific township to fulfill its land entitlement.
Cape Fox Land Entitlement Finalization Act of 2025
HR 3497 — Medal of Sacrifice Act. This act directs the President to create a Medal of Sacrifice to honor federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial law enforcement officers and first responders who are killed in the line of duty. It also establishes a presidential commission to advise on the medal's design and determine how it will be presented.
S 4530 — A bill to amend chapters 83 and 84 of title 5, United States Code, to authorize an increase of the retirement age for members of the Capitol Police. This law allows the Capitol Police Board to raise the mandatory retirement age for Capitol Police members up to age 62, when the board determines it is in the public interest.
Passed the House
HR 1329 — Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum Act. This bill authorizes the Smithsonian American Women's History Museum to be built on the South Monument site on the National Mall in Washington, DC, across from the National Museum of African American History and Culture. The President may designate an alternative site within 180 days of enactment.
Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum Act
HR 1346 — To amend the Clean Air Act with respect to the ethanol waiver for Reid Vapor Pressure under that Act, and for other purposes. This bill amends the Clean Air Act to allow gasoline blended with up to 15% ethanol (E15) to be sold year-round by extending the same Reid Vapor Pressure waiver currently available to 10% ethanol blends (E10), which had previously restricted E15 sales during summer months.
HR 1352 — To designate the General George C. Marshall House, in the Commonwealth of Virginia, as an affiliated area of the National Park System, and for other purposes. This bill designates the General George C. Marshall House in Leesburg, Virginia, as an affiliated area of the National Park System. The George C. Marshall International Center would serve as the management entity, working under an agreement with the Department of the Interior.
HR 1993 — 25th Anniversary of 9/11 Commemorative Coin Act. This bill directs the U.S. Treasury to mint commemorative coins marking the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the National September 11 Memorial and Museum.
25th Anniversary of 9/11 Commemorative Coin Act
HR 2071 — Save Our Shrimpers Act. This bill would ban U.S. federal funds from being used through international financial institutions, such as the IMF, to support foreign shrimp farming, processing, or export. It also requires the Treasury Department to make any U.S.
HR 2853 — Combating Organized Retail Crime Act of 2025. This bill expands federal law enforcement tools to combat organized retail and supply chain theft.
Combating Organized Retail Crime Act of 2025
HR 2954 — Veterans’ Transition to Trucking Act of 2025. This bill would allow the Department of Veterans Affairs to act as an approving agency for apprenticeship programs that operate across multiple states, enabling veterans to use their VA education benefits for those programs.
Veterans’ Transition to Trucking Act of 2025
HR 3174 — Made in America Manufacturing Finance Act. This bill raises the maximum loan amounts available to small manufacturers through two Small Business Administration loan programs. Under the 7(a) program, the cap for small manufacturers roughly doubles, rising to $7,500,000 or $9,000,000 depending on the loan structure.
Made in America Manufacturing Finance Act
HR 3234 — Keeping Deposits Local Act. This bill increases the amount of reciprocal deposits that insured depository institutions can accept, using a tiered system based on total liabilities.
HR 3482 — Veterans Community Care Scheduling Improvement Act. This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to create an electronic scheduling system for VA and community care health appointments within two years, including staff training and performance benchmarks. It also extends an existing cap on monthly pension payments for certain veterans in Medicaid nursing homes.
Veterans Community Care Scheduling Improvement Act
HR 3620 — Southcentral Foundation Land Transfer Act of 2025. This bill directs the Department of Health and Human Services to transfer approximately 3.4 acres of federal land in Anchorage, Alaska, to the Southcentral Foundation at no cost, for use in health and social services programs.
Southcentral Foundation Land Transfer Act of 2025
HR 3709 — Advancing the Mentor-Protégé Program for Small Financial Institutions Act. This bill creates a Financial Agent Mentor-Protégé Program within the Department of the Treasury, pairing minority-owned, rural, and small depository institutions with large financial institutions or Treasury-designated financial agents as mentors.
Advancing the Mentor-Protégé Program for Small Financial Institutions Act
HR 3726 — Fisher House Availability Act of 2026. This bill expands who can stay at VA Fisher Houses, which provide free temporary lodging near medical facilities, to include active-duty service members, their family members, and others who must travel significant distances for care.
Fisher House Availability Act of 2026
HR 7432 — Fostering the Future Act. This bill expands how states can use federal funds under the Chafee Foster Care Program, allowing the money to support housing services for current and former foster youth up to age 26.
HR 7567 — Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026. The Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026 reauthorizes U.S. Department of Agriculture programs through FY2031, covering commodity support, conservation, nutrition assistance, crop insurance, rural development, and other agricultural areas.
Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026
HR 8352 — Criminal History Access Act of 2026. This bill creates a new category of entity—peace officer standards and training (POST) agencies—that would be allowed to access FBI criminal history records. These agencies, which exist at the state, D.C., or U.S. territory level, set hiring, training, and conduct standards for law enforcement officers.
Criminal History Access Act of 2026
HR 8365 — Monitor Accountability Act. This bill requires the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts to set rules governing monitors—independent officials appointed to oversee government reforms under civil settlements or consent decrees, such as those involving police departments.
HR 8469 — Making appropriations for military construction, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2027, and for other purposes. This bill provides FY2027 appropriations for military construction, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and related agencies.
Passed the Senate
S 71 — Baby Changing on Board Act. This bill requires Amtrak passenger rail trains to have a baby changing table in at least one restroom per car, including in ADA-compliant restrooms. The requirement applies to trains owned and operated by Amtrak, as well as trains solicited for purchase after the bill is enacted.
S 874 — Expanding Whistleblower Protections for Contractors Act of 2025. This bill expands federal whistleblower protections for employees of federal contractors and grant recipients.
Expanding Whistleblower Protections for Contractors Act of 2025
S 2232 — Expanding the Surety Bond Program Act of 2025. This bill would expand the Small Business Administration's Surety Bond Program by raising the maximum contract amount eligible for guarantee from $6,500,000 to $18,000,000, making it easier for small businesses to obtain surety bonds on larger contracts.
Expanding the Surety Bond Program Act of 2025
S 2975 — PIPELINE Safety Act of 2025. The PIPELINE Safety Act of 2025 reauthorizes and updates federal pipeline safety programs by extending funding authorizations from fiscal years 2026 through 2030.
S 4161 — Maverick Act. This bill authorizes the U.S. Navy to transfer three surplus F-14D Tomcat aircraft, retired from service in 2006, to the U.S. Space and Rocket Center Commission in Huntsville, Alabama at no cost to the federal government.
S 4460 — Rural Community Hospital Demonstration Program Reauthorization. This bill extends the Rural Community Hospital Demonstration Program for five more years. The program tests whether Medicare should reimburse small rural hospitals based on their costs, covering hospitals that are too large to qualify as critical access hospitals.
Rural Community Hospital Demonstration Program Reauthorization
That is the complete record for May 2026. Every linked page has the full neutral breakdown — stated purpose, who is affected, the arguments on both sides, and the recorded votes. Follow the bills you care about and NewsClear will track what happens next.
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