Congressional Digest — June 2026, Part 1: New Laws and Senate Action (17 Bills)
Civic minute, digest edition. In June 2026, 17 bills cleared a real hurdle in Congress — new laws and Senate passage alike. Every one is below in plain language, with the full breakdown linked on each. No spin, just the record.
Signed into law
S 2 — Secure America Act. The Secure America Act provides $70 billion in funding to the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement through FY2029 for immigration enforcement, border security, and related activities.
S 254 — ARTIST Act. The ARTIST Act prohibits states from banning the sale, trade, or possession of marine mammal ivory, bone, or baleen products legally made by Alaska Natives. It ensures these items can move freely in interstate commerce as authentic Alaska Native handicrafts and clothing.
S 1003 — Lulu’s Law. Lulu's Law requires the Federal Communications Commission to explicitly permit government authorities to send wireless emergency alerts to mobile phones in the event of a shark attack.
S 2393 — Fiscal Year 2025 Veterans Affairs Major Medical Facility Authorization Act. This law authorizes the Department of Veterans Affairs to construct a major medical facility complex in St. Louis, Missouri, during FY2026, at a cost not to exceed $1,762,668,000. The project includes a new bed tower, clinical building expansion, administrative building, warehouse, utility plant, and parking garages.
Fiscal Year 2025 Veterans Affairs Major Medical Facility Authorization Act
HR 3490 — Gerald E. Connolly Esophageal Cancer Awareness Act of 2025. This law requires the Government Accountability Office to report to Congress on esophageal cancer-related health care spending under the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program and how often high-risk participants receive recommended cancer screenings.
Gerald E. Connolly Esophageal Cancer Awareness Act of 2025
Through both chambers
S 1318 — Fallen Servicemembers Religious Heritage Restoration Act. This bill reauthorizes a key foreign surveillance law through April 2029 while adding new oversight requirements for FBI searches involving Americans, and separately prohibits the Federal Reserve from issuing or developing a central bank digital currency (CBDC).
Fallen Servicemembers Religious Heritage Restoration Act
Passed the Senate
S 162 — Recruiting Families Using Data Act of 2025. This bill requires states to develop and implement family partnership plans aimed at improving foster care placement stability, increasing kinship placements, and better matching foster and adoptive families to children's needs.
Recruiting Families Using Data Act of 2025
S 567 — First Rhode Island Regiment Congressional Gold Medal Act. This bill would award a single Congressional Gold Medal to the First Rhode Island Regiment, collectively, in recognition of their service during the Revolutionary War.
First Rhode Island Regiment Congressional Gold Medal Act
S 645 — North Platte Canteen Congressional Gold Medal Act. This bill would award a Congressional Gold Medal to honor the individuals and communities that supported the North Platte Canteen in North Platte, Nebraska, during World War II.
North Platte Canteen Congressional Gold Medal Act
S 675 — Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Act. This bill would authorize the federal government to provide up to $50,000,000 in grants to the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation to help establish a presidential library dedicated to Theodore Roosevelt, contingent on the Foundation first raising at least $100,000,000 from non-federa…
Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Act
S 872 — Stop Secret Spending Act of 2025. This bill would require federal agencies to publicly report spending through 'other transaction agreements' (OTAs) on the USAspending.gov website. OTAs are contractual tools currently exempt from many federal procurement laws and not required to be disclosed on the transparency website.
Stop Secret Spending Act of 2025
S 1377 — Theodore Roosevelt National Park Wild Horses Protection Act. This bill requires the Department of the Interior to maintain a herd of at least 150 genetically diverse wild horses in the South Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota.
Theodore Roosevelt National Park Wild Horses Protection Act
S 1890 — Carla Walker Act. The Carla Walker Act would provide federal funding to the Attorney General to support efforts related to unsolved cases, authorizing $5,000,000 per year from 2027 through 2031.
S 2033 — Cross-Boundary Wildfire Solutions Act. This bill directs the Government Accountability Office to study how wildfire mitigation efforts work across different land ownership boundaries and to recommend ways to simplify coordination between federal land management agencies and state, local, and tribal governments.
Cross-Boundary Wildfire Solutions Act
S 2585 — MAP for Broadband Funding Act. This bill requires the FCC to coordinate with the NTIA to improve data collection for the Broadband Funding Map, which tracks the location of federally funded broadband projects.
S 3041 — Tribal Warrant Fairness Act. This bill allows the U.S. Marshals Service to investigate fugitive matters on behalf of tribal governments, both inside and outside the United States, and permits tribal law enforcement agencies to join regional fugitive task forces.
S 4828 — Declaration of Independence Reaffirmation Act of 2026. This bill reaffirms and readopts the Declaration of Independence as an organic law of the United States, affirming it as the foundational charter for American independence, national sovereignty, natural rights, equal citizenship, and government by consent.
Declaration of Independence Reaffirmation Act of 2026
Every bill above links to its full breakdown — purpose, who it affects, both sides of the argument, and how your senators voted. The record is always better than the rumor.
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