What moved in Congress - 14-SEP-2026 to 21-SEP-2026
Became law
Imposes sweeping economic and financial sanctions on Russia and Russian entities, freezes Russian officials' assets, blocks Russian securities from U.S. exchanges, prohibits U.S. investment and energy exports to Russia, increases tariffs on Russian goods up to 500 percent, and extends sanctions on Iran.
- Sanctions Russian government officials, financial institutions (including the Central Bank, Sberbank, and VTB Bank), and entities involved in Russia's defense, energy, and transportation sectors, with asset freezes and visa revocations
- Prohibits U.S. persons from investing in Russia, exporting energy to Russia, purchasing Russian sovereign debt, or processing fund transfers to or for the benefit of Russian officials
- Imposes tariffs up to 500 percent on all goods imported from Russia and up to 100 percent on goods from countries that purchase Russian oil or natural gas or facilitate sanctions evasion
- Allows the President to waive sanctions if Russia signs a peace agreement accepted by Ukraine and ceases military hostilities; sets a 5-year sunset for most provisions
Sponsor: Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-California)
Cosponsors: 18 Democrats / 5 Republicans
Cosponsors: 18 Democrats / 5 Republicans
Became law
Adds College Station, Texas and El Centro, California as locations where certain federal district courts may hold sessions.
- Amends the statute governing the Southern District of Texas to include College Station as a place where court may be held
- Amends the statute governing the Southern District of California to include El Centro as a place where court may be held
Sponsor: Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas)
Cosponsors: 1 Democrat
Cosponsors: 1 Democrat
Became law
Requires the Bureau of Prisons to implement recommendations from a 2023 Inspector General report on inmate-on-staff sexual harassment and assault, directs the Inspector General to analyze updated incident data within a year of full implementation, and mandates the Attorney General to establish national standards for preventing and punishing such incidents within a year of receiving that analysis.
- Bureau of Prisons must fully implement all recommendations from the 2023 Inspector General report within 90 days, or submit a report explaining delays and providing a timeline for completion.
- Inspector General analyzes Bureau data on sexual harassment and assault incidents from fiscal years 2022 through 2025 and provides Congress and the Attorney General with findings and additional recommendations.
- Attorney General promulgates a rule establishing national standards for prevention, reduction, and punishment of sexual harassment and assault by incarcerated individuals against Bureau staff.
Sponsor: Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee)
Cosponsors: 2 Democrats / 1 Republican
Cosponsors: 2 Democrats / 1 Republican
Also this week
HR 3657 — Headed to the President
Requires the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to submit an annual report to Congress detailing the status of hydropower relicensing and licensing applications that have been pending for at least three years.
Rep. Kim Schrier (D-Washington) · Cosponsors:
2 Republicans / 1 Democrat
HR 7250 — Headed to the President
Extends the authorization of the Fort Peck Reservation Rural Water System Act of 2000 through 2028.
Rep. Troy Downing (R-Montana) · Cosponsors:
none
HR 3633 — Failed a floor vote
Establishes a comprehensive regulatory framework for digital asset activities, including cryptocurrencies and blockchain-based tokens, by creating definitions for key terms, disclosure requirements for certain digital assets, rules against market manipulation, and coordination between federal financial regulators.
Rep. J. French Hill (R-Arkansas) · Cosponsors:
14 Republicans / 7 Democrats
HR 5345 — Passed a chamber
Requires the Social Security Administration to establish a dedicated point of contact for individuals whose Social Security account numbers have been misused or whose Social Security cards have been lost in transit, ensuring that a specially trained team tracks each case to resolution and coordinates across agency units.
Rep. David Kustoff (R-Tennessee) · Cosponsors:
1 Republican
SRES 816 — Passed a chamber
Honors the 35th anniversary of independence for five Central Asian countries and affirms the strategic importance of growing U.S. relations with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
Sen. Steve Daines (R-Montana) · Cosponsors:
3 Democrats / 2 Republicans
HR 7890 — Passed a chamber
Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to exclude the three-cueing model from comprehensive literacy instruction and prioritizes federal grants to states and schools that align their reading instruction to the science of reading.
Rep. Erin Houchin (R-Indiana) · Cosponsors:
1 Republican / 1 Independent / 1 Democrat
HR 9191 — Passed a chamber
Designates the American mastodon as the national fossil mammal and the Tyrannosaurus rex as the national fossil dinosaur of the United States.
Rep. Erin Houchin (R-Indiana) · Cosponsors:
7 Republicans / 2 Democrats
HJRES 213 — Passed a chamber
Disapproves and nullifies an Environmental Protection Agency rule allowing California to set pollution control standards for commercial harbor craft engines.
Rep. James Gallagher (R-California) · Cosponsors:
5 Republicans
HR 9340 — Passed a chamber
Requires electric utilities to recover the full incremental cost of generation, transmission, and distribution upgrades from large data center customers, and mandates that such customers provide financial assurances before utilities make those upgrades.
Rep. Gabe Evans (R-Colorado) · Cosponsors:
35 Republicans / 7 Democrats
HR 9497 — Passed a chamber
Establishes 4 new program offices within the Army Corps of Engineers to coordinate inland waterways navigation, water supply and drought resiliency, technical assistance, and alternative project delivery methods, while authorizing 107 new feasibility studies for water resources projects across the country and modifying existing projects for navigation, flood control, ecosystem restoration, and water supply.
Rep. Sam Graves (R-Missouri) · Cosponsors:
2 Democrats / 1 Republican
HR 9576 — Passed a chamber
Establishes a National Fraud Enforcement Division within the Department of Justice, headed by an Assistant Attorney General appointed by the President.
Rep. Brad Finstad (R-Minnesota) · Cosponsors:
4 Republicans
HR 7730 — Passed a chamber
Raises the debt thresholds that determine which businesses and individuals qualify to file for bankruptcy protection.
Rep. Ben Cline (R-Virginia) · Cosponsors:
3 Republicans / 3 Democrats
HR 7834 — Passed a chamber
Limits civil and criminal liability for cloud service providers that store child sexual abuse material for law enforcement agencies, subject to cybersecurity requirements and oversight.
Rep. Laurel M. Lee (R-Florida) · Cosponsors:
3 Republicans / 2 Democrats
HR 10326 — Passed a chamber
Authorizes the Attorney General to request information from State agencies administering federal benefit and relief programs to investigate and prosecute fraud, while establishing privacy protections and security requirements for that information.
Rep. Jefferson Van Drew (R-New Jersey) · Cosponsors:
none
HR 9086 — Passed a chamber
Modernizes the Foreign Service Act of 1980 by expanding recruitment, training, career development, and operational practices for U.S. diplomats and diplomatic security personnel.
Rep. Michael Lawler (R-New York) · Cosponsors:
3 Republicans
Also acted this week
Everything else that moved this week. Title only, no summary.
Passed a chamber
SRES 847 A resolution commending and congratulating the Pennsylvania State University Nittany Lions men's wrestling team for winning the 2026 National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I National Championship.
HR 8278 Fostering the Use of Technology to Uphold Regulatory Effectiveness in Supervision Act
HR 2978 GUARD Act
HR 9500 Tax Relief for Fraud Victims Act
HR 9498 Taxpayer Advocate Participation Act
HR 9499 Protecting Taxpayers from Ghost Preparers Act
HR 9496 End Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act
HR 8775 Ending Predator Access to Union Power Act
Also:
HR 9617, HR 5109, HR 1266, HR 9723, HR 2004, HR 9615, HJRES 210, HR 6633, HR 4646, HR 9332, S 2403, HR 7436, HR 7443, HR 9616, HR 9394, HR 9327, HR 9339, HR 2846, HR 9382, HR 5517, S 766, HCONRES 93, HRES 1544, HRES 1543, HR 979, HR 1342, HR 8005, HR 2140, S 2398, S 195, HR 8121, HR 9360, HR 3276, HR 7889, HR 2406, HR 6893, HR 3925, HR 5063, HR 8454, HR 4219, HRES 1486, HR 10204, HR 10159, HR 10167, HR 309, HR 9342, HR 6021, HR 8658, HR 741, HR 4931, HR 2317, SRES 849, HR 8800, HR 8481, S 550, HR 1501, HR 9436, HR 4795, HR 1869, HR 6048, S 790, S 603, S 759
Cleared committee
S 4395 Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2026
HR 10238 Cybersecurity for Small Businesses Act of 2026
HR 10234 CLEAR Forms Act
HR 10163 American Quantum Competitiveness Act
HR 10152 Open-Source AI Leadership Act
HR 10170 Memory Chip Competitiveness Assessment Act of 2026
HR 5967 Strategic Task Force on Scam Prevention Act
HR 10158 Automotive National and Economic Security Act of 2026
Also:
HR 9385, HR 7502, HR 6207, HR 7294, HR 6832, HR 2713, HR 7945, HR 4950, HR 6152, HR 9718, HR 2805, HR 8255, HR 10184, HR 6130, HR 10329, HR 10346, HR 10334, HR 4936, HR 5439, HR 10325, HR 7866, HR 4093, HR 4464, HR 6470, S 5188, S 5224, S 4950, S 4938, S 4573, S 4749, HR 7022, S 3929, S 3467, HR 4615, HR 5889, HR 1653, HR 10357, HR 8957, HR 7030, HR 10356, HR 10353, HR 10352, HR 9834, HR 10355, HR 9503, HR 10371, HR 10375, HR 3342, HR 9621, HR 8195, HR 9640, HR 2592, HR 9269, HR 10136, S 675, HR 9600, HR 9530, HR 10304, HR 8409, HR 10305, HR 5645, HR 7954, HR 7625, HR 184, HR 8483, HR 7553, HR 8597, HR 5745, HR 9785, HR 181, HR 7254, HR 1555, HR 6448
Advanced toward a vote
S 4668 Protect College Sports Act of 2026
S 3715 Chiricahua National Park Act
S 3720 Bay Area Ridge National Scenic Trail Feasibility Study Act
HR 3872 To amend the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands to make that Act applicable to hardrock minerals.
S 2016 Chugach Alaska Land Exchange Oil Spill Recovery Act of 2025
S 1321 Moab UMTRA Project Transition Act of 2025
S 91 Western Wildfire Support Act of 2025
S 2437 Snow Water Supply Forecasting Program Reauthorization Act of 2025
Also:
S 4238, S 2801, S 2498, HR 5631, S 5039, S 2933, HR 7831, S 3732, S 2767, S 2887, S 4538, HR 6365, S 3738, HR 5254, S 4041, S 1257, S 3194, S 2754, S 1413, S 2554, S 3725, S 3736, S 3723, S 2753, S 4040, HR 3857, S 1288, S 3693, S 3792, S 3743, S 291, HR 837, S 2015, SJRES 213, S 5441, S 5438, S 5249, HR 5505, S 5045, S 3135, S 388, HR 7083, SJRES 204, HR 9228, S 4079, S 5163, S 3211, S 3175, S 3296, S 2733, S 252, S 164, HR 5235, S 3258, S 3257, S 3791, S 1962, S 3404, S 3618, S 3700, HR 2388, S 236, S 1513, HR 681
Routine and procedural:
S 24, S 58, HR 323, HR 1008, HR 1009, HR 1372, HR 1431, S 829, HR 1830, HR 1706, S 917, HR 2466, HR 2175, HR 3350, HR 3393, HR 4707, S 2394, HR 4635, S 2432, HR 4662, HR 5058, HR 5773, HR 5831, HR 6020, S 3270, HR 6332, HR 6317, HR 6247, HR 6310, S 3331, S 3294, S 3373, S 3444, HR 6995, S 3630, HR 6808, S 3835, S 4052, HR 7809, S 4523, S 4623, S 4745, S 4830
Committee activity
8 bills saw committee activity this week (hearings, markups and subcommittee referrals). Not listed here.
Other action
S 240 Crow Tribe Water Rights Settlement Amendments Act of 2025
S 283 Illegal Red Snapper and Tuna Enforcement Act
Routine and procedural:
HRES 1247
Bills introduced this week: 285.
Not listed above. Introducing a bill is not news on its own, and most
never leave the committee they are sent to.
How these were picked.
This newsletter ranks bills by how far they actually moved, so anything
that became law, passed a chamber, or cleared committee comes first. The
most significant get a summary, and everything else that moved is listed
by title at the end. Bills that were only introduced, or sent to a
committee that may never take them up, are left out, which is most of
what Congress does in a week.
Summaries are written by an AI model from the latest official text of
each bill. Every bill links to its page on congress.gov, where you can
verify the summary and learn more about the bill.
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