Inflation and prices

Ensuring Outpatient Quality for Rural States Act

This bill allows Medicare payments for covered hospital outpatient services in Alaska or Hawaii to include certain cost-of-living adjustments.

Price Stability Act of 2026

This bill removes maximum employment as a goal of the monetary policy set by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Federal Open Market Committee.

Restoring Trade Fairness Act

This bill establishes various trade measures related to China, including by revoking China's permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) status and increasing the rates of duty (i.e., tariffs) on Chinese imported goods. The bill prohibits imported goods originating from North Korea, China, Russia, or Iran from receiving de minimis treatment. (Current law allows for U.S. imports under a de minimis threshold of $800 per shipment to enter free of tariffs, fees, and taxes.)

Specifically, the bill revokes China's PNTR status. Currently, China's PNTR status allows for Chinese goods to have duty rates set forth in column 1 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS). With the removal of China's PNTR status, the bill generally sets the applicable duty rates on imported Chinese goods at the higher rates listed in column 2 of the HTS, with exceptions.

The bill establishes a minimum duty rate of 35% for all Chinese goods, which requires column 2 rates to be at least 35%. However, the bill establishes a minimum duty rate of 100% for a list of specified goods (e.g., various minerals, certain vaccines and drugs, and certain defense-related articles). Duty rates are phased in over five years and adjusted annually for inflation.

The bill also

• authorizes the President to take additional actions related to trade with China,

• requires merchandise imported from China to be appraised based on U.S. value, and

• establishes a trust fund to compensate U.S. producers for lost revenue resulting from retaliatory actions by China.

Housing Affordability Act

This bill increases the Federal Housing Administration’s (FHA's) multifamily housing loan limits for mortgage insurance and requires the use of a more specific inflation index for these limits.

Specifically, the bill increases the loan limits to qualify for FHA mortgage insurance for rental housing, cooperative housing, rehabilitation and neighborhood conservation housing, housing for moderate income and displaced families, housing for elderly persons, and condominiums, and it requires these limits to be indexed to the Price Deflator Index of Multifamily Residential Units Under Construction released by the Bureau of the Census. Currently, these limits are indexed to the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers.

Ensuring Outpatient Quality for Rural States Act

This bill allows Medicare payments for covered hospital outpatient services in Alaska or Hawaii to include certain cost-of-living adjustments.

Safeguarding Social Security and Medicare Act

This bill requires the Government Accountability Office to study and provide recommendations to Congress with respect to the effect of inflation and cost-of-living increases on Medicare and Social Security.

Small Business Investor Capital Access Act

This bill requires the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to adjust annually for inflation the dollar threshold of an exemption from registration requirements for investment advisors of private funds. Currently, investment advisors of private funds of less than $150 million in assets under management are exempt. The bill requires the SEC to adjust that amount annually based on the change in the Consumer Price Index.

Regulation A+ Improvement Act of 2025

This bill increases the aggregate dollar limit of certain securities offerings exempt from registration requirements (i.e., Regulation A+ offerings) from $50 million annually to $150 million annually, adjusted in future years for inflation.

Protect College Sports Act of 2026

This bill establishes requirements for name, image, or likeness (NIL) agreements for college student athletes and provides a limited antitrust exemption for schools and conferences to pool and sell certain college sports media rights. The requirements address elements of the court-approved agreement to settle In re College Athlete NIL Litigation (i.e., House settlement).

First, the bill statutorily prohibits institutions, conferences, or interstate intercollegiate athletic associations (e.g., the National Collegiate Athletic Association [NCAA]) from restricting student athletes from entering NIL agreements (subject to specified limitations). Students must report to their institution NIL compensation greater than $600.

The bill requires agents to register with a state and caps agent endorsement contract fees at 5%.

The bill also provides student athletes with one transfer without losing athletic eligibility and restricts football personnel from becoming the head football coach at a different institution during the same season.

Further, the bill prohibits institutions, conferences, or specified entities acting for the benefit of an institution from providing athletes with compensation that circumvents the limit on sharing revenue with student athletes established under the House settlement. The bill also makes the limit permanent and provides for an annual inflation adjustment.

Additionally, the bill establishes (subject to specified conditions) a limited antitrust exemption for institutions or conferences that form joint agreements to transfer their sports telecasting rights to a third party. Such an agreement requires participation from at least 75% of the institutions in the Football Bowl Subdivision.

Setting Manageable Analysis Requirements in Text Act of 2025 or the SMART Act of 2025

This bill requires agencies, when publishing a proposed or final major rule, to include a framework for assessing whether the rule achieves its regulatory objective. An agency must assess a rule in the time frame included in the framework. The assessment must compare the rule's anticipated and actual benefits and costs.

Additionally, the assessment must determine whether (1) the rule has been rendered unnecessary because of changes to the subject area affected by the rule or it overlaps with, duplicates, or conflicts with other rules, or state and local government regulations; (2) the rule should be expanded, streamlined, or otherwise modified to accomplish the rule's objective; and (3) other alternatives or modifications to the rule could better achieve the rule's objective.

The bill defines a major rule as a rule likely to cause (1) an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more; (2) a major increase in costs or prices; or (3) significant adverse effects on competition, employment, investment, productivity, innovation, health, safety, the environment, or the ability of U.S.-based enterprises to compete with foreign-based enterprises.

Early Participation in Regulations Act of 2025

This bill directs agencies to publish an advance notice of a proposed rulemaking at least 90 days before publishing a notice of proposed rulemaking for a major rule. A major rule is a rule that the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) determines is likely to impose (1) an annual economic effect of $100 million or more; (2) a major increase in costs or prices for consumers, individual industries, government agencies, or geographic regions; or (3) significant adverse effects on competition, employment, investment, productivity, innovation, health, safety, the environment, or the ability of U.S. enterprises to compete with foreign-based enterprises.

The advance notice must

• include a description of the problem the rule may address, alternatives under consideration, and the legal authority for proposing the rule; and

• solicit and provide at least 30 days for submission of written data, views, and argument from interested persons.

Any difference between such advance notice and the notice of proposed rulemaking may not be considered arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law for the purposes of review under the Administrative Procedure Act.

Advance notice is not required if the proposing agency is not required to publish notice of proposed rulemaking or OIRA finds that advance notice is (1) not in the public interest, (2) duplicative of a similar process, (3) not practicable due to a required deadline, or (4) for a rule that is routine or periodic in nature.

This bill increases the above-the-line tax deduction for unreimbursed expenses incurred by an eligible educator for classroom supplies and certain professional development courses. (Above-the-line deductions are subtracted from gross income to calculate adjusted gross income.)

Under current law, an eligible educator may deduct up to $300 in 2025 (adjusted annually for inflation) for unreimbursed expenses for classroom supplies and certain professional development courses. An eligible educator is defined as a kindergarten through grade 12 teacher, instructor, counselor, principal, or aide who works at least 900 hours during a school year in a school that provides elementary or secondary education.

Under the bill, an eligible educator may deduct up to $1,000 in 2025 for unreimbursed expenses for classroom supplies and certain professional development. For tax years after 2025, the $1,000 limit on the tax deduction is adjusted annually for inflation.

Improving Federal Assistance to Families Act

This bill directs the Bureau of the Census to develop and publish a new regional poverty line index for each state, and requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to use the new index to determine eligibility for federal programs in certain circumstances.

Specifically, the bureau must develop and publish a new poverty line index, to be known as the Regionally Adjusted Poverty Line, that is measured separately for each state on an annual basis. The Regionally Adjusted Poverty Line must use new poverty thresholds calculated based on the most recent poverty thresholds and each state’s most recent regional price parity. (Poverty thresholds are specified dollar amounts used by the bureau to determine a household’s poverty status. Regional price parities are measurements of the differences in price levels between states and the national average, and are published by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.)

For each state, HHS must determine annually which poverty line index—the Regionally Adjusted Poverty Line or the current poverty line—results in a greater percentage of households falling below the poverty line. HHS must generally use the identified poverty line index for administrative purposes applicable to each state, including to determine residents’ financial eligibility for certain federal programs.

Finally, the Government Accountability Office must study and report to Congress on the Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed threshold, an alternate poverty measure that includes consideration of regional costs of necessities like housing, child care, taxes, and transportation.