Emily Randall

Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency Act of 2025

This bill makes various changes related to the ethical standards, financial disclosure requirements, and recusal requirements that apply to Supreme Court Justices.

Among the changes, the bill requires the Supreme Court to

• adopt a code of conduct for Justices and establish procedures to receive and investigate complaints of judicial misconduct;

• adopt rules governing the disclosure of gifts, income, or reimbursements received by the Justices and law clerks that are at least as rigorous as the House and Senate disclosure rules; and

• establish procedural rules requiring each party or amicus to disclose any gift, income, or reimbursement provided to Justices.

Additionally, the bill

• expands the circumstances under which a Justice or judge must be disqualified; and

• requires the Supreme Court and the Judicial Conference to establish procedural rules for prohibiting the filing of or striking an amicus brief that would result in the disqualification of a Justice, judge, or magistrate judge.

Head Start Expansion and Improvement Act of 2026

This bill reauthorizes through FY2032 and otherwise revises Head Start programs.

Specifically, the bill expands eligibility for Head Start programs to include families with incomes below 138% of the federal poverty level. The bill also adds a definition for public assistance under the Head Start Act to include Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF); Supplemental Security Income (SSI); the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP); the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC); or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).

The bill directs the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish a program to make grants to Head Start agencies (including Early Head Start agencies) to construct or improve facilities. HHS must also establish and carry out a program to make grants to Head Start agencies for increasing the compensation paid to employees.

The bill also provides student loan forgiveness for certain Head Start and Early Head Start child care workers. In particular, the Department of Education must cancel the outstanding balance of principal, interest, and fees due on Federal Direct Loans for a borrower who (1) has been employed full-time by a Head Start or Early Head Start program for three years, and (2) has provided care or instruction to children enrolled in such a program.

College for All Act of 2025

This bill establishes measures to expand access to higher education, including by eliminating tuition and required fees for eligible students, revising the Federal Pell Grant program, and reauthorizing certain programs to assist students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Specifically, the bill provides funding to enable states and tribal colleges and universities, through a federal-state partnership, to eliminate tuition and required fees for (1) all students at community colleges and two-year tribal colleges and universities, and (2) working- and middle-class students at four-year public institutions of higher education and tribal colleges and universities.

The bill provides funding to enable private, nonprofit historically Black colleges and universities and minority-serving institutions to eliminate tuition and required fees for eligible students.

The bill permanently reauthorizes and otherwise revises the Federal Pell Grant program by

• providing funding to increase the maximum award for each eligible student,

• increasing the duration limit for the use of Pell Grants,

• allowing students to use their awards to cover living and nontuition expenses, and

• expanding eligibility to Dreamer students (i.e., students who have been granted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals status and who entered the United States before the age of 16) and students with other immigration statuses.

Further, the bill requires the Department of Education to award grants to eligible states and tribal colleges and universities for improving student outcomes.

The bill reauthorizes through FY2035 the Federal TRIO Programs and reauthorizes through FY2029 the Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs.

This joint resolution prohibits the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) from testing a new Medicare payment model in certain states that involves a prior authorization process and the use of enhanced technology by third-party contractors to determine whether certain claims should be paid.

Specifically, the joint resolution nullifies a notice issued by the CMS on July 1, 2025, titled Medicare Program; Implementation of Prior Authorization for Select Services for the Wasteful and Inappropriate Services Reduction (WISeR) Model. (On May 12, 2026, the Government Accountability Office issued a letter of opinion stating that this notice constituted an agency rule and is therefore subject to the Congressional Review Act.)

The CMS selected six states to participate in this model over a six-year period: New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, Arizona, and Washington. Under the model, contracted companies must process prior authorization requests (i.e., requests for coverage determinations before a service is furnished) for certain services using enhanced technology (e.g., artificial intelligence). Contracted companies are paid based on the share of resulting savings. The CMS aims to test the model's ability to produce accurate results while streamlining the prior authorization process for Medicare claims. The model is based in part on similar processes used for Medicare Advantage claims.

CMS began implementing the model on January 1, 2026. This joint resolution prohibits the CMS from continuing to do so.

Headache Education, Access, Diagnosis, and Care Health Equity Act or the HEADACHE Act

This bill temporarily establishes a federal initiative, an advisory council, and related reporting to address headache disorders. The bill defines headache disorder as a medical condition for which a headache is a principal symptom, including primary conditions (e.g., tension-type headaches, migraines) and secondary conditions (i.e., headaches that are symptoms of other health conditions).

Specifically, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must establish a coordinated federal initiative to take actions that advance research and improve care for headache disorders.

Also, HHS must establish an advisory council comprised of certain federal and non-federal members to advise HHS on headache disorders and hold annual research meetings.

Finally, HHS must annually report to Congress on headache disorders, including (1) an annually updated national plan, (2) evaluations of all relevant federally funded efforts, and (3) recommendations for priority actions.

The requirements of the bill sunset five years after the bill’s enactment.