Eugene Vindman

This bill temporarily increases the applicable Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (i.e., federal matching rate) under Medicaid for certain approved home- and community-based services that are provided during FY2026-FY2027.

As a condition for receiving the increased rate, a state must agree to undertake activities to improve the delivery of such services, such as by providing additional benefits to home health workers and by helping individuals who were relocated to nursing facilities move back to their homes.

Expanding the Voluntary Opportunities for Translations in Elections Act or the Expanding the VOTE Act

This bill expands access to voting materials for individuals with limited proficiency in the English language.

Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA) requires covered states and political subdivisions to provide voting materials and other language assistance to persons who are American Indian, Asian American, Alaskan Natives, or of Spanish heritage and whose ability to speak or understand English limits electoral participation. A state or political subdivision that is subject to Section 203 is prohibited from providing English-only voting materials in an election. Among other requirements, this bill (1) requires the Department of Justice to issue a notice of prohibition, including the trigger threshold at which the prohibition applies, to certain states and political subdivisions; and (2) requires covered states and political subdivisions to provide written translations of all voting materials, with the consent of any applicable tribal government, to election workers.

Additionally, the bill requires the Election Assistance Commission to make incentive grants for states and political subdivisions to provide translated voting materials.

The bill also directs the Government Accountability Office to study and report on the impact of (1) reducing the threshold requirement under Section 203 of the VRA, and (2) expanding the definition of language minorities to include native speakers of additional languages.

Youth Voting Rights Act

This bill expands voting access for youth.

Specifically, the bill establishes a private right of action to enforce the Twenty-Sixth Amendment, which prohibits denying or abridging the right to vote based on age. Further, the bill authorizes the Department of Justice to enforce the Twenty-Sixth Amendment against age-based restrictions for voting by mail.

Additionally, the bill directs each state to

• designate as voter registration agencies all offices within public institutions of higher education (IHEs) that provide assistance to students,

• implement a preregistration process to allow minors who are 16 years or older to register to vote in federal elections that take place when or after the preregistered individual turns age 18, and

• ensure the availability of polling places on campuses of IHEs (with the availability of waivers).

The bill prohibits durational residency requirements for voting in all federal elections. Currently, this prohibition applies only to voting for the offices of President and Vice President.

States and local jurisdictions with voter identification requirements must treat IHE-issued student identification cards as voter identification.

The Election Assistance Commission (EAC) must make grants to states to increase the involvement of individuals under age 18 in public election activities.

The Government Accountability Office must report to Congress on trends related to voter registration, absentee voting, and provisional voting. The EAC must also collect and make publicly available certain data from states.

Moms Matter Act

This bill establishes two grant programs to address maternal mental health conditions and substance use disorders, with a focus on demographic groups with elevated rates of adverse maternal health outcomes.

First, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration must award grants for maternal behavioral health services and education and training for health care providers about maternal mental health conditions and substance use disorders in pregnancy. Eligible grantees include (1) state, tribal, and local governments; (2) health care providers; and (3) organizations that serve pregnant and postpartum individuals.

Second, the Department of Health and Human Services may award grants to grow and diversify the maternal mental and behavioral health workforce by establishing or expanding schools and training programs.

TAP Promotion Act

This bill requires that pre-separation counseling under the Transition Assistance Program include a presentation that promotes the benefits available to veterans from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The bill also requires the VA to annually report on the presentation to (1) identify veterans service organizations that participate, (2) provide the number of members of the Armed Forces who attend, and (3) provide any recommendations for changes to the presentation.