Lisa Murkowski

This bill prohibits the Department of Education (ED) from transferring specified offices and functions to other federal agencies.

Specifically, the bill prohibits ED from entering into or carrying out interagency agreements related to the following four offices: the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, the Office of Postsecondary Education, the Office of Indian Education, and the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education.

This prohibition applies to the transfer of functions such as administering or operating programs, making grants, carrying out technical assistance, enforcing rights and requirements (e.g., data collection requirements), conducting administrative and oversight functions, and monitoring grantees.

Additionally, ED may not transfer a function or program of one of the four offices to another ED office and then subsequently enter into an interagency agreement related to the function or program.

The bill does not apply to agreements in effect on February 1, 2025, or renewals with substantially similar terms.

ED must, within 14 days of the bill's enactment and on a quarterly basis, provide to Congress (and publish on its website) a report and cost analysis for each interagency agreement entered into on or after February 1, 2025. ED may not use specified FY2026 or FY2027 funds for travel expenses unless ED provides this required information.

(As of July 30, 2026, ED has entered into 14 interagency agreements to transfer functions of ED to other federal agencies, including the ED offices listed in the bill.)

WWII Nurses Congressional Gold Medal Act

This bill provides for the award of a Congressional Gold Medal to World War II Army and Navy Nurse Corps members in recognition of their critical military service and devotion to duty.

Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia Act of 2026

This bill imposes a variety of sanctions, tariffs, and prohibitions related to Russia.

For example, under the bill, the President must

• impose visa- and property-blocking sanctions on specified persons (individuals and entities) such as the Russian president, certain Russian military commanders, and any foreign person that knowingly provides goods or services relating to Russia's defense industrial base;

• increase the rate of duty on all goods imported into the United States from Russia to a rate of up to 500% ad valorem (i.e., relative to the value);

• increase the rate of duty up to 100% ad valorem on all goods imported into the United States from a country that was among the five largest importers of Russian-origin crude oil or natural gas if such country knowingly makes new purchases of such products after enactment of the bill;

• impose property-blocking sanctions on financial institutions organized under Russian law and owned wholly or partly by Russia; and

• impose property-blocking sanctions on foreign vessels that knowingly transport certain products of Russian origin, including crude oil, uranium, and coal.

The bill prohibits (1) the export, reexport, or in-country transfer to or in Russia of U.S.-produced energy or energy product; (2) U.S. persons from making new investments in Russia or purchasing Russian sovereign debt; and (3) trading the securities of Russian government-owned, -controlled, or -affiliated entities on U.S. national securities exchanges.

The President may waive requirements of the bill by certifying it is in the national interest.

Medicare Audiology Access Improvement Act of 2025

This bill provides for Medicare coverage of certain audiology services. Specifically, the bill expands coverage to include diagnostic and treatment services that are furnished by audiologists and that would otherwise be covered if provided by a physician, including incidental services, regardless of whether such services are provided pursuant to a referral from, or under the supervision of, a physician or other health care practitioner.

This bill increases the annual limit on the tax credit for qualified railroad track maintenance expenses (also referred to as the short line railroad tax credit) and expands eligibility for claiming the credit.

Under current law, the tax credit is limited each tax year to $3,500 multiplied by the sum of the number of miles of railroad track owned or leased by the taxpayer (miles owned or leased) and the number of railroad track miles assigned to the taxpayer by a Class II or III railroad (miles assigned). This bill increases the annual limit to $6,100 multiplied by the sum of miles owned or leased and miles assigned. The $6,100 amount used in the calculation of the tax credit limit is adjusted for inflation for tax years beginning after 2025.

The bill also expands eligibility for the tax credit to include gross expenses for maintaining railroad tracks owned or leased as of January 1, 2024. Under current law, the tax credit is limited to gross expenses for maintaining railroad tracks owned or leased as of January 1, 2015.

Ensuring Seniors' Access to Quality Care Act

This bill repeals certain restrictions under Medicare and Medicaid that prohibit the approval of nurse-aide training and competency evaluation programs in skilled nursing facilities that have been subject to specified regulatory actions (e.g., civil penalties) for substandard quality of care. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) must still disapprove such programs for up to two years; however, the CMS must rescind the disapproval upon completion of corrective action and may require additional oversight of the program for purposes of rescission.

The bill also allows Medicaid and Medicare providers (e.g., skilled nursing facilities) to access, through the National Practitioner Data Bank, disciplinary information for affiliated physicians and other health care practitioners, as reported by state licensing authorities.

Wildland Firefighters Congressional Gold Medal Act

This bill provides for the award of a Congressional Gold Medal to wildland firefighters in recognition of their strength, resiliency, sacrifice, and service to protect the forests, grasslands, and communities of the United States.

Daniel J. Harvey, Jr. and Adam Lambert Improving Servicemember Transition to Reduce Veteran Suicide Act

This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Department of Defense (DOD) to provide additional information and assistance related to mental health care to veterans in the Solid Start program and members of the Armed Forces in the Transition Assistance Program.

Specifically, the bill requires that counseling provided under DOD’s Transition Assistance Program include additional mental health information, including information about the risk of suicide and other potential stressors associated with separation from the Armed Forces.

The bill also expands the activities that must be carried out by the VA under the Solid Start program, which is an outreach program for veterans in their first year of separation from service. Specifically, under the program, the VA must (1) assist eligible veterans who elect to enroll in the VA health care system, and (2) educate veterans about mental health and counseling services available through the Veterans Health Administration.

Service Dogs Assisting Veterans Act of 2025 or the SAVES Act of 2025

This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to establish a five-year pilot program to award grants on a competitive basis to nonprofit entities to provide service dogs to veterans who have certain disabilities, conditions, or diagnoses (e.g., a visual impairment).

Under the program, the VA may provide up to $2 million to a nonprofit entity in a fiscal year.

The VA must provide a veterinary insurance policy to veterans who receive a service dog through a grant under the program.

This resolution honors the life of Donald W. Riegle, Jr., former Senator for the state of Michigan, and expresses condolences to his family and loved ones.

Legalizing Premium Health Care Act of 2026

This bill allows any Medicare beneficiary to enter into a contract with an eligible professional, regardless of whether the professional is participating in Medicare, for any item or service covered by Medicare.

Such beneficiaries may submit a claim for Medicare payment in the amount that would otherwise apply, except that, where the professional is considered to be non-participating, payment shall be made as if the professional were participating. An eligible professional is a physician, physician assistant, nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist, certified registered nurse anesthetist, certified nurse-midwife, clinical social worker, clinical psychologist, registered dietitian or nutrition professional, physical or occupational therapist, qualified speech-language pathologist, or qualified audiologist.

A Medicare beneficiary must agree in writing in such a contract to (1) pay the eligible professional for a Medicare-covered item or service; and (2) submit, in lieu of the eligible professional, a claim for Medicare payment. However, a beneficiary may negotiate, as a term of the contract, for the eligible professional to file such claims on the beneficiary's behalf.

The bill preempts state laws from limiting the amount of charges for physician and practitioner services for which Medicare payment is made.