Bill limits sensitive data transfers and adds reports on security and veterans

Title I tells the Architect of the Capitol to create and bury a “Semiquincentennial Congressional Time Capsule” on the Capitol grounds by July 4, 2026. Congressional leaders will pick the items to include, and the capsule is to stay sealed until July 4, 2276. Money is authorized as needed. Title II requires four Cabinet departments to set standard procedures for how fire suppression cost‑share agreements are paid. These procedures must make sure local fire departments are reimbursed on a clear timeline and aligned with other cooperative fire agreements. Title III extends funding authority for the Morris K.

Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation through 2029 and raises one payment amount in that law from $1,000 to $5,000, starting in fiscal year 2026. Title IV orders the Secretaries of State and Defense to write a five‑year regional strategy to help Nigeria and nearby countries counter Boko Haram and address grievances in affected communities. It also requires a national intelligence assessment on partners’ capacities and gaps.

Title V adds a requirement that the Small Business Administration submit an annual report to Congress on the Veterans Interagency Task Force, including membership, activities, and outreach plans for specific veteran business programs. Title VI creates a Justice Department pilot grant program for local governments that run veterans treatment courts or drug courts. Grants are to test and report on treatment approaches that help veterans stay in and complete these court programs.

Title VII directs the Transportation Security Administration to study whether time employees spend traveling between airport parking or transit and their duty posts should count as on‑duty hours. The study must look at time, costs, technology options, and potential benefits. Title VIII requires the Treasury Department, working with financial regulators and the State Department, to study and report on U. S. exposure to China’s financial sector and related risks to U. S. and global financial stability. The report must include U. S.

policy responses and recommendations and be published publicly, with a possible classified annex. Title IX orders the Department of Veterans Affairs to review, every three years starting in 2026, whether the automatic maximum coverage amount for Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance and Veterans’ Group Life Insurance is keeping pace with inflation, and to report the results to Congress. Title X directs the Defense Department to identify veterans with combat‑related disability severance pay from which taxes were improperly withheld and to notify them of the amounts and how to file amended tax returns.

It also extends the normal IRS time limit for those veterans to claim refunds tied to those severance payments. Title XI requires each standing committee of the House of Representatives to hold at least one hearing on how this act is being carried out within a year of enactment. It treats this requirement as part of the House’s own rules.

Title XII changes the House Code of Official Conduct to clearly bar Members, officers, and employees from stopping or punishing anyone for giving truthful information to the House Ethics Committee, the Office of Congressional Conduct, the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights, or law enforcement, as long as sharing is not otherwise illegal. Title XIII makes it unlawful for data brokers to sell or otherwise transfer personally identifiable sensitive data on U. S. residents to foreign adversary countries or entities they control.

It defines key terms, lists many categories of “sensitive data,” and gives the Federal Trade Commission enforcement authority starting 60 days after enactment. Title XIV states how the financial effects of the bill will be measured under the federal PAYGO budget rules, tying them to a formal “Budgetary Effects” statement in the Congressional Record. Title XV generally requires federal agencies to buy only U. S.

flags that are fully manufactured and sourced in the United States, with exceptions for availability, small purchases, certain overseas vessel buys, and commissary resale, plus a possible presidential waiver to meet trade agreements. Title XVI makes several small, specific appropriations for fiscal year 2026: $1 million each for rural telehealth support, the Agriculture Department’s budget office, the State Department’s Capital Investment Fund, Army operations and maintenance, a Homeland Security management office, and the Energy Information Administration.