Wednesday, September 16, 2026

Increases net direct spending in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2037? No. Increases on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2037? No. Statutory pay-as-you-go procedures apply? Yes. Mandate Effects: Contains intergovernmental mandate? Yes, Under Threshold. Contains private-sector mandate? No. H.R. 2571 would amend the Employee Retirement Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to exclude stop-loss policies from that act's definition of health insurance coverage. Those policies insure against excess or unexpected losses by selfinsured group health plans or sponsors of a group health plan that self-insures. Excluding stop-loss policies from the definition of health insurance would exclude those policies from being regulated by ERISA. The bill also would preempt state laws that prevent group health plans from obtaining stop-loss policies. CBO and the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) estimate that enacting H.R. 2571 would not significantly affect direct spending, revenues, or deficits over the 2026-2036 period. CBO and JCT's analysis of state laws indicates that few states prohibit the sale of stop-loss coverage; thus, the bill's preemption of state laws would affect only a small number of people. H.R. 2571 would impose an intergovernmental mandate as defined by the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) by preempting any state laws that prevent certain group health plans from using stop-loss policies to insure against excess or unexpected claims losses. CBO estimates that the cost of the mandate would not exceed the intergovernmental CBO Cost Estimate Page 2 H.R. 2571, as reported by the House Committee on threshold established by UMRA ($107 million in 2026, adjusted annually for inflation). The bill would not impose any private-sector mandates. The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Emily Vreeland (for federal costs) and Andrew Laughlin (for mandates). The estimate was reviewed by Chad Chirico, Director of Budget Analysis. Phillip L. Swagel, Director, Congressional Budget Office.

Reza Abdolvand: Professor and Chair of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Central Florida, who is recognized for significant contributions to MEMS-based timing and sensing technologies that power high-speed communications, 5G networks, and connected devices, enabling the infrastructure of the modern digital world. Clara Rivero Baleine: Lockheed Martin Fellow at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, who is recognized for breakthrough developments to gradient refractive index optical materials and metamaterial coatings that transformed infrared sensing systems, enabling compact, high-performance technologies across defense and advanced photonics applications. Ni-Bin Chang: Professor of Environmental Systems Engineering, and Director of the Stormwater Management Academy at the University of Central Florida, who is recognized for the groundbreaking development of green sorption media, and advancing sustainable water treatment technologies that remove contaminants, improve water quality, and enable scalable environmental solutions across infrastructure systems. Mark A. Frankie: Chief of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery at Florida Orthopaedic Institute, and Clinical Professor at the University of South Florida's Morsani College of Medicine, who is recognized for revolutionizing shoulder joint arthroplasty through reverse prosthesis design, restoring function for hundreds of thousands of patients and transforming orthopedic surgery worldwide. Patrick Hwu: President and Chief Executive Officer of Moffitt Cancer Center, and Professor of Oncologic Sciences at the University of South Florida's Morsani College of Medicine, who is recognized for pioneering chimeric receptor gene technologies that enabled CAR T-cell therapies, transforming cancer treatment and advancing targeted immunotherapy for patients worldwide. S.S. Iyengar: Distinguished University Professor, Ryder Professor, and Director of the United States Army-funded Center of Excellence in Digital Forensics at Florida International University, who is recognized for foundational contributions to sensor fusion and intelligent systems that power modern computing, advancing critical applications in national defense, disaster modeling, and healthcare technologies. Donald K. Jones: Chief Executive Officer of Empirilon Technology, LLC, who is recognized for pioneering innovations in neurovascular and endoscopic medical devices, enabling minimally invasive procedures that improved patient outcomes and transformed treatment of stroke and gastrointestinal disorders worldwide. Donald B. Keck: Professor at the University of South Florida's Institute for Advanced Discovery & Innovation, and former Vice President and Research Director at Corning Incorporated, who is recognized for the landmark invention of low-loss optical fiber technologies that revolutionized global communications, replaced copper transmission systems, and enabled the high-speed data networks that power today's interconnected digital world. Maynard "Mike" Ramsey, III: Chief Executive Officer and Chief Technology Officer of Cardio Command, Inc., and Founder of Ramsey Medical, Inc., who is recognized for foundational advances in patient monitoring technologies that transformed modern medicine, enabling continuous automatic measurement of noninvasive blood pressure, improving outcomes in hospitals, clinics, and home care. Subrata Roy: Professor of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Florida, and Founding Director of the Applied Physics Research Group, and Founder and President of SurfPlasma, Inc., who is recognized for pioneering innovations in plasma-based technologies enabling breakthroughs in aerospace efficiency, sterilization, and environmental systems) transforming applications in healthcare, food safety, water treatment, and space exploration.

Clarence C. Smalls is the oldest son of Marion Smalls and Aleathia F. Smalls. From an early age, he learned the values of faith, hard work, responsibility, and respect--principles that would guide him throughout a lifetime devoted to his family, his community, and his country. As a young man, Clarence answered the call to serve his nation as a member of the United States Army during the Korean War. When he returned home, his commitment to service continued. He joined law enforcement and spent more than 28 years serving communities in Georgetown and Florence, including 27 years with the Georgetown Police Department. His contributions to public safety extended beyond his years wearing the uniform. As a member of the Georgetown City Council, he helped secure funding for a new police department facility, and his service was later recognized through his induction into the Georgetown Police Department Hall of Fame. Clarence would go on to serve the people of Georgetown for more than 27 years on the City Council, including service as mayor pro tempore. Through changing administrations and generations of residents, he remained a steady presence in local government. His leadership was grounded not in recognition or title, but in a practical concern for the people he represented and a belief that public service meant being available, listening, and doing the work necessary to improve his community. His contributions extended far beyond City Hall. Clarence spent 32 years as a member of the Longshoremen's Union, serving as a local president and later as a trustee. He spent four decades providing transportation services to his community, operating a taxi business that did far more than take people from one place to another. For many residents, Clarence was a trusted person they could count on to help them get to work, appointments, errands, and wherever else life required them to go. Faith has been another constant throughout Clarence's life. A member of Bethel AME Church for more than 90 years, he has served the congregation as a trustee and has helped strengthen its connection to the wider Georgetown community. His faith is reflected in the manner in which he has approached every responsibility--with compassion, humility, generosity, and a willingness to help. Clarence's greatest legacy, however, can be found in his family. Together with his wife, Mary G. Smalls, he built a family that today includes five children, ten grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren, and nine great-great-grandchildren, in addition to his siblings, nieces, nephews, extended family, and countless friends. Through his example, he has passed on the same values of faith, perseverance, generosity, responsibility, and respect that his own parents instilled in him. Over the course of his life, Clarence has earned numerous honors, including induction into the Georgetown Police Department Hall of Fame, the Georgetown Arborist Citizen Award, and the Bethel AME Church Lay Organization Outstanding Service Award. Yet perhaps the most enduring recognition is the one now attached to the institution in which he spent so many years serving his neighbors. After nearly a decade without a permanent City Hall, Georgetown opened its new municipal home at 420 Hazard Street in the West End in August 2026. The facility brings city offices, public works, utility services, and the City Council chambers together under one roof and is intended to make city services more accessible to Georgetown residents. Above all, it now bears the name Clarence C. Smalls City Hall. That name represents more than one man's time in elected office. It represents a veteran who served his country, a police officer who protected his neighbors, a councilman who helped guide his city, a labor leader, businessman, church trustee, husband, father, grandfather, mentor, and friend. Clarence C. Smalls has spent a lifetime showing what it means to serve a community faithfully and without seeking recognition for himself. Generations of Georgetown residents have benefited from his steady presence, his wisdom, and his willingness to help. It is fitting that generations to come will walk into a building bearing his name and be reminded that the strength of a community rests on people who dedicate themselves to making it better.

H.R. 1320, MODERN WORKER SECURITY ACT, AS REPORTED BY THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE ON FEBRUARY 20, 2026 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ By fiscal year, millions of dollars-- ----------------------------------- 2026 2026-2031 2026-2036 ------------------------------------------------------------------------Direct Spending (Outlays)........... * * * Revenues............................ * * * Increase or Decrease (-) in the * * * Deficit............................ Spending Subject to Appropriation * * ** (Outlays).......................... ------------------------------------------------------------------------* = between -$500,000 and $500,000. ** = not estimated. Increases net direct spending in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2037? No. Increases on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2037? * Statutory pay-as-you-go procedures apply? Yes. Mandate Effects: Contains intergovernmental mandate? No. Contains private-sector mandate? No. H.R. 1320 would prohibit considering whether a person receives portable benefits to determine if they are an employee for the purposes of any federal law. Portable benefits include those commonly provided to full-time employees, such as workers' compensation, professional development, paid leave, health insurance coverage, and retirement savings. Some of those benefits receive preferential tax treatment. Whether a worker is classified as an employee depends on many other factors, and the provision of tax-preferred benefits, such as health insurance, is subject to other laws and rules not modified by H.R. 1320. CBO expects that, if the bill were enacted, some employers would offer nonemployees the option of participating in group health benefits. As a result, some nonemployees would participate in employer-subsidized group coverage rather than purchasing individual coverage. CBO and the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation estimate that such a shift in coverage would reduce federal tax revenues by less than $500,000 over the 2026-2036 period. Enacting H.R. 1320 also would decrease collections of civil monetary penalties that the Department of Labor (DOL) is authorized to impose on employers that violate the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Those penalties are recorded in the federal budget as revenues, and a portion may be spent without further appropriation. Under current law, DOL typically collects less than $20 million each year in such penalties for FLSA violations, according to agency enforcement statistics. Because worker classification depends on several factors, and H.R. 1320 would only restrict one of those factors, CBO estimates that enacting the bill would change the determination of employee status for a small number of cases and reduce collections of civil monetary penalties by less than $500,000. That reduction would decrease revenues and direct spending and result in a net increase in the deficit of less than $500,000 over the 2026-2036 period. CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 1320 would not significantly affect the operating costs of DOL or the National Labor Relations Board over the 2026-2031 period; any change in related spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds. The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Maggie Applebaum Rufe. The estimate was reviewed by Christina Hawley Anthony, Deputy Director of Budget Analysis. Phillip L. Swagel, Director, Congressional Budget Office.

H.R. 2528, ASSOCIATION HEALTH PLANS ACT, AS REPORTED BY THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE ON DECEMBER 15, 2025 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ By fiscal year, millions of dollars-- ----------------------------------- 2026 2026-2031 2026-2036 ------------------------------------------------------------------------Direct Spending (Outlays)........... 0 278 1,105 Revenues............................ 0 -1,143 -3,259 Increase or Decrease (-) in the 0 1,421 4,364 Deficit............................ Spending Subject to Appropriation 0 0 0 (Outlays).......................... ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Increases net direct spending in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2037? >$2.5 billion. Increases on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2037? >$5 billion. Statutory pay-as-you-go procedures apply? Yes. Mandate Effects: Contains intergovernmental mandate? No. Contains private-sector mandate? No. The bill would: Revise the definition of "employer" in the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to allow self-employed people and groups of employers without a common interest to sponsor association health plans (AHPs) Estimated budgetary effects would mainly stem from: Increases in tax deductions attributable to larger AHP enrollment among self-employed people Increases in federal subsidies for health insurance resulting from higher premiums in the nongroup and small-group health insurance markets because some self-employed people and small employers with lower-than-average health costs would enroll in AHPs Areas of significant uncertainty include: Anticipating employers' responses to the changing cost of health insurance Projecting patterns of health care use Bill summary: H.R. 2528 would revise the definition of "employer" in the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, to newly enable groups of self-employed people and groups of employers without a common interest to form association health plans (AHPs). Under current law, only groups of employers with a common interest may establish AHPs to purchase health insurance collectively. Such plans typically can offer their enrollees lowercost premiums than would be available in the nongroup or small-group markets. Estimated Federal cost: The estimated budgetary effects of H.R. 2528 are shown in Table 1. The costs of the legislation fall within budget function 550 (health). TABLE 1.--ESTIMATED BUDGETARY EFFECTS OF H.R. 2528 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- By fiscal year, millions of dollars-- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 2034 2035 2036 2026-2031 2026-2036 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- INCREASES OR DECREASES (-) IN DIRECT SPENDING Estimated Budget Authority....... 0 -12 22 58 97 113 140 149 156 178 204 278 1,105 Estimated Outlays................ 0 -12 22 58 97 113 140 149 156 178 204 278 1,105 Estimated Revenues............... 0 -61 -143 -236 -326 -377 -387 -403 -416 -440 -470 -1,143 -3,259 On-Budget.................... -0 -54 -128 -209 -289 -336 -344 -358 -371 -392 -420 -1,016 -2,901 Off-Budget a................. 0 -7 -15 -27 -37 -41 -43 -45 -45 -48 -50 -127 -358 Effect on the Deficit............ 0 49 165 294 423 490 527 552 572 618 674 1,421 4,364 On-Budget.................... 0 42 150 267 386 449 484 507 527 570 624 1,294 4,006 Off-Budget a................. 0 7 15 27 37 41 43 45 45 48 50 127 358 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Sources: Congressional Budget Office; staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation. a Off-budget effects would arise from changes in Social SecurIty revenues. Basis of estimate: For this estimate, CBO assumes that the legislation will be enacted in fiscal year 2026 and that additional enrollment in AHPs will begin in calendar year 2027. Direct spending and revenues: H.R. 2528 would allow self-employed people and groups of employers to form AHPs without meeting the current-law requirement to have a common interest among members. CBO expects that enrollment in AHPs would increase under the bill because AHPs typically offer premiums that are less costly than the modified community-rated premiums available in the nongroup and small-group markets. In general, modified community-rated premiums can vary only on the basis of enrollees' age, location, and tobacco use. By contrast. AHPs can adjust premiums based on other factors related to members' health status. For example, members' occupations could be used as a proxy for health status. Because AHPs can adjust premiums to account for factors that more closely underlie the health of enrollees, a healthier self-employed person or a small employer with healthier-than-average workers could pay less for premiums through an AHP than they otherwise would for modified community-rated premiums in the nongroup and small-group markets. On the basis of a comparison of premiums under AHPs and under nongroup and small-group plans. CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 2528 would increase the number of people obtaining insurance through AHPs by about 725,000 per year, on average, over the 2027-2036 period. CBO estimates that under current law, about 155,000 of those people (or about 20 percent) have no health insurance and that the remaining 570,000 obtain insurance coverage in the nongroup or small-group markets. That estimate reflects factors that would limit the ability of employers and the self-employed to join or form AHPs. Those factors include requirements that an AHP have a minimum number of employee members, be formed for a purpose other than providing health insurance, and exist for more than two years before offering such benefits. CBO and the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) estimate that enacting H.R. 2528 would increase federal subsidies for health insurance for two reasons in particular: Some self-employed people who are uninsured under current law would take up insurance offered through AHPs, thereby increasing new claims for the tax deduction for health insurance for self-employed people. Slightly higher premiums in the nongroup and remaining small-group markets would result from people with lower-than-average health costs shifting to AHPs. That change would increase federal costs for the premium tax credit for health insurance purchased through the marketplaces established by the Affordable Care Act and would shift a portion of some employees' compensation from taxable wages to tax-favored health insurance for those insured in the small-group market. CBO and JCT estimate that these changes would increase direct spending, on net, by $1.1 billion and decrease revenues by $3.3 billion, for a total increase in the deficit of $4.4 billion over the 2026-2036 period. Uncertainty: CBO and JCT's estimates of the budgetary effects of H.R. 2528 are subject to uncertainty because of the difficulty in anticipating employers' responses to changes in health insurance costs and in projecting patterns of health care use, which affect premiums. The budgetary effects of enacting H.R. 2528 could be larger or smaller than estimated here. Pay-As-You-Go considerations: The Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 establishes budget-reporting and enforcement procedures for legislation affecting direct spending or revenues. The net changes in outlays and revenues that are subject to those pay-as-you-go procedures are shown in Table 2. Only on-budget changes to outlays or revenues are subject to pay-as-you-go procedures.

Increase in long-term net direct spending and deficits: CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 2528 would increase net direct spending by more than $2.5 billion in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2037. CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 2528 would increase on-budget deficits by more than $5 billion in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2037. Mandates: The bill contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act. Previous CBO estimate: On December 16, 2025, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R. 6703, the Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act, as introduced in the House of Representatives on December 12, 2025. Both bills would expand AHP enrollment by establishing new rules for AHPs and the estimates are similar, but H.R. 6703 included several other provisions to modify requirements for individual and group health coverage, require contracts between plan sponsors and pharmacy benefit managers to meet certain standards, and appropriate funding for reductions in cost sharing. Estimate prepared by: Federal Costs: Emily Vreeland; Revenues: Staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation; Mandates: Andrew Laughlin. Estimate reviewed by: Sarah Masi, Senior Adviser, Budget Analysis Division; Kathleen FitzGerald, Chief, Public and Private Mandates Unit; Chad Chirico, Director of Budget Analysis. Estimate approved by: Phillip L. Swagel, Director, Congressional Budget Office.

SEPTEMBER 23 9:30 a.m. Committee on Armed Services To receive a closed briefing on an update on the United States Central Command area of operations. SVC-217 10 a.m. Committee on Environment and Public Works To hold hearings to examine updating America's nuclear waste management policy. SD-406 Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs To hold hearings to examine to take sworn witness testimony. SD-342 2:30 p.m. Committee on Armed Services Subcommittee on Cybersecurity To receive a closed briefing on cyber operations and readiness for the second and third quarters of Fiscal Year 2026 as well as an update on election security. SVC-217 Committee on Indian Affairs To hold hearings to examine S. 1750, to reaffirm the applicability of the Indian Reorganization Act to the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, S. 3859, to amend the Catawba Indian Tribe of South Carolina Land Claims Settlement Act of 1993 with respect to future membership in the Catawba Indian Nation, S. 4053, to take certain land in the State of California into trust for the benefit of the Pechanga Band of Indians, and H.R. 226, to take certain Federal lands in Tennessee into trust for the benefit of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. SD-628 Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism To hold hearings to examine flock's nationwide AI surveillance network. SD-562 Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship To hold hearings to examine small business, big impact, focusing on entrepreneurs at the heart of thriving communities for 250 years. SR-428A 3 p.m. Select Committee on Intelligence To receive a closed briefing on certain intelligence matters. SH-219 3:30 p.m. Special Committee on Aging To hold hearings to examine leveling the playing field, focusing on restoring America's edge in generic drug manufacturing. SH-216 4 p.m. Committee on Veterans' Affairs To hold hearings to examine pending nominations. SR-418 SEPTEMBER 29 4 p.m. Committee on Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces To hold hearings to examine an update on Golden Dome. SR-222