Sponsor
Lauren Underwood
Representative · D-IL
Representative · D-IL
The bill advances public-health capacity (nurses, midwives, climate-health), veterans' and local-community supports, and infrastructure/election security while extending various program authorizations, but it increases federal spending, imposes new compliance costs and administrative burdens, and may produce uneven state-by-state outcomes and programmatic trade-offs.
Nursing students, hospitals, and patients nationwide gain expanded training, scholarships, and recruitment support through a $610 million FY2026 boost to nursing workforce programs, helping fill vacancies and improve access to care.
Pregnant people—particularly Black women and those in underserved or rural areas—get greater access to culturally congruent midwifery care, expanded coverage (Medicaid/TRICARE), and more training/mentorship to grow the midwife workforce.
State, local, Tribal, and territorial public-health agencies receive sustained federal support (about $110M/year) plus CDC guidance and decision-support tools to plan for climate-driven health risks, improving community preparedness and long-term planning.
Multiple new or expanded programs (notably $610M for nursing in FY2026 and a recurring ~$110M/year CDC climate program) increase federal outlays and could raise deficits or require offsets, imposing fiscal costs on taxpayers.
States that do not adopt required protections for pregnant incarcerated people risk losing 25% of their Byrne JAG grants, which could sharply reduce local law-enforcement and criminal-justice funding in those States and worsen resource disparities.
The farmers-market program requires a 25% match (cash or in-kind) and reserves 30% for new/long-unfunded applicants—both of which could deter small nonprofits or low-income communities from applying and reduce awards to existing grantees in high-demand years.
Based on analysis of 22 sections of legislative text.
A multi-topic package funding nursing and CDC climate work, changing farmers’ market grants, adding VA one‑year contraceptive supplies, requiring baby changing tables on Amtrak trains, clarifying SALT limits, and more.
Official title: To promote shared values.
Introduced July 21, 2026 by Lauren Underwood · Last progress July 21, 2026
Changes a wide range of federal programs and rules: it funds nursing workforce programs, changes matching and set-aside rules for local food and farmers’ market grants, authorizes a new CDC climate-and-health program, requires one-year contraceptive supplies through the VA, and mandates baby changing tables on Amtrak-owned trains. It also updates tax-code language for the state and local tax deduction, creates new CISA authorities for voluntary security guidance and a vulnerability-assessment pilot, and adds several governance, ethics, and commemorative provisions. The bill mixes new funding, program authorizations and policy mandates across health, transportation, agriculture, national security, and congressional operations. Many provisions change who is eligible for grants or benefits, create reporting or implementation duties for federal agencies, and add new compliance or outreach requirements for states, federal agencies, and other entities.