This Week in Washington — week of March 23, 2026

The two chambers introduced or advanced roughly two dozen bills this week covering health-care cybersecurity, veterans’ programs, energy-grid standards, D.C. criminal justice, tax rules, and rural broadband. Very few of these measures became final law; most are early procedural steps, and their practical effects — if any — depend on what the eventual language looks like and whether both chambers pass it.

Health care and public safety

• The Senate placed the Health Care Cybersecurity and Resiliency Act of 2026 on its legislative calendar. The bill would set new federal standards for how health-care providers protect digital systems and patient data from cyberattacks. Its impact depends on the standards’ final wording if it passes.
• The Senate also introduced the Data Center Water and Energy Transparency Act, which would require large data-center operators to report water and electricity usage to federal agencies. This is an information-gathering measure; it would not cap how much energy or water a company uses.
• Senator Jacky Rosen introduced the Support our Firefighters Act, a proposal to change how certain federal benefits are handled for firefighters. Whether it expands benefit access depends on later votes.
• The House advanced a package of bills affecting the District of Columbia’s criminal justice system. The measures would limit “youth offender” status to people 18 or younger, lower the age at which some minors can be tried as adults to 14, set new rules for police vehicle pursuits, require the Attorney General to publish crime statistics online, and terminate the District’s Judicial Nomination Commission. The same package is described as touching energy regulation and border infrastructure, though details of those pieces were not provided.

Veterans and the military

• The House introduced the Military Financial Literacy Act of 2026, which would provide additional financial education and resources to service members.
• A senator introduced technical corrections to the Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act — a routine cleanup of the major annual defense spending bill.
• The Senate considered the Veterans Accessibility Advisory Committee Act of 2025, which would keep the committee that advises the Secretary of Veterans Affairs on disability-access policies active. The main effect is maintaining a dedicated oversight body rather than letting that function lapse.
• Senator Jack Reed introduced a bill to designate a site for the Hershel “Woody” Williams National Medal of Honor Monument. It grants legal permission to begin the monument process; it does not create the monument itself.

Energy, food, and wildlife

• The SECURE Grid Act would direct the Department of Energy to create new standards and guidelines for improving the security and reliability of the electrical grid. Its practical effects depend on how those standards are written and implemented.
• Senator Maria Cantwell introduced the Fighting Foreign Illegal Seafood Harvests Act of 2025, which would increase oversight of imported seafood to keep fish caught illegally abroad out of U.S. markets. Any effect depends on how verification requirements are enforced.
• The Sea Turtle Rescue Assistance and Rehabilitation Act of 2025 would authorize funding for programs that rescue, rehabilitate, and release sea turtles. Its impact depends on passage and allocated amounts.
• The AFTER Act of 2026, introduced by Senator Crapo, proposes changes to how certain agricultural programs are managed and reported — largely a procedural oversight measure.

Money, taxes, and business

• Representative Adrian Smith (R-Neb.) introduced the Ensuring Better Interest Treatment and Deductibility Act, which would change how businesses deduct interest expenses from their taxes. It could alter the tax burden for companies that carry debt.
• Representative Dan Zerr introduced the Restoring the Secondary Trading Market Act, which would adjust definitions in existing securities laws governing how certain financial instruments are traded and reported. That could change compliance workloads for financial institutions.
• The Global Investment in American Jobs Act of 2025, introduced in the Senate, proposes a framework for managing foreign investment and its effect on domestic employment. Its significance remains theoretical until the full text is processed.
• The House introduced the United States Secret Service Reserve Fund Act of 2026, which would create a dedicated reserve fund for the Secret Service to cover unpredictable expenses, shifting from a standard yearly budget model.
• The Senate Banking Committee held a hearing on the Promoting Resilient Supply Chains Act of 2025, which targets vulnerabilities in how goods move through industries. The hearing is meant to inform senators before a vote on the bill’s language.

Local development, broadband, and federal housekeeping

• The House introduced the Prioritizing Rural Broadband Affordability Act, aimed at making internet access more affordable for rural residents. It is a preliminary step and has no effect unless it clears committee and both chambers.
• The SEED Act of 2025, introduced in the House, proposes a new framework for how federal programs interact with local economic development initiatives, potentially changing how funds are managed and distributed.
• Senator Crapo’s Tyler’s Law was introduced in the Senate with its text held at the desk, meaning the details are not yet available for public review; its significance cannot be determined until the text is released.

---

This weekly digest is generated from federal records (the Federal Register and Congress.gov) and summarized in plain English. It may simplify or omit detail — follow the linked official sources before relying on any item. Part of The Boring Parts.