MIL USHOR-2b Engine

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Scott Peters (52nd District of California)

Washington, DC – Last week, Congressman Scott Peters (CA-50) introduced the Housing Supply Expansion Act of 2025, which will remove a federal chassis requirement that has served to unnecessarily raise the price of manufactured housing. The legislation is co-led by five Members of the House, including Rep. John Rose (R-TN), House Financial Services Committee Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance Chairman, Rep. Mike Flood (R-NE), Ranking Member Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO), Rep. Monica De La Cruz (R-TX), and Rep. Lou Correa (D-CA).

Since 1974, federal law has required that manufactured homes be built on a permanently installed steel frame, known as a chassis, that allows it to be moved after installation. This has significantly reduced the ability of young and low-income families to buy their own homes. Removing the permanent chassis requirement for manufactured homes will lower construction costs, unlock modern design flexibility, and open far more locations for quality, affordable housing.

“San Diego suffers from a housing crisis that threatens prosperity; we can help remedy this by building more affordable and accessible housing,” Rep. Peters said. “The Housing Supply Expansion Act will make it easier and cheaper to build manufactured homes. This provision has already advanced through the Senate. I look forward to working with Congressman Rose to get this bill across the finish line so we can put homeownership back within reach for countless San Diegans.”

“Manufactured housing is a great way to get more families into homes that they own,” Rep. Rose said. “Rent prices across Tennessee continue to soar because demand for housing still far exceeds supply. By striking this outdated restriction on manufactured homes, my legislation will increase supply and ultimately help bring home prices down for everyone.” 

“In order to get more young families on the path towards achieving the American Dream, we need more single-family homes at affordable price points. Manufactured homes are one type of product that can help fill that void in our market,” said Rep. Flood. “The Housing Supply Expansion Act updates outdated rules applying to manufactured housing, and it makes changes that will ultimately get more supply on the market. I am proud to join Congressman John Rose, Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, Congressman Scott Peters, Congressman Lou Correa and Congresswoman Monica De La Cruz in introducing this very important piece of legislation.”

“Manufactured housing is a key component to the nation’s supply of quality, safe, and affordable housing,” said Rep. Cleaver. “By removing an outdated requirement that manufactured homes retain a permanent chassis, we can increase design innovation, reduce costs, and provide relief to more American families and communities. I look forward to working with Representative Rose and our colleagues to see this bipartisan, common sense update passed into law.”

“Access to affordable housing is a top concern for South Texas families. By updating outdated regulations and cutting red tape, the Housing Supply Expansion Act will expand housing options and open the door for innovation in manufactured housing. As Vice Chair of the Housing and Insurance Subcommittee, I am committed to ensuring families can find a home that meets their needs and achieve their dream of homeownership,” said Rep. De La Cruz.

“Manufactured housing is one of the most affordable options on the market, but outdated regulations are keeping new designs from becoming widely available,” Rep. Correa said. “This legislation is a win-win, it unlocks more opportunities for affordable housing in California, without driving up costs for the government.”

Full bill text for the Housing Supply Expansion Act of 2025 can be found here. The Manufactured Housing Institute also issued a statement of support, which can be found here. A companion bill, S. 2414, was introduced in the Senate by Sens. Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) in July. 

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Roger Williams (25th District of Texas)

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Roger Williams (TX-25) introduced the Safer Schools Act of 2025, bipartisan legislation that establishes two pilot grant programs within the Department of Justice to help schools assess and strengthen campus physical security.

This bipartisan bill provides federal resources to help public schools conduct independent facility risk assessments and fund hard security improvements based on identified vulnerabilities. These protections include perimeter security, controlled access points, security alarms, camera systems, and other life-saving infrastructure upgrades.

“Every child deserves a safe learning environment, and schools should never face the impossible choice between investing in education or protecting students’ lives,” said Congressman Williams. “The Safer Schools Act gives school districts the tools they need to identify threats and make improvements that prevent tragedies before they happen. We owe it to parents, teachers, and students to take security seriously, and this bill is a commonsense step toward that goal.”

Background:

The Facility Risk Assessment Grant Program allows qualifying public schools to apply for grants to conduct independent facility security risk assessments. It also prioritizes schools that have experienced violent attacks or attempted mass harm.

The Hard Security Improvement Grant Program provides funding for physical improvements to address vulnerabilities identified in assessments. Eligible improvements include automatic lock doors, perimeter hardening, surveillance systems, emergency alert systems, notification technology, and other protective infrastructure.

Congressman Jared Moskowitz (D-Florida) is joining as the original Democratic co-lead.

Supporting Organizations: Safe Schools For Alex, National Systems Contractors Association (NSCA), National Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), Texas Municipal Police Association (TMPA).

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Roger Williams (25th District of Texas)

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Roger Williams (TX-25) introduced the Merger Process Review Act. This legislation will ensure federal regulators conduct timely, efficient reviews of merger applications submitted by insured depository institutions. The bill directs the Inspectors General of the Federal Reserve, FDIC, OCC, and NCUA to examine the agencies’ merger review processes every three years, focusing on delay reduction, efficiency, and transparency.

“For years, we have heard from community banks across Texas and across the country that merger approvals are taking far too long – in some cases, years. Those delays add unnecessary costs, create uncertainty, and limit growth,” said Congressman Williams. “This bill gives Congress clear insight into where delays are occurring and how to fix them. Streamlining the merger review process will strengthen local financial institutions, help them reach new customers, and provide certainty to consumers.”

Under the Merger Process Review Act, the Inspectors General of each federal prudential regulator will evaluate processing times using objective data, identify bottlenecks or causes of costly regulatory delays, and recommend reforms to streamline the process without weakening safety or statutory oversight.

The federal agencies will be required to formally respond to Congress with a plan to implement the recommendations, ensuring meaningful accountability and improving transparency across the merger approval process.

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Background:

Community banks often rely on mergers to enter new markets, grow customer bases, and remain competitive against larger institutions. However, regulatory reviews today can drag on unpredictably, driving up costs that community banks cannot absorb while creating uncertainty for consumers and local economies.

This legislation does not change approval standards; it simply ensures that regulators review applications efficiently and transparently and that Congress has the data necessary to hold agencies accountable and reduce unnecessary delay.

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Marc Veasey (33rd District of Texas)

Headline: Congressman Veasey Votes to Pass the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)

Washington, D.C. – Congressman Veasey has voted for the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Congressman Veasey released the following statement on the NDAA:  

“Each year, the House Armed Service Committee (HASC) is responsible for crafting our nation’s military budget in the best interest of our national security, service members, and veterans. While no bill is perfect and there are important provisions I disagree with, this bill does meet these goals and includes several provisions I strongly support, including funding for national security programs like the F-35 that are critical for the DFW Metroplex. 

More importantly, this is a bill that gives our service members a much-deserved pay raise. Our nation’s continued security is owed to our brave service members. This small token of our nation’s appreciation is included in this iteration of the NDAA.”

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Steve Scalise (1st District of Louisiana)

JEFFERSON, LA. — Today, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) released the following statement after the first Working Families Tax Cut lease sale in the Gulf of America was held on Wednesday:“It’s a great day for American energy independence! With this first Working Families Tax Cut lease sale in the Gulf of America, we are delivering on our promise to American families and small businesses to unleash American energy, create more good-paying jobs, and bolster our national and energy security. Despite the Biden Administration’s best efforts to crush American energy, we saw a strong interest in today’s lease sale, and I’m proud that millions of dollars from this sale will go directly to Louisiana’s coastal restoration and hurricane protection efforts.”Wednesday’s lease sale resulted in $279 million in high bids from 30 companies in the Gulf of America.  Background:  In July 2025, President Trump signed into law the Working Families Tax Cut, which required at least 30 lease sales in the Gulf of America over 15 years. Additionally, Leader Scalise secured language in the law that increases the amount of revenue sharing dollars Louisiana receives each year from offshore drilling.  This provision in the law will bring hundreds of millions of new dollars to Louisiana for vital coastal restoration and hurricane protection projects.

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Steve Scalise (1st District of Louisiana)

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) joined Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain (R-Mich.), and Congresswoman Jen Kiggans (R-Va.) to discuss House Republicans’ work to lower prices, boost the economy, lower health care premiums, and provide families with more options for health care.

Click here or the image above to view Leader Scalise’s full remarks. 
Highlights from Leader Scalise’s remarks:On lowering costs after Bidenflation:“We’re going to continue, as President Trump is this week, to focus on affordability and lowering costs. You saw President Trump go to Pennsylvania yesterday to talk about a number of the things he’s been working on in his administration and working with Congress to lower costs for families. But it’s important to remind people what he inherited and what was going on in this country under the Biden Administration for four years, when you saw prices skyrocketing, energy costs skyrocketing, interest rates skyrocketing. And Democrats in Congress never cared about any of that. They let it happen. They looked the other way over and over again. An open, porous Southern border that President Trump not only said he would fix as a candidate but now has fixed as President of the United States. When he talks about the things that he’s doing to lower inflation, we’re finally seeing some relief, but we’re going to continue working to lower costs for families. It’s something that is not only important to President Trump; it’s important to this House majority.”On House Republicans’ plans to lower premiums and provide more options:“Our committees have been working on very serious proposals, all focused on lowering costs for 100% of American families. While Democrats talk about less than 10% of the American people, we have been talking about what we can do to lower health premiums for 100% of American families, while also giving options to people who are trapped in Unaffordable Care Act plans, where Democrats want to keep them trapped. We want to give them options. And so, we’ve been working and meeting with different caucuses within our conference. For weeks, the committee chairs have been talking about the very specific bills. We’ve been meeting and getting ideas from a lot of our members who have great, passionate ideas on health care: the Doctors Caucus, doctors who practiced medicine in the private sector, and then they came to Congress. They still have great ideas about how to restore the doctor-patient relationship that Obamacare broke. So many things about health care that the Affordable Care Act just destroyed, starting with the title of the bill. Nothing is affordable about the Affordable Care Act, and Republicans want to fix that.“So what we did today in our conference, just a little while ago, was have a really productive discussion about all those ideas that the committees have been working on, not just ideas, actual bills. And we are now focused on bringing a number of those bills to the floor next week that we have consensus on. There are still some areas that we don’t have full agreement upon, and we’re going to keep working on those. We’ve committed to work on those early into the next year, but starting next week, voting in the House on bills that will focus on lowering premiums for 100% of Americans.“Let’s see where Democrats stand when it’s not just giving money to insurance companies and propping up failed Obamacare plans, but actually helping 100% of Americans have better choices and lower health care premiums. So, we’re going to continue bringing bills to the floor that work on fixing problems that Democrats have created and delivering on the promises we made to the American people.”

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Austin Scott (GA-08)

WASHINGTON, D.C.– U.S. Representative Austin Scott (GA-08), a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC), released the below statement regarding S. 1071, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2026, which passed the U.S. House of Representatives by a vote of 312-112 with his support, sending it to the floor of the U.S. Senate, enroute to the President’s desk for his signature. The NDAA sets Department of Defense (DoD) policies and authorizes funding levels for defense programs.

“The entire state of Georgia plays a key role in implementing President Donald Trump’s strategy of Peace Through Strength,” Rep. Scott said. “The FY26 NDAA strengthens the U.S. military, provides a pay raise to our service members, saves taxpayer dollars, and enhances the quality of life for our warfighters and their families. I am proud of my work on this important piece of legislation to support our armed forces in their mission of defending the United States.”

Rep. Scott authored (13) different initiatives that will now become law following Senate passage and the President’s signature:

• Extended the authority for an additional three years that would allow for retired members of the Armed Forces to be appointed to competitive or excepted service positions in the Department of Defense without a waiver. This will allow more retired military personnel to continue to serve our country as civilians at Robins Air Force Base.

• Extended the authority for depot working capital funds, like Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex (WR-ALC), to be used for unspecified minor military construction from September 30, 2025 to September 30, 2027. This will enable WR-ALC to continue to modernize their facilities.

• Delayed the full retirement of the A-10C “Warthog” aircraft, several dozen of which are based at Moody Air Force Base in Valdosta, GA. The Scott amendment requires the Air Force to maintain a minimum of 93 A-10 aircraft in FY 26. The A-10C provides close air support and combat search-and-rescue capabilities unmatched by any other aircraft in the Air Force’s inventory.

• Extended the intergovernmental support agreements (IGSA) pilot program until September 30, 2030. Moody AFB has benefitted greatly from partnership tools, particularly the IGSA. The agreements provide additional flexibility in some areas for the base and keeps funds local. Moreover, Moody enjoys tremendous support from the Lowndes County community and government to include three IGSAs signed between Moody and Lowndes County.

• Established a pilot program to provide service personnel with a voluntary option to enroll in a low-premium supplemental insurance plan to help protect against uncovered out-of-pocket expenses resulting from a cancer diagnosis in the family.

• Modified and extended annual reporting on military and security developments involving the Russian Federation to include Russia’s strategic goals, force posture, and military spending.

• Authorized the Baltic Security Initiative to strengthen the armed forces of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania to deter Russian aggression, increase interoperability, and support modernization;

• Directed the Secretary of Defense to develop and implement a strategy by January 1, 2030, to eliminate the acquisition of computer displays by the Department of Defense from nations such as Russia or China;

• Established the United States Navy, Air Force, and Space Force Museum systems;

• Enhanced congressional oversight of the U.S. Africa Command to prohibit the use of funds to modify or combine the responsibilities or lower the rank of the Commander of any geographic combatant command until the Secretary of Defense submits a report to the congressional defense committees.

Other provisions inserted by Rep. Scott included establishing minimum facility requirements for military working dogs and authorizing the Secretary of Defense to evacuate family pets of American citizens during emergency evacuations on a space available basis.

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (9th District of Illinois)

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky released the following statement after voting against final passage of the Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (FY26 NDAA):

“Today, I once again voted against passage of the Republican’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). While I support several important components of this legislation, I could not in good conscience vote for the bill in its entirety. The FY26 NDAA authorizes over $890 billion in additional Pentagon spending. That is $8 billion more than the Pentagon itself said it needed. Our greatest security threats have no military solutions, and it is time our budget reflects that. We must instead make the investments in health care, education, housing, clean air and water, and public transit that Americans deserve.

“Further, this legislation removed House-passed provisions that would lead to In vitro fertilization (IVF) coverage under TRICARE and restore collective bargaining rights to civilian employees. I was also discouraged to see that the bill still discriminates against the transgender community. With this year’s illegal military strikes against innocent boats in the Caribbean, the last thing we need to do is give the Pentagon even more power. 

“Although I opposed this bill, there were several bright spots, including a 3.8% pay raise for all service members, the repeal of the 1991 and 2002 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF), and a new requirement for military personnel to display the name of the military service they are affiliated with when supporting civilian law enforcement activities in our communities.

“Despite these important provisions, this legislation exacerbates an already over-bloated Pentagon budget and funds several defense policies which will not make people any safer. This is why I could not support its final passage.”

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (9th District of Illinois)

The Medical Device Recall Improvement Act would bolster communication between medical device manufacturers, hospitals and health care professionals, and patients

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (9th District of Illinois)

Full Text of Letter (PDF)

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Representatives Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), Kathy Castor (FL-14), and Doris Matsui (CA-07) demanded answers from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg regarding the company’s covert use of an Android loophole to track users across the internet, regardless of their explicit privacy choices. The letter comes ahead of this Thursday’s markup in the Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade Subcommittee of the Energy & Commerce Committee and underscores the urgent need for Congress to rein in Big Tech’s repeated abuses of Americans’ privacy.

The lawmakers are highlighting newly published research showing that Meta exploited developer-only Android features to dismantle core privacy protections and secretly monitor users’ web activity. They warn that Meta continued this practice even when users took every available step to protect their personal information online.

“Unbeknownst to Meta’s users, Meta’s new tracking method followed them across the web even if the user tried to keep their browsing private,” wrote the lawmakers. “Even users who had chosen every available safeguard—opting out of cookies, using a VPN, or enabling incognito mode—were still tracked against their will, as Meta continued to listen through these hidden channels.”

The Members stress that this conduct reflects a sustained pattern of Meta disregarding user privacy.

“This persistent pattern demonstrates that the Meta’s covert tracking we address today is part of a broader corporate strategy, not an isolated lapse,” concluded the lawmakers.

The Members are seeking detailed answers about how Meta used this hidden tracking method, what data was collected, and whether the company will permanently delete all information obtained through the exploit.

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