Legislative Calls to Action -- June 23, 2026
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Federal News
Clarity Act
The Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act (H.R. 3633) is a comprehensive legislative framework designed to regulate the cryptocurrency and digital asset industry in the United States. It establishes clear legal rules, divides regulatory authority, and creates consumer protections by formalizing how different types of digital assets are classified. Myth vs. Fact: The CLARITY Act | United States Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
For more information: Senate's Last-Ditch CLARITY Act Talks Could Decide Crypto's Fate for the Rest of the Decade
Concerns: From Jess Craven Chop Wood Carry Water: “ It’s a terrible bill as written and would allow far too much crypto corruption. It needs to be rewritten with ethics provisions and more protections for consumers.”
"United States-Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative," is Section 224 of the fiscal year 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
Section 224 would require the secretary of defense to designate an "executive agent" responsible for synchronizing cooperative efforts between the United States and Israel, including bilateral defense technology research, development, testing, evaluation, integration and industrial cooperation.
It also calls for joint ventures, licensing agreements and co-production manufacturing partnerships with Israeli industry, as well as joint training exercises and information-sharing mechanisms. The cooperation would span counter-drone systems, missile defense, artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, cyber and electronic warfare, biotechnology and defense industrial production.
Supporters say the provision formalizes decades of existing collaboration. Critics say it would permanently entwine the two countries' defense industries with little oversight.
Kids Online Safety Act
House Energy and Commerce Committee were set to unveil a bipartisan deal Monday on guardrails for protecting kids against online harms, including a long-sought compromise on the Kids Online Safety Act. The deal stakes out a unified House position on KOSA, as the White House and key senators try to use an alternate Senate version to soon unlock a federal regulatory framework for artificial intelligence. “We worked across the aisle for many months and have now found common ground on policies to significantly improve the digital environment for kids,” Chair Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.) and ranking member Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) said in a joint statement.
The bill could move as soon as next week on suspension, a GOP leadership aide said. The new text reflects agreement on the KIDS Act, a package of proposals the Energy and Commerce panel advanced as a single bill on a party-line vote in March. The bill includes age verification for sexually explicit websites, video game design provisions and disclosures to kids using chatbots that the systems aren’t human. It also includes a registry of data brokers handling young people’s data, which is a priority for Pallone. The centerpiece is KOSA, which deals with social media design. The House version now requires platforms, such as Instagram, to have procedures for curbing harm to young people and mandates that social apps maximize safety settings for minors by default. It also puts constraints on features like disappearing messages. Key to the deal is language that sets a federal policy floor that would supersede state laws that don’t meet its requirements for protecting minors. States could enact laws that are stronger than the federal standard. (Punchbowl News)
SAVE America Act
President Trump’s latest push to pair the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE America) Act with legislation reviving the federal government’s warrantless spying powers is dividing House Republicans, with some arguing the gambit is doomed to fail. Trump has repeatedly said he will not support renewing Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) — which allows the government to spy on foreigners abroad without a warrant — unless the GOP-backed voting requirements bill is also attached. The SAVE America Act would require proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections and the presentation of a photo ID to cast a ballot. Trump has framed the effort as part of a broader push on election security as the 2026 midterms ramp up. (The Hill)
H.R. 6644, the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act
The Senate passed a bill aimed at lowering housing costs on Monday after a major breakthrough and rare bipartisan consensus that comes as affordability remains top of mind for voters heading into the midterm elections.
In an 85-5 vote, the Senate approved the legislation along wide bipartisan margins. It now heads to the House for approval.
The bill, known as the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, aims to increase housing supply and bring down costs, including by limiting institutional investors from purchasing certain single-family homes.
The bill represents the most sweeping housing legislation in decades. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, said in a statement that it was the result of "years of work to lower costs, expand housing supply, cut red tape, protect taxpayers, and help more Americans achieve the dream of homeownership." Senate passes landmark housing affordability bill after bipartisan breakthrough - CBS News
Indiana News
DOE Secretary Linda McMahon and fellow Republicans are cheering their “Returning Education to the States” program, which they claim will reduce bureaucracy and give states more flexibility over federal education funding. They say it's a win for "deregulation." Indiana is one of just 3 states that requested to have their federal Title funds merged with this waiver. Indiana's plan will consolidate $50 million in federal money from five funding streams into one with fewer spending restrictions, similar to exemptions over federal spending granted to Iowa and Louisiana earlier this year. State officials said the waiver would reduce the costs associated with compliance and documentation by about $20 million.
Critics say that these are the dedicated funding streams that support at-risk students, English language learners, special education students, and more. By merging this funding, vulnerable students are at risk of losing targeted support to which they are entitled by federal law. By handing the reins over to Indiana — a state that currently ranks 45th for public education support — these programs lose oversight and accountability. Federal education regulations exist because without them, states could fail to uphold federal education rights of vulnerable students and forgo ethical decision-making. Regulations ensure that students across the country receive consistent support and that their rights are equally protected — even when they live in a state that doesn’t think their needs are worth protecting. Deregulation often means eliminating those rules and processes designed to ensure safety, consistency, and fairness. Indiana becomes the latest state to receive flexibility from Trump on federal education spending | PBS News