HR 6039
Commonsense Legislating Act
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Bill overview
The Commonsense Legislating Act addresses several key areas through a series of amendments to existing laws. It extends the Federal Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Technology Transfer (STTR) programs, provides assistance to small businesses applying for these programs, and aims to increase participation from minority and Hispanic-serving institutions. The bill also includes provisions to support Native American tourism, expand eligibility for the Work Opportunity Tax Credit to spouses of military personnel, and establish an interagency task force to address working families’ challenges. Finally, it modifies regulations related to conflicts of interest for members of Congress.
Key provisions
- Extends the period for the Federal Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Technology Transfer (STTR) programs to September 30, 2030.
- Provides assistance to small businesses applying for SBIR and STTR programs, particularly focusing on increasing participation from States with historically low awards.
- Requires enhanced outreach efforts by the Administration to increase the participation of researchers at minority and Hispanic-serving institutions in SBIR and STTR programs.
- Amends the Native American Tourism and Improving Visitor Experience Act to provide grants to Indian tribes and tribal organizations.
- Expands eligibility for the Work Opportunity Tax Credit to spouses of military personnel.
- Establishes an Interagency National Task Force on Working Families to examine challenges and develop recommendations for improving the standard of living for working families.
- Modifies House Rules to prohibit members of Congress from serving as officers or directors of public companies.
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119th CONGRESS — 1st Session
H. R. 6039
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
A BILL
To advance commonsense priorities.
This Act may be cited as the Commonsense Legislating Act
.
Section 34(i) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 657d(i)) is amended by striking September 30, 2005
and inserting September 30, 2030
.
Section 9(mm)(1) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 638(mm)(1)) is amended—
in subparagraph (J), by striking and
at the end;
in subparagraph (K), by striking the period at the end and inserting ; and
; and
by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
providing small business concerns with assistance applying to the SBIR program or STTR program of the Federal agency, including providing such assistance to carry out the policy directive required under paragraphs (2)(F) or (5) of subsection (j) and subsection (p)(2)(H) to increase the participation of States with respect to which a low level of SBIR or STTR awards have historically been awarded.
Section 9(j) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 638(j)), is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this paragraph, the Administration shall modify the policy directives issued pursuant to this subsection to require enhanced outreach efforts to increase the participation of individuals conducting research at minority institutions (as defined in section 365 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1067k)) and Hispanic-serving institutions (as defined in section 502(a) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1101a(a))) in SBIR programs.
Section 9(p)(2) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 638(p)(2)) is amended—
in subparagraph (F), by striking and
at the end;
in subparagraph (G)(iii), by striking the period at the end and inserting ; and
; and
by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
procedures for outreach efforts to increase the participation of individuals conducting research at minority institutions (as defined in section 365 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1067k)) and Hispanic-serving institutions (as defined in section 16 502(a) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1101a(a))) in STTR programs.
The Native American Tourism and Improving Visitor Experience Act (25 U.S.C. 4351 et seq.) is amended—
Paragraph (1) of section 51(d) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking or
at the end of subparagraph (I), by striking the period at the end of subparagraph (J) and inserting , or
, and by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
a qualified military spouse.
Subsection (d) of section 51 of such Code is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
The term qualified military spouse means any individual who is certified by the designated local agency as being (as of the hiring date) a spouse of a member of the Armed Forces of the United States.
In generaland inserting
Initial consultation;
by inserting after subsection (a) the following new subsection (b):
consultations under paragraph (1); and
other mental health services furnished by the Secretary.
in subsection (c), as redesignated by paragraph (2), by inserting or (b)
after under subsection (a)
both places it appears; and
in subsection (d), as redesignated by paragraph (2), by inserting , or to require the reevaluation of any entitlement of the veteran to compensation under this chapter
before the period at the end.
The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 11 of such title is amended—
by inserting after the item relating to section 1168 the following new item:
mental health consultations under paragraph (1) of subsection (b) of section 1169 of such title; and
whether veterans reported barriers to seeking such consultations; and
such barriers, if any.
Section 659 of title 18, United States Code, is amended—
at the end of the fourth paragraph, by striking —
and inserting ; or
; and
by inserting after paragraph four the following new paragraph:
Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor, in consultation with the Secretaries of Health and Human Services, Education, Housing and Urban Development, Commerce, Treasury, Transportation, and Agriculture and the Administrator of the Small Business Administration, shall establish an Interagency National Task Force on Working Families. The task force shall be titled the Working Families Task Force
and for purposes of this Act be referred to as the Task Force
.
The Task Force shall be composed of not fewer than 10 members and shall include representatives designated by the relevant Secretaries from each of the following Federal agencies:
The Department of Labor.
The Department of Health and Human Services.
The Department of Education.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The Department of Commerce.
The Department of the Treasury.
The Department of Transportation.
The Department of Agriculture.
The Small Business Administration.
The Task Force shall meet not less than 1 time per quarter per calendar year.
Two-thirds of the members of the Task Force shall constitute a quorum.
The purpose of the Task Force shall be to—
examine the challenges facing working families; and
develop recommendations to improve the standard of living and quality of life for working families.
The duties of the Task Force shall include the following:
Identifying and evaluating key factors that impact the standard of living for working families, including—
addressing affordability challenges related to various economic conditions, including inflation;
reducing barriers to economic mobility;
improving access to quality jobs with livable wages and strong labor standards;
expanding affordable child care for all families;
improving incentives, including tax policies such as the child tax credit, child and dependent care tax credit, and earned income tax credit, that assist children and families;
supporting home care and medical care for seniors and families that need assistance;
mitigating barriers to more affordable and higher quality health care and services;
obtaining and building quality, affordable housing;
expanding educational and workforce training opportunities;
increasing financial literacy and access to financial services;
accessing affordable and nutritious food;
reducing gaps in access to technology and the internet that impact educational and employment opportunities and health services;
reducing environmental hazards and creating a healthier environment;
accessing affordable, reliant, and efficient transportation systems; and
addressing the impacts of staffing and funding cuts at Federal agencies.
Assessing the effectiveness of current Federal policies and programs in helping working families achieve an improved standard of living.
Developing legislative and regulatory policy recommendations to enhance the efforts of Federal agencies and Congress to empower working families to meet the challenges of current economic conditions, raise their standards of living, and access the benefits of economic growth.
The Task Force shall consult with a wide-ranging group of external stakeholders and public experts in order to develop the recommendations referred to in paragraph (4).
Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Task Force shall—
submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report on its most recent findings and recommendations, which shall include a list of stakeholders and public experts with which the Task Force consulted and the meeting minutes for each meeting of the Task Force; and
make such report publicly available on the website of the Task Force.
In this section, the term appropriate congressional committees means the following:
The Committee on Education and Workforce of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate.
The Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate.
The Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the Senate.
The Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate.
The Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate.
Steering Group).
The Steering Group shall be composed of—
the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, who shall serve as chair; and
a senior official from each of the agencies described in paragraph (2), to be appointed by the head of the respective agency of such official (and in the case of the intelligence community, to be appointed by the Director of National Intelligence).
The Department of State.
The Department of the Treasury.
The Department of Defense.
The Department of Justice.
The Department of Commerce.
The Department of Health and Human Services.
The Department of Transportation.
The Department of Energy.
The Department of Homeland Security.
The intelligence community (as defined in section 3(4) of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003(4))).
The United States Postal Service.
Oversee implementation of the policy priorities and directives undertaken by the agencies described in subsection (b)(2) to combat fentanyl trafficking and use.
Identify and set goals for strategic disruption of fentanyl.
Assist in ensuring that all of the available resources and tools are brought to the efforts described in paragraphs (1) and (2) in accordance with strategic priorities.
Identify disagreements and challenges for interagency review by the Steering Group.
Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the agencies described in subsection (b)(2) shall submit to the chair of the Steering Group a detailed description of the existing and planned fusion cells, joint task forces, mission centers, and similar multi-department initiatives relating to fentanyl disruption of such agencies, including an explanation of purposes, goals, and composition, to support efforts to ensure appropriate prioritization and resourcing and minimize duplication of efforts.
Each standing committee of the House of Representatives shall hold a hearing on the implementation of this Act within one year of enactment.
Subsection (a) is enacted—
as an exercise of rulemaking power of the House of Representatives, and, as such, shall be considered as part of the rules of the House, and such rules shall supersede any other rule of the House only to the extent that rule is inconsistent therewith; and
with full recognition of the constitutional right of either House to change such rules (so far as relating to the procedure in such House) at any time, in the same manner, and to the same extent as in the case of any other rule of the House.
In rule XXIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, strike clause 19 and insert the following:
The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go-Act of 2010, shall be determined by reference to the latest statement titled Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation
for this Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional Record by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, provided that such statement has been submitted prior to the vote on passage.
The following sums are hereby appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2026, and for other purposes, namely:
For an additional amount for necessary expenses for carrying out section 301 and title IV of the Public Health Service Act with respect to diabetes and digestive and kidney diseases, $1,000,000.
For an additional amount for the Congressional Research Service salaries and expenses, $1,000,000.
For an additional amount for necessary expenses of programs supporting entrepreneurial and small business development overseen by the Small Business Administration, $1,000,000, to remain available until expended.
For an additional amount of expenses, not otherwise provided for, necessary for the operations and maintenance of the Marine Corps, as authorized by law, $1,000,000.
For an additional amount of expenses necessary to carry out the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act (16 USC 6101 et seq.), $1,000,000, to remain available until expended.
For an additional amount of expenses necessary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s inspection and assessment programs, including travel, training, and program support contracts, $1,000,000.