Frank D. Lucas

To amend the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025 to exempt certain military installations from guidance regarding the maintenance of the aggregate square footage of facilities of the Department of Defense.

The Department of Defense currently follows rules about how much total building space it maintains across all military bases. This amendment would allow certain military installations to be excused from those space-reduction requirements, giving those specific bases more flexibility in keeping or expanding their facilities. This would primarily affect military personnel, base operations, and how the Pentagon manages its real estate footprint.

Main Street Depositor Protection Act

This bill would protect bank deposits for small businesses and individuals by expanding federal insurance coverage beyond the current $250,000 limit, helping ensure that Main Street businesses don't lose their savings if a bank fails. The measure aims to give small business owners and everyday depositors greater peace of mind about their money while potentially making it easier for community banks to compete with larger financial institutions. It would affect small business owners, workers with savings accounts, and community banks across the country.

Public Company Advisory Committee Act of 2026

Public Company Advisory Committee Act of 2026 This bill establishes the Public Company Advisory Committee within the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The committee must advise the SEC on regulatory priorities, public reporting and corporate governance of public companies, shareholder meetings and the proxy process, and other topics. The committee must be comprised of individuals who are officers, directors, or senior officials of public companies; have senior managerial responsibility in associations that represent the interests of public companies; or provide professional advice and services to public companies.

PROTECT Taiwan Act

Pressure Regulatory Organizations To End Chinese Threats to Taiwan Act or the PROTECT Taiwan Act This bill requires certain federal entities to seek to exclude China from six international financial organizations if the President informs Congress that China's actions threaten Taiwan and pose a danger to U.S. interests. Specifically, the bill establishes that it is U.S. policy to seek to exclude Chinese representatives from participating in the activities of six international organizations if the President informs Congress that China's actions pose any (1) threat to Taiwan's security, economic system, or social system; and (2) danger to U.S. interests. The six specified organizations are the Group of Twenty, the Bank for International Settlements, the Financial Stability Board, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, the International Association of Insurance Supervisors, and the International Organization of Securities Commissions. In the event that the President so informs Congress, the bill requires the Department of the Treasury, the Federal Reserve, and the Securities and Exchange Commission to take all necessary steps to advance the exclusion policy. The President may waive the application of this policy to an organization if doing so is in the national interest of the United States.

Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025

Retirement Fairness for Charities and Educational Institutions Act of 2025 This bill allows 403(b) retirement plans (i.e., retirement plans designed for certain employees of public schools, charities, and churches) to invest in collective investment trusts, which are a group of pooled investment assets held by a bank or trust company, and in insurance company separate accounts.

Weather Act Reauthorization Act of 2025

Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Reauthorization Act of 2025 or the Weather Act Reauthorization Act of 2025 This bill reauthorizes, revises, and establishes several programs related to weather forecasting, monitoring, and research. For example, the bill reauthorizes through FY2030 programs that are administered by the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), including the U.S. Weather Research Program. It also provides statutory authority for NOAA's Verification of the Origins of Rotation in Tornadoes Experiment (known as VORTEX-USA). The bill also requires NOAA to establish programs that support weather forecasting technology, including improvements to radar accuracy, weather forecasting in underserved areas, and coastal flooding forecasting. NOAA must also acquire weather-related data from the private sector and establish a pilot program to test the compatibility of this data with NOAA infrastructure. In addition, NOAA must improve weather-related communication systems, including those related to hazardous weather events, through system upgrades that use more modern technology (e.g., cloud-based services) and that allow for expanded coverage (e.g., in rural areas). Finally, NOAA must administer programs that support weather forecasting for agricultural and water management, including pilot programs to improve precipitation forecasts in the western and central states and a soil moisture monitoring network.

Agricultural Risk Review Act of 2025

Agricultural Risk Review Act of 2025 This bill makes changes to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), including by requiring CFIUS to determine whether a national security review is necessary for reportable agricultural land transactions that are referred by the Department of Agriculture (USDA). (CFIUS oversees the national security risks of certain foreign investment in the United States. CFIUS has the authority to review covered transactions, which include mergers, acquisitions, and takeovers that could result in foreign control of a U.S. business; certain investments in businesses involved in critical technologies, critical infrastructure, or sensitive personal data; and certain real estate transactions.) Specifically, the bill directs CFIUS to, after receiving notification from USDA, determine (1) whether a reportable agricultural land transaction is a covered transaction, and (2) whether CFIUS should initiate a national security review or take another action with respect to the transaction. Reportable agricultural land transaction means a transaction (1) that USDA has reason to believe is a covered transaction, based on information from or in cooperation with the intelligence community; (2) that involves the acquisition of an interest in agricultural land by a foreign person of China, North Korea, Russia, or Iran; and (3) with respect to which a foreign person is required to submit a report to USDA regarding their agricultural land transactions. The bill also expands CFIUS to include the Secretary of Agriculture for covered transactions that involve agricultural land, agricultural biotechnology, or the agriculture industry (e.g., agricultural transportation, storage, and processing).

Weather Act Reauthorization Act of 2025

This bill would renew and update federal programs that monitor weather patterns, conduct climate research, and maintain weather forecasting systems across the United States. The legislation affects meteorologists, climate scientists, and the general public who rely on accurate weather predictions for safety and planning. The bill has been sent to multiple congressional committees to review different aspects, including its impact on public lands, energy policy, and international cooperation.

Commercial Remote Sensing Amendment Act of 2025

Commercial Remote Sensing Amendment Act of 2025 This bill makes certain changes related to the licensing of private remote sensing space systems. (Under current regulations, remote sensing refers to the collection of data by instruments in Earth's orbit, such as satellites, that can be processed into imagery of Earth's surface; private remote sensing space systems refer to remote sensing instruments not owned by the U.S. government.) The bill decreases from 120 to 60 days the amount of time in which the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration must review and act on an application for a license to operate a private remote sensing space system. Further, the bill expands annual reporting on the licensing of private remote sensing space systems to include a list of all applications, organized by tier, as well as the rationale for each tier categorization. (Currently, each license is categorized into one of three tiers based on whether the system produces or is capable of producing data that is already available from other entities). Additionally, the report must include all terms, conditions, or restrictions placed on licensees. The bill also reinstates this annual reporting requirement, which expired on September 30, 2020, through September 30, 2030.

DOE and USDA Interagency Research Act

DOE and USDA Interagency Research Act This bill requires the Department of Energy and Department of Agriculture to carry out cross-cutting and collaborative research and development activities through the establishment of an interagency agreement. The agencies are authorized to (1) carry out reimbursable agreements in order to maximize research and development effectiveness, and (2) collaborate with other federal agencies. Further, the interagency agreement must require the use of a competitive, merit-reviewed process, which considers applications from federal agencies, national laboratories, institutions of higher education, and nonprofit institutions. Research and development activities may include collaborative research in a variety of focus areas such as machine learning and artificial intelligence, biofuels and biobased products, grid modernization and security, rural technology development, and wildfire risks and prevention; developing methods to accommodate large voluntary standardized and integrated data sets on agricultural, environmental, supply chain, and economic information; supporting research infrastructure and workforce development; and collaborative research and development on ways to improve agriculture operations and processing efficiencies, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.