H.J.Res. 143 — Resolution Act.

This section establishes the Department of Veterans Affairs-Public Health Service Joint Scholarship Program as part of the Educational Assistance Program in chapter 76 of title 38, United States Code. Under the program, a Public Health Service (PHS) officer would attend the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) at Department of Veterans Affairs expense and, after graduation and completion of an initial residency, serve full-time at a Department of Veterans Affairs medical facility for a period of obligated service of up to 10 years. This section authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the Secretary of Defense to enter into and maintain an interagency agreement governing the program. The agreement would set the eligibility of PHS officers to receive scholarships, the number of officers who may receive scholarships each year, and the authority of the Secretary of Health and Human Services to deploy a scholarship recipient before completion of the obligated service period. The agreement could not transfer from the Secretary of Defense to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs or the Secretary of Health and Human Services the authority to determine who may attend USU. This section requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Secretary of Defense to provide the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, before each academic year, estimates of the costs that the Department of Veterans Affairs must reimburse for the next fiscal year. The Secretary of Veterans Affairs would then pay those estimated amounts each fiscal year, with any overpayment refunded or any shortfall supplemented after reconciliation with actual costs. This section directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, pursuant to section 214 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 215), to detail a scholarship recipient to the Department of Veterans Affairs for the time needed to complete USU attendance, an initial residency, and the obligated service period. A PHS officer, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and the Secretary of Health and Human Services would have to enter into a written agreement specifying the terms of the detail and the length of the obligated service. If a scholarship recipient fails to complete the obligated service, the officer would have to reimburse the Secretary of Veterans Affairs an amount equal to twice the tuition and expenses paid for USU attendance and twice the salary, allowances, and benefits paid during the detail, unless the Secretary of Veterans Affairs waives repayment as inequitable or contrary to the public interest.

This section establishes the Professional Nonprofit Theater Grant Program within Title II of the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 to provide grants to eligible nonprofit theater organizations for employment and economic recovery, economic development, community-based arts organizations, and theater facility improvements. It limits eligibility to 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations that produce or present live theater and other performing arts, pay professional performers and related personnel at not less than the prevailing minimum compensation under 20 U.S.C. 954(m), have at least a 3-year history of programming beginning before August 1, 2020, and either have experienced a loss in gross or net revenue, adjusted for inflation, or primarily serve historically underserved communities. It also requires applicants to attest that, during the grant term, they will not abrogate existing collective bargaining agreements, will remain neutral in labor organizing efforts, will maintain sanitary and safe workplace conditions, will pay at least the prevailing minimum compensation, and will use funds to facilitate gainful employment for professional performers and related personnel.

This section directs the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, in consultation with the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services, to conduct within 2 years of enactment a study on Federal support for the nonprofit arts sector. As background, the nonprofit arts sector includes arts organizations and related workers, small businesses, and communities that receive or benefit from arts-related activity. The study must include recommendations on steps the Federal Government can take to sustain the sector and bolster its economic impact for workers, small businesses, and communities, including rural and underserved communities, and must solicit input from artists, nonprofit arts organizations and their employees, small businesses, labor organizations representing workers in the sector, and State, local, and Tribal governments. This section also requires the Committee to submit a report to Congress and make it publicly available within 2 years of enactment, and authorizes $1 million to carry out the section.

This section establishes a 1-year delayed restriction on the official display of cut flowers and cut greens in public areas of buildings occupied by the Executive Office of the President, the Department of State, and the Department of Defense unless the flowers or greens are produced in the United States. (Thus, after the effective date, federally displayed floral decorations in those public areas must be grown in one of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, a U.S. territory or possession, or an area subject to the jurisdiction of a federally recognized Indian Tribe.) It defines “cut flower” as a flower removed from a living plant for decorative use and “cut green” as a green, foliage, or branch removed from a living plant for decorative use, and it clarifies that the limitation does not apply to flowers or greens used by a Federal officer or employee for personal display.

This section defines key terms for the Act by incorporating existing Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act definitions for “Indian Tribe” and “Tribal organization” under 25 U.S.C. § 5304, defining “Native American seed” as a seed of traditional or cultural significance to an Indian Tribe, and specifying that “Secretary” means the Secretary of the Interior.

This section directs the Secretary of Agriculture, not later than 1 year after enactment, to work with Indian Tribes and Tribal organizations to identify Native American seeds and to support Tribal efforts to protect those seeds, Native American seed banks and related facilities, and traditional Tribal agriculture systems that nurture and harvest Native American seeds. It also prohibits the Secretary from disclosing any information provided by an Indian Tribe under this Act that the Tribe identifies as culturally sensitive, proprietary, or otherwise confidential.

This section limits judicial review under 5 U.S.C. § 706 by requiring a court to defer to the Secretary’s reasonable interpretation of any ambiguous provision of the Act, notwithstanding the Administrative Procedure Act’s general standards for reviewing agency action.

This section limits implementation of section 3 to amounts provided in advance through appropriations and authorizes no additional funds for those requirements. (Thus, the activities authorized by section 3 may be carried out only if Congress later provides appropriated funds.)

This section reauthorizes and expands the direct-to-Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) authority through 2030 (from 2025) and makes the authority available to each Federal agency required to carry out an SBIR program (from only the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense, and the Department of Education). As background, direct-to-Phase II awards allow an agency to fund a small business’s Phase II research and development project without requiring a separate Phase I award first. This section also limits the total value of direct-to-Phase II awards a Federal agency may provide in a fiscal year to not more than 10 percent of the total funds allocated to that agency’s SBIR program during that fiscal year, except that the National Institutes of Health may provide up to 15 percent of its SBIR funds for such awards. It further requires each agency head that uses this authority to report, in the next report submitted under 15 U.S.C. § 638(g)(9), the number and amount of awards made under this subsection during the reporting period.

This section extends the civilian agencies commercialization readiness program through FY2030 (from FY2025) and makes conforming terminology changes by replacing references to the “pilot program” with the “covered program” and revising the heading to “Civilian agencies commercialization readiness.” (Thus, the Small Business Administration may continue the program for 5 additional fiscal years.)

This section extends two Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer pilot programs through September 30, 2030, from FY2025 and September 30, 2025, respectively: (1) the Phase 0 proof of concept partnership program under 15 U.S.C. § 638(jj)(7), which supports early-stage commercialization and technology development for small businesses, and (2) the commercialization assistance pilot programs under 15 U.S.C. § 638(uu)(3), which provide assistance to help small businesses move research results toward marketable products and services.

This section establishes a reporting requirement for acts of terrorism occurring in the United States. It directs the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Attorney General, the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and, as appropriate, the head of the National Counterterrorism Center to submit an unclassified report, with a classified annex if needed, to specified congressional committees not later than 1 year after completion of the investigation by the primary investigating agency. The report must be posted on a publicly available website of that agency and include: (1) the known facts of the act of terrorism, (2) identified gaps in homeland or national security that could help prevent future attacks, and (3) recommendations for additional measures, including changes to law enforcement practices or law, that could improve homeland or national security. This section permits the Secretary, Attorney General, FBI Director, or NCTC head to withhold information from the report if disclosure could jeopardize an ongoing investigation or prosecution, and requires notification to the appropriate congressional committees of that determination. It also preserves the duty to submit the report with any other information not subject to withholding. For purposes of this section, “act of terrorism” has the meaning given in 18 U.S.C. § 3077, and “appropriate congressional committees” means the House Committee on Homeland Security, House Committee on the Judiciary, House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Senate Committee on the Judiciary, and Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. This section terminates 5 years after the date of enactment.

This section directs the Joint Committee on the Library to obtain a statue of Benjamin Franklin by December 31, 2026, and to place it in a suitable permanent location in the United States Capitol by December 31, 2027, where it is accessible to the public during guided Capitol tours provided by the Capitol Visitor Center.

This section revises the Internal Revenue Code’s 50 percent limitation on the deduction for meals and entertainment expenses by excluding meals provided (1) on a fishing vessel, fish processing vessel, or fish tender vessel, or (2) at a fish processing facility located in the United States north of 50 degrees north latitude and not in a metropolitan statistical area. (Thus, taxpayers operating those vessels or facilities may deduct 100 percent of qualifying meal expenses, rather than being limited to 50 percent, for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2026.)

This section revises 18 U.S.C. § 912, which prohibits falsely impersonating a federal officer or employee, by redesignating the existing text as subsection (a) and adding a new subsection (b) that applies the same penalty—up to 3 years’ imprisonment, a fine, or both—to a person who knowingly uses artificial intelligence to impersonate, falsely assume, or pretend to be an officer or employee of the United States, including by mimicking a federal officer’s voice or likeness without an explicit disclaimer, and thereby produces materially false or misleading content. It also adds subsection (c), defining “artificial intelligence” as any system or software that performs tasks normally requiring human intelligence, including generative models capable of producing human-like audio, video, or text, and defining “impersonates” as falsely representing oneself as another identifiable individual, real or fictitious, in a manner reasonably likely to cause another person to believe the content is authentic. (Thus, the amendment extends the federal impersonation offense to certain AI-generated deepfake-style conduct while preserving protected satire, parody, and other expressive conduct that includes clear disclosure that it is not authentic.)

This section directs each standing committee of the House of Representatives to hold 1 hearing on the implementation of the Act within 1 year of enactment.

This section revises the House Code of Official Conduct to prohibit a Member, Delegate, Resident Commissioner, officer, or employee of the House from receiving, or allowing to accrue to their beneficial interest, any compensation from any source if that compensation would be received by virtue of influence improperly exerted from their position in Congress.

This section establishes that, for purposes of the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, the budgetary effects of the Act shall be determined by the latest “Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation” statement for the Act submitted for printing in the Congressional Record by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee before the House vote on passage. (Thus, the Act’s PAYGO score would be based on the most recent House Budget Committee statement available before final passage.)

This section provides appropriations for FY2027, ending September 30, 2027, from the Treasury’s general fund for the purposes specified in the act.