Congress passed 11 bills this week. Here's what they do.

AGOA Extension Act passes both chambers

HR 6500, sponsored by Rep. Jason Smith (R-MO-8), passed both the House and Senate on August 8, extending duty-free U.S. market access for eligible sub-Saharan African countries through December 31, 2028.

Why it matters: Why it matters: The African Growth and Opportunity Act framework had been set to expire, and without this extension, apparel and other goods from beneficiary countries would face standard tariff rates — a shift that U.S. Customs and Border Protection must now address by refunding duties on eligible entries made after September 30, 2025, within 90 days of request.

• Duty-free treatment for apparel from beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries extended through December 31, 2028.
• Countries may use non-AGOA fabrics in apparel production and still qualify for duty-free access through 2028.
• Customs user fees and merchandise processing fees extended through December 31, 2031.
• CBP must refund duties on eligible sub-Saharan African entries made after September 30, 2025, within 90 days of request.

Stop Secret Spending Act passes both chambers

HR 2069, sponsored by Rep. Barry Moore (R-AL-1), passed both chambers on August 7, requiring that other transaction agreement expenditures — a contracting mechanism currently exempt from federal spending disclosure — be reported to USAspending.gov.

Why it matters: Why it matters: Other transaction agreements (OTAs) let agencies bypass standard procurement rules and, until now, standard reporting; the bill changes the statutory definition of "federal award" to include OTA spending, and requires Inspectors General at specified agencies to submit public assessment reports to Congress for 10 years after enactment.

• Treasury must automatically transmit OTA data to USAspending.gov and maintain a centralized view.
• Annual Treasury posting required of total unreported federal spending and the reasons it was not disclosed.
• Inspectors General at specified agencies must submit periodic spending assessment reports to Congress and the public for 10 years.
• OTA expenditures are added to the definition of "federal award" under USAspending.gov disclosure rules.

House passes Digital Asset Market Clarity Act

HR 3633, sponsored by Rep. J. Hill (R-AR-2), passed the House on August 8 and now goes to the Senate, establishing which federal regulator — the CFTC or the SEC — oversees different categories of digital asset activity.

Why it matters: Why it matters: The bill draws a regulatory boundary that does not currently exist in statute: the CFTC takes jurisdiction over exchanges, brokers, and dealers trading digital commodities on blockchains, while the SEC gains authority over digital commodity activity on alternative trading systems and national securities exchanges — a split that determines which disclosure and compliance rules apply to each platform.

• CFTC must regulate digital commodity exchanges, brokers, and dealers trading on blockchains.
• Digital commodities on mature blockchains are exempt from SEC registration if annual sales fall below a defined threshold.
• Issuers must file certain reports unless their blockchain has achieved decentralized control as defined in the bill.
• Exchanges, brokers, and dealers must comply with the Bank Secrecy Act for anti-money laundering purposes.

Disaster tax relief bill passes both chambers

HR 5366, the Doug LaMalfa Federal Disaster Tax Relief Certainty Act, passed both chambers on August 7, extending the federal tax deduction for personal casualty losses in federally declared disasters declared between December 28, 2019 and January 1, 2027.

Why it matters: Why it matters: The bill also removes a prior-year restriction on wildfire relief payments, meaning taxpayers can now exclude those payments from gross income regardless of when the payments are received — not just in the year the disaster was declared.

• Covers disasters declared between December 28, 2019 and January 1, 2027.
• Taxpayers may deduct unreimbursed personal casualty losses exceeding $500 per casualty in declared disaster areas.
• Exclusion from gross income for qualified wildfire relief payments applies to disasters declared after 2014 and before 2027.
• Prior year-received restriction on wildfire payments removed; exclusion applies regardless of when payments arrive.

SEED Act extends educator deduction to pre-K teachers

HR 5334, sponsored by Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-CA-19), passed both chambers on August 7, extending the existing above-the-line tax deduction for unreimbursed classroom expenses to early childhood educators in pre-kindergarten schools.

Why it matters: Why it matters: Pre-K educators were previously excluded from the deduction that K-12 teachers have used for years; the bill brings them under the same rules, including the $300 annual cap that adjusts each year.

• Early childhood educators in pre-K settings gain access to up to $300 annual deduction for unreimbursed professional development and classroom expenses.
• Deduction amount adjusts annually, matching the existing K-12 teacher deduction rules.
• Same conditions and restrictions governing the K-12 deduction apply to newly eligible early childhood educators.

President signs order establishing Military Spouse Commission

President Trump signed E.O. 14417 on August 3, creating the President's Military Spouse Commission.

Why it matters: Why it matters: No highlights were included in the published order, so the commission's specific mandate, membership structure, and reporting timeline are not yet part of the public record captured here.

Sources

Official congressional and federal records used to verify the issue.

• E.O. 14417 — Establishing the President's Military Spouse Commission · 2026-08-03
• HR 6500 — AGOA Extension Act · 2026-08-08
• HR 1276 — To remove restrictions from a parcel of land in Paducah, Kentucky. · 2026-08-07
• HR 2069 — Stop Secret Spending Act of 2025 · 2026-08-07
• HR 5366 — Doug LaMalfa Federal Disaster Tax Relief Certainty Act · 2026-08-07
• HR 5334 — SEED Act · 2026-08-07
• HR 2196 — National Emergency Medical Services Memorial Extension Act · 2026-08-07
• HR 3633 — Digital Asset Market Clarity Act · 2026-08-08
• S 3897 — Officer John Barnes and Chief Michael Ansbro Public Safety Officers' Benefit Program Expansion Act of 2026 · 2026-08-07
• S 2677 — A bill to expand the sharing of information with respect to suspected violations of intellectual property rights in trade. · 2026-08-07
• S 1525 — Common Cents Act · 2026-08-07
• SRES 815 — A resolution commending the Chicago Cubs baseball teams as it celebrates its 150th anniversary on August 29, 2026. · 2026-08-07