Senate clears health cybersecurity, emergency alerts bills before recess

The Senate passed by unanimous consent the Health Care Cybersecurity and Resiliency Act, a bipartisan bill led by Sens. Mark R. Warner, D-Va., Bill Cassidy, R-La., Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., and John Cornyn, R-Texas. The legislation now goes to the House.

"Cyberattacks on our health care systems can have life-or-death consequences for patients and put the sensitive information of millions of Americans at risk," said Warner. "This bill will strengthen our cybersecurity, better protect patients and their information, and give rural health care providers in Virginia and across the country additional tools to defend against cyber threats."

"Cyberattacks can shut down hospitals and expose patients' private medical records," said Cassidy. "At a time when hostile actors are increasingly using sophisticated tactics to breach health care systems, the Health Care Cybersecurity and Resilience Act will help health care providers strengthen their defenses against cyber threats and protect patients' health data."

The bill authorizes grants to health entities to improve cyberattack prevention and response, provides cybersecurity training, establishes best practices for rural health clinics, improves coordination between HHS and CISA, modernizes HIPAA cybersecurity requirements, and directs the HHS Secretary to develop a cybersecurity incident response plan.

The Mystic Alerts Act passed the Senate unanimously and now heads to President Trump's desk, following unanimous House passage in April. The bill allows wireless emergency alerts to be delivered via satellite when cellular networks fail during disasters — a gap exposed when more than 130 people died in the July 4, 2025 Texas Hill Country floods.

"More than 130 people were tragically killed in the July 4th floods that ravaged Central Texas last year, many of whom did not receive emergency alerts due to compromised cellular networks that were knocked out by the storm," said Sen. Cornyn, R-Texas. "This bill will address this technology shortfall and honor the memory of those lost by ensuring Texans and all Americans can receive wireless emergency alerts on their mobile devices via satellite even when disaster strikes."

"When storms, disasters, or threats to public safety threaten our state, crisis management is key," said Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga. "This bipartisan bill with Senator Cornyn will help upgrade America's emergency alert systems to keep Georgia families safe and informed."

Six Democratic senators introduced the Stop Orphaned Wells Act Friday, legislation that would bar oil and gas companies from abandoning wells on public lands and shift cleanup liability away from taxpayers. The bill was led by Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., joined by Sens. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., alongside Rep. Yassamin Ansari, D-Ariz.

"For too long, taxpayers have footed the bill to clean up abandoned wells after companies walk away from their responsibilities," said Bennet. "As the Trump administration moves to weaken the safeguards that hold companies accountable, Congress must protect taxpayers and the public lands that power Colorado's outdoor economy, while making sure oil and gas companies pay the cost of cleanup, rather than Colorado's future generations."

"Across California, there are over 5,000 orphaned oil wells that pose a threat to the health and safety of our communities and the environment," said Padilla. "When wells are left abandoned, drinking water is polluted, greenhouse gases are emitted, and the climate crisis is accelerated."

"Abandoned wells put Colorado communities in danger," said Hickenlooper. "Capping wells creates jobs and lowers pollution. It's a win-win." Luján added: "We must ensure that oil and gas companies are held accountable and that taxpayers are not on the hook for the cost of cleanup."

Sen. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., and Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., led nine Democratic colleagues Friday in demanding IRS CEO Frank Bisignano drop a proposed citizenship and work authorization checkbox from the final 2026 Form 1040.

"Adding this question for the first time in history appears to serve no legitimate tax administration purpose and risks increasing the tax gap by hundreds of billions of dollars," the senators wrote. "Turning the 1040 into an immigration tracker actively sabotages voluntary tax compliance and undermines the IRS's core tax collection responsibilities. Public trust is already at a low point after the IRS illegally handed over the private data of more than 42,000 taxpayers to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)."

The letter cited Yale Budget Lab estimates that weaponizing tax filing could cost the federal government $313 billion over the next decade and endanger the $66 billion that unauthorized workers currently pay in taxes each year. Signatories included Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., Padilla, Peter Welch, D-Vt., Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., Patty Murray, D-Wash., Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., introduced the Ban Flock Act Friday, which would prohibit federal agencies from using automatic license plate readers and block federal funding to state and local governments that deploy the technology.

"At a time of growing concern about the unchecked power of artificial intelligence, Flock is eviscerating the very notion of privacy by installing tens of thousands of cameras in communities across America without their consent," Sanders said. "We cannot allow America to become a surveillance state where a handful of AI oligarchs profit by giving the government the power to track our every movement."

"Your right to privacy includes the freedom to move around your community without every move being monitored," said Merkley. "No one should have this unchecked surveillance power at their fingertips, which is why I'm teaming up with Senator Sanders to rein in this dangerous technology."

Flock Safety operates more than 120,000 cameras nationally, scanning and recording 20 billion vehicles every month, according to the release. The bill's backdrop includes documented instances of Flock data being shared with federal immigration officials and used to track activists at protests.

In a floor statement, Sen. Ashley Moody, R-Fla., announced that Senate Democrats blocked her National Fraud Enforcement Division Act — a bill to codify the administration's anti-fraud enforcement division within the DOJ. The legislation had already passed the House.

"Democrats shockingly continue to side with fraudsters and against hardworking Americans," said Moody. "Combatting fraud should be a 100-0 issue. Acting as good stewards of taxpayer dollars is the most foundational aspect of being a public servant, yet we continue to battle a party that seemingly wants to protect institutional grift."

Moody's release cited the administration's claim that more than $260 billion in nationwide fraud has been uncovered. She serves on the Senate Anti-Fraud Task Force.

The Senate passed several additional measures by unanimous consent this week. A bipartisan resolution by Sens. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., and Rick Scott, R-Fla., honoring Americans killed and taken hostage in the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks cleared the chamber. "It is our responsibility to make sure the world never forgets the unspeakable violence carried out by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023 — the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust," said Rosen.

The Senate also unanimously passed Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto's, D-Nev., Dennis John Benigno Traumatic Brain Injury Program Reauthorization Act of 2026. "Every year, more than 2.5 million Americans get a traumatic brain injury," said Cortez Masto. "We have a responsibility to do everything we can to both prevent these injuries from happening and support patients through the recovery process."

Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., celebrated Senate passage of his Safe Access to Cash Act, which extends federal bank-robbery penalties to standalone ATM robberies. "Criminals have figured out that standalone ATMs are easier targets than banks and, under the current law, these robberies aren't treated the same as bank robberies," said Gallego. Sen. Tim Scott's, R-S.C., resolution designating September 2026 as National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month also passed unanimously. "No child or their family should face the fight against cancer alone," Scott said.

Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., announced Friday that the Farm Service Agency has begun implementing $423 million in Agriculture Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage payments to Mississippi producers under the Working Families Tax Cuts Act, enacted in July 2025.

"American farmers and ranchers pour their hearts and souls into producing the food and fiber that we all need," Hyde-Smith said. "Producers across Mississippi and this great nation will finally get the first meaningful investment in farm safety net programs that they deserve."

The payments are part of $13.8 billion approved by Congress to update the farm safety net, including increased reference prices and crop insurance enhancements. Hyde-Smith renewed her call for the full Senate to take up the Agricultural Act of 2026, which the Senate Agriculture Committee approved in early September. "I'm committed to getting that done no matter how packed the agenda may be when we get back to Washington in November," she said.

Sens. Rick Scott and Ashley Moody introduced the Protecting Florida's Offshore Military Readiness Act to shield the Eglin Gulf Test and Training Range from offshore drilling interference. "The Eglin Gulf Test and Training Range is a national military asset that can't be replicated anywhere else in the country," Moody said. Scott added the bill aims to "use every tool we have to deliver more abundant, cheap energy while ensuring our military remains the most lethal fighting force on earth."

Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., applauded implementation of his Streamlining Rural Housing Act, noting HUD and USDA have signed a memorandum of understanding to streamline environmental review for rural housing projects. "We are cutting red tape, increasing efficiency, and meeting demand to make homeownership easier for people in Nebraska and across the nation," Ricketts said.

Sens. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, both D-Ga., announced $11.3 million in federal infrastructure funding for DeRenne Avenue in Savannah — a corridor serving Hunter Army Airfield and two major hospitals. "Upgrades to this central corridor will promote economic opportunity, improve safety, and reduce traffic for Georgians across Savannah," Warnock said. In an op-ed, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., defended the Senate-passed Protect College Sports Act. Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., conducted an unannounced oversight visit to a de facto immigration detention facility at San Francisco International Airport, his third visit to a California detention facility this year. "As a United States Senator, I have a constitutional responsibility to conduct oversight, see these facilities firsthand, and hold the federal government accountable for how it treats people in its custody," Padilla said.

Signals

• volumeFriday release count of 22 runs 53.4% below the Friday average of 47.2, consistent with members preparing to depart for the pre-election state work period beginning in three days.
• recessThe Senate's pre-election state work period begins in three days; no scheduled votes appear on today's calendar.
• coordinatedFive Democratic senators (Bennet, Padilla, Schiff, Hickenlooper, Luján) issued paired releases on the Stop Orphaned Wells Act within roughly two hours, a coordinated rollout with near-identical quote sets across both releases.
• coordinatedEleven Democratic senators signed a single IRS letter led by Luján and Wyden — one of the largest multi-senator sign-on actions in today's release set.
• silent breaksSen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., issued two releases today — ATM crime bill passage and women's preventive health legislation — after no releases appeared in today's input set prior to this date.

Quiet desks

Senators with no release in two weeks or more.

• Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-SC80d
• Sen. Alan Armstrong, R-OK78d
• Sen. Roger F. Wicker, R-MS72d