AI and cybersecurity: January 1, 2026 - January 8, 2026

NOTE: STATUS OF LEGISLATION AS OF OCTOBER 23, 2026.

H.R.6956 - BARCODE Efficiency Act (Barcode Automation for Revenue Collection to Organize Disbursement and Enhance Efficiency Act). To require electronically prepared tax returns to include scannable code when submitted on paper, and to require the use of optical character recognition technology for paper documents received by the Internal Revenue Service.
Introduced January 7, 2026 by Bradley Scott Schneider (D-IL). Cosponsored by Rudy Yakym (R-IN). Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means the same day.
Markup by the Committee on January 14, 2026. Report of committee findings on February 20, 2026. Placed on Union Calendar the same day. Passed the House on April 27, 2026 and sent to the Senate the same day.
Received in the Senate April 28, 2026. Referred to the Committee on Finance. Still in committee.
Summary from Congress.gov: This bill requires the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to use barcodes, barcode scanning technology, and optical character recognition (or similar) technology to digitize certain federal tax return information and correspondence, unless the technology is slower or less reliable than other IRS processes (subject to conditions).
Specifically, the bill requires a scannable barcode on electronically-prepared federal tax returns that are printed and filed in paper format with the IRS. The bill also requires the IRS to use barcode scanning technology to convert data included on such returns into an electronic format.
Further, the bill requires the IRS to use optical character recognition (or similar) technology to transcribe federal tax returns and correspondence received by the IRS that are not prepared electronically and are received in paper format.
However, under the bill, the use of barcodes, barcode scanning technology, and optical character recognition (or similar) technology is not required if (1) such technology is slower or less reliable than manual transcription or any other IRS process, and (2) the IRS provides a report to Congress regarding the determination to not use such technology.

EC2574 - January 7, 2026. Executive communication from the Secretary, Division of Market Oversight, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, transmitting the Commission's Notice of withdrawal of Commission interpretive guidance - Retail Commodity Transactions Involving Certain Digital Assets. To the Committee on Agriculture.

January 8, 2026 alert. Regarding January 13, 2026 meeting. 1:15AM(EST) | 2123 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, D.C. “Protecting America’s Energy Infrastructure in Today’s Cyber and Physical Threat Landscape.”
Video, witness documents, statements from members of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy, supporting documentation, and hearing record are all available at the above link. Transcript is not available as of October 23, 2026.

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