PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Rules, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Congressional Research Service
No official summary is available in the imported record yet.
People & committees
Rep. Boyle, Brendan F. [D-PA-2] · D–PA
Legislative record
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Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Rules, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Rules, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We also preserved the text version used in the PlainBill explanation below.
Source last updated: Oct 6, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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PlainBill explanation
Based on the full Introduced in House · 2026-09-03 text. This explanation has not received human editorial review. This overview describes the proposal’s major provisions; it does not establish what its real-world effects would be.
The proposed Back-to-School Supplies Affordability Act would remove certain import duties, meaning taxes on imported goods, from listed supplies and government-designated classroom items. It would apply when those duties exceed their January 19, 2025 levels, with exceptions for duties imposed under two specified laws. The proposal covers goods such as notebooks, backpacks and keyboards, and would take effect only upon enactment.
This Act may be cited as the Back-to-School Supplies Affordability Act.
(a) In general Beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, no duty described in subsection (b) applies with respect to any item described in subsection (c). (b) Duty described A duty is described in this subsection if the duty imposed on an article exceeds the duty in effect for the article on January 19, 2025, except if the duty was— (1) imposed pursuant to title VII of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1671 et seq.); or (2) proclaimed pursuant to section 201 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2251).
(1) the item is an item used in an elementary or secondary school classroom, as designated through regulations issued by the Secretary of Commerce, in coordination with the Secretary of Education
(B) 4202.92 (Backpack and lunchboxes). (C) 4820.10.20 (Diaries, notebooks and address books, bound, memorandum pads, letter pads, and similar articles).
(F) 8471.60.20 (Keyboards).
The bill expresses Congress's view that arbitrary and chaotic tariffs raise school-supply costs for students, families, teachers, schools and local governments. This is a statement of opinion in the proposal, not evidence establishing its price effects.
It is the sense of Congress that arbitrary and chaotic tariffs increase the cost of school supplies for students, families, teachers, schools, and local governments.
Starting on enactment, a covered duty would no longer apply to eligible goods if it exceeds the duty in effect on January 19, 2025. Duties imposed under title VII of the Tariff Act of 1930 or proclaimed under section 201 of the Trade Act of 1974 would be excepted from this prohibition. The wording makes the described duty inapplicable; it does not expressly say to subtract only the amount above the earlier level.
(a) In general Beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, no duty described in subsection (b) applies with respect to any item described in subsection (c). (b) Duty described A duty is described in this subsection if the duty imposed on an article exceeds the duty in effect for the article on January 19, 2025, except if the duty was— (1) imposed pursuant to title VII of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1671 et seq.); or (2) proclaimed pursuant to section 201 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2251).
The Secretary of Commerce, working with the Secretary of Education, could designate elementary- and secondary-school classroom items through regulations. An item's eligibility through this route would be subject to an enacted congressional resolution disapproving its designation.
(c) Items described An item is described in this subsection if— (1) the item is an item used in an elementary or secondary school classroom, as designated through regulations issued by the Secretary of Commerce, in coordination with the Secretary of Education, unless there is enacted into law a joint resolution of disapproval under subsection (e) with respect to the item
A separate eligibility route would cover goods classified under nine listed entries in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule, the system of codes used to classify imported goods. The bill labels these entries as office or school supplies; backpacks and lunchboxes; specified notebooks, diaries and pads; children's picture, drawing or coloring books; calendars; keyboards; hairbrushes; specified pencils, crayons and chalks; and specified pens, markers, holders and parts. This route does not expressly require classroom use.
(2) the item is classified under any of the following headings, subheadings, and statistical reporting numbers of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States: (A) 3926.10 (Office or school supplies). (B) 4202.92 (Backpack and lunchboxes). (C) 4820.10.20 (Diaries, notebooks and address books, bound, memorandum pads, letter pads, and similar articles). (D) 4903 (Children’s picture, drawing, or coloring books). (E) 4910 (Calendars). (F) 8471.60.20 (Keyboards). (G) 9603.29.8010 (Hairbrushes). (H) 9606 (Pencils, crayons, pencil leads, pastels, drawing charcoals, writing or drawing chalks and tailors' chalks). (I) 9608 (Ball point pens, felt tipped and other porous tipped pens and markers, fountain pens, pencil-holders and similar holders, parts of the foregoing articles).
Commerce would have to report to the Senate Finance Committee and House Ways and Means Committee within 180 days after enactment and every 180 days afterward. Each report would list all items exempt under the bill and the classroom items designated during the reporting period.
(d) Report to Congress Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and every 180 days thereafter, the Secretary of Commerce shall submit to the Committee on Finance of the Senate and the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives a report that includes— (1) a list of the items exempt from the application of duties pursuant to this Act; and (2) a list of the items designated, during the period covered by the report, by the Secretary pursuant to subsection (c)(1).
A congressional resolution disapproving a classroom-item designation would have to use prescribed wording naming the item and the date of the report containing its designation. Disapproval would have to become law to remove eligibility through the designation route.
unless there is enacted into law a joint resolution of disapproval under subsection (e) with respect to the item
the term joint resolution of disapproval means a joint resolution the sole matter after the resolving clause of which is as follows: That Congress disapproves the designation of _____ as a school supply eligible for exemption from duties under section 3 of the Back-to-School Supplies Affordability Act, notice of which was submitted to Congress on ______., with the first blank space being filled with the name of the item and the second blank space being filled with the date the report that contained the designation of the item was submitted to Congress.
Disapproval resolutions would use expedited congressional procedures incorporated from section 152(b)–(f) of the Trade Act of 1974. The supplied text does not reproduce those procedures.
(2) Expedited procedures The provisions of subsections (b) through (f) of section 152 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2192) apply to a joint resolution of disapproval to the same extent that such subsections apply to joint resolutions under such section 152.
The disapproval procedures would operate as House and Senate rules, overriding other rules only where they conflict. Each chamber would retain its authority to change its own rules.
(A) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of the Senate and the House of Representatives, respectively, and as such is deemed a part of the rules of each House, respectively, but applicable only with respect to the procedure to be followed in that House in the case of a joint resolution of disapproval, and supersedes other rules only to the extent that it is inconsistent with such rules
(B) with full recognition of the constitutional right of either House to change the rules (so far as relating to the procedure of that House) at any time, in the same manner, and to the same extent as in the case of any other rule of that House.
The supplied actions snapshot, updated October 6, 2026, records introduction in the House on September 3, 2026, and referral that day to the Ways and Means and Rules Committees for matters within their respective jurisdictions. It does not establish what happened after the snapshot.
Source snapshot updated 2026-10-06T08:05:46Z. 2026-09-03: Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Rules, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
2026-09-03: Introduced in House
A closer look
Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2026-09-03. These findings describe provisions and who may benefit; they are not judgments of waste, corruption, or motive.
This review covers the supplied bill text. “None identified” does not rule out provisions in later versions or accompanying reports and disclosures.
Provisions outside the bill’s main subject, or policy changes attached to appropriations.
None identified in the reviewed text
No unrelated provision or policy change attached to appropriations was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish the contents or attachment history of other versions or accompanying materials.
Spending directed to particular recipients or places outside ordinary competitive or formula-based allocation.
None identified in the reviewed text
No congressionally directed spending for particular recipients or places was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version; accompanying earmark disclosures and other materials are absent.
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
None identified in the reviewed text
No materially narrow preferential carve-out beyond the proposal's ordinary product coverage was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Oct 6, 2026. How PlainBill uses AI