Legislation

The Cosmetic Supply Chain Transparency Act of 2025 enhances cosmetic regulation by requiring detailed ingredient and supply chain information sharing between brand owners and suppliers. This law mandates the FDA to create a public list of harmful, nonfunctional chemical traces that suppliers must eventually test for and certify. Importantly, this federal legislation preserves the right of states to enact stricter ingredient or transparency rules than those established here.

The Back the Blue Act of 2025 establishes new federal crimes and enhanced penalties for violence against law enforcement and judicial personnel, including murder and assault. It also tightens federal habeas corpus review for state convictions involving the murder of officers and clarifies firearm-carrying rights for qualified officers in federal facilities. Finally, the bill creates a grant program to foster better community-police relationships through trust-building initiatives and policy improvements.

The SNAP E&T Data And Technical Assistance (DATA) Act of 2025 establishes a grant program to help states modernize their data systems for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) employment and training programs. These grants prioritize linking SNAP data with broader workforce development information to improve program effectiveness and participant outcomes. The bill also mandates strict privacy protections for all collected data and requires the GAO to report on best practices for coordinating funding and data sharing within these job training initiatives.

The CARE for Kids Act of 2025 streamlines access to free and reduced-price school meals for vulnerable children. It expands automatic direct certification eligibility for children in foster care, kinship guardianship, or receiving adoption assistance. The bill also ensures that a child's meal eligibility status is maintained when transferring between school districts or when entering the care of a relative. These changes aim to reduce administrative burdens and ensure consistent food access for children facing housing or custody instability.

The Fair Pharmacies for Federal Employees Act of 2025 prohibits the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) from contracting with health insurance carriers or Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) that also own or control pharmacies. This measure aims to prevent conflicts of interest by separating the entities that manage federal employee health plans from those that dispense prescription drugs. The bill ensures that insurance carriers cannot contract with PBMs they own, and vice versa. Ultimately, this legislation seeks to promote fair competition in prescription drug benefits for federal workers.

The National Concussion and Traumatic Brain Injury Clearinghouse Act of 2025 establishes a centralized federal resource to collect and share the best available information on concussion and TBI treatment, research, and best practices. This clearinghouse will serve as a reliable hub for medical professionals, patients, and the public seeking expert knowledge and qualified care options. The designated official must ensure the resource is operational within 120 days of the Act's enactment.

The Transit Bus Affordability Act directs the Comptroller General to investigate the high costs associated with procuring new public transit buses in the United States. This review will compare U.S. costs against international benchmarks, analyze supply chain impacts, and examine current cost-reduction efforts. The goal is to provide recommendations to ensure federal, state, and local funds are used more efficiently for transit agency bus purchases.

This bill amends federal law to officially include Parkinson's disease in the list of illnesses presumed to be proximately caused by employment in fire protection activities. This addition aims to simplify the process for federal firefighters and emergency responders to qualify for related benefits when diagnosed with Parkinson's.

This Act, the Commission of Fine Arts District of Columbia Home Rule Act, significantly limits the authority of the Commission of Fine Arts (CFA). Specifically, it restricts the CFA's oversight regarding the location of statues, fountains, and monuments to only those properties owned by the Federal Government within the District of Columbia. Consequently, the CFA loses its approval power over art and structures on D.C. government or privately owned property.

The Wyoming Education Trust Modernization Act updates existing state law regarding revenue generated from public lands set aside for education. This legislation revises statutory language to consistently refer to the income from these lands as "earnings" instead of "interest" or "income thereof." The goal is to modernize terminology within the original 1890 Act governing these educational trust funds.

The STEM RESTART Act establishes a new federal grant program to help unemployed or underemployed skilled workers re-enter or transition into high-demand Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) careers. These competitive grants fund small and medium-sized businesses to create structured, above-entry-level "returnships" that include on-the-job training and clear paths to full-time employment. The goal is to bridge the gap for experienced workers, particularly those in rural areas, by incentivizing companies to provide meaningful career opportunities.

The Stop ICE from Kidnapping U.S. Citizens Act strictly prohibits U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from using any federal funds for civil immigration enforcement activities involving U.S. citizens. Specifically, this bill bans ICE from spending money to detain or transport any citizen of the United States. This measure ensures federal funds are not used to wrongfully target or remove American citizens.

The COUNTER Act of 2025 addresses concerns over the People's Republic of China's (PRC) efforts to establish overseas military and strategic bases globally. This legislation mandates the Executive Branch to urgently develop and implement a comprehensive strategy to counter these PRC basing ambitions. Key requirements include an intelligence assessment of risks and the creation of an interagency task force to coordinate mitigation efforts against China's expansion. The law emphasizes proactive engagement with partner nations and regular reviews of the U.S. counter-strategy.

This bill reauthorizes key programs under the Kay Hagan Tick Act to combat vector-borne diseases like Lyme disease through 2030. It extends funding for the national strategy and regional centers focused on these illnesses. Additionally, the legislation continues enhanced support for local health departments to improve disease surveillance and response capabilities.

This bill reauthorizes the Public Health and Bio-Preparedness Workforce Loan Repayment Program through fiscal year 2030. It ensures continued support for professionals working in public health and bio-preparedness by extending their eligibility for loan repayment. This action secures the program for five additional years.

The Equality in Laws Act mandates that the U.S. Code be revised to use gender-neutral language throughout. This process, overseen by the Law Revision Counsel of the House of Representatives, involves replacing gendered pronouns and terms with neutral alternatives. The goal is to update the language without altering the original legal meaning or intent of existing statutes.

The National Education Association Charter Repeal Act aims to revoke the federal charter granted to the National Education Association (NEA). This legislation specifically repeals the section of U.S. Code that provides the NEA with its official federal recognition status. In essence, the bill removes the legal standing previously conferred upon the NEA by Congress.

The Cosmetic Hazardous Ingredient Right to Know Act of 2025 significantly updates cosmetic regulation by mandating comprehensive ingredient disclosure, especially for fragrances and flavors, on both product labels and brand owner websites. This law requires detailed, machine-readable online ingredient lists and specific hazard warnings on packaging if certain harmful chemicals are present. Importantly, this federal act preserves the authority of states to enact stricter ingredient bans or transparency requirements.

This bill mandates increased transparency and verification for all federal government spending by requiring agencies to report detailed payment information to the Treasury. It enhances program integrity by granting the Treasury access to new hire and tax data to prevent and recover improper payments. Agencies must also verify recipient bank accounts before disbursement, with exceptions allowed only for sensitive national security or law enforcement operations.

The Student Loan Bankruptcy Improvement Act of 2025 aims to reform the bankruptcy process for student loan borrowers. This bill seeks to lower the current, overly difficult standard required to discharge student loan debt in bankruptcy proceedings. By making these changes, Congress intends to provide struggling borrowers with a genuine opportunity for a financial fresh start.