Legislation

The CARING for Our Veterans Health Act of 2025 aims to significantly improve how the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) manages community care provided to veterans. This bill mandates the VA to develop clear guidance and set performance goals for VA medical centers to ensure timely and complete collection of medical documentation from community providers. Furthermore, it requires regular reporting to Congress on the progress of implementing these new coordination and training standards.

The Helping Individuals Rejoin Employment (HIRE) Act extends the Work Opportunity Tax Credit for five years, making it available for wages paid to qualified employees hired before January 1, 2031. This legislation also expands the credit by adding qualified Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) beneficiaries as a new eligible hiring group. These modifications aim to incentivize businesses to hire individuals facing employment barriers.

The Rural Uplift and Revitalization Assistance Act establishes a program to provide crucial technical assistance to local partners in geographically underserved and distressed rural areas. This initiative aims to strengthen local capacity and improve access to vital rural development programs. The Secretary of Agriculture is required to report annually on the impact of this assistance in targeted communities.

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to designate a portion of the District of Columbia as an official empowerment zone. This special designation will allow the D.C. area to access existing tax benefits associated with empowerment zones. The designation does not count against the national limit for empowerment zones and takes effect after December 31, 2025.

The Affordable Homeownership Access Act aims to support owner financing as a method for increasing access to homeownership, particularly for underserved buyers. This legislation provides specific exceptions to federal loan originator licensing and registration requirements for property owners who offer financing on a limited basis. The bill also mandates a study and report on the impact and potential of owner financing for lower-priced homes.

The Military in Law Enforcement Accountability Act establishes new requirements and strict time limits for the Department of Defense when providing support to civilian law enforcement agencies, requiring prior Congressional notification and justification. It also prohibits Department of Defense personnel from simultaneously serving in civilian law enforcement roles, with limited exceptions for reservists. Furthermore, the bill broadens the circumstances under which military and federal law enforcement can assist civil authorities and creates a private right of action for violations of the Act.

The Health Care Worker and First Responder Fairness Act exempts certain earnings made by healthcare professionals and first responders from the Social Security retirement earnings test. This exemption specifically covers wages earned during the COVID-19 pandemic period (January 31, 2020, to May 11, 2023). Furthermore, the bill establishes a mechanism to exclude similar pandemic-related earnings from benefit calculations during future declared public health emergencies. This aims to provide financial fairness to essential workers who continued working while collecting Social Security benefits.

This bill officially renames the Department of Veterans Affairs community-based outpatient clinic in Michigan Center, Michigan, to the "Captain Herbert Elfring VA Clinic." The legislation ensures that all official records and documents will reflect this new designation for the facility.

The Housing to Homes Act of 2025 expands the Continuum of Care homeless assistance program to allow federal funds to cover the costs of providing essential household furnishings through furniture banks to individuals and families transitioning out of homelessness. This provision aims to combat "furniture poverty" and stabilize housing placements. The law includes reporting requirements on the impact of this change and will expire five years after enactment.

The Increasing Baseline Updates Act mandates more frequent budget baseline reports from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), requiring at least two updates annually unless otherwise directed. Additionally, the bill requires the President to submit updated technical budget data to Congress alongside the annual budget submission. These changes aim to provide Congress with more current economic and budgetary information throughout the year.

The Feasibility Review of Emerging Equipment for Digital Open Media Act (FREEDOM Act) mandates the Secretary of State to report on internet freedom in Iran. This report must assess the feasibility of using emerging technologies, like direct-to-cell wireless, to expand internet access. It will also analyze the impact of current drone and jamming technologies on these efforts.

This act permanently prohibits the Department of Defense from using live animals, including dogs, cats, and nonhuman primates, in live fire trauma training. The Secretary of Defense is required to replace the use of animals with advanced simulators, mannequins, cadavers, or actors for these training exercises.

The Forced Abortion Prevention and Accountability Act establishes a new federal crime prohibiting the knowing and intentional administration of abortion-inducing drugs to a pregnant woman without her informed consent. This legislation creates severe criminal penalties, including up to 25 years in prison, for those who violate this prohibition or attempt to do so. Furthermore, it grants victims the right to file a civil lawsuit to recover damages for physical and psychological injuries resulting from forced abortions.

The Securing Americas Fuels (SAF) Act extends and significantly increases the clean fuel production tax credit specifically for sustainable aviation fuel. This legislation establishes higher credit rates per gallon based on carbon capture technology used in production. The bill also extends the applicability of this credit through 2033 for qualifying sustainable aviation fuels.

The Relief for Farmers Hit with PFAS Act establishes a Department of Agriculture program to provide financial assistance to farmers whose land or water is contaminated by PFAS from off-site sources. This program authorizes grants to eligible governments to fund remediation, testing, producer assistance, and research related to the contamination. The bill also establishes a task force to advise the Secretary of Agriculture on broader PFAS issues within farm programs.

The First Home Savings Opportunity Act of 2025 establishes a new tax-advantaged savings account to help individuals save for a first home down payment. Contributions to this "down payment savings account" are tax-deductible up to $10,000 annually, subject to income limitations. Withdrawals for qualified first-time homebuyer expenses, such as down payments or closing costs, are tax-free. Non-qualified withdrawals are subject to ordinary income tax plus an additional 20% penalty.

The Freedom to Heal Act of 2025 establishes a special registration process for physicians to administer certain unapproved, experimental Schedule I investigational drugs to terminally ill patients under existing "Right to Try" laws. This process, overseen by the Attorney General, requires physicians to meet specific criteria regarding state compliance, manufacturer agreements, and drug handling to prevent diversion. The Act mandates a swift approval timeline for these applications, enabling terminally ill patients greater access to promising treatments.

The Brownfields Reauthorization Act of 2025 significantly boosts funding for cleaning up contaminated sites by increasing the maximum grant amount per site to $1 million and authorizing $250 million annually through 2030. This legislation also expands the eligible uses for state response program grants. Overall, it strengthens federal and state efforts to revitalize brownfield properties.

The Veterans Affairs Peer Review Neutrality Act of 2025 establishes strict new rules to eliminate conflicts of interest in quality review processes within the Veterans Health Administration. This legislation mandates that individuals reviewing the care of a colleague must be impartial and recuse themselves if they were directly involved in the case. Furthermore, it ensures that reviews of VA health care providers, including those serving on peer review committees, are conducted by neutral parties at different facilities when necessary.

This bill, the MINKS are Superspreaders Act, prohibits the breeding and possession of American mink raised in captivity for fur production nationwide. It amends the Animal Welfare Act to ban related activities like transport and sale, with limited exceptions. Additionally, the legislation establishes a voluntary federal buy-out program for existing mink farms, contingent upon available funding.