Legislation

The Physician and Patient Safety Act mandates the Department of Health and Human Services to establish regulations ensuring physicians receive due process, including a fair hearing and appeal, before a hospital can restrict or terminate their privileges. These rules prevent hospitals from forcing doctors to waive their right to this internal review process. The regulations aim to protect doctors' rights while maintaining patient safety standards.

The Justice for Angel Families Act expands crime victim compensation funds to support immediate family members of individuals murdered by unlawfully present aliens or international drug cartel members. It also establishes a new Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement Office within DHS to proactively assist victims of crimes committed by non-citizens. This new office will provide support services, information regarding immigration proceedings, and custody updates to victims and their families. The Director must also submit annual reports to Congress detailing the impact on these crime victims.

The Outdoor Recreational Outfitting and Guiding Act amends the Fair Labor Standards Act to create a new exemption from federal minimum wage and overtime requirements for certain employees of outdoor recreational outfitting or guiding businesses. This exemption applies only if the business meets specific seasonal operation or revenue tests. Essentially, this bill carves out an exception for smaller, seasonal outdoor recreation employers regarding federal wage protections for their guides and outfitters.

The Medal of Sacrifice Act establishes a new Presidential award, the Medal of Sacrifice, to honor local, State, or Federal law enforcement officers and first responders who die in the line of duty. The bill creates a special Commission to oversee the medal's design and presentation. This Commission will also review cases where an officer's eligibility is questioned due to an official finding of wrongdoing before their death.

The Therapeutic Fraud Prevention Act of 2025 bans the practice of paid conversion therapy aimed at changing an individual's sexual orientation or gender identity, deeming it ineffective and harmful. This Act treats the provision or advertisement of such therapy as an unfair or deceptive business practice under the FTC Act. Enforcement authority is granted to the Federal Trade Commission, the U.S. Attorney General, and State Attorneys General. The law includes a severability clause ensuring that the invalidation of one provision does not void the entire Act.

The Mission to MARS Act allocates **\$1 billion** to significantly upgrade and modernize facilities at NASA's Johnson Space Center. This funding is dedicated to improving astronaut training, updating Mission Control for deep-space missions, and enhancing infrastructure supporting commercial space activities. The goal is to prepare the center for future crewed missions to the Moon and Mars.

The Streamlining Conservation Practice Standards Act of 2025 aims to modernize and accelerate the process for developing and updating official conservation standards. It reforms grant programs to specifically fund the innovation and evaluation of new conservation technologies and management techniques. Furthermore, the bill mandates a regular, public review schedule for all existing standards, ensuring they integrate the latest advancements. Finally, it establishes a new, flexible administrative process to quickly approve interim standards that incorporate emerging technologies at the state level.

This bill, the Henrietta Lacks Congressional Gold Medal Act, posthumously awards a Congressional Gold Medal to Henrietta Lacks to recognize her foundational contributions to science and medicine through her immortal HeLa cells. The legislation directs the Secretary of the Treasury to strike the medal, which will ultimately be housed at the Smithsonian Institution. Furthermore, the Act authorizes the creation and sale of bronze duplicates to cover production costs.

The Vision Lab Choice Act of 2025 aims to improve health care coverage under vision plans by setting limits on contract lengths between vision plans and optometrists. This bill also prevents vision plans from mandating which labs or suppliers optometrists must use for patient care. Furthermore, it clarifies state authority to enforce these new federal standards regarding vision benefit plans.

The Direct Seller and Real Estate Agent Harmonization Act amends the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to explicitly exclude direct sellers and qualified real estate agents from the definition of "employee." This reclassification means these workers are generally not covered by federal minimum wage and overtime protections. The bill aims to solidify the independent contractor status for these specific sales professionals.

The Humane Accountability Act mandates increased transparency and reporting from immigration agencies regarding the detention and removal of noncitizens. It requires detailed, regular reports to Congress concerning detainee incidents, including abuse, deaths, and complaints. Furthermore, the bill establishes a notification process for using non-traditional detention sites and seeks recommendations to improve oversight and due process protections.

The Pacific Partnership Act affirms the U.S. commitment to the Pacific Islands region, recognizing its strategic importance and deep historical ties. The bill mandates the President to develop a comprehensive "Strategy for Pacific Partnership" by 2026, detailing U.S. goals, threat assessments, and action plans for the region. Furthermore, it enhances coordination with allies on aid programs and grants diplomatic immunities to the Pacific Islands Forum. The Act also requires annual reporting on transnational crime affecting the islands.

The Ending Unemployment Payments to Jobless Millionaires Act of 2025 prohibits the use of federal funds to pay unemployment benefits to individuals whose base period wages exceeded $1,000,000. States must certify and verify that claimants meet this income threshold before receiving benefits under any covered federal unemployment program. The bill also mandates that states recover any improperly paid benefits to high earners.

The Larry Henderson Act significantly increases penalties for assaulting federal officers or employees while they are performing their duties, establishing a mandatory minimum prison sentence of 20 years for such offenses. This legislation ensures that the federal mandatory minimum standard supersedes any conflicting state laws in these specific cases. These new, stricter rules only apply to offenses committed on or after the date the Act is officially enacted.

The Hong Kong Judicial Sanctions Act mandates the President to review specific Hong Kong officials, including judges and prosecutors, to determine their eligibility for sanctions under existing U.S. laws and executive orders. This review must be completed and reported to Congress within 180 days of the Act's enactment. The review specifically covers previously sanctioned individuals and a broad list of judicial and prosecutorial figures in Hong Kong.

The Restoring WIFIA Eligibility Act of 2025 modifies how the federal government budgets for certain financial assistance provided under the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA). This bill stipulates that if loan repayments for water infrastructure projects come entirely from non-Federal sources, the assistance must be counted as a direct loan or loan guarantee for budgetary scoring purposes. This change effectively treats these specific WIFIA loans as non-Federal financing in the federal budget.

The Highway Funding Transferability Improvement Act increases the flexibility for states to manage federal highway funds. This legislation raises the maximum percentage of designated federal highway funds that states can transfer to other approved highway purposes from 50 percent to 75 percent. This change allows states greater discretion in allocating federal resources for various highway projects.

The EdCOPS Act of 2025 establishes a new Public Safety Officer Education Assistance Program to aid in the recruitment and retention of law enforcement personnel. This program provides financial assistance for education, which eligible officers can use for themselves or transfer to their child. Benefits are contingent upon meeting specific service requirements and are administered by the Attorney General with regulations prioritizing those with greater financial need.

The International Nuclear Energy Financing Act of 2025 aims to counter the growing global influence of Russia and China in nuclear energy exports. This bill directs the U.S. Treasury to advocate within major multilateral development banks to remove barriers blocking financing for Western-standard nuclear projects. Furthermore, it establishes dedicated trust funds within these banks to provide competitive financial and technical assistance for building and operating advanced nuclear facilities abroad. The law also mandates annual reporting on the progress of these international nuclear financing efforts for seven years.

The Equitable Access to School Facilities Act aims to improve charter school facilities by supporting states in developing policies that enhance funding and financing options for school buildings. It authorizes a new competitive grant program for states to create or improve their own facility aid programs, prioritizing fairness and access, especially for schools in low-income and rural areas. Furthermore, the bill adjusts existing grant structures to allow states more flexibility in using funds for facility acquisition, renovation, and startup loans for high-quality charter schools.