Legislation

The HOPE for Haitian Prosperity Act of 2025 strengthens trade benefits for Haiti by extending preferential duty treatment until 2037 and increasing annual labor compliance reviews focusing on wages and working conditions. The bill also mandates the U.S. Trade Representative to provide targeted technical assistance aimed at increasing and diversifying Haitian exports to the United States. These measures seek to enhance Haiti's economic competitiveness while ensuring adherence to core labor standards.

The Unlocking our Domestic LNG Potential Act of 2025 centralizes the approval authority for all U.S. natural gas export and import facilities, including LNG terminals, exclusively with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). This legislation mandates that FERC must automatically deem such gas trade as being in the public interest during the review process. Furthermore, the Act explicitly preserves the President's existing authority to impose sanctions on gas imports or exports involving designated state sponsors of terrorism.

The Capital Emergency Control Act of 2025 amends existing law to allow the President to extend control over the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) in 30-day increments following an emergency declaration. This extension requires the President to notify key Congressional committees that the emergency conditions persist. This change applies to current and future emergencies declared under Section 740 of the D.C. Home Rule Act.

The REFINER Act mandates the Secretary of Energy to commission a comprehensive report from the National Petroleum Council on the state of U.S. petrochemical refineries. This report will analyze their role in national energy security, assess future capacity and risks, and evaluate the impact of government policies on refinery output. Ultimately, the Act seeks recommendations for encouraging increased domestic refining capacity.

The Rural Behavioral Health Improvement Act of 2025 aims to enhance behavioral healthcare access in rural areas by modifying Medicare coverage rules. This bill specifically removes the existing exclusion that prevents Medicare payment for services provided in facilities primarily focused on treating mental diseases. This significant change is scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2027.

The Keep Violent Criminals Off Our Streets Act prohibits the Attorney General from awarding federal grants to state and local governments that limit the use of cash bail for individuals charged with specified violent or public-disorder offenses. This measure ties federal funding to local bail policies concerning serious crimes like murder, robbery, and assault. Jurisdictions must maintain policies allowing for cash bail for these "covered offenses" to remain eligible for certain federal grants.

This Act, the Peace Officer Standards and Training Agency Information Access Clarification Act, mandates that the Attorney General ensure the FBI can exchange records with authorized state, local, tribal, and correctional agencies, including Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) agencies. It formally defines what constitutes a POST agency under federal law. The Attorney General must update federal regulations within 180 days to align with these new information-sharing provisions.

The SHIELD Act of 2025 establishes a pilot program to train members of the Armed Forces in digital information literacy and security. This temporary training will cover identifying misinformation, verifying sources, and understanding the consequences of online sharing. The Secretary of Defense must report on the effectiveness of in-person, virtual, and hybrid teaching methods one year after the program begins. Ultimately, the Act aims to inform recommendations for permanent, required digital safety training across the military.

This resolution is a formal request from the House of Representatives demanding the President provide specific documents regarding the Department of Government Efficiency's access to and use of sensitive Social Security Administration (SSA) data, particularly the NUMIDENT database. Congress seeks detailed information on the creation of a cloud copy of NUMIDENT, including its intended uses, security assessments, and who has been granted access. The inquiry specifically targets records concerning data usage for federal audits, benefit denials, AI training, and potential private sales.

The Empowering Striking Workers Act of 2025 establishes a pathway for workers involved in a strike or lockout to receive unemployment insurance benefits after a mandatory 14-day waiting period. This legislation also exempts striking workers from the standard requirement to actively search for new employment while they are unable to work due to the labor dispute.

The BUFFER Act, or Bus Utilization for Fleet Flexibility and Emergency Resilience Act, addresses the operational challenges transit agencies face due to extreme weather. This bill authorizes regional planning organizations to request an increased spare bus ratio, up to 30 percent, from the Federal Transit Administration. This increase is available to regions that can certify they regularly experience severe weather that disrupts normal bus service. The goal is to ensure greater reliability and resilience for essential public transportation during emergencies.

The Protect Beneficiaries from Middlemen Act aims to lower out-of-pocket prescription drug costs for Medicare Part D beneficiaries. Starting in 2027, this bill caps a beneficiary's cost-sharing (copays/coinsurance) at the drug's "average net price" after the deductible is met but before the out-of-pocket limit. This ensures that cost-sharing reflects the actual price paid by the plan after rebates. The Government Accountability Office will review the implementation and enforcement of these new rules by 2029.

The Emergency Reporting Act mandates that the FCC hold public hearings following significant activations of the Disaster Information Reporting System to review communications outages. Following these hearings, the FCC must issue detailed reports outlining the scope of service disruptions, including impacts on 911 services. Furthermore, the Act requires the FCC to investigate and report on improving outage alerts to emergency centers, particularly regarding the inclusion of visual information.

The Kari's Law Reporting Act mandates that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issue a public report detailing its enforcement activities regarding Section 721 of the Communications Act of 1934 (Kari's Law). This report must summarize compliance by multi-line telephone system manufacturers, identify enforcement challenges, and propose necessary regulatory or legislative changes. The goal is to assess and improve the implementation of existing safety requirements for emergency calling systems.

This bill sets the Fiscal Year 2026 funding levels and spending rules for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS), and Education, along with related agencies. It allocates billions across workforce training, public health initiatives, medical research, and K-12/higher education programs. Crucially, the legislation includes numerous provisions that restrict the implementation of specific federal regulations concerning worker classification, student loan relief, and certain civil rights interpretations.

This resolution commemorates the 80th anniversary of the conclusion of World War II with the surrender of Imperial Japan. It formally honors the sacrifices of the more than 16 million Americans who served in both the Pacific and European theaters. The resolution calls upon the nation to recognize this historic milestone and express deep gratitude to the "Greatest Generation."

This bill mandates the Department of Defense to establish dedicated Blast Safety Officer positions across the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Space Force by September 30, 2026. These officers will be responsible for monitoring and enforcing safety standards during explosive exercises to reduce service members' exposure to dangerous blast pressure. They will have the authority to halt dangerous drills, provide pre-exercise safety briefings, and investigate any overpressure incidents. This measure aims to proactively protect military personnel from potential long-term health risks associated with blast exposure.

This Senate resolution expresses the sense of the Senate that Ashli Babbitt is disqualified from receiving military funeral honors due to her actions during the January 6th Capitol breach. The resolution argues that her conduct brings discredit upon the Armed Forces, violating the standards set forth in Section 985 of Title 10, U.S. Code. Furthermore, it condemns the Air Force's decision to grant such honors and affirms support for law enforcement who defended the Capitol.

The Make the District of Columbia Safe and Beautiful Act establishes a temporary program managed by the Secretary of the Interior to coordinate federal and local efforts to beautify and clean up public spaces in D.C. It also creates the District of Columbia Safe and Beautiful Commission to recommend actions on public safety, immigration enforcement, and police support. Both the beautification program and the Commission are set to automatically terminate on January 2, 2029.

This bill authorizes the President to award the Medal of Honor to Retired Colonel Robert J. Graham for his extraordinary valor during the Vietnam War. It specifically waives existing time limitations to recognize his heroic actions on May 1, 1966, where he flew repeated attack passes in a heavily damaged aircraft to save ground troops. Colonel Graham's courage resulted in the destruction of numerous enemy positions and saved hundreds of American lives.