Legislative Activity

**ESA Amendments Act of 2025 Summary:** The ESA Amendments Act of 2025 seeks to modify and update the Endangered Species Act of 1973 by prioritizing conservation efforts, incentivizing private land stewardship, and increasing transparency and accountability. The act focuses on streamlining regulations, limiting legal challenges, and ensuring that decisions are based on sound science and economic considerations. These changes aim to balance species protection with the needs of private landowners and state management, while also addressing international trade regulations.

The "Unlocking our Domestic LNG Potential Act of 2025" aims to solidify the United States' role in the global energy market by granting the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission sole authority over approving or denying natural gas export and import facilities. This includes LNG terminals, streamlining the approval process. The Act does not alter the authority of other federal agencies, and it preserves the President's power to restrict imports or exports under existing laws and sanctions, particularly concerning state sponsors of terrorism. "State sponsor of terrorism" is defined by referencing specific sections of existing law.

The "Federal Reserve Board Abolition Act" eliminates the Federal Reserve Board and Federal Reserve Banks one year after enactment, repealing the Federal Reserve Act. During the dissolution period, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board will manage the winding down of affairs, and the Office of Management and Budget Director will liquidate assets to maximize returns to the Treasury. The Treasury Secretary will assume outstanding liabilities and, along with the Office of Management and Budget Director, report to Congress on the implementation of the Act.

The "End FEMA Benefits for Illegal Immigrants Act" terminates FEMA's program that funds shelters and services for migrants, which aimed to reduce overcrowding in Customs and Border Protection facilities. It also rescinds any remaining funds allocated to FEMA from previous appropriations acts that were intended for Customs and Border Protection operations.

The FEMA for America First Act of 2025 amends the Stafford Act to restrict FEMA individual assistance to only qualified aliens, excluding asylees, refugees, and certain parolees who have not pursued permanent residency. This bill narrows the eligibility criteria for disaster relief, focusing aid on a specific subset of legal immigrants as defined by existing federal laws.

The CLEAN Act aims to expedite geothermal energy development by requiring the Department of Interior to hold replacement lease sales if scheduled ones are canceled, offer all eligible nominated parcels for geothermal development, and make timely decisions on geothermal drilling permit applications.

The "Protecting American Agriculture from Foreign Adversaries Act of 2025" adds the Secretary of Agriculture to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) for agricultural matters. It mandates CFIUS review of agricultural land transactions, particularly those involving entities from China, North Korea, Russia, or Iran, to safeguard American agriculture. This ensures scrutiny of foreign investments in agricultural land and related industries, addressing potential threats to national security. The requirements for a specific country will end if that country is removed from the list of foreign adversaries in section 791.4 of title 15, Code of Federal Regulations.

The "No American Land for Communist China Act" prohibits the President from allowing individuals or entities associated with the Chinese government from purchasing real estate near covered federal lands. Covered lands include those managed by the Departments of Interior, Defense, Agriculture (Forest Service), and Energy, as well as Indian country. This restriction applies to entities with at least 25% equity interest held by Chinese government-affiliated individuals or businesses. The Act defines "United States" broadly to include states, territories, and other U.S. possessions.

The "Protecting Life from Chemical Abortions Act" restricts the Department of Health and Human Services and the FDA, requiring them to enforce Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) requirements for abortion drugs, reinstate the in-person dispensing requirement, and prohibits reducing REMS protections until standardized abortion data is collected by the CDC from every state. It also defines key terms such as "abortion," "abortion drug," and "unborn child" and prohibits the HHS secretary from declaring a public health emergency with respect to abortion.

The "Protect America's Innovation and Economic Security from CCP Act of 2025" establishes a CCP Initiative within the Department of Justice to combat Chinese Communist Party (CCP) espionage and theft of U.S. intellectual property. This initiative will focus on enforcement, identifying threats, protecting critical infrastructure, and investigating Chinese companies. The Attorney General is required to submit annual reports to Congress on the initiative's progress and impact. The initiative is set to expire six years after enactment.

The "Alien Removal Not Resort Stays Act" terminates federal funding for FEMA's Shelter and Services Program, which provides aid to migrants. Funds will be transferred to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). ICE will use the funds for enforcement, detention, and removal operations.

The "Death Tax Repeal Act" eliminates both estate and generation-skipping transfer taxes, effective from the date of enactment. It adjusts gift tax calculations by setting the lifetime gift exemption at $10,000,000, with inflation adjustments after 2011. The Act also includes transitional rules for applying certain sections of the Internal Revenue Code during the enactment year.

The "Grazing for Wildfire Risk Reduction Act" aims to reduce wildfire risks by directing the Secretary of Agriculture to expand the use of livestock grazing on Forest Service land. The plan includes strategies such as expediting environmental reviews for grazing permits, employing targeted grazing, and increasing the use of temporary permits for fuels reduction and invasive species control. It also promotes grazing as a post-fire recovery tool and utilizes all available legal authorities to achieve these goals.

The SAFE for America Act of 2025 eliminates the Diversity Visa Program, which makes visas available to persons from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States. This is achieved through repealing subsection (c) of Section 203 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The Act also makes corresponding technical amendments to other sections of the Immigration and Nationality Act to reflect this change. These changes would take effect beginning October 1, 2025.

The Safe Shelters Act of 2025 prohibits registered sex offenders from entering undesignated emergency shelters, requiring them to use designated shelters instead. It mandates sex offenders to notify shelter operators of their registry status and directs operators to inform them about designated shelter options. FEMA is authorized to designate Federal buildings or prisons as shelters for sex offenders during disasters and must provide information on designated shelters to all undesignated shelter operators. Violators of this act may face fines and/or imprisonment.

This bill repeals the Impoundment Control Act of 1974, eliminating the requirements for the President to report to Congress on decisions to withhold or delay spending of appropriated funds. This removes the process by which Congress can approve or disapprove of these presidential actions.

The "Protecting Privacy in Purchases Act" prevents payment card networks from assigning a unique merchant category code to firearm retailers. The Attorney General is responsible for enforcing the Act, investigating complaints, and reporting to Congress. This law overrides state and local laws regarding merchant category codes for firearm retailers and does not establish a private right of action.

The LOCAL Act mandates the Bureau of Land Management headquarters be located in Grand Junction, Colorado. It requires a study on the feasibility of relocating additional BLM employee positions to Grand Junction or another western state. The study will assess the potential benefits of relocation on federal land management, community coordination, and various land uses. A report on the study's findings must be submitted to the House and Senate Committees on Natural Resources and Energy and Natural Resources within 365 days.

This bill proposes to eliminate the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). It would cut off all federal funding to USAID starting from the bill's enactment date. Any unspent funds previously allocated to USAID would be rescinded and transferred to the Secretary of State, along with all remaining assets and liabilities of the agency.

The "Senior Citizens Tax Elimination Act" repeals the inclusion of Social Security benefits in gross income, effectively ending the taxation of these benefits for taxable years beginning after the enactment of this law. The Act mandates the allocation of funds each fiscal year to the Social Security Act or the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974, ensuring these programs are not negatively impacted by the tax elimination. The amount allocated must equal the reduction in transfers to these funds because of the change. Congress intends to offset the revenue reduction without raising taxes.