Legislative Activity

The Fred Korematsu Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2025 authorizes the posthumous award of a Congressional Gold Medal to Fred Korematsu in recognition of his lifelong commitment to civil rights, justice, and equality. This legislation honors his legacy as a champion for constitutional guarantees and his courageous stand against the unjust incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II.

The Federal Firefighters Families First Act aims to improve pay equity, recruitment, and retention for federal firefighters by modernizing pay computation and establishing a maximum 60-hour regular workweek. Additionally, the bill ensures that regularly scheduled overtime is included in the calculation of federal retirement annuities. These measures seek to align federal firefighter compensation more closely with municipal standards and provide greater financial security for their families.

This bill expresses the House of Representatives' view that Congress should act to maintain the United States Postal Service (USPS) as an independent entity within the Federal Government. It emphasizes the USPS's role as a self-sustaining service vital to the economy and national connectivity. The resolution discourages privatization, citing concerns about increased costs, reduced services, and damage to critical infrastructure.

This bill supports the designation of January 30, 2025, as CTE and RHI Awareness Day to increase public knowledge of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and repeated head impacts (RHI). It acknowledges the risks and impact of these conditions, particularly for athletes, veterans, and others susceptible to head trauma. The bill encourages further research, early diagnosis, and informed decision-making, while also recognizing the contributions of researchers, affected families, and organizations dedicated to CTE awareness. It also urges the CDC and NIH to include CTE and RHI information in concussion education.

The FIRE Act of 2025 establishes a dedicated program within NOAA to enhance wildfire forecasting, detection, and risk communication. By leveraging advanced satellite technology, atmospheric modeling, and new research testbeds, the legislation aims to improve early response efforts and reduce the loss of life and property caused by wildfires.

The Semiconductor Technology Advancement and Research (STAR) Act of 2025 establishes a 25 percent tax credit for qualified semiconductor design expenditures conducted within the United States. This legislation aims to bolster domestic innovation by incentivizing both in-house and contract design costs for advanced semiconductor technology. The credit is available through 2036 and is designed to complement existing manufacturing investment incentives.

The Sustainable Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation Services in the Home Act permanently codifies the ability for patients to receive cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation services from the comfort of their own homes. By authorizing telehealth delivery and virtual physician supervision, the bill expands access to these essential services while removing restrictive geographic requirements. This legislation ensures that the flexibility established during the COVID-19 pandemic remains a permanent, standard feature of Medicare coverage.

The **Tim Hart Wildland Firefighter Classification and Pay Parity Act** establishes a comprehensive framework to modernize the compensation, benefits, and support systems for federal wildland firefighters. The bill introduces permanent special base pay rates, new incident response premium pay, and enhanced retirement and leave benefits to ensure competitive and equitable treatment for those in the profession. Additionally, it mandates the creation of robust mental health programs, long-term health monitoring, and a casualty assistance program to better support firefighters and their families.

The Holocaust Education and Antisemitism Lessons Act directs the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum to conduct a comprehensive study of Holocaust education in public elementary and secondary schools across the United States. This study will evaluate current curriculum standards, teaching methods, and available resources to identify gaps and improve how students learn about the Holocaust and the history of antisemitism. The findings will be compiled into a report submitted to Congress to help strengthen educational efforts in preventing hate and bigotry.

The Performing Artist Tax Parity Act of 2025 updates tax code deductions for performing artists by allowing them to deduct essential business expenses—including agent and manager commissions—directly from their taxable income. The bill introduces an income-based phaseout for the deduction, increases the "nominal employer" threshold, and implements annual inflation adjustments to ensure the policy remains current. These changes aim to provide greater financial relief for working artists by simplifying how they account for professional costs.

This bill expresses the House of Representatives' disapproval of the President's decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement, recognizing climate change as a threat and highlighting the increasing costs of extreme weather events. It commends entities supporting the Agreement, urges the President to reconsider, and encourages Congress to prioritize U.S. leadership on climate change.

The Child and Animal Abuse Detection and Reporting Act mandates that the national clearinghouse for child abuse and neglect include data on animal cruelty. By tracking these incidents alongside child abuse cases, the legislation aims to better identify and report the intersection between animal abuse and child maltreatment.

The Health Care Providers Safety Act of 2025 authorizes federal grants to help health care facilities enhance the safety of their personnel, patients, and infrastructure. These funds support critical security upgrades, including physical site improvements, advanced surveillance systems, and strengthened cybersecurity measures.

The Assuring Medicare’s Promise Act of 2025 aims to strengthen the Medicare Hospital Insurance Trust Fund by redirecting revenue from the net investment income tax directly to the program. Additionally, the bill expands the scope of this tax for high-income earners by including certain trade or business income and foreign earnings in the tax base. These measures are designed to improve the long-term financial stability of Medicare starting in 2026.

The BEACH Act of 2025 strengthens coastal water safety by expanding monitoring requirements to include upstream waters and public beach access points. The bill provides $30 million in annual funding through 2029 to support these efforts and allows states to use grants to identify specific sources of contamination. Additionally, it mandates that the EPA incorporate the latest testing technologies into its guidance for state and local water quality programs.

The Community Protection and Wildfire Resilience Act establishes a new FEMA-led grant program to help states, Tribes, and local governments develop and implement comprehensive wildfire resilience plans. The bill provides funding for community-wide safety strategies, including infrastructure hardening, evacuation planning, and defensible space projects, with a focus on high-risk areas. Additionally, it mandates federal studies to improve wildfire communication systems and explores potential certification programs to enhance community survivability.

The Boundary Waters Wilderness Protection and Pollution Prevention Act permanently protects over 225,000 acres of federal land and water in Minnesota’s Rainy River Watershed from the risks of sulfide-ore copper mining. By withdrawing these lands from mineral leasing and development, the bill safeguards the region’s pristine water quality, wilderness values, and treaty-protected resources. This legislation ensures the long-term ecological integrity of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and supports the local amenity-based economy.

The Equal COLA Act amends the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) to ensure that retirees receive the full annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). This legislation eliminates current discrepancies in calculation methods, providing federal annuitants with a COLA that matches the full percentage change in the price index.

The Saving the Civil Service Act protects the merit-based federal workforce by restricting the ability of agencies to reclassify competitive service positions into the excepted service. The bill establishes strict oversight, limits the number of positions that can be transferred, and mandates employee consent for such reclassifications. These measures ensure that federal staffing remains professional and protected from arbitrary political interference.

The FAIR Act (Federal Adjustment of Income Rates Act) proposes a 2026 pay adjustment for federal civilian employees. This legislation mandates a 3.3 percent increase in basic pay for both statutory and prevailing rate employees, alongside a 1 percent increase in locality pay.