Legislative Activity

The Family First Act significantly restructures the Child Tax Credit, making it fully refundable with new income-based tiers for children under 17, and introduces a new refundable tax credit for pregnant mothers based on gestational age. Additionally, the bill eliminates the Head of Household filing status and the dependent exemption, while simplifying the Earned Income Tax Credit rules. Finally, it denies the individual deduction for most State and local taxes starting in 2026.

The Abortion Funding Awareness Act of 2025 requires states to report detailed information annually regarding any federal Medicaid payments made to abortion providers. These state reports must specify payment amounts, the number of abortions performed by the provider, and the gestational age and method used for each procedure. The Secretary of HHS will then compile these state submissions into a summary report for Congress and the public.

The Nuclear Family Priority Act significantly restructures U.S. family-based immigration by removing parents from the "immediate relative" category and establishing a new annual cap for family-sponsored visas. It also introduces a new, non-work, five-year renewable temporary status for parents of adult U.S. citizens, contingent on the citizen child providing health insurance. Furthermore, the bill makes numerous technical amendments, including prioritizing 75% of family visas to be exempt from per-country limits and locking in an applicant's age for status determination at the time of petition filing.

The Safeguarding American Education From Foreign Control Act strengthens reporting requirements for colleges and universities regarding gifts and contracts received from foreign sources. It mandates stricter, more frequent disclosures, especially for institutions connected to "covered nations," where any amount must be reported. The Secretary of Education must then promptly share all received information with the FBI and the Director of National Intelligence.

The Clear Communication for Veterans Claims Act of 2025 mandates an independent review of all notices sent by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to claimants. This review will focus on making these communications clearer, more concise, and less wasteful of paper. Following the assessment, the VA Secretary must implement the expert recommendations within one year to ensure veterans receive easily understandable claim information.

The College Admissions Accountability Act of 2025 establishes an independent Special Inspector General within the Department of Education to investigate complaints of unlawful racial discrimination in college admissions and financial aid. This office will enforce compliance with the Supreme Court's ruling against race-based preferences and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. Institutions found to violate these standards face potential ineligibility for federal funding.

The Freedom of Association in Higher Education Act of 2025 aims to protect students belonging to single-sex social organizations, such as fraternities and sororities, from punitive action by federally funded colleges. This legislation ensures that schools cannot penalize students or organizations solely based on membership limitations restricted to one sex. Ultimately, the Act safeguards students' freedom to associate with these groups without facing disadvantages compared to members of co-ed organizations.

The FRIDGE Act of 2025 aims to boost U.S. agricultural exports by addressing critical infrastructure gaps in foreign markets. This legislation authorizes dedicated funding and technical assistance to help developing nations improve their cold storage and supply chain capabilities. By fortifying this global infrastructure, the bill seeks to reduce spoilage of American food products and open new international trade opportunities.

The Ensuring Veterans’ Final Resting Place Act of 2025 makes technical updates to VA regulations regarding burial benefits. This bill clarifies the process when a veteran's family chooses to provide their own urn or marker instead of receiving one from the VA. The legislation also reorganizes benefit numbering for clarity, applying these changes to veterans who passed away on or after January 5, 2021.

This resolution celebrates the 100th anniversary of WOWO radio, recognizing its century of broadcasting excellence since 1925. It honors the station's significant history, from pioneering broadcasts to its current role as a voice for conservative values in the community. The Senate officially commends WOWO for its long-standing service and supports its future mission.

The College Employment Accountability Act mandates that institutions receiving federal funds must use the E-Verify program to confirm employee work authorization. Any finding that a college has hired unauthorized aliens or failed to participate in E-Verify will result in the immediate loss of all federal student and institutional aid. The Department of Homeland Security is tasked with monitoring compliance and reporting violations to the Department of Education.

The No Tax Dollars for College Encampments Act of 2025 amends the Higher Education Act to require colleges to specifically detail their law enforcement coordination plans for handling campus civil disturbances in annual security reports. Furthermore, the bill mandates that accrediting agencies must monitor whether institutions are complying with these updated campus security reporting requirements.

The Buying Faster than the Enemy Act of 2025 aims to significantly speed up Department of Defense (DoD) procurement, particularly for commercial items. It streamlines the process for awarding follow-on contracts after initial competition and limits unnecessary regulatory clauses flowing down to commercial subcontractors. Furthermore, the bill establishes new structures, including consortia, to better engage nontraditional defense contractors and defaults purchases to commercial item procedures unless explicitly justified otherwise.

The Protecting Americans Retirement Savings Act (PARSA) prohibits retirement plan fiduciaries from making new investments in entities deemed to be foreign adversaries or sanctioned entities. This legislation also mandates that employee retirement funds must provide detailed new disclosures regarding any existing holdings in these restricted entities. The bill provides limited exceptions for pre-existing investments and contracts, provided specific reporting requirements are met.

Tyler's Law mandates a federal study to evaluate the current practices, costs, and patient impacts of fentanyl testing in hospital emergency departments during overdose cases. Following the study, the Department of Health and Human Services will issue guidance advising hospitals on whether to make fentanyl testing a routine procedure. This aims to improve overdose care by ensuring comprehensive substance identification.

This bill amends the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) to establish a clear, tiered definition for "evidence-based" programs, ranging from strong experimental studies to promising correlational research. It mandates that states must now explicitly state the degree to which their proposed workforce development activities meet this new evidence standard. Furthermore, states are required to detail their strategies for prioritizing funding for evidence-based programs in their statewide plans.

The Guaranteeing Unalienable and Anatomical Rights for Dependents Act (GUARD Act) establishes new conditions for states receiving federal child abuse prevention funding. Under this act, states cannot take adverse action against parents who oppose medical or social changes for their minors based on the parent's belief regarding the child's biological sex. Parents who face negative actions due to this opposition can sue to halt federal funding to the non-compliant state and seek the return of those funds.

The "Defund NPR Act" eliminates all direct and indirect federal funding to National Public Radio (NPR) and any successor organization. It prevents public broadcast stations from using federal funds to pay dues to or acquire programming from NPR. The bill also removes references to NPR in specific sections of the Communications Act of 1934.

The "Maintaining American Superiority by Improving Export Control Transparency Act" mandates an annual report to Congress detailing license applications, enforcement actions, and authorization requests for exporting controlled items to entities in specific countries of concern. This report includes applicant details, item descriptions, end-user information, application decisions, and enforcement activity outcomes. The goal is to enhance transparency over export activities while safeguarding sensitive information from public disclosure.

The "Respect Parents’ Childcare Choices Act" increases funding for the Child Care and Development Block Grant program, emphasizing parental choice by ensuring states provide child care certificates for services, including those offered by relative caregivers and religious organizations. It also removes barriers for relative caregivers, adjusts income eligibility criteria, and includes measures to prevent fraud. To offset the cost of these changes, the bill repeals the existing tax credit for household and dependent care service expenses, updating relevant sections of the tax code accordingly.