Legislative Activity

The AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act of 2025 mandates that the Secretary of Transportation establish a rule requiring AM broadcast radio receivers to be installed as standard equipment in new passenger motor vehicles. This requirement aims to ensure public access to AM radio signals, which are often used for emergency alerts. The bill also directs a GAO study on the effectiveness of AM radio within the national emergency alert system compared to other technologies. Finally, the Act preempts state and local laws on this matter and includes a sunset provision eight years after enactment.

The Pay Our Troops Act of 2026 ensures that active duty military personnel and essential civilian support staff continue to receive their pay if Congress has not yet passed the full budget for fiscal year 2026. This act provides automatic continuing appropriations from the Treasury to prevent a lapse in military salaries due to budget delays. The funding automatically terminates once a new budget or continuing resolution is passed, or on January 1, 2027, whichever comes first.

The Saving the American Dream Act mandates that key federal housing agencies collaborate to share research and data through a formal agreement. This legislation requires these agencies to jointly submit a comprehensive report to Congress outlining policy solutions for improving housing finance coordination, reducing mortgage costs, and addressing barriers to new home construction. The goal is to ensure federal housing policy is based on coordinated, evidence-based analysis.

This resolution formally condemns the horrific political assassination of conservative spokesman Charlie Kirk on September 10, 2025, in Orem, Utah. It expresses deep condolences to his family and recognizes the bravery of the first responders at the scene. Ultimately, the measure reaffirms the fundamental American right to peaceful assembly and stands firmly against political violence.

The RTCP Revitalization Act aims to significantly increase and guarantee funding for geographically disadvantaged farmers and ranchers through the Commodity Credit Corporation. This legislation removes previous administrative hurdles and eliminates annual payment caps for individual producers when program demand is high. The bill establishes mandatory, increasing funding levels for this support program through fiscal year 2031 and beyond.

The Mental Health in Aviation Act of 2025 directs the FAA to update regulations to encourage aviation workers to seek mental health support without fear of stigma. The bill mandates annual reviews of the medical clearance process and allocates funding to hire more Aviation Medical Examiners. Furthermore, it requires the FAA to implement recommendations from a recent mental health task force and launch a public awareness campaign to reduce stigma.

The Patients’ Right to Know Their Medication Act of 2025 mandates the creation of standardized, easy-to-read, one-page printed information accompanying all non-hospital prescriptions. This information must clearly detail essential safety warnings, usage instructions, and side effects in plain language, ensuring patients receive vital medication data regardless of electronic access. Failure to provide this required printed material will result in the drug being deemed "misbranded" under federal law. This aims to reduce adverse drug events and lower healthcare costs through improved patient understanding.

The FEMA Act of 2025 establishes the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as an independent, cabinet-level agency to lead a unified, all-hazards approach to national emergency management. The bill enacts sweeping reforms across Public Assistance, Individual Assistance, and Mitigation programs to accelerate recovery, streamline funding, and reduce bureaucratic hurdles for disaster survivors and communities. Furthermore, it mandates significant new transparency measures, including public data reporting and GAO oversight, to ensure accountability for federal disaster spending.

This bill seeks to amend federal law to provide hazard pay for federal employees carrying out prescribed burns and for smokejumpers. It officially recognizes that performing prescribed burns and parachute jumping for firefighting duties involve unusual physical hardship or hazard comparable to fighting active wildfires. The Office of Personnel Management is tasked with implementing the necessary regulations to ensure this hazard pay takes effect promptly.

The Modern Firearm Safety Act preempts state and local governments from imposing handgun design or feature requirements beyond existing federal law. This bill prevents jurisdictions from mandating specific features, such as loaded chamber indicators or magazine insertion sensors, on handguns sold or shipped across state lines. The goal is to standardize federal requirements and limit local restrictions on firearm manufacturing and commerce.

The Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act aims to encourage early retirement savings by lowering the minimum age for participation in certain employer-sponsored retirement plans from 21 to 18 for employees who meet specific service requirements. This change applies to both ERISA-covered pension plans and tax-qualified plans like 401(k)s. The legislation also includes special reporting provisions for plans that gain new, younger participants due to this rule change.

The Veterans’ ACCESS Act of 2025 strengthens the Veterans Community Care Program by establishing clear, enforceable standards for care eligibility and wait times while streamlining the referral process. The legislation also overhauls access to residential mental health and substance abuse treatment, ensuring veterans receive timely, localized care with robust oversight. Additionally, it mandates the development of digital tools and pilot programs to reduce bureaucratic hurdles and improve transparency across the VA healthcare system.

The No DOT Funds for Sanctuary Cities Act prohibits the Secretary of Transportation from awarding federal transportation funds to any city designated as a "sanctuary city." This designation applies to localities with policies that restrict sharing immigration status information or complying with certain federal immigration detainers. Waivers for funding may only be granted if the Secretary certifies the activity is in the national interest and notifies relevant Congressional committees.

The Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act strictly prohibits the Federal Reserve from directly or indirectly issuing a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) to individuals. This legislation prevents the Fed from developing, testing, or implementing any digital currency that functions as a direct liability of the Federal Reserve. Furthermore, Congress asserts that any authority to create such a digital asset must explicitly come from Congress itself.

The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act establishes a comprehensive regulatory framework for digital assets, primarily focusing on defining and regulating "digital commodities" under the CFTC and SEC. It creates registration pathways for exchanges and intermediaries, clarifies rules for asset sales, protects individual self-custody rights, and explicitly prohibits the Federal Reserve from issuing a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). Overall, the bill aims to bring clarity and consumer safeguards to the digital asset market while encouraging technological innovation.

The Make American Guns Again (MAGA) Act of 2025 requires the Secretary of Defense to study the prevalence of foreign-made or foreign-owned small arms and light weapons used by the U.S. military. Within 180 days, the Secretary must report these findings to Congress and the President. This report must also include recommendations for increasing the procurement of domestically manufactured and owned small arms.

The Veteran Burial Timeliness and Death Certificate Accountability Act addresses significant delays in obtaining death certificates for veterans who die from natural causes, often due to VA medical staff delays. This bill mandates that VA medical providers must certify a veteran's death within 48 hours or allow the local medical examiner to step in. Furthermore, the VA must annually report on its compliance with this new timely certification requirement.

The Contact Lens Prescription Verification Modernization Act updates existing law to ensure consumers can easily obtain and use their contact lens prescriptions. This bill specifically requires online sellers to provide a HIPAA-compliant method for electronically receiving prescriptions and mandates encryption for any protected health information sent via email. Additionally, it updates seller record-keeping requirements to include customer email addresses.

The Ensuring Outpatient Quality for Rural States Act allows for cost-of-living adjustments to payments for hospital outpatient services provided in Alaska and Hawaii, starting in 2026. This change specifically targets the non-labor related portion of service costs, recognizing the higher operating expenses in these states. Crucially, these adjustments do not need to be budget neutral.

The Essential Air Service Reliability Act of 2025 updates the Essential Air Service (EAS) program by requiring airlines seeking federal subsidies to submit contingency plans for non-weather-related service disruptions. This legislation also shifts the selection criteria for subsidy recipients to prioritize the proposed rate of compensation. These changes aim to ensure more reliable air service to smaller communities by mandating operational backups.