Legislative Activity

This resolution expresses support for designating June 2025 as "National Post-Traumatic Stress Awareness Month" and June 27, 2025, as "National Post-Traumatic Stress Awareness Day." The goal is to raise public awareness, combat the stigma surrounding Post-Traumatic Stress (PTS), and encourage timely treatment for service members and veterans. It recognizes the significant impact of combat stress and supports ongoing efforts by the DoD and VA to educate the public and improve care.

The Farmers First Act of 2025 aims to enhance mental health support for agricultural producers. This legislation increases funding for the Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network and mandates the inclusion of dedicated crisis lines within its services. Furthermore, it formalizes partnerships between network recipients and various certified healthcare providers to improve access to mental health and substance use treatment.

The Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act aims to significantly expand the palliative care and hospice workforce through new federal grant and award programs for education, training, and career incentives. The bill also mandates the dissemination of information about palliative care services to patients, families, and providers, while enhancing palliative care research efforts at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Importantly, the legislation clarifies that funds cannot support activities intended to cause death, ensuring alignment with existing federal funding restrictions.

The Saving Lives and Taxpayer Dollars Act aims to ensure that valuable U.S. foreign assistance, such as food and medicine, reaches those in need rather than being destroyed. This legislation prohibits the voluntary destruction of usable aid commodities nearing expiration. Instead, it mandates that agencies must exhaust all options, including immediate donation or delivery, before disposal, while requiring annual reports detailing any wasted supplies.

This bill authorizes the creation and presentation of a Congressional Gold Medal to honor the extraordinary service and sacrifice of Army and Navy nurses who served during World War II. The medal recognizes their bravery in combat zones, dedication despite facing discrimination, and critical role in saving countless lives. The Secretary of the Treasury will strike the medal, which will ultimately be housed at the Smithsonian Institution. The Act also permits the sale of bronze duplicates to cover production costs.

The Refund Equality Act of 2025 extends the deadline for certain legally married couples to amend past tax returns filed separately before September 16, 2013, based on Revenue Ruling 2013-17. This allows these couples to now file jointly for those years, extending the statute of limitations for filing the joint return and claiming related refunds or credits. These extensions are strictly limited to changes resulting from recognizing their marital status for federal tax purposes.

The Equal Dignity for Married Taxpayers Act of 2025 is a legislative update designed to modernize the Internal Revenue Code by ensuring gender-neutral language is used when referencing married taxpayers and their spouses. This bill systematically replaces outdated gendered terms like "husband and wife" or "his" with inclusive terms such as "married couple" and "spouse." The changes are purely linguistic, ensuring consistency across tax rules without altering any existing tax liabilities or deductions.

This bill mandates that the Secretary of Defense establish regulations requiring all optional combat boots worn by service members to be 100% manufactured in the United States, including all components and materials. This "Made in USA" requirement applies to boots purchased by service members as part of their required uniform. Exceptions are permitted only for specific military mission needs or documented medical necessity.

The Community Wood Facilities Assistance Act of 2025 renames and significantly updates the existing Community Wood Facilities Grant Program, increasing the applicant matching requirement to 50% and setting a maximum grant award of $5 million. The bill also modifies eligible activities to focus on forest products manufacturing and increases the total funding authorization for the program through 2030. Additionally, it makes corresponding adjustments to the Wood Innovations Grant Program to broaden its scope toward expanding forest products manufacturing.

This bill amends federal law to implement a comprehensive ban on smoking and the use of electronic nicotine delivery systems on the premises of all Veterans Health Administration (VHA) facilities. The prohibition covers both indoor spaces and outdoor grounds under VHA control. This measure aims to create entirely smoke-free environments for veterans receiving care.

This resolution officially commemorates June 19, 2025, as "Juneteenth National Independence Day." It recognizes the historical significance of June 19, 1865, when enslaved people in the Southwest finally received news of their freedom. The resolution supports the nationwide celebration of this day as a vital part of American history and heritage.

The Rural Hospital Cybersecurity Enhancement Act directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop a national strategy for building the cybersecurity workforce specifically supporting rural hospitals. This strategy must include plans for partnerships, training materials for rural schools, and recommendations for addressing unique workforce challenges. Furthermore, the Act mandates the creation and promotion of basic cybersecurity instructional materials for current rural hospital staff. Importantly, this legislation authorizes no new federal funding for its implementation.

The Head Start for Our Future Act amends federal work-study rules to explicitly allow students to use their funds for child development and early learning services, such as supporting Head Start programs. This legislation ensures that institutions placing work-study students in these roles guarantee program compliance with existing Head Start Act requirements. Furthermore, it establishes specific supervision rules for work-study students in Head Start and Early Head Start, mandating that they must always be supervised by paid staff and cannot count toward required staff-to-child ratios.

The Intelligence Community Workforce Agility Protection Act of 2025 aims to support intelligence community personnel by simplifying the tax treatment of required relocations. This bill allows intelligence community employees and appointees to utilize specific moving expense deductions when changing duty stations. Furthermore, it ensures that reimbursements for qualified moving expenses related to these official relocations are excluded from taxable income.

This Senate resolution formally condemns the recent rise in ideologically motivated attacks against Jewish individuals and institutions across the United States, specifically citing the violent assault in Boulder, Colorado. It reaffirms the Senate's commitment to combating antisemitism and all forms of politically motivated violence. The resolution calls for thorough investigation and prosecution of such acts, upholding the right of all citizens to live without fear of religious or political intimidation.

The Jury ACCESS Act of 2025 explicitly prohibits the exclusion of citizens from serving on federal juries based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. This amendment updates existing federal law to ensure equality in jury service selection. The bill ensures that all capable citizens have the right to serve, regardless of their identity.

The Older Americans Act Reauthorization Act of 2025 is a comprehensive bill designed to strengthen the network supporting older Americans by improving health outcomes, enhancing nutrition services, and bolstering support for family caregivers. It focuses on increasing accountability, transparency, and coordination across federal and local aging services. Key provisions include dedicated mental health advocacy, modernized nutrition options like medically tailored meals, and significant support enhancements for family caregivers and Native elders.

The Homebuyers Privacy Protection Act restricts how consumer reporting agencies can share your credit report when you are seeking a residential mortgage loan. Specifically, it limits the sharing of these reports unless they are connected to a firm offer of credit or are being sent to parties directly involved in your current mortgage, such as the originator or servicer. This ensures that your sensitive financial information is only accessed by relevant parties during the home loan process.

The Working Waterfronts Act of 2025 is a comprehensive bill designed to strengthen American maritime industries and coastal communities. It provides financial incentives for upgrading hydroelectric power and transitioning commercial fishing vessels to cleaner fuels. The Act also expands federal loan access for fishing and seafood businesses, invests in shoreside processing and working waterfront infrastructure, and establishes new grant programs for maritime workforce development and "Blue Economy" innovation.

This resolution formally condemns Hamas for its premeditated and brutal terrorist attacks against Israel on October 7, 2023. It demands that Hamas immediately release all remaining hostages and allow them access to necessary medical care. The document further affirms that taking hostages is a clear violation of international law.