Legislative Activity

This resolution expresses the urgent need for the United States to reaffirm its global leadership role in protecting religious freedom. It highlights rising religious intolerance worldwide and calls on the Secretary of State to use all available tools to discourage foreign governments engaged in violations. The resolution commits the U.S. to supporting those seeking freedom from authoritarian repression.

This act expands eligibility for the Disabled Veterans Outreach Program (DVOP) to include the spouses of certain veterans and service members. It ensures that spouses of eligible veterans and those who died while serving can now access the intensive career services provided by the DVOP.

The Strong Ports, Strong Communities Act establishes a new grant program within the Department of Homeland Security to modernize U.S. land ports of entry and improve essential community infrastructure near them. This funding is available to state, tribal, and local governments, as well as certain utilities and nonprofits, for projects supporting cross-border trade, security, and local resilience. The Act allocates a total authorization of $3 billion and prioritizes rural areas, while generally requiring a 30% non-federal match for recipients.

The Essential Caregivers Act of 2025 establishes a resident's right to designate at least one "essential caregiver" who must be granted in-person access to the resident in healthcare facilities, even during periods of restricted visitation. This right is designed to prevent the isolation and decline seen during the COVID-19 pandemic by ensuring family support remains available. Facilities can only deny access under strict, time-limited conditions if the caregiver violates agreed-upon safety protocols.

This bill, the Disclosing Foreign Influence in Lobbying Act, amends the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 to enhance transparency in lobbying activities. It mandates that lobbyists must disclose the names and addresses of any foreign governments or political parties, beyond the direct client, that are involved in directing or controlling their lobbying efforts. This new requirement ensures greater visibility into the ultimate sources of influence directing lobbying work.

The PORCUPINE Act amends the Arms Export Control Act to include Taiwan in specific certification and reporting requirements. It also mandates a feasibility assessment for expediting the licensing process for allies transferring military equipment to Taiwan. The legislation is intended to enhance security cooperation while affirming existing U.S. policy as established by the Taiwan Relations Act.

This act establishes the Law Enforcement Officer and Firefighter Recreation Pass Act, providing eligible law enforcement officers and firefighters with a free annual National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass. The bill defines eligible individuals as those employed by federal, state, local, or tribal governments whose duties involve fire suppression or criminal law enforcement/supervision. The Secretary of the Interior is tasked with making these passes available upon proof of eligibility.

The Office of Fusion Act of 2025 reestablishes the Office of Fusion within the Department of Energy to accelerate the development and deployment of fusion energy. This office will enhance U.S. energy security by managing public-private partnerships aimed at starting construction on commercial fusion power plants by the end of 2028. It is tasked with coordinating federal efforts, ensuring a strong supply chain, and developing a commercial deployment roadmap for Congress.

The Accessing Satellite Capabilities to Enable New Discoveries (ASCEND) Act establishes a permanent NASA program to systematically purchase and distribute commercial Earth observation data and imagery. This initiative aims to cost-effectively acquire data to complement NASA's scientific needs and broaden its availability to researchers. The legislation ensures that data acquired can be freely published for scientific purposes and mandates regular reporting on vendor agreements and data usage.

The Stop Sextortion Act criminalizes threatening to distribute child sexual abuse material, even if the material does not exist, to intimidate or coerce victims. This legislation establishes severe penalties for making such threats, mirroring those for actual distribution. Furthermore, the Act increases maximum prison sentences by ten years for crimes involving the use of child sexual abuse material to threaten or harm an individual.

The ECCHO Act establishes a new federal crime for intentionally coercing a minor under 18 to commit harmful acts, including self-harm, violence against others or animals, arson, or specific online offenses like swatting. This legislation defines coercion broadly to include manipulation, threats, and intimidation used to force a child into these prohibited actions. Penalties vary based on the severity of the coerced act, with life imprisonment possible for coercing suicide or homicide. The Act also updates existing federal laws to incorporate this new offense and ensure comprehensive enforcement.

The PATHS to Tutor Act of 2025 establishes a $500 million competitive grant program to fund high-quality tutoring partnerships between schools and educator preparation programs. These partnerships will place trained tutors in small groups within high-need or hard-to-staff schools. The goal is to accelerate student learning while providing aspiring teachers with valuable, compensated experience. The bill also coordinates these tutoring positions with national service programs to offer educational awards to tutors upon completion of service.

The PBM Price Transparency and Accountability Act aims to increase fairness and oversight in prescription drug pricing across Medicaid and Medicare Part D. It mandates transparent payment models for Medicaid, prohibiting abusive spread pricing by Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs). Additionally, the bill establishes new network access standards for Medicare pharmacies and imposes strict compensation and reporting requirements on PBMs to ensure accountability to Medicare plans.

The Helping Undergraduate Students Thrive with Long-Term Earnings (HUSTLE) Act establishes tax-advantaged savings accounts, called NIL Investment Accounts, for college athletes to save their Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) income for future use. The bill also reforms agent representation by setting new registration, certification, and fee limits for agents dealing with student NIL endorsement contracts. Furthermore, it grants student athletes a private right of action to sue agents for violations of these new federal standards.

This Act amends immigration law to explicitly designate officials and members of Hamas, Palestine Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, Al-Qaeda, and ISIS as inadmissible due to terrorist activity. It also bars individuals who endorse or espouse terrorist activities conducted by these specified groups.

This bill reauthorizes the State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program and sets the federal funding share for state and tribal cybersecurity grants for fiscal year 2026. It authorizes $300 million for these programs in FY2026. Additionally, the bill extends the authorization for the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) program by one year.

This Act, the Conscience Protections for Medical Residents Act, amends Medicare rules to prohibit residency programs from requiring participation in abortion training. Programs that mandate abortion training or discriminate against residents who opt out or refuse to participate will no longer qualify as "approved" under Medicare. This ensures medical residents are not forced to perform, assist, or refer for abortions as a condition of their training.

The Flight Risk Reduction Act amends federal law to establish a new presumption against pretrial release for non-citizens who are not lawful permanent residents. This change mandates a detention hearing for these individuals and requires courts to presume detention is necessary. Crucially, defendants cannot use ties to family or employment in the U.S. to overcome this presumption.

The NOPAIN for Veterans Act mandates that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) must include specific, FDA-approved non-opioid pain management drugs in its national formulary. This ensures veterans have access to alternatives that do not act on opioid receptors for pain relief. The bill sets clear deadlines for the inclusion of these non-opioid products.

The Violent Juvenile Offender Accountability Act of 2025 amends federal law to allow for the direct criminal prosecution of juveniles aged 16 and older in district court. This direct prosecution applies specifically when the juvenile is alleged to have committed serious violent offenses, such as homicide, aggravated assault, or aggravated sexual abuse. The bill removes the requirement for an Attorney General motion to initiate these criminal proceedings for these specific, severe crimes.