Legislative Activity

This resolution recognizes May as Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, celebrating the significant contributions of these communities to the history and culture of the United States. It acknowledges key historical milestones and achievements, while also addressing past discrimination and ongoing challenges faced by these communities. The resolution aims to honor the diverse heritage and resilience of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders, highlighting their importance in enriching and strengthening the nation.

This resolution supports the designation of May 4-10, 2025, as "National Small Business Week". It recognizes the significant role of over 34.5 million small businesses in the U.S. that contribute to the economy and provide over 59 million jobs. The resolution celebrates the entrepreneurial spirit, achievements, and resilience of small business owners and their employees.

This resolution recognizes the increasing global threats to press and speech freedoms, emphasizing the critical role of a free press in upholding democracy and informing the public. It reaffirms the U.S. government's commitment to prioritizing press freedom as a key component of its foreign policy and human rights efforts. The resolution condemns violence and oppression against journalists worldwide, calling for accountability and the release of wrongfully detained reporters, and urges the President and Secretary of State to actively defend and promote press freedom internationally.

The "Improving Police CARE Act" ensures that law enforcement agencies have access to standardized trauma kits. It sets performance standards for these kits, which must include essential items like tourniquets and bleeding control bandages. The Act also directs the Bureau of Justice Assistance to develop best practices for training officers and deploying these kits.

The Living Donor Protection Act of 2025 prohibits discrimination in life, disability, and long-term care insurance against living organ donors. It clarifies that organ donation surgery qualifies as a serious health condition under the Family and Medical Leave Act, ensuring job protection for donors. The Act also mandates updated educational materials from the Department of Health and Human Services regarding the benefits, risks, and protections for living organ donors.

The "Made in America Manufacturing Finance Act of 2025" aims to bolster domestic manufacturing by increasing loan limits for small manufacturers through amendments to the Small Business Act and the Small Business Investment Act of 1958. Specifically, it raises the maximum loan amounts available to small manufacturers, with higher limits for those with third-party guarantees or those utilizing the loans for export purposes. These changes are intended to provide greater financial support to small manufacturing businesses operating within the United States.

The Patent Eligibility Restoration Act of 2025 seeks to revise patent eligibility criteria by eliminating judicial exceptions and clarifying what inventions are patentable under Title 35 of the United States Code. The Act aims to ensure that any useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter is eligible for patent protection, with specific exclusions for certain subject matter such as unmodified natural materials and purely mental processes. It specifies that patent eligibility should be determined by considering the invention as a whole, and allows courts to determine patent eligibility in infringement cases. This legislation intends to promote innovation by providing clearer guidelines for patent eligibility while maintaining existing requirements for patentability such as novelty and non-obviousness.

This resolution directs the Secretary of State to provide Congress with a report on El Salvador's human rights practices, focusing on alleged violations like torture, forced disappearances, and denial of due process. It asks for details on U.S. efforts to promote human rights in El Salvador and to ensure that U.S. security assistance does not support activities that violate human rights or lead to the wrongful detention of U.S. citizens or residents. The report should also assess conditions in El Salvador's Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT) and actions taken to address allegations of human rights abuses against U.S. citizens/residents.

Lulu's Law requires the Federal Communications Commission to include shark attacks in wireless emergency alerts. This will allow people in affected areas to receive timely warnings about potential shark attacks.

This bill mandates the Social Security Administration to send regular paper statements to Social Security account holders, beginning January 1, 2027. Statements will be mailed upon entering the workforce or starting a new job, with increasing frequency as individuals age, and provides an option for individuals to opt out of receiving the paper statements. The bill also authorizes Congress to allocate necessary funds to cover the administrative costs of implementing these changes, starting in fiscal year 2026.

The "Claiming Age Clarity Act" aims to modernize the Social Security Administration's language by January 1, 2027. It replaces terms like "early eligibility age" with "minimum monthly benefit age" and "full retirement age" with "standard monthly benefit age." The act also changes "delayed retirement credit" to referencing a "maximum monthly benefit age," to simplify understanding of benefit eligibility.

The Equality Act amends existing civil rights laws to explicitly include protections against discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity in areas such as public accommodations, employment, housing, credit, and jury service. It clarifies and expands the definition of sex to include sex stereotypes, pregnancy, childbirth, related medical conditions, sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics, including intersex traits. The act ensures equal access to shared facilities and prohibits the use of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 to justify discrimination. Ultimately, the Equality Act aims to provide consistent and comprehensive protections against discrimination for LGBTQ individuals and women across various aspects of life.

The SAFE Act of 2025 amends the Animal Health Protection Act to allow the Secretary of Agriculture to negotiate agreements with foreign governments regarding regionalization, zoning, and compartmentalization in response to animal disease outbreaks that significantly threaten United States exports. These negotiations should consider global research advances. The Act clarifies that it does not limit the United States Trade Representative's ability to negotiate trade agreements.

The Countering Wrongful Detention Act of 2025 aims to deter and prevent the unlawful or wrongful detention of U.S. nationals abroad by enabling the Secretary of State to designate countries as State Sponsors of Unlawful or Wrongful Detention and requiring passenger certification regarding travel advisory awareness. It also establishes an advisory council on hostage-taking and wrongful detention and mandates a congressional report on components related to hostage affairs and recovery.

This resolution expresses the Senate's support for World Malaria Day and recognizes the importance of combating malaria globally for both humanitarian reasons and U.S. national interests. It highlights the progress made through U.S.-supported initiatives and sets goals for further reducing malaria cases and deaths. The resolution encourages continued U.S. leadership and public-private partnerships to develop better tools for prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.

The Clean Ocean and Safe Tourism Anti-Drilling Act of 2025 (COAST Anti-Drilling Act of 2025) prohibits the Department of Interior from issuing leases for oil, natural gas, or mineral exploration in the North Atlantic, Mid-Atlantic, South Atlantic, and Straits of Florida Planning Areas. This prohibition applies to activities outlined in the 2024-2029 National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program. This act amends Section 8 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act.

This resolution supports the designation of April 11-17, 2025, as "Black Maternal Health Week" to raise awareness about the maternal health crisis affecting Black women and birthing people in the U.S. It recognizes the disproportionately high maternal mortality rates among Black women, urges Congress to address systemic inequities, and calls for policies promoting equitable access to maternal healthcare and reproductive justice. The resolution also emphasizes the importance of community-led solutions and increased investment in Black-led organizations to improve maternal health outcomes.

This resolution designates the week of April 19 through April 27, 2025, as "National Park Week" to recognize the importance of national parks for recreation, education, and economic contributions. It encourages people to visit and support these parks while acknowledging the role of the National Park Service in protecting these resources for future generations.

The "Every State Counts for Veterans Mental Health Act" prioritizes Department of Veterans Affairs suicide prevention grant applicants from states that have not yet received such a grant. The goal is to ensure that every state has access to resources for veteran mental health and suicide prevention. The Secretary of Veterans Affairs must give a scoring preference to eligible entities in states without prior grant awards until at least one grant is awarded in that state.

The Banning Unlawful Machinegun Parts (BUMP) Act prohibits the import, sale, manufacture, transfer, receipt, or possession of devices that convert semiautomatic firearms into machine guns. It requires individuals who legally owned modified firearms before the enactment of the BUMP Act to register them. The act amends both title 18 of the U.S. Code and the Internal Revenue Code to include these devices under the regulatory scope of machine guns.