Legislative Activity

The Deter Obnoxious, Nefarious, and Outrageous Telephone Calls Act of 2025, or the DO NOT Call Act, establishes new criminal penalties for willfully violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). This legislation significantly increases the severity of penalties for repeat offenders or those involved in large-scale robocalling operations. Additionally, the bill doubles the existing civil fines for providing inaccurate caller ID information.

This act, the Unemployment Insurance (UI) Integrity and Deficit Reduction Act, redirects existing federal funds to bolster reemployment services and eligibility assessments. It transfers the entire unobligated balance from a specific Internal Revenue Code fund to the Employment Security Administration Account of the Unemployment Trust Fund. These dedicated funds will support crucial programs aimed at helping individuals return to work.

The Upholding Protections for Unaccompanied Children Act of 2025 aims to strengthen protections for unaccompanied children navigating the immigration system. This bill exempts these children from various immigration-related fees, including those for asylum and employment authorization. Furthermore, it places limitations on body examinations and restricts the sharing of sponsor information with immigration enforcement agencies. The Act also mandates the refund of previously paid fees that are now waived.

The No Nuclear Testing Without Approval Act prohibits the United States from conducting any explosive nuclear testing unless a foreign state tests first or a specific technical need is certified. Before any test, the President must notify Congress 180 days in advance, and Congress must approve the action through a joint resolution. Approval requires a two-thirds affirmative vote in the Senate, with specific, rigorous procedural requirements outlined for both chambers.

The STOP Human Trafficking Act directs the Secretary of Transportation to enhance efforts to combat human trafficking within the transportation sector. This involves implementing new research, developing centralized databases and mode-specific policies for information sharing, and updating training and awareness materials informed by survivors. The Act also establishes a continuous public awareness campaign and creates a grant program to fund prevention efforts by various transportation stakeholders.

The Strengthening Rural Cooperatives and Communities Act reauthorizes and updates the vital rural cooperative development grant program through 2029. This legislation clarifies the definition of cooperative development and modifies grant scoring criteria to prioritize certain applicants. Furthermore, it enhances reporting requirements for the Secretary and the interagency working group to better track program effectiveness.

The No Coffee Tax Act prevents the imposition of new or increased tariffs on coffee products imported from countries with normal trade relations with the U.S. This measure locks in the tariff rates for coffee, husks, and coffee-containing substitutes at the level effective on January 19, 2025. The goal is to maintain stable import costs for these essential coffee products.

The Tribal Warrant Fairness Act expands the authority of the U.S. Marshals Service to include handling Tribal fugitive matters and coordinating law enforcement activities with Indian Tribes. This legislation also amends existing law to ensure that Indian Tribes are included in protections and provisions related to Federal, State, or Tribal law enforcement coordination.

This resolution officially commends and congratulates the Summerlin South Little League baseball team for winning the 2025 Little League World Series United States Championship. The bill recognizes the team's historic achievement as the first from Summerlin South to reach the World Series and only the second from Nevada to win the U.S. title. It also honors the dedication of the players, coaches, parents, and league staff who supported their success.

The Emergency Relief for Federal Contractors Act of 2025 allows individuals affected by a federal government shutdown to make penalty-free withdrawals of up to $30,000 from their retirement plans. These "Federal Government shutdown distributions" allow affected contractors, grantees, and D.C. employees to access funds during a lapse in appropriations lasting at least two weeks. Withdrawals are spread out over three tax years for income tax purposes, and individuals have three years to repay the withdrawn amount.

This resolution officially recognizes Hispanic Heritage Month, running from September 15 to October 15, 2025. It celebrates the immense and vital contributions of Latinos to the United States across culture, the economy, and civic life. The bill encourages all Americans to observe this month with appropriate programs and activities honoring this heritage.

The China Military Power Transparency Act of 2025 extends the requirement for the annual report on China's military and security developments until 2030. This legislation updates the report's scope to include critical new areas such as Chinese cooperation on nuclear and drone development, foreign farmland acquisitions, and detailed analysis of potential Taiwan conflict scenarios. The updated report must also specifically address the role of Chinese cyber capabilities in a conflict with the U.S.

The Medicare Advantage Prompt Pay Act establishes stricter deadlines for Medicare Advantage organizations to pay providers for clean claims starting in 2027. These rules mandate payment within 14 days for electronically submitted claims from directly contracted providers and within 30 days for all other clean claims. The bill also introduces interest penalties for late payments and allows for civil monetary penalties for non-compliance, requiring MA plans to report detailed payment timeliness data.

The Restoring American Mineral Security Act of 2025 aims to bolster U.S. supply chains for critical minerals by countering unfair trade practices, particularly those from China. The bill establishes the Critical Minerals Security Alliance to coordinate with trusted partners on trade and supply goals. Furthermore, it creates a dedicated trust fund, financed by import duties on minerals from adversarial nations, to directly support domestic mining, processing, and related manufacturing projects.

The WAGER Act, or Withdrawing Arduous Gaming Excise Rates Act, exempts certain legal sports wagers from the federal excise tax on authorized wagers. This tax break applies only if the bet complies with state law or an approved Tribal-State gaming compact where the wager was placed. This change takes effect for all sports bets made after the Act's enactment.

The MORE DOT Grants Act aims to increase transportation funding opportunities for specific rural areas designated as "High-Density Public Land Counties." This bill lowers the required local matching funds by 50% for eligible DOT grant programs in these counties. It also mandates technical assistance and gives priority to applicants from these areas that have not recently received funding from the specific program. Finally, the legislation allows for greater flexibility in application requirements for these local and Tribal governments.

The MORE USDA Grants Act aims to boost economic opportunities in rural areas, specifically targeting counties with significant federal land ownership and low populations. This bill lowers the required local matching funds by 50% for qualifying USDA grants in these designated areas. It also mandates priority consideration and enhanced technical assistance for grant applications submitted by local and Tribal governments within these counties. Furthermore, the Secretary of Agriculture is empowered to offer flexibility in grant scoring and requirements that disadvantage smaller, isolated communities.

The Chief Herbert D. Proffitt Act of 2025 expands eligibility for the Public Safety Officers Death Benefits program to include certain retired law enforcement officers. This legislation provides benefits to retired officers, or their families, if their injury or death resulted from a targeted attack directly related to their prior service. These changes are effective immediately and apply retroactively to qualifying incidents occurring on or after January 1, 2012.

The Stop the Scammers Act establishes a new whistleblower incentive and protection program within the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), allowing individuals to receive awards of 10% to 30% of collected penalties for providing original information leading to successful enforcement actions. Furthermore, the Act invalidates predispute arbitration agreements that attempt to waive these new whistleblower rights. Finally, this bill increases the annual funding cap for the CFPB, allowing it to receive up to 12 percent of the Federal Reserve's prior year earnings.

This resolution expresses support for designating July 10, 2025, as Journeyman Lineworkers Recognition Day. It honors the critical, often dangerous work these essential employees perform to maintain the nation's power grid 24/7. The day commemorates their service, especially during emergencies, and recognizes the sacrifice of those who have lost their lives in the line of duty.